Cadbery had just moved into London , England to start a new life.  He got off the ship with only his backpack and his bicycle, and he had only 500 Euros in his pocket.  He rode his bicycle across the Thames River on the Tower Bridge and passed the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  He needed to get a job and a place to live in London .

     He stopped at a job agency and read their ads, looking for a butler's position.  And there was such a job, at 1000 Euros a month with a place to stay provided.  The job was at Radon's Cyborg Pterodactyloid Man Art Studio.  Reading on in the news, Cadbery learned that works of art had been stolen from the British Museum of Art.  He might need to double as a guard.

     Two men were in the agency.  One of them said, “Radon the Pterodactyloid Man is a slave driver.  That flying lizard wants his bath water fifteen inches deep, no more and no less.  And his toast at 85 degrees, no more and no less.”

     The other man said, “I understand about the temperature of toast.”

     “He treats his butlers like slaves.”

     “Well, he's an artist and 21 years of age. He was the first living thing with wings on its body to fly across the North Atlantic Ocean .”

     Cadbery said, “Well, I do need a butler's job badly and I will work for Radon.  I just got in London and only have just my bicycle, backpack and 500 Euros to my name.  And does Radon have a room for his butlers?”

     “I need you to fill out this form on your background,” the man said.

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     “You are Cadbery,” Radon said, as they talked at his art studio.

     “That's right, sir.”

     “What jobs you did in the past?”

     “I have been a fry cook and goal keeper in a soccer team and worked in factories a lot and public works like fireman, and did office work and book-keeping and butler work too.”

     “I am glad you tell me THAT,” Radon said.  “How did you get here to London , England ?”

     “I got here on a cargo ship. I escaped.”

     “Escaped from what?”

     “From females.”

     “A lady's man.  Well, there's no females in my household, and here is your schedule.  And you do not do any horse playing of any kinds or you be out looking for another job.”

     The next day, Radon was flying to Griff the Griffin 's men's club to play cards.  During the game, Griff talked to Radon about the art work that had been stolen from the British Museum of Art.  “And that art work is priceless.  The museum contacted the police department to catch the thief.  But it's a big world out there and there's a lot of places that a thief can hide.”

     “Well, in the 21 st Century you go anywhere in the world fast,” Radon said.  “Like crossing the North Atlantic Ocean before the 19 th Century.  It took months to cross it and it stayed that way for centuries.  Then came the 19 th Century and the invention of the steam engine.  And the time to cross the North Atlantic took days, not months with sails.  Then in the 20 th Century they invent the airplane.  Now to cross the North Atlantic takes hours, not days like the old steamship.  And back in the 19 th Century there was a famous writer named Jules Verne, who had a vision of the future and wrote lots of books.  It's he who got science fiction started.  In fact, he is the father of science fiction.  And there's one story he wrote called AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS.  He wrote that back in 1872.  And the start of the story is that you can go around the world in 80 hours, when flying machines come out.”

     Griff wanted to make a bet with Radon.  Radon said, “I will take your bet.  I will go around the world in 76 days.

     “This is the 21 st Century and transportation has changed a lot since the 19 th Century,” Radon went on.  “So as I go around the world, if I go in cars, I will not go faster than ten miles an hour just like the old horse wagons.  But to a point?  This will be like a vacation.  So I will stay at places around the world to make up time that I save by traveling in the 20 th Century mode.  I will stay on the ground most of the time.  And to stay in contact?  Well, the telegraph is obsolete, but e-mails are like a modern telegraph.”

     Griff said to Radon, “You got your bet.”

     “Tomorrow I will take the Euro train to Paris and I will be on the Le shutter train to Paris .”

     “Your time starts tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. on December 16.  And your time to be back in my club is on March the first.  That's a Sunday.”

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     The next day Cadbery was in his room reading a magazine.  Radon called him on the speaker.  At first Cadbery didn't answer.  Radon made a second call.  He told him, “Call down to my art studio.”

     “I am on my way.”

     First Cadbery thought to use the stairs, but he went down the fire escape chute to get to Radon's studio fast.  As he came in, Radon said, “I called two times?”

