Tom Derringer and the Aluminum Airship — Lawrence Watt-Evans

When he was eight years old, Tom Derringer discovered his father's journal and learned that the late Jack Derringer was a professional adventurer. For the next eight years Tom studied and trained to follow in his father's footsteps. Then in 1882, when a mysterious flying object appeared in the Arizona sky, Tom set out after it -- and he and his plucky companion Betsy Vanderhart found themselves pursuing a would-be conqueror through the skies and jungles of Mexico...