for me in the morning and wait for an answer."

"Don't you think I can go in this time?" asked Paul at once.

The other boys gave him no heed for a moment.

"We could go to-night," volunteered Norman, "if you like."

"That wouldn't do any good," answered the colonel. "You probably couldn't
get the operator. I'll be more than satisfied if you duplicate to-day's
trip--except as to the meat," he added. "We've enough of that for some
days."

Paul sat in suppressed excitement.

"I don't want to butt in," he urged in the pause that followed; "but I
want to help all I can. You don't need to be afraid--"

The boys could not resist a glance toward the bunk house door, where they
well knew that Paul's embarrassing box still stood intact. And both
Norman and Roy flushed.

"You can go," announced Norman instantly. "You won't be afraid!"

"Only afraid of disappointing Roy," answered the elated Paul.

The latter was disappointed, but he gave no sign of it and when he smiled
and waved his hand, the thing was settled.

"I've been holding an option on a fine piece of oil property near Elgin,
Kansas," the colonel began in explanation, "and I had forgotten that the
limit was about to expire. Several of these telegrams are from my agent,
who tells me we must have the property. The telegrams are now over three
weeks old and I've just got two days in which to get word to him to buy."

"Write your message to-night," suggested Norman, "for we'll get away a
little earlier in the morning, since we've got to wait for an answer."

The second flight to Athabasca Landing was of course Paul's first
experience in an airship. For some time he was subdued and Norman could
see his tense fingers gripping the edge of the cockpit. But when
assurance came to him, he made up for his preliminary apprehension and
was soon taking impossible pictures of the far-away hills and trees
beneath him.

Reaching the landing place on the Athabasca Hills, Paul at once said:

"I s'pose you'd feel better if you looked after the telegrams yourself.
I'll stay with the machine."

This was the program Norman had outlined but when the suggestion came
from the young Austrian himself, Norman had not the courage to humiliate
his companion with such a plain indication of his fear. Without
hesitation, he answered:

"What are you talking about? Nothing like that now! Besides, I want to
look over the engine. You go and attend to things--I'll be here when you
get bac