     “I came as fast as I could.”

     “Well, you are only human.  But tomorrow morning we will be traveling out of London .”

     “Where are we going?”

     “Around the world.”

     “Then you will not be in your art studio tomorrow for your breakfast.  AROUND THE WORLD?!”

     “Yes. So start packing.”

     Cadbery got a small amount of luggage together, including a red bag, which Radon showed him was full of money.  “DO NOT LET THE RED BAG OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!!”

     “You can trust me…I will treat it like a female.”

     “Do not have sex with it, just watch it.”

'

     There had been a workers' strike in the Euro tunnel and the Le shutter train tickets had to be cancelled.  They considered flying, but it wasn't an available mode of transportation in Verne's story.  The man in the travel agency told them about a soccer ball balloon.  He said, “It is not for sale.  But I am the coach in the London soccer team and that balloon is priceless.  But if you join my team as one of my players and make my team win our first world cup tomorrow, then YES the soccer ball balloon will be yours.”

     The two soccer teams got on the field the next day.  The announcers said that the English team had two new players.  “That reptilian soccer player is Radon the Pterodactyloid Man.  I remember 21 years ago, he was the first living thing that flew across the Atlantic Ocean to reach Paris from the USA .  He flew over London .  And I remember doing a live news report on Radon flying over Buckingham Palace and all.  He made headlines in all the newspapers of Europe .”

     Another announcer said, “Radon is a Pterodactyloid Man and it will be hard to run with his big wings on the soccer field.  But I've seen him run and walk on the ground in the past.  He can pull his wings in to his body and walk and run on two legs.  And this soccer will be the same thing to watch.  Because Radon's body is for flying in the sky, not running on soccer fields.”

     The referee came in the center of the field with a ball in his hands.  Radon and a player of the other team were in the center of the field.  The referee said, “As I throw the ball up, the game will start, and may the best soccer team win.”  He threw it into the air and got out of the way.  It came down and Radon hit it with his head.  It headed toward the other team's net and an English player  started rolling it there, but a player from the other team tried to kick it away from him.  He still had the ball and kicked it into the other team's net, but the other team's keeper blocked it.  He got the ball and kicked it out into the field.  Radon saw it coming his way and jumped up and hit it on the top of his crest.  It headed for the other team's  net, but another player caught it with his head and kicked and rolled the ball to the England net.  Cadbery jumped out to stop it but the ball was out of reach and went into the net.  The other team got the first goal of the game.

     Cadbery kicked the ball out into the field.  Radon got it and kicked and rolled it to the other team's net.  Then he kicked it up to his head and hit it with his crest.  The keeper tried to block it but it slipped out of his hands and went in the net, bringing the score to a tie.  The referee called time out because it was half-time.

     In the second half the referee tossed the ball and Radon hit it with his beak.  For most of the second half the score remained tied at one to one.  Cadbery blocked a ball going into the net and kicked it out into the field and Radon got it.  The other team tried to get it back.  But Radon had it.  He got to the other net, kicked the ball up in the air and hit it with his beak.  The keeper jumped out to stop it, but the ball slipped through his grasp and went in the net and SCORE!!  The referee called out that time was up.  The England team won the match!! And England was the world cup victor.

     The English players carried Radon on their shoulders for quite some time, then he flew off with Cadbery on his back.  All the people cheered.  The announcer said, “Of all the years I've been announcing sports in England , I never thought that a winged man would win a soccer game. His wings are like a straitjacket on the ground.  But Radon can play soccer better than any other man.”

     A man called out on the loudspeaker.  “Can I have your attention, please?  The Queen of England is going in the soccer field to make a speech.”  A 4-horse buggy entered the field and rode up to the center.  The queen got out and walked up to the coach and Cadbery and Radon and said, “Your soccer team has played outstandingly and won our first world cup for the nation of England .  I would like to have you all for dinner at Buckingham Palace .”

