ilk hat!" cried Mr. Damon. "Where is the danger of landing
there? I rather hoped we could spend some time in Paris."

"There is no particular danger, unless it be comes known that I am an
escaped exile, and that we are on our way to Siberia to rescue another
one, and try to find the platinum mine. Then we would be in danger."

"But how are they to know it?" asked Ned, who had come back from the
gas machine.

"France, especially in Paris and the larger cities, is a hot-bed of
political spies," answered Mr. Petrofsky. "Russia has many there on the
secret police, and while the objectors to the Czar's government are
also there, they could do little to help us."

"I guess they won't find out about us unless we give it away," was
Tom's opinion.

"I'm afraid they will," was the reply of the Russian. "Undoubtedly word
has been cabled by the spies who annoyed us in Shopton, that we are on
our way over here. Of course they can't tell where we might land, but
as soon as we do land the news will be flashed all over, and the word
will come back that we are enemies of Russia. You can guess the rest."

"Then let's go somewhere else," suggested Mr. Damon.

"It would be the same anywhere in Europe," replied Ivan Petrofsky.
"There are spies in all the large centres."

"Well, I've got to go to Paris, or some large city to get the parts I
need," said Tom. "Unfortunately I didn't bring any along for the dynamo
and magneto, as I should have done, and I can't get the necessary
pieces in a small town. I'll have to depend on some big machine shop.
But we might land in some little-frequented place, and I could go in to
town alone."

"That might answer," spoke the Russian, and it was decided to try that.

Meanwhile it was somewhat doubtful whether they would reach France, for
they were dependent on the wind. But it seemed to be blowing steadily
in the desired direction, and Tom noted with satisfaction that their
progress was comparatively fast. He tried to repair the broken
machinery but found that he could not, though he spent much of the
night over it.

"Hurrah!" cried Ned when morning came, and he had taken an observation.
"There's some kind of land over there."

The wind freshened while they were at breakfast and using more gas so
as to raise them higher Tom directed the course of his airship as best
he could. He wanted to get high enough so that if they passed over a
city they would not be observed.

At noon it could be seen