Turning the indicator to the word "up" he found, to his joy an. relief, that it would yet obey the influence of the power o. repulsion. Seeing him rise into the air the fellow made a grab fo. his foot and held it firmly, while his companions ran to help him.
Weight seemed to make no difference in the machine; it lifted th. pirate as well as Rob; it lifted another who clung to the first man'. leg, and another who clung to him. The other two also caught hold. hoping their united strength would pull him down, and the next minut. Rob was soaring through the air with the entire string of fiv. buccaneers dangling from his left leg.
At first the villains were too astounded to speak, but as the. realized that they were being carried through the air and away fro. their ship they broke into loud shouts of dismay, and finally the on. who grasped Rob's leg lost his hold and the five plunged downward an. splashed into the sea.
Finding the machine disposed to work accurately, Rob left th. buccaneers to swim to the ship in the best way they could, while h. dropped down to the deck again and recovered from the cabin his box o. tablets and the electric tube. The fellows were just scrambling on boar. when he again escaped, shooting into the air with considerable speed.
Indeed, the instrument now worked better than at any time since he ha. reached the cannibal island, and the boy was greatly delighted.
The wind at first sent him spinning away to the south, but h. continued to rise until he was above the air currents, and the stor. raged far beneath him. Then he set the indicator to the northwest an. breathlessly waited to see if it would obey. Hurrah! away he sped a. a fair rate of speed, while all his anxiety changed to a feeling o. sweet contentment.
His success had greatly surprised him, but he concluded that the ja. caused by dropping the instrument had relieved the pressure upon th. works, and so helped rather than harmed the free action of th. electric currents.
While he moved through the air with an easy, gliding motion he watche. with much interest the storm raging below. Above his head the sun wa. peacefully shining and the contrast was strange and impressive. Afte. an hour or so the storm abated, or else he passed away from it, fo. the deep blue of the ocean again greeted his eyes. He droppe. downward until he was about a hundred feet above the water, when h. continued his northwesterly course.
But now he regretted having interfered for a moment with the action o. the machine, for his progress, instead of being swift as a bird'. flight, became slow and jerky, nor was he sure that the damage. machine might not break down altogether at any moment. Yet so far hi. progress was in the right direction, and he resolved to experiment n. further with the instrument, but to let it go as it would, so long a. it supported him above the water. However irregular the motion migh. be, it was sure, if continued, to bring him to land in time, and tha. was all he cared about just then.
When night fell his slumber was broken and uneasy, for he wakened mor. than once with a start of fear that the machine had broken and he wa. falling into the sea. Sometimes he was carried along at a swift pace. and again the machine scarcely worked at all; so his anxiety was excusable.
The following day was one of continued uneasiness for the boy, wh. began to be harrassed by doubts as to whether, after all, he was movin. in the right direction. The machine had failed at one time in thi. respect and it might again. He had lost all confidence in its accuracy.
In spite of these perplexities Rob passed the second night of hi. uneven flight in profound slumber, being exhausted by the strain an. excitement he had undergone. When he awoke at daybreak, he saw, t. his profound delight, that he was approaching land.
The rising sun found him passing over a big city, which he kne. to be Boston.
He did not stop. The machine was so little to be depended upon tha. he dared make no halt. But he was obliged to alter the direction fro. northwest to west, and the result of this slight change was so great . reduction in speed that it was mid-day before he saw beneath him th. familiar village in which he lived.
Carefully marking the location of his father's house, he came to . stop directly over it, and a few moments later he managed to land upo. the exact spot in the back yard whence he had taken his firs. successful flight.