    
They dined well there.  The people had heard of Radon's earlier exploits and he was much discussed.  Morning came and the balloon was readied to depart from London at Buckingham Palace .  First it was inflated with helium gas.  All of the ropes were put on it.  Radon had the backpack he'd used to fly the North Atlantic .  But now there were four walls around the top part of the pack, about two feet high, and a seat at its back part.  It was fashioned thus so his butler would have a place to sit, and baggage could be fit there as well.

     After all of the ropes were installed, the other end of the ropes were installed around the frame of the backpack.  Radon lay on the ground as the redcoats of Buckingham Palace installed the pack and clamps on his stainless steel shell.  But the soccer ball balloon wanted to take off, so there was one rope on the ground to keep it from floating away.

     Just before their departure, the queen had her photographer take a picture.  Radon with his backpack and the soccer balloon were in the background, and in front of him stood the coach holding the world soccer cup.  Visible also was Cadbery holding a picnic basket with a champagne bottle and two glasses extended.  The photographer used an old-fashioned camera from the 19 th Century.  He held up the flash powder stick and said, “Say CHEESE!!”  The three said it and the photographer took the shot.  POOF!!  All the people at the palace cheered.

     Cadbery untied the rope that held down the balloon and it started to ascend slowly.  Radon didn't want to leave without Cadbery on his back and he shouted “CADBERY!  CADBERY!”  Cadbery came to and ran up and grabbed Radon's wings, then climbed up them onto his arms.  Radon pulled him up past his head and crest.  He got him into his backpack.  The balloon went up and up with everybody cheering and kicking soccer balls in the air.

     The wind blew them to the west and the balloon floated past the House of Parliament and Big Ben.  “This balloon is easy to operate,” Radon told Cadbery.  “I have a lot of sandbags on my chest muscles.  I let some sand out and we go up.  I pull the ring on the cord to let out some gas and we go down.  But I have to be careful not to let too much gas out.”

     “GAS!?  I forgot to turn off the gas of my hot water heater in my apartment!”

     “Well, it will keep on burning at your expense.”

     The balloon went up the River Thames and floated up the London eye.  Radon told Cadbery, “That eye's a work of art.  I have lots of color drawings of the eye at sunsets and sunrises!  What's the queen doing in the capsule of the eye?”  He pulled the cord to descend to the top capsule, then wrapped his wings around it.  He said to the queen, “Why weren't you at Buckingham Palace to watch my departure, and what are you doing in the capsule of the London eye?”

     “I have seen lots of your drawings of the eye on your website and was surfing the Internet.  Just before your balloon was inflated I had a close-up of it and had the operator take me up to the top so I could make a video of your balloon flight from here.  I like the London eye a lot.  So the name of my video is ‘The London eye has an eye on the winged man that made England victor.'  This makes my video even better.  You have your wings hugging the capsule and the balloon.  It looks like you love the eye so much you're having sex with it.”

     “I am not a sick Pterodactyloid Man and I am not having sex with the London eye.  But just like you said, it looks like it.  But that is a misunderstanding.  And I thank you a lot for making this video.  So I will leave off this and go around the world.”

     He let go, let some sand out and floated up, past the London bridge, out of sound and out of London …

     Just before the balloon got to the channel they saw the end of the Euro tunnel train station.  A lot of its workers were on strike and picketing.  There was a big sign that said that most of the workers were part-timers and they wanted to be paid the same by the hour as the full-timers.

     The balloon floated over the entrance.  The workers had made art work of giant plugs that were plugging up and closing the tunnel.  There was a big sign that said the Euro tunnel workers were on strike.  It explained the action.  Cadbery said to Radon, “Now I have seen the tunnel strike.”

     The balloon floated across the channel.  They saw a lot of ferry boats in it with writing on their sides saying “People do not need to cross the English Channel .  These ferries will take them across while the Euro tunnel workers are on strike.”  So people were using this service instead.

     Radon said, “This tunnel strike is like the GPS that I remember 23 years ago.  I remember that I was working for the postal service, carrying mail from the Bahamas to Miami and back.  I flew over a lot of cruise ships.  When the GPS was on strike for the part time worker to be paid as much as the full-timer, people used the regular service, and it was like a madhouse!  I had to do a lot of work!  My muscles got so tired my wings folded up behind my back and I fell in the ocean.  But I was in front of a cruise ship and the captain saved me.  That was before I was simulated as a cyborg pterodactyloid man.”

