"They chased the crippled flying machine for some distance, but did not find it. My horn bade them return," replied Mr. Roebach. Even as they started to walk with the oil man and his sullen Indians toward various shacks which they saw through the trees, and lower on the mountain side, they heard a hail and looked up to see Professor Henderson, Jack Darrow, and the negro, Washington White, descending the mountain in their rear. "This is your party; is it?" demanded Mr. Roebach. "Yes, sir," said Mark. "Bring them directly to my cabin. The Aleuts will not hurt you, now that they know we are friends." He hurried away, but Andy handled his rifle very suggestively and kept both eyes on the red men. The latter, however, kept to themselves and only stared at the crew of the _Snowbird_ with great curiosity. "Hurrah!" quoth Jack, when in earshot. "Here they are, safe and sound, Professor!" "We have been just as afraid that something bad was happening to you," Mark said, quickly. "Where's the machine?" "Your beautiful 'plane is badly wrecked, Mark, my boy," said Professor Henderson. "But I believe we shall be able to repair it in time. We are not, however, I feel sure, far from Aleukan. Do those men speak English?" "Not much of it, I reckon, Professor," said Andy Sudds. "But they have got mighty nasty dispositions. If it wasn't for the fat man I reckon they would jump on us." "He told us to follow along to his cabin," Mark proposed. "I do not think these Indians will touch us." "They'd better think twice about it," said the belligerent Andy, pushing in between the professor and the Aleuts, as the whole party descended the mountain side toward the place where the oil man had pitched his camp. As they proceeded the light grew and the newcomers to Alaska identified objects about them more clearly. Near at hand was the framework of a boring machine, or derrick. The professor began to notice a deposit of ash that lay thickly on the ground in sheltered places. "How remarkable--how very remarkable!" he ejaculated. "One would think there was a volcano in action very near here." Mark repeated what Phineas Roebach had said about the 'quake and the storm of ashes. The professor began to rub his hands together and his eyes twinkled. "I declare! I declare!" he repeated. "A seismic disturbance in this locality? Ah! our visit to Alaska for Dr. Todd may repay us nobly indeed." Washington White's eyes opened very wide and he demanded: "What's disher t'ing yo' calls 'sezmik', Professor Henderson? I suah don't understand no sech langwidge." "He means an earthquake, Wash," said Jack, as the professor paid no attention to the darkey's question. "Gollyation! is we goin' ter collek a _nearthquake_ along wid dat chrisomela-bypunktater plant? And what good's a nearthquake w'en you got him?"