“Then he is alive?” burst in Tom, aglow at the wonderful news.
“So there is every reason to suppose,” was Ned’s reply.
Without giving him time to say more, the cousins, having ordered the crew to keep a keen lookout for the speedy “ram” craft and notify them instantly of its appearance, half dragged Ned below, and shoved him into a chair in the comfortably furnished main cabin of the Sea King.
“Now then,” said Jack, “tell us everything, Ned, from the beginning. But first you are reasonably certain that both my father and my uncle are alive?”
“There is practically no doubt of that,” was Ned’s response.
“Then fire away,” ordered Tom, seating himself beside Jack, opposite the still badly shaken Ned Bangs.
“We left New York at the time you know,” commenced Ned, “and cruised for some time in the West Indies, your father. Jack, making stacks of observations and records. We met many interesting adventures, but I’m not going to detail all those now. But, although your father seemed to be immersed in his scientific observations, there were several things unexplained about the Sea King’s equipment.
“In a sort of well amidships was stored the aero-auto with which you had been experimenting before he left High Towers.”
Jack nodded. He knew the wonderful craft had been placed aboard, but had understood it had been taken along for private demonstration purposes.
“You mean the air and land craft driven by the gas generated from radolite crystals?” he asked. “The Flying Road Racer, as we called it.”