But suddenly they were called to their senses by hearing a wild cry at their very elbow.
The next moment a man and a dog rushed through their midst and sprang down the stairway in the base of the obelisk.
[CHAPTER IV.
WHERE THE STAIRS LED TO.]
Leo Malvern caught but a fleeting glance at the man and dog as they rushed down the stairs in the base of the obelisk.
But what was the stranger fleeing from?
The swamp explorers glanced around them to find out.
The next moment they learned to their full satisfaction.
In the little clearing, a few yards beyond them, a balloon suddenly settled.
There was but one occupant of the basket, or car, and he was a stern-visaged man of perhaps forty-two.