There wasn't an instant's hesitation as he threw the load upon the
engine. Then the rope tautened. It grew tight as a fiddle string.
"Goodness! It'll snap and the _Dragon_ will be broken!" cried Jess,
in alarm.
But no such thing happened. Instead, as the _Dragon's_ powerful
propeller blades "bit" into the air, the _Golden Butterfly_ obediently
mounted the steep bank of the pond. Five minutes later the pretty craft
stood on dry land and the party of young aviators were eagerly making
an investigation of the damage done.
The cause of the fire was soon found. A tiny leak in the tank had
allowed some gasoline to drip into the bottom of the chassis, or
passenger carrier. Collecting here, it was plain that a back fire
from the carburetor had ignited it.
Neither of the girls could repress a shudder as they thought of what
might have occurred had they been higher in the air and no convenient
pond handy for them to drop into. In such a case the flames might have
reached the gasoline tank before they could be extinguished and
inevitably a fearful explosion would have followed.
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