Chick began
to guess what they were going to do; that the Jan Lucar was nearly
as reckless as he was handsome.
At last the soldier brought the craft to a level. They soared
along horizontally for a while; the Jan kept his eye fixed on the
red dot. And when it was directly above the black square he
stated:
"It is considered a perilous feat, my lord. We are going to drop.
If we make it from this height, not only will we break all
records, but will have proved the June Bug the superior in this
respect, as she is in speed. It is our only chance in any
circumstances, but with the Jarados at our side, we need not fear
that the craft will stand the strain. We shall go through them
like stone; before they know it we shall be in the drome--in less
than a minute."
"From this height?" Chick concealed a shudder behind a fair show
of scepticism. "A minute is not much time."
"Does my lord fear the drop?"
"Why should I? I have in mind the June Bug; she might be set afire
through friction, in dropping so quickly through the air." Watson
had a vivid picture of a blazing meteorite, containing the charred
bodies of three men, dropping out of--
"My lord need not be concerned with that," the Jan assured him.
"The shell of the car is provided with a number of tiny pores,
through which a heat-resisting fluid will be pumped during the
manoeuvre. The temperature may be raised a little, but no more.
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