CHAPTER IX.
FRANK HAS AN INTERVIEW.
Frank Reade Jr., felt much as the prisoner of the Bastile must have, when he saw the light of day once more, after having felt the assurance that he was doomed to death in prison.
The young inventor drank in the clear air, and in an instant was refreshed.
“Heaven be praised!” he murmured. “My life is spared. Now to find the Kite.”
He made his way to the path over the face of the cliff.
Following it, he was soon upon the height above.
But there was no sign of the Kite visible anywhere.
The air-ship was gone.
The young inventor for a moment experienced a chill. This was intensified into awful horror as he looked about him.
“My soul!” he exclaimed. “There has been a terrible storm, and——Great God! Can it be that the Kite has been destroyed?”