"Yes, I guess I was born lucky," laughed Joe.
Preparations for taking several views of the big Gatun Dam from the lower, or spillway side, were made. One afternoon Mr. Alcando asked if he would be needed in making any views, and when Blake told him he would not, the Spaniard went off by himself, taking a small camera with him.
"I'm going to try my luck on my own hook," he said.
"That's right," encouraged Blake. "Go it on your own responsibility. Good luck!"
"He's trying hard, at all events," said Joe, when their acquaintance had left them.
"Yes," agreed Joe. "He wants to make good."
Several times after this Mr. Alcando went off, by himself for more or less prolonged absences. Each time he took a camera with him.
It was a small machine, made more for amateurs than for professionals, but it gave good practice.
"How are you coming on?" asked Blake one day, when Mr. Alcando returned after a trip which, he said, had taken him to Gatun Dam.
"Oh, pretty well, I think," was the answer, as the Spaniard set down his camera and carrying case. "I got some good scenes, I believe. When are you going to make the last of the spillway views?"