“The question before the house right now,” Carl explained, “is how we’re going to get off this bald-headed old peak. We might be able to tumble down into one of the valleys below, but we wouldn’t be any better off there than we are here. Besides,” he went on, “our making our way down wouldn’t help us any with the machine.” “If Jimmie would only show up with the _Louise_, now, we might borrow enough gasoline to get us back to level ground again. And still,” Ben went on, “we wouldn’t have fuel enough to do much racing until the tanks were filled. It’s a rotten scrape we’re in, and that’s no fairy tale.” “Here’s a problem for you to solve when you get through with all the others,” grinned Carl. “I want you to tell me why that Chink wasted our gasoline, and then warned us not to use the machine.” “I give it up!” declared Ben. “There’s no use of trying to guess it out! It’s just another little old mystery!” “And why did he pretend that he couldn’t understand English?” persisted Carl. “Was that in order that he might hear what we were talking about without our suspecting that he was listening with the intention of betraying us? It seems to me that that must be it.” “I tell you I don’t know!” almost shouted Ben, “and I’m not going to puzzle over the matter any longer. Here we are up on a bald old peak without any show of ever getting our machine down to the ground again, and that’s enough for me to brood over for the time being.” “This is a beautiful view from this mountain!” suggested Carl, with a grin. “Note the sunlight on the valleys below.” “Aw, dry up!” cried Ben. “What’s the use of rubbing it in?” “But,” urged Carl, “just think of the situation Noah was in when he landed his Ark on top of a mountain!” Ben threw a pebble at his chum and turned moodily away. “I wouldn’t have your disposition for a barrel of gasoline!” laughed Carl. “I wish I could trade my disposition for a barrel of gasoline,” grinned Ben. “That might help some.” “Well,” Carl said rather excitedly, in a moment, “you may keep your precious disposition, for here comes our barrel of gasoline!” “You must have been reading a dream book!” exclaimed Ben. “Honest!” shouted Carl. “If you’ll take a squint up there to the north, you’ll see the _Ann_ come poking back! If you don’t believe that is the _Ann_ with Havens on board, just observe the signals in sight.” “I guess that’s the _Ann_ all right,” Ben returned. “I hope she’s got full tanks of fuel. We need a lot right now.” The great flying machine came winging south at a great rate of speed, and finally, after circling the peak several times, volplaned down to the _Bertha_. The boys sprang forward to greet Havens, but drew back in a moment for the aviator was a man they had never seen before. The machine was the _Ann_, sure enough but she was in the hands of two men who were total strangers to the boys. They were slender, dark fellows, with oblong eyes and low foreheads.