第31章 A Battle with Monsters(1)

Our young adventurer never experienced a more grateful feeling o. relief and security than when he found himself once more high in th. air, alone, and in undisputed possession of the electrical device. bestowed upon him by the Demon.

The dangers he had passed through since landing at the city of th. desert and the desperate chance that alone had permitted him to regai. the traveling machine made him shudder at the bare recollection an. rendered him more sober and thoughtful than usual.

We who stick closely to the earth's surface can scarcely realize ho. Rob could travel through the air at such dizzy heights without an. fear or concern whatsoever. But he had come to consider the air . veritable refuge. Experience had given him implicit confidence in th. powers of the electrical instrument whose unseen forces carried him s. swiftly and surely, and while the tiny, watch-like machine was claspe. to his wrist he felt himself to be absolutely safe.

Having slipped away from the Turk and attained a fair altitude, he se. the indicator at zero and paused long enough to consult his map an. decide what direction it was best for him to take. The mischance tha. had swept him unwittingly over the countries of Europe had als. carried him more than half way around the world from his home.

Therefore the nearest way to reach America would be to continu. traveling to the eastward.

So much time had been consumed at the desert oasis that he felt h. must now hasten if he wished to reach home by Saturday afternoon; so. having quickly come to a decision, he turned the indicator and began . swift flight into the east.

For several hours he traveled above the great desert of Gobi. but by noon signs of a more fertile country began to appear, and. dropping to a point nearer the earth, he was able to observ. closely the country of the Chinese, with its crowded populatio. and ancient but crude civilization.

Then he came to the Great Wall of China and to mighty Peking, abov. which he hovered some time, examining it curiously. He really longe. to make a stop there, but with his late experiences fresh in his min. he thought it much safer to view the wonderful city from a distance.

Resuming his flight he presently came to the gulf of Laou Tong, whos. fair face was freckled with many ships of many nations, and so on t. Korea, which seemed to him a land fully a century behind the times.

Night overtook him while speeding across the Sea of Japan, and havin. a great desire to view the Mikado's famous islands, he put th. indicator at zero, and, coming to a full stop, composed himself t. sleep until morning, that he might run no chances of being carrie. beyond his knowledge during the night.

You might suppose it no easy task to sleep suspended in mid-air, ye. the magnetic currents controlled by the traveling machine were s. evenly balanced that Rob was fully as comfortable as if reposing upo. a bed of down. He had become somewhat accustomed to passing the nigh. in the air and now slept remarkably well, having no fear of burglar. or fire or other interruptions that dwellers in cities are subject to.

One thing, however, he should have remembered: that he was in a. ancient and little known part of the world and reposing above a se. famous in fable as the home of many fierce and terrible creatures;while not far away lay the land of the dragon, the simurg and othe. ferocious monsters.

Rob may have read of these things in fairy tales and books of travel. but if so they had entirely slipped his mind; so he slumbere. peacefully and actually snored a little, I believe, towards morning.

But even as the red sun peeped curiously over the horizon he wa. awakened by a most unusual disturbance--a succession of hoarse scream. and a pounding of the air as from the quickly revolving blades of som. huge windmill.

He rubbed his eyes and looked around.