wer my better judgment?
Why did I send him into--"

The words stuck in his throat and refused to issue. Phaeton Featherwit
just then felt himself little less than a cold-blooded assassin.

Mr. Edgecombe was but little less deeply stirred, although his feelings
were more of a mixture. He grieved for Bruno, and would willingly risk
his life in hopes of doing the young man a service, yet his gaze was
drawn far more frequently towards yonder temple, on the top of which he
had--surely he HAD caught sight of his wife, his daughter!

"Let me down and try to find him," he eagerly begged, as one might plead
for a great boon. "I promise to save him if yet alive, and--let me
try, professor; I beg of you, give me this chance to show my heartfelt
gratitude."

But Professor Featherwit shook his head in negation.

"That would only add to our trouble, friend. Knowing nothing of the
dialect, you would be wholly at a loss. And, looking so entirely
different in every respect, how could you hope to pass inspection?"

"All seems so confused, that I might--surely it is worth trying."

"It would be suicidal, so say no more on that score," almost harshly
spoke the usually mild-mannered aeronaut, sending his vessel upon
another circuit, only with stern vigilance choking back the appealing
shout to his lost nephew.

This time the aerostat was brought directly above the Temple of the Sun,
where there appeared to be some unusual disturbance, a number of armed
guards fairly driving a gaily arrayed Indian down to the lower levels,
and that greatly against his inclinations, judging from the harsh cries
and ringing threats which burst from his lips.

Recognising the building, and unable to hold his intense emotions longer
under stern control, Cooper Edgecombe called aloud the names of his wife
and daughter, begging that they might come to him; but then the air-ship
was sent onward and upward, with a dizzying swoop, and Professor
Featherwit gripped an arm, sternly speaking:

"Quiet, sir! Another outbreak like that and I'll lock your lips, if I
have to send a bullet through your mad brain!"

"I forgot. I could not wait longer, knowing that my loved ones--"

"You forgot that the lives of all depend upon our remaining at liberty,"
coldly interrupted Featherwit. "Without this means of conveyance, how
can your loved ones escape? Now, your solemn pledge to maintain utter
silence, or I will take you back to yonder wilderness, leaving you to
shif