Near the outskirts of the city appeared a high tower, upon the flat
roof of which a man was engaged in adjusting a telescope. Upon seeing
Rob, who was passing at no great distance from this tower, the man
cried out:
"APPROCHEZ!--VENEZ ICI!"
Then he waved his hands frantically in the air, and fairly danced with
excitement. So the boy laughed and dropped down to the roof where,
standing beside the Frenchman, whose eyes were actually protruding
from their sockets, he asked, coolly:
"Well, what do you want?"
The other was for a moment speechless. He was a tall, lean man,
having a bald head but a thick, iron-gray beard, and his black eyes
sparkled brightly from behind a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles. After
attentively regarding the boy for a time he said, in broken English:
"But, M'sieur, how can you fly wizout ze--ze machine? I have experiment
myself wiz some air-ship; but you--zere is nossing to make go!"
Rob guessed that here was his opportunity to do the Demon a favor by
explaining his electrical devices to this new acquaintance, who was
evidently a man of science.
Pages:
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112