er them," said
Blake with a smile. "This book has a lot in it about the big
landslides. At first they were terribly discouraging to the
workers. They practically put the French engineers, who started
the Canal, out of the running, and even when the United States
engineers started figuring they didn't allow enough leeway for the
Culebra slides.

"At first they decided that a ditch about eight hundred feet wide
would be enough to keep the top soil from slipping down. But they
finally had to make it nearly three times that width, or eighteen
hundred feet at the top, so as to make the sides slope gently
enough."

"And yet slides occur even now," remarked Joe, dubiously.

"Yes, because the work isn't quite finished."

"And we're going to get one of those slides on our films?"

"If we go, yes; and I don't see but what we'd better go."

"Then I'm with you, Blake, old man!" cried Joe, affectionately
slapping his chum on the back with such energy that the book flew
out of the other's hands.

"Look out what you're doing or you'll get the librarian after
you!" cried Blake, as he picked up the volume. "Well, then, we'll
consider it settled--we'll go to Panama?"

He looked questioningly at his chum.

"Yes, I guess so. Have you told that Spaniard?"

"No, not yet, of course. I haven't seen him since you did. But I
fancy we'd better write to Mr. Hadley first, and let him know we
will go. He'll wonder why we haven't written before. We can
explain about the delayed letter."

"All right, and when we hear from him, and learn more of his
plans, we can let Mr. Alcando hear from us. I guess we can mosey
along with him all right."

"Yes, and we'll need a helper with the cameras and things. He can
be a sort of assistant while he's learning the ropes."

A letter was written to the moving picture man in New York, and
while waiting for an answer Blake and Joe spent two days visiting
places of interest about Central Falls.

"If this is to be another break in our vacation we want to make
the most of it," suggested Joe.

"That's right," agreed Blake. They had not yet given the Spaniard
a definite answer regarding his joining them.

"It does not matter--the haste, young gentlemen," Mr. Alcando had
said with a smile that showed his white teeth, in strong contrast
to his dark complexion. "I am not in so much of a haste. As we
say, in my country, there is always manana--to-morrow."

Blake and Joe, while they found the Spaniard ver