L. Frank Baum (12 page)

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.

Ample proof of Rob's careless and restless nature having been frankly
placed before the reader in these pages, you will doubtless be
surprised when I relate that during the next few hours our young
gentleman suffered from a severe attack of homesickness, becoming as
gloomy and unhappy in its duration as ever a homesick boy could be.

It may have been because he was just then cut off from all his
fellow-creatures and even from the world itself; it may have been
because he was satiated with marvels and with the almost absolute
control over the powers which the Demon had conferred upon him; or it
may have been because he was born and reared a hearty, healthy American
boy, with a disposition to battle openly with the world and take his
chances equally with his fellows, rather than be placed in such an
exclusive position that no one could hope successfully to oppose him.

Perhaps he himself did not know what gave him this horrible attack of
"the blues," but the truth is he took out his handkerchief and cried
like a baby from very loneliness and misery.

There was no one to see him, thank goodness! and the tears gave him
considerable relief. He dried his eyes, made an honest struggle to
regain his cheerfulness, and then muttered to himself:

"If I stay up here, like an air-bubble in the sky, I shall certainly go
crazy. I suppose there's nothing but water to look at down below, but
if I could only sight a ship, or even see a fish jump, it would do me
no end of good."

Thereupon he descended until, as the ocean's surface same nearer and
nearer, he discovered a tiny island lying almost directly underneath
him. It was hardly big enough to make a dot on the biggest map, but a
clump of trees grew in the central portion, while around the edges were
jagged rocks protecting a sandy beach and a stretch of flower-strewn
upland leading to the trees.

It looked beautiful from Rob's elevated position, and his spirits
brightened at once.

"I'll drop down and pick a bouquet," he exclaimed, and a few moments
later his feet touched the firm earth of the island.

But before he could gather a dozen of the brilliant flowers a glad
shout reached his ears, and, looking up, he saw two men running towards
him from the trees.

They were dressed in sailor fashion, but their clothing was reduced to
rags and scarcely clung to their brown, skinny bodies. As they
advanced they waved their arms wildly in the air and cried in joyful
tones:

"A boat! a boat!"

Rob stared at them wonderingly, and had much ado to prevent the poor
fellows from hugging him outright, so great was their joy at his
appearance. One of them rolled upon the ground, laughing and crying by
turns, while the other danced and cut capers until he became so
exhausted that he sank down breathless beside his comrade.

"How came you here?" then inquired the boy, in pitying tones.

"We're shipwrecked American sailors from the bark 'Cynthia Jane,' which
went down near here over a month ago," answered the smallest and
thinnest of the two. "We escaped by clinging to a bit of wreckage and
floated to this island, where we have nearly starved to death. Indeed,
we now have eaten everything on the island that was eatable, and had
your boat arrived a few days later you'd have found us lying dead upon
the beach!"

Rob listened to this sad tale with real sympathy.

"But I didn't come here in a boat," said he.

The men sprang to their feet with white, scared faces.

"No boat!" they cried; "are you, too, shipwrecked?"

"No;" he answered. "I flew here through the air." And then he
explained to them the wonderful electric traveling machine.

But the sailors had no interest whatever in the relation. Their
disappointment was something awful to witness, and one of them laid his
head upon his comrade's shoulder and wept with unrestrained grief, so
weak and discouraged had they become through suffering.

Suddenly Rob remembered that he could assist them, and took the box of
concentrated food tablets from his pocket.

"Eat these," he said, offering one of each to the sailors.

At first they could not understand that these small tablets would be
able to allay the pangs of hunger; but when Rob explained their virtues
the men ate them greedily. Within a few moments they were so greatly
restored to strength and courage that their eyes brightened, their
sunken cheeks flushed, and they were able to converse with their
benefactor with calmness and intelligence.

Then the boy sat beside them upon the grass and told them the story of
his acquaintance with the Demon and of all his adventures since he had
come into possession of the wonderful electric contrivances. In his
present mood he felt it would be a relief to confide in some one, and
so these poor, lonely men were the first to hear his story.

When he related the manner in which he had clung to the Turk while both
ascended into the air, the elder of the two sailors listened with rapt
attention, and then, after some thought, asked:

"Why couldn't you carry one or both of us to America?"

Rob took time seriously to consider this idea, while the sailors eyed
him with eager interest. Finally he said:

"I'm afraid I couldn't support your weight long enough to reach any
other land. It's a long journey, and you'd pull my arms out of joint
before we'd been up an hour."

Their faces fell at this, but one of them said:

"Why couldn't we swing ourselves over your shoulders with a rope? Our
two bodies would balance each other and we are so thin and emaciated
that we do not weigh very much."

While considering this suggestion Rob remembered how at one time five
pirates had clung to his left leg and been carried some distance
through the air.

"Have you a rope?" he asked.

"No," was the answer; "but there are plenty of long, tough vines
growing on the island that are just as strong and pliable as ropes."

"Then, if you are willing to run the chances," decided the boy, "I will
make the attempt to save you. But I must warn you that in case I find
I can not support the weight of your bodies I shall drop one or both of
you into the sea."

They looked grave at this prospect, but the biggest one said:

"We would soon meet death from starvation if you left us here on the
island; so, as there is at least a chance of our being able to escape
in your company I, for one, am willing to risk being drowned. It is
easier and quicker than being starved. And, as I'm the heavier, I
suppose you'll drop me first."

"Certainly," declared Rob, promptly.

This announcement seemed to be an encouragement to the little sailor,
but he said, nervously:

"I hope you'll keep near the water, for I haven't a good head for
heights—they always make me dizzy."

"Oh, if you don't want to go," began Rob, "I can easily—"

"But I do! I do! I do!" cried the little man, interrupting him. "I
shall die if you leave me behind!"