“Land again? What for?” asked Tom.
“One of the carburetors seems to be choked and the adjustment of it is such a delicate matter that I don’t believe we can do it in the air. We are constantly losing speed, and also getting off our course, as one motor is more powerful than the other.”
“Well, if we must land, we must,” agreed Tom ruefully. “But we are losing too much time. It can’t be helped, I suppose. Go down, then!”
“Where shall we land?” asked Ned.
“Somewhere in China,” was Tom’s answer, as he looked at the route map.
A little later they floated down on a vast plain in a lonely region where there was not a habitation in sight and where there seemed to be no life stirring.
“I don’t believe we’ll be disturbed here,” remarked Tom, as he got out of the machine, followed by Ned. “It’s as lonesome as the middle of a desert. Well, let’s have a look at that carburetor.”
He had no sooner got it disconnected from the feed line than he saw that extensive repairs were needed.
“It will take all of a day, maybe more,” he said, with a sigh.
“Another day lost!” exclaimed Ned. “That’s bad!”