“Let him prove his ability to do what he proposes, and not only the society but the world will bow down before him.”
“I think I can prove that to you very quickly!” said Frank Reade, Jr. “I have solved the problem of aerial navigation long since, and you have only to come to Readestown to see my airship to believe it.”
“Then your airship is a reality?” asked one of the professors.
“It is.”
“And you have taken an aerial ride in it?”
“I have.”
“We would like to see it.”
“If you will come to Readestown in two days from now you will see it fly, and also see me off on my trip from zone to zone!
“That there may be no misunderstanding, let me say that I am here to-night solely to please my friend, Professor Gaston, and only at his very urgent request.
“I have no axe to grind in coming here. I am seeking no emolument or pecuniary reward. I have simply offered to this society the privilege of allowing one of their members to accompany me and make valuable scientific data. It remains for the society now to act.”