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His shoulders were sore and stiff from the heavy strain upon them of the
previous day, and he wished more than once that he had some of his
mother's household liniment to rub them with. Yet so great was his
delight at reaching once more his native land that all discomforts were
speedily forgotten.
Much as he would have enjoyed a day in the great metropolis of the
Pacific slope, Rob dared not delay longer than to take a general view of
the place, to note its handsome edifices and to wonder at the throng of
Chinese inhabiting one section of the town.
These things were much more plainly and quickly viewed by Rob from
above than by threading a way through the streets on foot; for he looked
down upon the city as a bird does, and covered miles with a single
glance.
Having satisfied his curiosity without attempting to alight, he turned to
the southeast and followed the peninsula as far as Palo Alto, where he
viewed the magnificent buildings of the university. Changing his course
to the east, he soon reached Mount Hamilton, and, being attracted by the
great tower of the Lick Observatory, he hovered over it until he found he
had attracted the excited gaze of the inhabitants, who doubtless observed
him very plainly through the big telescope.
But so unreal and seemingly impossible was the sight witnessed by the
learned astronomers that they have never ventured to make the incident
public, although long after the boy had darted away into the east they
argued together concerning the marvelous and incomprehensible vision.
Afterward they secretly engrossed the circumstance upon their records,
but resolved never to mention it in public, lest their wisdom and veracity
should be assailed by the skeptical.
Meantime Rob rose to a higher altitude, and sped swiftly across the great
continent. By noon he sighted Chicago, and after a brief inspection of
the place from the air determined to devote at least an hour to forming
the acquaintance of this most wonderful and cosmopolitan city.
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