“You remember that after that queer crank that they call Professor Morgan had blowed up the headquarters of them kidnappers, he did not stay in them parts.”
“No; I noticed he headed for Chesterton.”
“That’s where he came; he landed in the shed yard near the spot where your machine was smashed and had hardly touched the airth when that darkey of yours was there and the two begun talking together mighty earnest.”
“Do you know what it was about?” asked Harvey, in whose mind a sudden suspicion had formed.
“I don’t know what was said at first, ’cause they was too fur off for me to hear, but they hadn’t been talking more’n five minutes—maybe not that long—when they walked up on the porch and sot down. I was standing a few feet from them looking out at the things which was beginning to hum, so I heard about all that was said. What do you ’spose it was about?”
“I can make a guess, but I prefer you should tell me.”
“That darkey said something about his father that was a famous chief in Africa that he’d like to visit, and he asked the Professor if he couldn’t take him there. The Professor said nothing in the world was easier, though he wasn’t sure his machine was quite ready, but it would be very soon. He had made a lot of wonderful inventions and had figured out things so he could keep afloat in the air for nigh twenty-four hours. They would have to do better than that to cross the Atlantic Ocean, but he hadn’t any doubt he would soon have matters settled so there would be no trouble. As near as I could make out, the Professor invited him to go along and stay with him while he finished some experiments and got things fixed so he could remain aloft for two or three weeks, without taking aboard any new ile.”
“And Bohunkus agreed to that!” exclaimed Harvey.
“If that is the darkey’s name, he jumped at the chance. The Professor’s idea was to wait at the hotel here for two or three days, till matters sort of quieted down, but the African insisted they should start at once.”
“That perhaps was natural, but did he give any reasons for his haste?”