L. Frank Baum Read Online Free

sisters' amusement, and turned the indicator of
the little instrument to the word "up."
    Immediately he began to rise into the air.
    "Don't worry about me!" he called down to them. "Good-by!"
    Mrs. Joslyn, with a scream of terror, hid her face in her hands.
    "He'll break his neck!" cried the astounded father, tipping back his
head to look after his departing son.
    "Come back! Come back!" shouted the girls to the soaring adventurer.
    "I will—some day!" was the far-away answer.
    Having risen high enough to pass over the tallest tree or steeple, Rob
put the indicator to the east of the compass-dial and at once began
moving rapidly in that direction.
    The sensation was delightful. He rode as gently as a feather floats,
without any exertion at all on his own part; yet he moved so swiftly
that he easily distanced a railway train that was speeding in the same
direction.
    "This is great!" reflected the youth. "Here I am, traveling in fine
style, without a penny to pay any one! And I've enough food to last me
a month in my coat pocket. This electricity is the proper stuff, after
all! And the Demon's a trump, and no mistake. Whee-ee! How small
everything looks down below there. The people are bugs, and the houses
are soap-boxes, and the trees are like clumps of grass. I seem to be
passing over a town. Guess I'll drop down a bit, and take in the
sights."
    He pointed the indicator to the word "down," and at once began dropping
through the air. He experienced the sensation one feels while
descending in an elevator. When he reached a point just above the town
he put the indicator to the zero mark and remained stationary, while he
examined the place. But there was nothing to interest him,
particularly; so after a brief survey he once more ascended and
continued his journey toward the east.
    At about two o'clock in the afternoon he reached the city of Boston,
and alighting unobserved in a quiet street he walked around for several
hours enjoying the sights and wondering what people would think of him
if they but knew his remarkable powers. But as he looked just like any
other boy no one noticed him in any way.
    It was nearly evening, and Rob had wandered down by the wharves to look
at the shipping, when his attention was called to an ugly looking bull
dog, which ran toward him and began barking ferociously.
    "Get out!" said the boy, carelessly, and made a kick at the brute.
    The dog uttered a fierce growl and sprang upon him with bared teeth and
flashing red eyes. Instantly Rob drew the electric tube from his
pocket, pointed it at the dog and pressed the button. Almost at the
same moment the dog gave a yelp, rolled over once or twice and lay
still.
    "I guess that'll settle him," laughed the boy; but just then he heard
an angry shout, and looking around saw a policeman running toward him.
    "Kill me dog, will ye—eh?" yelled the officer; "well, I'll just run ye
in for that same, an' ye'll spend the night in the lockup!" And on he
came, with drawn club in one hand and a big revolver in the other.
    "You'll have to catch me first," said Rob, still laughing, and to the
amazement of the policeman he began rising straight into the air.
    "Come down here! Come down, or I'll shoot!" shouted the fellow,
flourishing his revolver.
    Rob was afraid he would; so, to avoid accidents, he pointed the tube at
him and pressed the button. The red-whiskered policeman keeled over
quite gracefully and fell across the body of the dog, while Rob
continued to mount upward until he was out of sight of those in the
streets.
    "That was a narrow escape," he thought, breathing more freely. "I
hated to paralyze that policeman, but he might have sent a bullet after
me. Anyhow, he'll be all right again in an hour, so I needn't worry."
    It was beginning to grow dark, and he wondered what he should do next.
Had he possessed any money he would have descended to the town and
taken a bed at a hotel, but he had left home without a single penny.
Fortunately the nights were warm at