"That's for the captain to decide. He could do it comfortably in an hour or two—or, in five or ten minutes, if he were really in a hurry."
"Oh, I say, Drowsy, come down to earth again, and join us."
"No, I can't come down when I once get up. But I don't blame you for not believing it, Luther. I only believe it myself when I see it working. It is really easy to understand, though, when you know that electro magnetic waves in the ether are cavorting through space at the rate of about a hundred and eighty-six thousand miles a second, forced by our friends the electrons. There's no reason why my device should not go at about the same rate. That would take our passengers and cargo across the ocean in considerably less than one minute."
Dr. Alton shook his head. "No, Cyrus, that's too sudden even for a Yankee."
Luther assumed an expression of alarm. "Do you think Cyrus will get over this, Doctor? Is he wild on other subjects, or is it only one screw that's loose?"
Cyrus laughed and turned toward his father. "What an awful joke if Luther should be right! I could easily believe it a crazy dream if one or two scientists had not already prophesied it. The thing was sure to come. And now that it's here it seems too simple to be true. I merely happen to be the first man to stumble on it."
"Just what is it?" said Luther. "How do you do it? What's the process?"
For an instant their eyes met. To Luther came an odd sensation he had known as a boy—that the tranquil gaze of Cyrus was reading his secret thoughts. As his thoughts at that moment were not for publication the sensation was disturbing. To hide his embarrassment he turned away toward Dr. Alton, and made a joking remark about trips to Europe, over and back, on Saturday afternoon. "It even beats wireless," he said.
"Well, rather!" said Cyrus. "Wireless will soon be a back number."
Again Luther whistled. "Wireless a back number! Well, that's certainly going some!"