At the hotel he was recognized at once, and as the news had spread over the city like wild-fire, he was treated with every consideration.
He closely questioned everyone and then asked to see the rooms which Fernand 60O 10 had occupied.
The rooms were just as their occupant had left them and Ralph requested that he be undisturbed there for a short time.
He examined every nook and corner without finding anything to give him a clue to Fernand's whereabouts, and he was about to leave when his eye caught the reflection of a light-ray falling on a bright object under the dresser.
Insignificant as the little metal object was, it was enough to convey a fearful picture to his mind. He recognized it at once as a metal turning belonging to the balancer of the Gyro-Gyrotor of a Space Flyer. Evidently the metal part had been dropped and Fernand had not had the time to look for it. Ralph decided that Fernand had obtained a supply of the parts which are only required on a prolonged flight into space.
He was now positive that Fernand 60O 10 had carried off his sweetheart in a space flyer and that the machine by this time was probably far away from the earth, headed for unknown regions. It would also be practically impossible to follow without knowing the direction of the space-defying machine.
In a daze Ralph returned to his laboratory, where he again called the Central Office. As all space flyers must be licensed by law, he had no trouble in getting the information he desired. A new machine of a well-known Detroit firm had been registered four days ago, and the description of the owner answered to that of Fernand 60O 10.
Late as it was, Ralph immediately communicated with the Detroit manufacturer, who, upon hearing his reasons for the request, supplied him with all the necessary details.
Ralph learned from him that the purchaser of the new machine, one of the very latest models, was Fernand, beyond any doubt, and when he was informed that the latter had plentifully supplied himself with spare parts as if for a long journey, and moreover, the most significant fact that the cabin had been fitted out as a lady's boudoir, then indeed were his worst suspicions confirmed.
The manufacturer also told him that the entire outside shell was of Magnelium—an invention of Ralph's—and that this flyer was the first to be equipped with the new metal.