the interior. I had some thoughts of asking
you to take an airship along, but it might frighten
the Indians, and I shall have to depend on
them for guides, as well as for porters. So it
will be an old-fashioned expedition, in a way."

Mr. Swift came in at this point to meet his old
friends.

"The boy needs a little excitement," he said.
"He's been puttering over that stabilizer invention
too long. I can finish the model for him
in a very short time."

Professor Bumper told Mr. Swift something
about the proposed trip, while Mr. Damon went
out with Tom and Ned to one of the shops to
look at a new model aeroplane the young inventor
had designed.

There was a merry party around the table at
dinner, though now and then Ned noticed that
Tom had an abstracted and preoccupied air.

"Thinking about the idol of gold?" asked Ned
in a whisper to his chum, when they were about
to leave the table.

"The idol of gold? Oh, yes! Of course! It
will be great if we can bring that back with us."