“I will direct you,” Gonzalas explained.
“All right,” agreed Jim. Although he was not afraid, he had a suspicion that all was not exactly as it should be and he determined to be on constant guard. He moved the mirror so that the occupants of the rear seat could be observed with little difficulty, and out of the corner of his eye he kept watch on Gonzalas. He had made up his mind that none of the passengers were airmen so at least he had that advantage over them if they made a false move. Half an hour passed, then the man beside him pointed ahead in a wide ravine.
“Beyond there.”
Jim nodded and a few minutes later they were following the course of a river toward its source until they came to an abruptly rugged section. Here Gonzalas made careful observations, and after several minutes, pointed to the rim of the range, and motioned with his hands for Jim to follow that, which the boy did. At last they were nearing a small lake, the water of which appeared from that height to be very low, and on one side was a wide white beach. Austin wondered if the man’s home was on the edge of the lake, but they flew across, then Gonzalas pointed out a narrow stream which almost looped in its winding twists as it made its way through the forest.
“Are we almost there?” Jim asked casually. “Don’t want to come down here after it gets dark.”
“Can you land there?”
Gonzalas pointed to a level spot that was quite low and dotted with vegetation, but the boy could see no sign of a habitation of any kind. However, it wasn’t impossible for a home to be so situated that he had not picked it out, or it might be located further on where landing sites were less safe. He shut off the motor and they glided down on a long incline until finally they were standing still and as the boy glanced around he saw that they were in a sort of wide deep basin. His companion scrambled out quickly, and the two in the back seemed to be following his example, but there certainly wasn’t a house in sight, nor any sign of one.
“We owe to you much, senor.” It was the smaller of the two who had been in the rear, and Jim noticed that the chap’s face was greatly troubled. “Please, permit me to speak with you and explain.”
“Glad to have been able to get you here,” Jim said heartily, and the fellow’s eyes met his, then dropped.
“We—we have—what you call—played a trick on you, senor, but please I beg of you, listen and let me explain,” he urged. Jim noticed that the other two had hurried away and the boy scowled.