That person desired very much to do so, but hesitated to let Mr. Lewis make the ocean trip alone. Joe’s father, though, declared he would not be without companions, for he was acquainted with several members of other divisions of the expedition. A Mr. Thomas L. Wells, of the division of ethnology, was a very close friend of the naturalist.
“So, although I would like for you to come with me on the boat, I want you to go in the airplane,” Joe’s father said to Mr. Wallace, “because I know you are bent on doing so, and it is a wonderful opportunity.”
The result was that Mr. Wallace made preparations to go by air, much to the delight of Bob and Joe. Since their first meeting with the naturalist several months before, the youths had taken a great liking to him.
Making ready for the airplane trip was a novel experience to Bob and Joe. They found there was much to be purchased in the way of suits, caps, goggles, and other provisions. Aviator’s togs, the young men knew, would not be strictly necessary, as it was a monoplane with a closed cabin. But they thought it best to get them, since they could also be used for general outdoor clothes.
“Here’s something the express man left you, boys,” Mr. Holton called, when the chums returned from a shopping trip downtown.
Eagerly Bob and Joe opened the large box. A minute later, when they saw its contents, they uttered exclamations of joy.
“The moving-picture camera and film, from the Neuman Motion Picture Corporation!” cried Bob happily. “It got here just in time, didn’t it? We’ll be leaving day after tomorrow.”
The Neuman Motion Picture Corporation, a large firm that released educational films, had engaged the services of Bob and Joe on their two previous expeditions. The youths took moving pictures of the strange lands they visited, and so pleased the film company that they were given the opportunity of again taking moving pictures while in the Andes Mountains. Always the boys were paid a substantial sum for their trouble, which to them was sheer pleasure.
“Inca land you’ll find to be perhaps the most interesting place you’ve photographed,” Mr. Holton told them. “If you do this well, the company will almost eat you up in their praise of you.”
“The Inca empire is still sort of a mystery to me,” said Joe. “I’ve read quite a bit about it, and Mr. Wallace and Bob and I saw that movie in Chicago, but it’s still all not quite clear. I know how the country around there looks. It is the empire itself that I don’t know much about.”