se of the motor. Tom nodded in reply. He,
too, had picked out Mr. Damon's large estate. There were many good
landing places on it, one near the house for which Tom headed.

The aeroplane shot downward, like a bird darting from the sky. Tom
grasped the rudder lever more firmly. He looked below him, and then,
suddenly he uttered a cry of terror.

"What is it?" yelled Ned.

"The rudder! The deflecting rudder! It's jammed, and I can't throw
her head up! We're going to smash into the ground, Ned! I can't
control her! Something has gone wrong!"

CHAPTER V

NEWS FROM AFRICA

Blankly, and with fear in his eyes, Ned gazed at Tom. The young
inventor was frantically working at the levers, trying to loosen the
jammed rudder--the rudder that enabled the sky racer to be tilted
upward.

"Can't you do it?" cried Ned.

Tom shook his head helplessly, but he did not give up. Madly he
worked on, and there was need of haste, for every moment the
aeroplane was shooting nearer and nearer to the earth.

Ned glanced down. They were headed for the centre of a large grass
plot and the bank employee found himself grimly thinking that at
least the turf would be softer to fall on than bare ground.

"I--I can't imagine what's happened!" cried Tom.

He was still yanking on the lever, but it would not move, and unless
the head of the aeroplane was thrown up quickly, to catch the air,
and check its downward right, they would both be killed.

"Shut off the engine and vol-plane!" cried Ned.

"No use," answered Tom. "I can't vol-plane when I can't throw her
head up to check her."

But he did shut off the banging, throbbing motor, and then in
silence they continued to fall. Ned had half a notion to jump, but
he knew that would mean instant death, and there was just a bare
chance that if he stayed in the machine it would take off some of
the shock.

They could see Mr. Damon now. The old man had run out of his house
at the sight of the approaching aeroplane. He knew it well, for he
had ridden with Tom many times. He looked up and waved his hand to
the boys, but he had no idea of their danger, and he could not have
helped them had he been aware of it.

He must have soon guessed that something was wrong though, for a
moment later, the lads could hear him shout in terror, and could see
him motion to them. Later he said he saw that Tom was coming down at
too great an inclination, and he feared that the machine could not
be thrown up