Tom's airship was well above the snow line on the mountains. The young inventor and Ned sat in the pilot house, taking observations through a spyglass of the mountain chain below them.
Suddenly Ned, who had the glass focused on a mighty peak, cried out:
"There she is, Tom!"
"What?"
"The avalanche! The snow is beginning to slide down the mountain! Say, it's going to be a big one, too. Got your camera ready?"
"Sure! I've had it ready for the last three days. Put me over there, Ned. You look after the airship. and I'll take the pictures!"
Tom sprang to get his apparatus, while his chum hurried to the levers, wheels and handles that controlled the Flyer. As they approached the avalanche they could see the great mass of ice, snow, big stones, and earth sliding down the mountain side, carrying tall trees with it.
"This is just what I wanted!" cried Tom, as he set his camera working. "Put me closer, Ned."
Ned obeyed, and the airship was now hovering directly over the avalanche, and right in its path. The big landslide, as it would have been called in this country, met no village in its path, fortunately, or it would have wiped it out completely. It