     They got to the mouth of the Seine and floated up it to Paris .  The balloon floated past the Arc De Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower .  Radon said, “The most famous landmark in the city is the Eiffel Tower .  It was built for the 1888 world fair.  Back in 1902 Paris was thinking of destroying it.  But it was saved from the wrecking ball because it could be used as an antenna.  It's used now like a cell phone tower.  It has lasted a long time in the same condition, no one knows how.  The most famous restaurant in Paris is in the Eiffel Tower .”

     They passed over the Notre Dame Cathedral.  Radon said, “I do not understand why the builders of Notre Dame have a giant statue of gargoyles.  Notre Dame is a church of God .”

     Then they floated south away from the city and over the Phoenix Bird World's Theme Amusement Park .  They went over the Bird Castle .  Radon said, “That's grown from nothing to the Phoenix Company, one of the biggest cartoon and movie producers on Earth.”

     They floated away and into Spain .  They crossed the north mountains and Radon let some sand out and said, “Get the champagne bottle bucket ready.  We can toast the soccer ball balloon and this flight.”

     As they went over the mountain tops Radon grabbed some snow.  Cadbery put the champagne bucket in front of the back pack basket just by Radon's crest.  Radon put the snow in the bucket.  Then Cadbery put the bottle in the snow to chill it.  While Cadbery poured, Radon made a short speech.  “This is our toast for the English soccer team for winning our first world cup.  And to Cadbery for being the best soccer keeper to help England be victorious!”  And they clinked glasses.

;

     Back in London at Griff's club, Griff told the members, “I just got an e-mail saying that Radon is flying in a soccer ball balloon.”

     A club member said, “I do not understand why a pterodactyloid man wants to fly in a balloon.  Radon can fly using his wings.”

     “Well, Radon wants to do what was done in Jules Verne's 19 th Century story.”  He summed up the story for them of getting the soccer balloon.  “Also, he wants someone here to turn off the gas jet at his man's apartment.”

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     They were floating to the city of Madrid .  Radon said, “I see Madrid .  It's time to land.”  He pulled the cord with his right foot.  But the gas valve would not open. “The gas valve is stuck,” he told Cadbery.  “Can you get up there?”

     “I'll try.”  Cadbery got out of his seat and climbed the ropes.  He slipped halfway, then pulled himself back in.  :”Be careful,” Radon said.  “It's a long way down.  And I'm too attached with the balloon to catch you.”  But Cadbery kept with it.  Soon he was pulling hard to open the gas valve.  But the valve broke off!  Helium was escaping.  Radon said, “I wanted you to open the valve to descend, not break it off.  Now the balloon is deflating!  So get on my back.  We're going to Madrid .  If there isn't enough gas left, I'm ready to release myself from the balloon.”

     The balloon, however, descended successfully.  The people in the market shops saw the balloon and were cheering to Radon and Cadbury.  Then the balloon floated past the top of an old building and knocked down a big stone cross.  It floated down into the market shops.  Radon landed on his feet and released the balloon from his body.  It arose quickly and the wind blew it away out of sight.

     The people in the shops were glad to see the two.  A policeman came to see what was going on.  Radon asked him, “Where's a hotel where me and Cadbery can stay for the night?”

     “There's a hotel called the Matador.”

     “That's great!”

     So Radon and Cadbery checked into the Matador Hotel and had the bellhop put their stuff in their room and Radon tipped the bellhop.  They went to the dining room for dinner.  “And after?” Radon asked.  “I need to find the owner of this hotel badly!”

     They got their table and sat down to read the menu and decide what they wanted for dinner.  There was a big birthday party going on for the owner of the Matador, a ship connected with the establishment upon which passage could be booked to Egypt .  Men and ladies were dancing around and a lot of Spanish music was being played.  The owner came in.  Cadbery said, “This is our man.  We should ask questions.”

     “Well, this is his birthday party so we should let him enjoy his birthday cake.”

