Rob was quickly surrounded by a crowd of the villagers, who chattere. fiercely and made threatening motions in his direction; but as th. chief cried out to them a warning in the native tongue they kept . respectful distance and contented themselves with brandishing thei. spears and clubs.
"If any of your fellows come nearer," Rob said to the fat chief, "I'l. knock 'em over.""What you make do?" asked the chief, nervously.
"Watch sharp, and you'll see," answered Rob. Then he made a mockin. bow to the circle and continued: "I'm pleased to have met you fellows. and proud to think you like me well enough to want to eat me; but I'. in a bit of a hurry to-day, so I can't stop to be digested.. Afte. which, as the crowd broke into a hum of surprise, he added: "Good-day. black folks!" and quickly turned the indicator of his travelin. machine to the word "up."Slowly he rose into the air, until his heels were just above th. gaping blacks; but there he stopped short. With a thrill of fear h. glanced at the indicator. It was pointed properly, and he knew at onc. that something was wrong with the delicate mechanism that controlle. it. Probably the pressure of the rope across its face, when he wa. bound, had put it out of order. There he was, seven feet in the air. but without the power to rise an inch farther.
This short flight, however, had greatly astonished the blacks, who. seeing his body suspended in mid-air, immediately hailed him as a god. and prostrated themselves upon the ground before him.
The fat chief had seen something of white men in his youth, and ha. learned to mistrust them. So, while he remained as prostrate as th. rest, he peeped at Rob with one of his little black eyes and saw tha. the boy was ill at ease, and seemed both annoyed and frightened.
So he muttered some orders to the man next him, who wriggled along th. ground until he had reached a position behind Rob, when he rose an. pricked the suspended "god" with the point of his spear.
"Ouch!" yelled the boy; "stop that!"
He twisted his head around, and seeing the black again make a movemen. with the spear, Rob turned his electric tube upon him and keeled hi. over like a ten-pin.
The natives, who had looked up at his cry of pain, again prostrate. themselves, kicking their toes against the ground in a terrifie. tattoo at this new evidence of the god's powers.
The situation was growing somewhat strained by this time, and Rob di. not know what the savages would decide to do next; so he thought i. best to move away from them, since he was unable to rise to a greate. height. He turned the indicator towards the south, where a leve. space appeared between the trees; but instead of taking that directio. he moved towards the northeast, a proof that his machine had now becom. absolutely unreliable. Moreover, he was slowly approaching the fire. which, although it had ceased blazing, was a mass of glowing red embers.
In his excitement he turned the indicator this way and that, trying t. change the direction of his flight, but the only result of hi. endeavor was to carry him directly over the fire, where he came to . full stop.
"Murder. Help. Fire and blazes!" he cried, as he felt the glow o. the coals beneath him. "I'll be roasted, after all. Here; help. Fatty, help!"The fat chief sprang to his feet and came to the rescue. He reache. up, caught Rob by the heels, and pulled him down to the ground, awa. from the fire. But the next moment, as he clung to the boy's feet. they both soared into the air again, and, although now far enough fro. the fire to escape its heat, the savage, finding himself lifted fro. the earth, uttered a scream of horror and let go of Rob, to fall hea. over heels upon the ground.
The other blacks had by this time regained their feet, and now the. crowded around their chief and set him upright again.
Rob continued to float in the air, just above their heads, and no. abandoned all thoughts of escaping by means of his wrecked travelin. machine. But he resolved to regain a foothold upon the earth and tak. his chances of escape by running rather than flying. So he turned th. indicator to the word "down," and very slowly it obeyed, allowing him. to his great relief, to sink gently to the ground.
