“That is true,” said the professor. “Well, as I was saying, the bird cannot rise without this preliminary run, and, of course, the picket fence interferes with this. That is the condor catcher’s opportunity. He throws a lasso around the bird he has selected and lets the condor fight till he is exhausted. Then he throws another and another till Mr. Condor is tired out. That done, the bird is placed in a rough cage and conveyed to the customer.”
“That’s a lo-lo-lot of work for t-t-t-two d-d-d-dollars,” stuttered Ding-dong Bell.
“Any kind of work would be hard for you,” grinned Joe, which almost precipitated a fight. Nat checked it.
“Don’t roll overboard on this craft,” he said, “even if there aren’t any sharks about.”
“Humph! I don’t know that they are much worse than those condors,” was Joe’s comment.
As for Mr. Tubbs he heaved a sigh.
“If only I’d got a moving picture of that fight with the condors,” he said regretfully.
CHAPTER XXII.
A SERIOUS ACCIDENT.
Shortly after the battle with the condors, the professor announced that, inasmuch as they were passing above a favorable landing place, he intended to make a landing. The spot selected was an open space beside a fairly large river, the glint of which could be plainly seen like a glittering ribbon beneath them.