"I wouldn't hesitate for an instant," she replied. "Elsa feels just as I would—that the work must be finished."
"I know I can land the Smithsonian," reiterated Ernest, "and we'll repay Elsa at once."
"You needn't hurry," exclaimed Elsa. "As long as I have no money, I can't go home!"
Roger looked from Ernest to Elsa, then out the door across the desert to where the Sun Plant lay in the burning, quivering blue air.
"We'll try it out, Ern," he said. "You know how grateful I am to you both."
Ernest nodded. "Nobody's using the horses, so I'll drive in and leave the team at Hackett's. If Dick gets well before I come back he can drive himself out. Otherwise it will be waiting for me. Elsa, do you think you could fix up a clean collar and shirt for me?"
"If she can't, I can," offered Charley.
"Take anything you can find of mine," Roger's face was more cheerful than it had been for days. "I'll get the reports and drawings ready for you."
So, by the united efforts of the two households, Ernest was made ready for a flying trip to civilization. He was so happy and excited over the trip that he really lifted some of the sadness that had hung so heavily over the ranch house. After his departure, Gustav slept at the ranch, in order to do the chores while Roger remained at the Plant.
Ever since he had reached the desert Roger had been conducting heat tests and while he was able under perfectly controlled conditions to produce higher temperatures than those of the tables he had used for so many years, his average readings under the absorber glass were less than he had counted on. And so he was at work on a new type, low pressure engine, for which his average temperatures would produce ample heat.