st scrambling on
board when he again escaped, shooting into the air with considerable
speed.

Indeed, the instrument now worked better than at any time since he had
reached the cannibal island, and the boy was greatly delighted.

The wind at first sent him spinning away to the south, but he continued
to rise until he was above the air currents, and the storm raged far
beneath him. Then he set the indicator to the northwest and
breathlessly waited to see if it would obey. Hurrah! away he sped at a
fair rate of speed, while all his anxiety changed to a feeling of sweet
contentment.

His success had greatly surprised him, but he concluded that the jar
caused by dropping the instrument had relieved the pressure upon the
works, and so helped rather than harmed the free action of the electric
currents.

While he moved through the air with an easy, gliding motion he watched
with much interest the storm raging below. Above his head the sun was
peacefully shining and the contrast was strange and impressive. After
an hour or so the storm abated, or else he passed away from it, for the
deep blue of the ocean again greeted his eyes. He dropped downward
until he was about a hundred feet above the water, when he continued
his northwesterly course.

But now he regretted having interfered for a moment with the action of
the machine, for his progress, instead of being swift as a bird's
flight, became slow and jerky, nor was he sure that the damaged machine
might not break down altogether at any moment. Yet so far his progress
was in the right direction, and he resolved to experiment no further
with the instrument, but to let it go as it would, so long as it
supported him above the water. However irregular the motion might be,
it was sure, if continued, to bring him to land in time, and that was
all he cared about just then.

When night fell his slumber was broken and uneasy, for he wakened more
than once with a start of fear that the machine had broken and he was
falling into the sea. Sometimes he was carried along at a swift pace,
and again the machine scarcely worked at all; so his anxiety was
excusable.

The following day was one of continued uneasiness for the boy, who
began to be harrassed by doubts as to whether, after all, he was moving
in the right direction. The machine had failed at one time in this
respect and it might again. He had lost all confidence in its accuracy.

In spite of these perplexities Rob