s the man with the black
mustache--the man who tried to rob you in the sleeping-car!" He
pointed downward to some one in the throng.

"He can't get us now!" exclaimed Tom, as he increased the speed of
the RED CLOUD, and then, taking up a telescope, after setting the
automatic steering gear, Tom pointed the glass at the person whom
Mr. Damon had indicated.

CHAPTER XII

PELTED BY HAILSTONES

"Yes, that's the man all right," observed the lad. "But if he came
here to have another try for the map, he's too late. I hope we don't
land now until we are in the valley of gold." Tom passed the
telescope to Ned, who confirmed the identification.

"Perhaps he came to see if we started, and then he'll report to Andy
Foger or his father by telegraph," suggested Mr. Damon.

"Perhaps," admitted Tom. "Anyhow, we're well rid of our enemies--at
least for a time. They can't follow us up in the air." He turned
another lever and the RED CLOUD shot forward at increased speed.

"Maybe Andy will race us," suggested Ned.

"I'm not afraid of anything his airship can do," declared Tom. "I
don't believe it will even get up off the ground, though he did make
a short flight before he packed up to follow us. It's a wonder he
wouldn't think of something himself, instead of trying to pattern
after some one else. He tried to beat me in building a speeding
automobile, and now he wants to get ahead of me in an airship. Well,
let him try. I'll beat him out, just as I've done before."

They were now over the outskirts of Seattle, flying along about a
thousand feet high, and they could dimly make out curious crowds
gazing up at them. The throng that had been around the airship shed
had disappeared from view behind a little hill, and, of course, the
man with the black mustache was no longer visible, but Tom felt as
if his sinister eyes were still gazing upward, seeking to discern
the occupants of the airship.

"We're well on our way now," observed Ned, after a while, during
which interval he and Tom had inspected the machinery, and found it
working satisfactorily.

"Yes, and the RED CLOUD is doing better than she ever did before,"
said Tom. "I think it did her good to take her apart and put her
together again. It sort of freshened her up. This machine is my
special pride. I hope nothing happens to her on this journey to the
caves of ice."

"If my theory is borne out, we will have to be careful not to get
caught in the crush of ice, as