     Cadbery saw a lady that he liked and wanted to dance with her.  He went over and pulled the red tablecloth from under the owner's birthday cake to flourish as he danced.  The people there liked his dancing a lot and started to cheer when the dancing was over.  Radon said, “Why did you pull the tablecloth from the owner's table?  The owner will not sell us tickets to go on the Matador.”  He went and apologized and said he needed to buy tickets to Egypt on the owner's ship.

     The owner said, “Yes, you can go on the Matador first class.  HEY!!  You're Radon!  It's a treat to see you.  Five years ago I retired from being a matador after a paralyzing injury.  But, influenced by your cyborg simulation, I found a doctor to operate on me and was able to walk!  My name is Jack.  I like what your butler did with the tablecloth, and I want him to be a matador in the bullfight tomorrow.  I was the best matador in Spain , but now I'm retired.”

     “You want my butler to go in the ring?  That's suicide!”

     Cadbery said, “Let me try.  I want to go for it!”

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     The next day came and all the people were at the bullring.  Radon sat next to Jack.  Cadbery was dressed like a matador.  The band was playing Spanish bullfight songs.  A bull was let in.  A very experienced matador took him, and the people said OLE!

    
Now it was Cadbery's turn.  He went to the center of the ring and the people made no sound because there was a new matador in the ring.  He held the red cape up in the air.  The bull had a look at it and then ran for him.  Cadbery pulled the cape over its head and it got caught on the bull's horns.  He lost the cape and the bull started chasing him.  He ran up to the other matadors.  The people in the ring were laughing at him.  He wanted his cape back badly.  So he stood in front of the bull and the bull ran at him.  But just before the bull got to him he jumped in the air and landed on the bull's back and rode it.  The people liked that a lot and shouted OLE!  He grabbed the horns and got his cape back.  He jumped off and landed on his feet.  OLE!  He made twelve more passes and all the other matadors liked his fighting skills a lot.  The bull tired out.  The other matadors ran to him and carried him around the ring with everybody cheering for Cadbery the matador!

     Jack said, “My ship is yours and I'm surprised at your butler's skills, although matadors do not ride bulls.  But I can understand that he wanted his cape back.  Tonight the Matador will depart from Spain , and you're going first class.”

     Radon flew down into the ring and said to Cadbery, “I'm surprised what you can do.  First you've been the best soccer keeper from England 's team and now you've been the best matador in Spain .  So ‘YES' we're going first class on the Matador tonight.”

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     They boarded the ship while it was still getting on its fuel and food and people.  Radon said, “Please have our passports stamped.”  So Cadbery got off and went to the passport officer.

     Mac the English detective was with the officer.  He said to Cadbery, “Just a moment, who's the owner of this passport?  Radon the Pterodactyloid.”

     “Radon is staying aboard,” Cadbery said.

     Mac said to Cadbery, “Radon has to come in person.”

     “Then I will tell Radon about it.”

     He went back to the Matador with Mac following.  Cadbery went in to tell Radon, then Cadbery and Mac got off the ship.  Mac said, “Going for a look around Spain ?”

     “Radon and myself are going around the world.”

     “I just saw a winged man give a lot of Euros to the captain of the Matador to get to Egypt faster.  I think that winged man is rich.”

     “Radon does have a lot of Euros.”

     “You've been Radon's butler for years.”

     “I just got hired two days before we departed from London .”

q

     It was two hours before the Matador was to depart for Spain .  Mac had gone to the police department to tell them about the crime of stealing a work of art from the London Art Museum .  The police had a warrant for Radon's arrest as soon as he set foot in England .  The police officer told him, “Radon is an artist and the picture you're showing me is Radon taking his own work from the museum.  But I just got a call from the London police department that you will investigate and stay under cover in this case.”

     The Matador was now in the process of departure from Spain .  The ropes were being untied from the dock.  It was heading east on the Mediterranean Sea .  Radon liked the ride a lot.  He had tea served to him at 4:00.  Mac and Cadberry sat together in the dining room.  Mac said, “I just retired from being a detective in London and to start my retirement I'm going around the world as a vacation.”

