He had done important work before. But now! Alone he could move the world—change the great laws of nature! He could create a new land or destroy an old one. He could do this—he—Carl Lohman! Was it to be wondered that his bosom heaved with emotion as he gazed out over the endless barren wastes, which, at his command, could be made to blossom with the fullness of the Earth’s fruits.
How true, he thought, the saying “Knowledge is Power.” That phrase answered the questions in his mind. Yes, his knowledge would bring it about.
A mental picture came to him, like a fata morgana, a mirage of the desert, reflected high in the heavens. A picture of the day to come.
This picture, however, came to an abrupt end. The pilot, who had been endeavoring to repair the damaged aeroplane, had come up to Carl, saying, “The damage to the engine is too great to be repaired here. What are we going to do now?”
“I have been thinking of that. I think we should go by camel to the north and have some fun.”
The other smiled “Fun? Fun you will get all right if you should ever fall into the hands of the bandit tribes that infest the sands. I know them. During the war I was handled rather roughly by them in France, although I was no enemy of theirs. They had been forced into the fight and they wanted to be savage. And they knew how. You talk about the Turk. He was nothing compared to them. At least the Turk was fighting for his country—these just fought for the sake of killing. They would have put an end to me, had not help come in time.”
“All right! We can talk matters over tomorrow. Let’s find a hotel, if there is one, where we can get a bite to eat. I’m starving.”
The pilot rejoined, “All right, so am I.”
The aeroplane had landed but a short distance from the city and it had already attracted a host of bewildered people. They had never seen an aeroplane before, so on they came, old and young, black and white, to examine the strange monster from the sky. No less strange to them appeared the two men who had come with it. In language unknown to Carl, they pointed from the machine to the men, showing plainly their awe and fear.
A French army officer came up to Carl and questioned him as to the accident, but Carl could only refer him to the pilot, who had returned to the wrecked machine, the motley mob scattering to all sides at his approach.