Our young adventurer never experienced a more grateful feeling of
relief and security than when he found himself once more high in the
air, alone, and in undisputed possession of the electrical devices
bestowed upon him by the Demon.
The dangers he had passed through since landing at the city of the
desert and the desperate chance that alone had permitted him to regain
the traveling machine made him shudder at the bare recollection and
rendered him more sober and thoughtful than usual.
We who stick closely to the earth's surface can scarcely realize how
Rob could travel through the air at such dizzy heights without any fear
or concern whatsoever. But he had come to consider the air a veritable
refuge. Experience had given him implicit confidence in the powers of
the electrical instrument whose unseen forces carried him so swiftly
and surely, and while the tiny, watch-like machine was clasped to his
wrist he felt himself to be absolutely safe.
Having slipped away from the Turk and attained a fair altitude, he set
the indicator at zero and paused long enough to consult his map and
decide what direction it was best for him to take. The mischance that
had swept him unwittingly over the countries of Europe had also carried
him more than half way around the world from his home. Therefore the
nearest way to reach America would be to continue traveling to the
eastward.
So much time had been consumed at the desert oasis that he felt he must
now hasten if he wished to reach home by Saturday afternoon; so, having
quickly come to a decision, he turned the indicator and began a swift
flight into the east.
For several hours he traveled above the great desert of Gobi, but by
noon signs of a more fertile country began to appear, and, dropping to
a point nearer the earth, he was able to observe closely the country of
the Chinese, with its crowded population and ancient but crude
civilization.
Then he came to the Great Wall of China and to mighty Peking, above
which he hovered some time, examining it curiously. He really longed
to make a stop there, but with his late experiences fresh in his mind
he thought it much safer to view the wonderful city from a distance.
Resuming his flight he presently came to the gulf of Laou Tong, whose
fair face was freckled with many ships of many nations, and so on to
Korea, which seemed to him a land fully a century behind the times.
Night overtook him while speeding across the Sea of Japan, and having a
great desire to view the Mikado's famous islands, he put the indicator
at zero, and, coming to a full stop, composed himself to sleep until
morning, that he might run no chances of being carried beyond his
knowledge during the night.
You might suppose it no easy task to sleep suspended in mid-air, yet
the magnetic currents controlled by the traveling machine were so
evenly balanced that Rob was fully as comfortable as if reposing upon a
bed of down. He had become somewhat accustomed to passing the night in
the air and now slept remarkably well, having no fear of burglars or
fire or other interruptions that dwellers in cities are subject to.
One thing, however, he should have remembered: that he was in an
ancient and little known part of the world and reposing above a sea
famous in fable as the home of many fierce and terrible creatures;
while not far away lay the land of the dragon, the simurg and other
ferocious monsters.
Rob may have read of these things in fairy tales and books of travel,
but if so they had entirely slipped his mind; so he slumbered
peacefully and actually snored a little, I believe, towards morning.
But even as the red sun peeped curiously over the horizon he was
awakened by a most unusual disturbance--a succession of hoarse screams
and a pounding of the air as from the quickly revolving blades of some
huge windmill.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around.
Coming towards him at his right hand was an immense bird, whose body
seemed almost as big as that of a horse. Its wide-open, curving beak
was set with rows of pointed teeth, and the talons held against its
breast and turned threateningly outward were more powerful and dreadful
than a tiger's claws.
While, fascinated and horrified, he watched the approach of this
feathered monster, a scream sounded just behind him and the next
instant the stroke of a mighty wing sent him whirling over and over
through the air.
He soon came to a stop, however, and saw that another of the monsters
had come upon him from the rear and was now, with its mate, circling
closely around him, while both uttered continuously their hoarse,
savage cries.
Rob wondered why the Garment of Repulsion had not protected him from
the blow of the bird's wing; but, as a matter of fact, it had protected
him. For it was not the wing itself but the force of the eddying
currents of air that had sent him whirling away from the monster. With
the indicator at zero the magnetic currents and the opposing powers of
attraction and repulsion were so evenly balanced that any violent
atmospheric disturbance affected him in the same way that thistledown
is affected by a summer breeze. He had noticed something of this
before, but whenever a strong wind was blowing he was accustomed to
rise to a position above the air currents. This was the first time he
had slept with the indicator at zero.
The huge birds at once renewed their attack, but Rob had now recovered
his wits sufficiently to draw the electric tube from his pocket. The
first one to dart towards him received the powerful electric current
direct from the tube, and fell stunned and fluttering to the surface of
the sea, where it floated motionless. Its mate, perhaps warned by this
sudden disaster, renewed its circling flight, moving so swiftly that
Rob could scarcely follow it, and drawing nearer and nearer every
moment to its intended victim. The boy could not turn in the air very
quickly, and he feared an attack in the back, mistrusting the saving
power of the Garment of Repulsion under such circumstances; so in
desperation he pressed his finger upon the button of the tube and
whirled the instrument around his head in the opposite direction to
that in which the monster was circling. Presently the current and the
bird met, and with one last scream the creature tumbled downwards to
join its fellow upon the waves, where they lay like two floating
islands.
Their presence had left a rank, sickening stench in the surrounding
atmosphere, so Rob made haste to resume his journey and was soon moving
rapidly eastward.
He could not control a shudder at the recollection of his recent
combat, and realized the horror of a meeting with such creatures by one
who had no protection from their sharp beaks and talons.
"It's no wonder the Japs draw ugly pictures of those monsters," he
thought. "People who live in these parts must pass most of their lives
in a tremble."
The sun was now shining brilliantly, and when the beautiful islands of
Japan came in sight Rob found that he had recovered his wonted
cheerfulness. He moved along slowly, hovering with curious interest
over the quaint and picturesque villages and watching the industrious
Japanese patiently toiling at their tasks. Just before he reached
Tokio he came to a military fort, and for nearly an hour watched the
skilful maneuvers of a regiment of soldiers at their morning drill.
They were not very big people, compared with other nations, but they
seemed alert and well trained, and the boy decided it would require a
brave enemy to face them on a field of battle.
Having at length satisfied his curiosity as to Japanese life and
customs Rob prepared for his long flight across the Pacific Ocean.
By consulting his map he discovered that should he maintain his course
due east, as before, he would arrive at a point in America very near to
San Francisco, which suited his plans excellently.
Having found that he moved more swiftly when farthest from the earth's
surface, because the air was more rarefied and offered less resistance,
Rob mounted upwards until the islands of Japan were mere specks visible
through the clear, sunny atmosphere.
Then he began his eastward flight, the broad surface of the Pacific
seeming like a blue cloud far beneath him.