So, yielding to the wishes of the lieutenant, the Nelson had been
directed by her navigators across California, Arizona, New Mexico,
Texas and Louisiana until the great city of the South lay spread out
before them. The distance covered by the airship in this flight was
not far from thirty-five hundred miles, and the Nelson, leaving the
coast city on Monday morning, August 7, had covered the run so as to
reach New Orleans late Wednesday afternoon.

The boys might, it is true, have speeded up and made the distance in
thirty-six hours, or less but they realized the necessity of taking
good care of themselves, and so they had rested in quiet places both
Monday and Tuesday night, landing about midnight and sleeping until
long after daylight. Having provisions with them, they had not
found it necessary to land except when gasoline was obtained at
Santa Fe.

The machine had attracted little attention on the route, for it was
painted a dull gray, and its aluminum motors gave forth little
sound. It was two merits of the machine, which had been invented by
young Leroy, that it could navigate in a clear sky a mile up without
being observed from below, and could also run to within a short
distance of the earth without making herself conspicuous by the
popping of her motors. The United States authorities are now
adapting these two qualities to the government airships to be used
in the military service.

The boys remained in New Orleans until Thursday morning, August 10,
and then, with full provision baskets and gasoline tanks, they set
out across the Gulf of Mexico. They soon sighted Yucatan, which is