But we cannot stop to enumerate all the conveniences and appurtenances of the wonderful sky-ship, now hastening toward its destination. More of that later on.
Washington and its crowds of excited people were fast disappearing in the distance. To say that no fear was experienced upon the part of any of the company would not be strictly true. The ladies were pale and silent, and stood with their arms about each other. Very little was said by any one, for the sensation of skimming through the air at the rate of more than twenty miles an hour at this elevation was too novel and thrilling to admit of conversation. All experienced more or less of vertigo and nausea, but the Doctor promptly controlled these disagreeable symptoms with medicines from his case. All stood at their post for something near an hour, Sing excepted. He was rattling about among his pots, pans, and kettles as unconcernedly as if in the best appointed kitchen in Washington. Finally a general conversation was entered into as the first qualms of fear and sickness began to wear off.
"I am delighted with the performance of our ship," said Will. (We shall take the liberty of using the given names of the two brothers hereafter, Will and Fred.)
"Yes," returned the Doctor, "how easily and smoothly we are going. When one looks inside, it is hard to realize that we are flying at the rate of nearly thirty miles an hour through the air, three thousand feet above the earth."
"And notice how steadily we are moving. Not a tremor nor movement of any sort appreciable. How decidedly superior to car or steamboat traveling. Here we have no jar, noise, nor dust," continued Will.
"Nor any kind of danger of shipwreck or collision," added Professor Gray.
"Well, I'm sure that we are a peculiarly favored lot of travelers," said Fred, turning to the organ and playing "Away with Melancholy," with great spirit.
"How does the temperature in the globe keep up?" asked the Professor of Will.
"I am astonished, Professor," he replied, "it has scarcely varied a degree since starting, now two hours, and we are burning no fuel at all at present."
"That is truly wonderful," answered the Professor. "At this rate we are not likely to run out of fuel."