"Here goes the last strand that ties us to earth!" cried the professor, as, with the slash of a knife he severed the rope. Up shot the air ship. "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the inventor. "Who said I would fail! We are off!" "Thot's all right," muttered Barney; "but will we ivver come back?" "Look!" cried Frank, pointing downward; "there is Professor Scotch! We are already passing over the town." It was true; in a remarkably brief space of time the air ship had sailed out of the glen and was rising above the town. Looking downward, they saw Professor Scotch and a number of persons, including Walter Clyde and two rough-looking companions, staring up at the _Eagle_. "Good-by, professor," shouted Frank, leaning out of the car and waving his hat. "We're off in search of the last of the Danites." They saw the professor dance wildly around and beckon to them. Then his voice came faintly to their ears: "Here, here, you rascals! come right back here this minute! If you don't, I shall have to----" They could understand no more, for the swiftly rising air ship carried them beyond the reach of his voice. Professor Scudmore was chuckling to himself, as he worked at the apparatus which controlled the sails and rudders. "It is a success, and my fortune is made!" he was saying. "I shall become richer than Jay Gould ever was! Ha! ha! ha! I shall not only be rich, but I shall be honored!" "Oi don't loike th' way he is actin', Frankie," whispered Barney. "Thot laugh does not sound natural at all, at all." "You are right," admitted Frank. "Is it possible we have started out on this kind of a cruise with a man whose brain has been turned?" "It may be thot." "The situation will not be at all pleasant if it turns out that way." "He is getting control av th' ship. See how he handles her now, me b'y." It was true that the inventor was getting control of the _Eagle_, and he was beginning to "put her through her paces," as it were. He ran before the wind, then luffed and took first one tack and then the other. The remarkable craft behaved very well. "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the professor, wildly. "I am the king of the air! I am the first man to make a successful air ship. The world and all its countries are mine! I can destroy armies and change the destiny of nations! I am the greatest man who ever lived!" "By Jove!" muttered Frank, in alarm; "I believe the man is going mad!" "It looks loike thot," admitted the Irish boy. "In which case, this will be the worst scrape we ever got into, Barney. That is plain enough to see." "Roight, me laddybuck! An' th' professor will soay it wur judgment on us fer runnin' away." "He will. But we ought to be able to handle this man between us, if it comes to a struggle with him." "We can; but can we handle th' ship afther thot, Oi dunno?" "That is a question we cannot answer till we try the trick. But there may be no trouble at all with Scudmore if we do not anger him."