The professor did not seem to think he had taken any unusual risk, and he was so overjoyed at the capture of the rare insect, which was worth at least seventy-five dollars, according to his estimate, that the boys did not have the heart to speak of the great fright he had caused them.
After supper, when several matters had been looked to, the lamps were lighted, and the great search-lantern gotten in readiness. Soon its powerful glow was cutting the gathering darkness as the big airship glided forward through space.
“Well, morning will see us within a few miles of our destination,” remarked Jerry, as he and his chums sat about the table in the main cabin. “Then we can make a quick run out to the aviation grounds, have a talk with Mr. Jackson, if he’s there, and if not we’ll wait for him. Then, after we’ve seen him, we’ll——”
“Start for the ocean, I hope,” put in the professor, who was busy jotting notes down in his books. “I am very anxious to get after the singing fish.”
“Yes, I think we’ll chance an ocean trip,” agreed Jerry. “But I guess I’d better go now and see how nearly we are keeping on our course,” he added, for he had set the automatic steering apparatus, and, as they were flying rather low, he did not dare trust altogether to it, without an occasional adjustment.
He found, however, that they were within a point and a half of the way in which the nose of the craft should have been pointed, and, after correcting the error, which was caused by the lack of smoothness of the new machinery, Jerry was about to return to the cabin where the others were.
As he turned to leave the motor room, he noted that the height gauge indicated less than a quarter of a mile.
“It’s pretty low,” mused the youth, “but I guess we won’t hit anything. To get higher I’ve got to increase the speed, and I don’t want to do that and strain the machinery. I guess this will do. In the morning——”
Jerry paused in the midst of his sentence. From somewhere outside there came a rushing, roaring sound, followed by a loud explosion.
“The gas bag!” was the first thought of the tall lad. “It’s burst!”