"What is it?" asked Jack, who accompanied him.
"The plates--the plates of the Etherium motor!" cried the
scientist. "They have been stolen!"
CHAPTER IX
A CRAZY MACHINIST
For a moment Jack stared at Mr. Roumann. He did not appreciate
the seriousness of the announcement. The scientist was hurrying
here and there, looking under benches and on tables for missing
plates.
"Do you mean the plates that make the motor go?" asked Jack.
"No, not those, but the plates from which the mysterious force is
projected into space--the plates that give the forward motion to
the projectile. They have been stolen. They were taken last
night, and the man Andy fired at stole them!"
"Will that prevent us from making the trip?"
"No. I have duplicate plates."
"Then little harm is done."
"No particular harm is done to the projectile, but I am afraid
that, with the plates in his possession, the man may discover the
secret of the power that I use. Oh, I should have locked them
up, but I thought they would be safe."
"What has happened?" asked Mr. Henderson, entering the machine
shop at that moment.
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