At their home dock they went carefully over it. While they were at it Professor Snodgrass, who had not been much in the company of the chums of late, came up.
“When do we start for the place of the luminous snakes, boys?” he wanted to know.
“Soon,” answered Jerry. “We are just as anxious as you are,” and he reached for a monkey wrench on a locker beside him.
“Hold on!” cried the scientist. “Don’t touch that!”
“What’s the matter?” asked Jerry. “Is it too hot, from having been in the sun?”
“No, my lad, but on the handle is one of the rarest dragon flies I have ever seen. Don’t move, any of you, and I’ll have him in a second. Oh, the beauty!” and the professor, from one of his many pockets, pulled out a small insect net. Carefully getting into the boat, he poised the net above the dragon fly on the wrench handle. There was a swoop, an excited exclamation, and the next moment the professor had leaped out on the dock and was racing along the river bank, crying:
“He got away! Oh, the little beauty! He escaped me, but I’ll get him yet!” and away he raced after the specimen.
“He’s good for all day,” murmured Jerry, as he took up the wrench.
“What are you going to do?” asked Bob.
“Take off the gasoline pipe. There must be some stoppage in it. No more gasoline drips from the carburetor, as it did at first, so there must be something in the pipe.”