He made an observation, and at once became very much excited.
“I must capture that for my collection!” he cried. “I have long wished to possess a specimen of that kind, and now I have a chance to get it.”
“I guess you’ll have hard work,” commented Ned. “It seems to be going away from us now.”
“I will ask Mr. Glassford to take after it,” said the scientist, hurrying toward the sleeping-cabin, where Mr. Glassford was.
The inventor, once he understood the request of the scientist, and learned that the bird was not too far off, agreed to change the course of the ship.
“We ought to work back to the right, anyhow,” he said. “We must be many miles off our course.”
Nearer and nearer the airship approached the bird. The winged creature, instead of being frightened, flew closer to the Comet as if to inspect it. Nearer and nearer the creature came. The professor was all excitement. With his longest-handled net he stood at an open window, ready to capture the rare specimen.
“A little more to the right, Jerry,” called Ned.
Jerry shifted the steering lever. The Comet swooped toward the bird. The professor leaned out of the window with his net and made a sweep to entangle the bird in the meshes. But a sudden shift of the wind slightly altered the ship’s level, and the next instant the scientist’s body shot out of the window. The airship was more than a mile above the earth.