oment had drawn above their
heads four light but strong frames of wood. When these met above their
heads, they formed a curved and tightly-jointed canopy. The four frames
were filled with small panes of glasslike mica. Within the canopy the
inmates were as well protected from the elements as if they had been
under a roof.

While the stranger's face flushed and his eyes grew wider, the boys
unsnapped the frames and they fell back into place, disappearing within
the sides of the cockpit.

"That isn't all," exclaimed Norman, and he pointed to two small, dark,
metal boxes just in the rear of the two seats. "Look," he went on, as he
also pointed to a small dynamo mounted just in the rear of the circular
engine. "As long as the car's moving, these two little car heaters will
not only keep us from getting frost bites but, in a pinch, we can cook on
'em."

"And here," added Roy, as he tapped a chestlike object on which the seats
were mounted, "is where we get the stuff to do the trick. We can put gas
enough in there to carry us three hundred miles. Back here," he went on,
pointing to a nest of skeleton shelves adjoining the rear of the cockpit,
"we can carry extra supplies of oil, gas, and food to carry us five
hundred miles, if we ever get that far from home."

In what was little less than complete enthusiasm, the curious guest
sprang speechless from the box, and took a few quick steps as if to
arrange his thoughts.

"Don't think that's all," exclaimed the hardly less enthusiastic Norman
as he vaulted from the novel pilot-cage. "I guess you see what we're
driving at and why we called our machine _Gitchie Manitou_. You know
that's Cree for--"

"I know," broke in the stranger; "Injun for 'Storm God'!"

"I thought it was 'God of the Winds,'" exclaimed Roy. "But names don't
count. If they did, we should have called it 'The Snow King,' because
that's where it ought to shine. See these landing wheels?" he urged.
"Well, they're only put on for use around here. If this machine ever gets
where it belongs it's going to have runners like a sled, where these
wheels are. And I've got a theory that these are all it needs to make a
trip where dogs and sleds can't travel."

The two boys, eager to continue their half-told description, paused for a
moment. The stranger, his hat in his hand, seemed to be drinking in the
story he had just heard, with an interest so profound that the puzzled
boys could not grasp it.

"Young men," said