"If it was that, wouldn't they have done it long ago—when we first came down?"
"No, they are evidently waiting for something, perhaps for some high official, without whose orders they dare do nothing. Russia is overrun with officialdom."
And a little later Ivan Petrofsky's suspicion proved true. There arrived a man in uniform, who spoke fairly good English, and who politely asked Tom if he would not delay the start of the airship, again, until the governor could arrive from his country place to see it.
"We know you are going to leave us," said the Russian with a smile, "for you have sent for kerosene. But please wait."
"If your governor comes soon we'll wait," replied Tom. "But we are in a hurry. I wish that kerosene fellow would get a move on," he murmured.
"Oh, he will doubtless be here soon," said the officer. "Might I be permitted to come aboard and wait for my chief?"
"Sorry, but it's not allowed," replied our hero, straining his eyes down the road for a sight of the wagoner. At last he came, and Tom breathed easier.
But the crowd was bigger, and some of the men, though poorly dressed, seemed to be per-
