"Lowell Howard Morrow - Islands in the Air" - читать интересную книгу автора (Morrow Lowell Howard)

"Locally," I echoed at last, staring at him blankly. "And for what purpose?"

"To build islands in the sky."

"Islands!" I gasped.

"To be sure, my boy. Do you not realize the need of such things? Airplanes are creatures of the air--are
they not? Therefore they should fuel in the air, and the beacons set to guide their course should shine in
the element through which they pass."

"That is true," I assented, catching a faint glimmering of his stupendous scheme. "But what is to hold your
islands in place and keep them from blowing away? And will they not become a serious menace to air
travel rather than an aid?"

"By no means," he replied confidently. "I will not only control gravitation, I will also use its force as a
repellent."

"A repellent?"

"Exactly." The professor drew his chair nearer and leaned toward me with shining eyes, his hands spread
out comprehensively. "Instead of attracting objects to its center the earth must be made to repel them," he
continued in a low voice, glancing furtively about the brilliantly lighted room, then at the open windows
where the breeze stirred the curtains lazily. "I have invented what I call a gravity repeller, which causes
the gravitation lines of force to bend through 180deg. and lift an object away from the earth with the
same force that it would ordinarily be attracted."

"I understand," I said doubtfully.

"Well, then we have only to perfect my device and operate it on a large scale."

"But that would throw the world out of balance and destroy all life."

"Don't be alarmed, my boy," went on the professor, smiling complacently, "as I have intimated I do not
propose a blanket control. I shall tap this energy only in spots for the benefit of my--that is--our islands."

The Professor's Fear

THE professor's face glowed with enthusiasm as he looked at me. I saw that he was looking to me for
funds to further his experiment. As the goddess of fortune had blessed me with more than my share of
riches and I loved the eccentric professor I listened sympathetically. I may say that my interest was
somewhat heightened by my friendship for Greta, who was a skillful air pilot and who had given me many
pleasurable rides in her plane which embodied many of the professor's radical ideas of airplane
construction.

"What do you want me to do?" I encouraged.

"Well, Walnut Ridge is a good place to start."

"Walnut Ridge--why that is away out in the wilderness."