“To-night; right away?” asked Elmer.
“We must lose no time getting on our route,” replied our hero. “It seems to me that we have been most fortunate in meeting the people who have assisted us so grandly in locating the man we are after. I feel positive I can find the structure where I saw Deane. Its roof is large enough for a safe descent. Get ready, fellows.”
“Say, it will be a great feather in your cap if you get this Mr. Deane safely away from there; won’t it, Dave?” spoke Hiram.
“I hope to do just that,” replied the pilot of the Comet, confidently. “You can imagine what joy his friends will feel to have him restored to them.”
“Especially that pretty little miss who drove up to the hangar near Washington in that automobile, Dave,” suggested Elmer, mischievously.
The Comet was in starting trim, and the young aviators took their places. The air and the breeze showed ideal conditions for an easy flight.
There was clear moonlight, but Dave counted on the city being asleep. As he neared it, however, the bright lamps on the top of towers and temples caused him to take to a high area to avoid being discovered.
Circle after circle he described in a narrowing course, at last making sure that he had located the structure he had visited with the native. He indicated this to his comrades. All of them were infused with suspense and expectation.
The expert young aviator hovered over the structure. He estimated time, distance and risks. The Comet made a superb dip. It skimmed the parapet of the pillar and landed silently on the roof. In doing so, however, one of its wings tipped over one of the many ornate lamps lining the sides of the enclosure.
Dave sprang from the machine, his eye fixed on a small skin tent at one corner of the roof. Glancing within it, he saw lying upon a mat the man the native had pointed out to him six hours previous. Our hero seized his arm and shook him.