At such times the temperature was so low that the boys shivered in their seat, and more than once Jimmie and Carl protested by signs and gestures against such high sailing.
At two o’clock when the moon rose, bringing every detail of the country into bold relief, Sam circled over a green valley and finally brought the aeroplane down to a rest hardly more than four thousand feet above sea-level. It was warm here, of course, and the two boys almost dropped from their seat as the fragrant air of the grass-grown valley reached their nostrils. While Sam busied himself with the running gear of the flying machine, Jimmie and Carl sprawled out on the lush grass and compared notes. The moonlight struck the valley so as to illuminate its western rim while the eastern surface where the machine lay was still heavy in shadows.
“Jiminy!” exclaimed Jimmie, lifting himself on one elbow and gazing at the wrinkled cones standing all around the valley. “I wonder how Sam ever managed to drop into this cosy little nest without breaking all our necks.”
Sam, who seemed to be unaffected by the cold and the strain of the long flight, stood, oil-can in hand, when the question was asked. In a moment he walked over to where the boys lay.
“I can tell you about that,” he said with a smile. “Not long ago I had a job running an old ice-wagon of an aeroplane over this country for a naturalist. We passed this spot several times, and at last came back here for a rest. Not to put too fine a point upon it, as Micawber would say, we remained here so long that I became thoroughly acquainted with the country. It is a lonesome little valley, but a pleasant one.”
“Well, what did we come here for?” asked Carl, in a moment, “and how far are we from Quito? Seems like a thousand miles!”
“We are something like four hundred miles from the capital city of Ecuador,” Sam replied, “and the reason why we landed here will be disclosed when you chase yourselves along the valley and turn to the right around the first cliff and come face to face with the cunningest little lake you ever saw, also the haunted temple which stands there!”
CHAPTER XII.
THE HAUNTED TEMPLE.
“A haunted temple?” echoed Jimmie. “I thought the haunted temples were a lot farther south.”
“There are haunted temples all over Peru, if you leave it to the natives,” answered Sam. “Whenever there is a reason for keeping strangers away from such ruins as we are about to visit, the ghosts come forth at night in white robes and wave weird lights above skeleton faces.”