The latter was disappointed, but he gave no sign of it and when he smiled and waved his hand, the thing was settled.
“I’ve been holding an option on a fine piece of oil property near Elgin, Kansas,” the colonel began in explanation, “and I had forgotten that the limit was about to expire. Several of these telegrams are from my agent, who tells me we must have the property. The telegrams are now over three weeks old and I’ve just got two days in which to get word to him to buy.”
“Write your message to-night,” suggested Norman, “for we’ll get away a little earlier in the morning, since we’ve got to wait for an answer.”
The second flight to Athabasca Landing was of course Paul’s first experience in an airship. For some time he was subdued and Norman could see his tense fingers gripping the edge of the cockpit. But when assurance came to him, he made up for his preliminary apprehension and was soon taking impossible pictures of the far-away hills and trees beneath him.
Reaching the landing place on the Athabasca Hills, Paul at once said:
“I s’pose you’d feel better if you looked after the telegrams yourself. I’ll stay with the machine.”
This was the program Norman had outlined but when the suggestion came from the young Austrian himself, Norman had not the courage to humiliate his companion with such a plain indication of his fear. Without hesitation, he answered:
“What are you talking about? Nothing like that now! Besides, I want to look over the engine. You go and attend to things—I’ll be here when you get back.”
A little after twelve o’clock, a boy arrived from the other side of the river, carrying Norman’s dinner in a basket. The messenger was from the Alberta Hotel and he also carried a note from Paul announcing that no answer had yet been received to Colonel Howell’s telegram.
As the afternoon wore slowly away, Norman became more and more apprehensive. It was nearly six o’clock when Paul came in sight, breathless and exhausted from his rapid climb up the hill. Norman could not resist a sigh of relief when he saw that the delay was not due to any new indiscretion of the young Austrian.