As they flew farther the sky became more overshadowed. Dark, threatening clouds hovered near, as if to warn the air travelers to seek a place of refuge. It was not a pleasant sight to the four passengers.
All at once they had a sudden sensation of falling, which almost took their breath away. It lasted but a brief moment, however, much to the relief of all.
“What caused that?” asked Joe, who had turned pale.
His question was answered a little later by Karl.
“Feel that drop?” the aviator asked. “I did that to see if we can’t get below the storm area.”
“How far did we fall?” inquired Mr. Wallace interestedly.
“Only a few hundred feet. And I steered over to the east, too. We seem to be out of the storm area.”
Now, as they flew on, the travelers could easily glimpse the dark mass of clouds that they would have been forced to pass through had they remained strictly on their course.
An hour or so before noon, the explorers caught sight of a little group of islands, and in the distance they could make out one that was much larger.