atulated himself on his foresight in not being
burdened with umbrella or raincoat, since his elevated position
rendered him secure from rain-clouds.

But, having cut himself off from the earth, there remained nothing to
see except the clear sky overhead and the tumbling clouds beneath; so
he took from his pocket the Automatic Record of Events, and watched
with breathless interest the incidents occurring in different parts of
the world. A big battle was being fought in the Philippines, and so
fiercely was it contested that Rob watched its progress for hours, with
rapt attention. Finally a brave rally by the Americans sent their foes
to the cover of the woods, where they scattered in every direction,
only to form again in a deep valley hidden by high hills.

"If only I was there," thought Rob, "I could show that captain where to
find the rebels and capture them. But I guess the Philippines are
rather out of my way, so our soldiers will never know how near they are
to a complete victory."

The boy also found considerable amusement in watching the course of an
insurrection in Venezuela, where opposing armies of well-armed men
preferred to bluster and threaten rather than come to blows.

During the evening he found that an "important event" was Madame
Bernhardt's production of a new play, and Rob followed it from
beginning to end with great enjoyment, although he felt a bit guilty at
not having purchased a ticket.

"But it's a crowded house, anyway," he reflected, "and I'm not taking
up a reserved seat or keeping any one else from seeing the show. So
where's the harm? Yet it seems to me if these Records get to be
common, as the Demon wishes, people will all stay at home and see the
shows, and the poor actors 'll starve to death."

The thought made him uneasy, and he began, for the first time, to
entertain a doubt of the Demon's wisdom in forcing such devices upon
humanity.

The clouds had now passed away and the moon sent her rays to turn the
edges of the waves into glistening showers of jewels.

Rob closed the lid of the wonderful Record of Events and soon fell into
a deep sleep that held him unconscious for many hours.

When he awoke he gave a start of surprise, for beneath him was land.
How long it was since he had left the ocean behind him he could not
guess, but his first thought was to set the indicator of the traveling
machine to zero and to hover over the country until he could determine
where he was.