6
The world was rudely shaken from its customary lethargy.
Having lapsed into a monotonous, smooth-running order of events, the public had long since resigned itself to such. Not since the Great War had newspapers had such an opportunity. Even the steady development of trans-Atlantic and trans-continental air traffic had become commonplace.
Of the myriad readers, perhaps none was so keenly interested in the article which appeared on the front page of every paper in the United States on the morning of the eighteenth as Henry Simms.
Since the Sphere had disappeared from his astonished gaze the day before, he had anxiously awaited its return. As hour after hour passed, his fears for its little crew of two grew proportionately. He had little faith in the curious invention to which the professor and his companion had entrusted their lives.
So it was with little spirit that Henry sat down to his breakfast that morning at the Palmer homestead, where he lived. He picked up the morning paper listlessly, hoping it might contain some report of the Sphere. He feared that if it did contain such news, it would be fatal news. Henry was a pessimist.
The big heading escaped his notice at first because he was looking for some smaller notice regarding the Sphere and its failure to return. Then suddenly it caught his eye. Breathlessly he devoured it.
SENSATION
CAUSED BY FLYING SPHERE
Curious Metal Blimp Seen Floating Above Lake Vessels’ Mast Tops
STRANGE NEW AIR TRIUMPH
Heavier than air machine with no visible means of ascension or propulsion possesses marvelous speed
(Special Dispatch to the Morning Chronicle)
ERIE, Pa., July 18.—The freighter, “Mary Ann”, arriving here tonight, reported a remarkable incident.
About 4 o’clock this afternoon a member of the crew descried a small speck over the southern horizon. This speck grew in size rapidly until it became apparent that it was not only approaching the “Mary Ann”, but falling with great velocity from its former immense height. It looked to be a large grayish globe.
During the ensuing moments, it seemed as if a huge cannon ball were launched directly at the vessel. Her destruction seemed certain. Consternation seized the crew and officers, who, by this time, were all aware of the pending disaster.
At a critical moment, however, the big ball was seen to slacken in its downward rush, until finally it hung suspended in the air directly above the mast tops, drifting slowly astern.
At this close range several round windows could be seen in the heavily riveted walls of the sphere. A glimpse of the operator was caught as he busily maneuvered divers levers.
Although evidently of considerable weight, and without visible means of support or propulsion, the sphere seemed to float in midair as lightly as a balloon. It appeared to be nearly thirty feet in diameter.
Suddenly a deep humming was heard. A moment later the sphere rose with gathering speed until it appeared to have reached a height of about half a mile. Then it shot abruptly off toward the south at great speed, disappearing rapidly over the horizon.
While this was of great interest to Henry, it but served to increase his uneasiness. He could think of no good reason for the failure of the Sphere to return from its trial trip but a fatal reoccurrence of the mechanical trouble suggested in the freighter’s report.
It was at this point in Henry’s gloomy reflections that a hearty laugh outside startled him. The professor!
A moment later Robert and Professor Palmer entered. Both were in fine spirits.
“Should have been along, Henry,” boomed the professor. “Missed the time of your young life.”
“Been reading about it,” Henry replied, tapping the paper. “Were you really trying to drop into the lake, or couldn’t you help it?”
“Fast work, Robert,” laughed the professor, as together they read over the article; “private trial trip in the afternoon—front page headlines next morning! Not so bad, eh?”
“Just missed the freighter,” gasped Robert. “We didn’t have a chance to see her until we had checked our drop and drifted off astern. Phew!”
“Never mind,” soothed the professor. “Can’t be helped now. Anyway, they will probably conclude that we were merely playing with them.”
His mood would not be denied. He seemed more like a boy at that moment than a dignified professor of fifty-seven.
“You folks seem to have had a dull trip,” remarked Henry, ironically. “Where were you last night?”
“Must we tell you? Had you accepted our invitation, you’d know,” retorted the professor. “Man, don’t ask us so many questions. We’re as hungry as wolves.”
They sat down before the appetizing, crisply fried bacon, and eggs that Jarvis, the peerless, smiling butler had brought in.
“It was this way, Henry,” resumed the professor, after he had partly satisfied the inner man: “Robert and I didn’t expect to be gone long, and unfortunately failed to take any provisions along. Had it not been for a cake of chocolate in Robert’s pocket, which we shared, we should have had nothing to eat since we left.”
“But you haven’t told me where you were last night,” persisted Henry.
“Tell him, Robert.”
“Well, after we ran out of power because the storage batteries had not been fully charged, and narrowly missed sinking that freighter, we had just enough current left to suspend the Sphere in midair. Then we started the engines driving the dynamos, and soon had sufficient power to start back. But boy! It was a close shave.” Robert paused reminiscently.
“We started back, but changed our minds and decided to see some more of the country first. You see, at five hundred or more miles an hour, it is quite a temptation to look around a bit.”
Henry’s countenance registered a curious combination of astonishment and disbelief.
“Fact,” put in Professor Palmer. “Could have done much better than that, but didn’t want to heat up the Sphere uncomfortably by excessive air friction.”
Henry looked very much as if he thought he might be the victim of a little spoofing. Such wild claims, uttered so coolly, confused him and aroused his natural skepticism.
Robert resumed his narrative, with a touch of pardonable pride. Behind him Jarvis stood spellbound, mouth half open, drinking in every word.
“So we flew over to New York, Boston and Baltimore, and looked them over. Great sport. We became so interested that twilight was upon us before we had given it a thought.
“It was pretty dark by the time we got back this way. We forgot, too, that the sun is visible considerably longer from a great height than it is from the earth’s surface.
“The result was that we could not find our way back here in the dark, without lights to guide us. So after a fruitless attempt, we gave up and landed in a large field. There we stayed until dawn, when, upon ascending again, we discovered that we were only a couple of miles from here.”
“Moral: Carry a searchlight, and ye shall find,” contributed the professor.
“And some sandwiches,” added Robert, returning to his interrupted attack upon the bacon and eggs.