Nelson, Leroy drove straight for the zenith. Up, up, up he went,
onward toward the stars, shining no brighter for his approach, yet
luring him on. All the world below was flooded with moonlight and
starlight. The mountains were dim in spots, where higher peaks
dominated the light, the Pacific shone in the radiance of the night.
The blue dome of heaven rounded away like a precious bowl set with
diamonds.

The roofs of Lima drew closer together, apparently, and the whole
town looked like a little cluttered point of land. And the
mountains and the sea stretched away endlessly, and earth took on
the look of a great rug woven with invisible stripes. Up, up, up,
until the air became thin and the lungs staggered for breath.

Then the motors were shut off and the ocean and the mountain chains
seemed to rise up to meet the aeroplane, sailing at the speed of
the, fastest express. Over the water and down until even Jimmie
clutched Ned's arm and gave forth an exclamation of alarm. Then a
turn of a lever sent the Nelson skimming over Calleo and back toward
Lima. Avoiding the vacant space where the Nelson had rested before,
Leroy, under Ned's directions, landed on the dry sand some distance
away.

"Of course that other chap will find us when he comes back," Ned
said, when the boys stood on solid ground again, "but we'll try to
make him think we're hanging around Peru just for the fun of it."

"Perhaps he won't come back," suggested Leroy. "Then I'll lose my
chance of showing him what the Nelson can do."