the Atlantic's horizon to shed its rays upon
the affairs of earth itself.

Gradually, as the sun arose in the heavens, Tom brought the Sky-Bird
lower, until presently he and John could see the ground, bathed in
glistening color from its recent wetting, far below them.

At this time Paul and Bob awoke, and washing their hands and faces,
came to the windows to look out. The first thing they all did was to
sweep the sky-line for some vision of the rival airplane, but without
success. Then they put their attention on the country below and around.

Just beneath was a pretty little blue lake, walled in with great forest
trees some of which must have been over a hundred feet high. A short
way beyond was an immense field covered with what they were sure must
be sugar-cane, and in which they could see dark-skinned men at work
with queer carts and clumsy oxen. At the right, a mere thread of
silver, was a river, hedged with tropical vegetation. This swept
around toward their front, enlarging as it came, and at what seemed no
farther than five miles away, poured its waters out into a great sea of
apparently limitless expanse.

The boys concluded at once that this great body of water must be the
Atlantic Ocean, and when they saw a fair-sized town nestling among the
trees at the point where the river joined the sea, their chart told
them that the stream was the Essequibo River, and the collection of
low-roofed buildings was none less than Georgetown!

A few minutes later, they were circling the town to locate their
landing-field which was to be marked with a large white letter T.
Seeing it on the second turn, they swept down amongst a curious and
half-frightened throng, and taxied to a stop.

To their relief and gratification, they found that their rivals had not
yet appeared.

CHAPTER XVI

TRICKED BY RIVALS

Correcting their watches with Georgetown time, as given to them by Mr.
Whiteshore, the Englishman in charge of the field, the boys found to
their joy that they had arrived five minutes ahead of schedule. This
would give them, if they wished to take it, a trifle more than three
hours to spend in Georgetown.

But first must come business; they must go over the machine very
carefully and see if the long, hard run from Panama had done any
damage; and they must replenish their fuel, oil, and water supply.
They were happy to find both engines in fine shape, thanks to the
possibility of alternating them in tra