“And ahead, too,” added Hiram.
“We’ve got to get above those newly formed clouds,” declared Dave, and he shot the machine still higher up.
“Dave!” cried his companion, “I never saw anything so beautiful! Isn’t this grand!”
It was, indeed, an unusual sight. Dazzling white clouds paved a seeming highway beneath them in every direction. Overhead the sun was shining brilliantly. The light reflected upon the cloud-mass was so intense that it affected the eyes as snow blindness would.
“It’s getting terribly cold!” Hiram remarked, shivering.
“Yes,” answered Dave, with a glance at the thermometer, “two degrees above freezing point,” and even through his leather suit he could feel the sharp and piercing cold. The wind above the clouds came straight from the north. Below it was blowing from the northwest. It was a wonderful sight about then, and it reminded the young aviator strongly of past experiences in the polar regions, while on his famous trip around the world. He did his best to keep a due east course, but had no landmarks to steer by, and he decided they must have drifted far to the south.
At last there were rifts in the clouds, which began breaking up, giving a sight of the ground.
“We’ve been up here nearly three hours,” announced Hiram, “and the gasoline is giving out.”
A slow glide brought them directly over a large farm. They made out great stacks of hay, and the Ariel settled down like a tired-out bird in the center of these fields.
“There’s a man—with a gun!” Hiram sharply exclaimed.