     The next day on the bridge of the Matador the captain speculated they'd be in Egypt on the following morning.  It was two days ahead of schedule, a new record!!  Radon said, “Captain, thank you for getting myself and my butler to Egypt two days ahead of schedule and YES I will tip you.  Cadbery, the red bag.”  Radon got two envelopes and said, “Here's my tip to you Jack, and here's my tip to the captain of the Matador.”

     Radon stood at the front end of the Matador for the last time.  He watched a sunset and said, “This is my last day on the Matador.”

     The next morning the Matador docked in Egypt .  They got off and went to the train station to board the Asia Express, departing from Cairo to Xiamen , China .  Radon said, “The Asia Express train engine is a 19 th Century model.  Just like back in Jules Verne's time.  We see a lot of Asia from this ride.”

     Mac went to see the station police to get them to arrest Radon.  He offered them 200,000 Euros to make the arrest.  “I can't do that!” the chief said. “You do have a lack of proof and more proof is needed to arrest the winged lizard man.”

     Cadbery was at that time walking the streets around the train station.  A lot of people had turbans on their heads. Cadbery saw a man in a turban playing a flute and he saw a rope coming up out of a basket.  He saw the sting on the rope, so he knocked the man on the head and grabbed the rope and made off for a rooftop using it, with men following him for wrecking their rope trick show.  Later he saw an ox and took his coat off to be a matador.  It ran up the street and a party of men in turbans came up and said “That is a symbol of India !  Kill him!  How dare he threaten the symbol of India ?”  Cadbery was running for his life as he went back to the train station.

     Radon was waiting.  He said, “What's taking so long?”

     Mac said, “Well, Cadbery is playing around with the ladies.”

     The Asia Express was starting to move.  As it did, Cadbery ran up alongside it.  “It's about time you got here!  Get on the train!” Radon said.  The men in turbans came running up.  “What's going on?” Radon asked. Cadbery explained it to him.  Radon said, “The people in India treat the cow as a god.  Be careful in the future.”

     They were heading east from Cairo into Israel .  Mac came up to their booth and said, “There's no place on this train for me to sit and it's a long way to Xiamen .  Can I sit with you till then?”

     “That will be fine.  It will be great having you for company.”

     “There've been some art thefts from the art museum of London .”

     “I've heard about it but my art works are safe there. Some of my art was wrecked by kids, so I took it to remake and bring back to the museum.”

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     The express train was going through Israel .  Radon told Cadbery, “Most of the stories of the Bible are in Israel where Jesus was born and died.”

     Radon, Cadbery and Mac saw the villages and towns in Israel .  There were kids playing and riding their bikes and running around behind the train tracks.  There were a lot of camels all over the farm fields.  They enjoyed sightseeing Israel .  Then the train entered Jordan .  The tracks split into two train tracks, then came back together in Kuwait .  The north track went to Baghdad , Iraq and Kuwait .  The south track went through the north part of Saudi Arabia .  A man with a big red flag waved the driver down and made him stop before the switch.  He told the driver there was a war going on in Iraq .  The United States was at war there and it was dangerous to use the north track.  The south track was the only safe way to travel.

     Before the train started down the south track the driver made a speech and told all of the people on the train, “There's a war going on in Baghdad Iraq .  The United States is bombing most of the cities in Iraq .”  The man at the switch had moved the train to the south track.  They were in Kuwait the next day, then headed to Xiamen .  They were now in Iran .  The track was mostly on the north part of the Persian Gulf .  Radon was looking out at the oil tankers.

     The next day the train was out of Iran and in to Pakistan .  Radon told the others, “On September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden attacked the World Trade Center and the Boston International Airport .  All three planes they used were set to go to California .  But the first plane hit the north tower of the Trade Center , and the second hit the south tower.  The third hit the Pentagon in Washington , D.C.   The fourth and last airplane crashed in a farm field in Pennsylvania .  The people in that one had fought Bin Laden's men's attempt to take over the plane.  They were going to die anyway.  They were brave.  This fourth plane was going to hit the White House.  It was 21 years ago.  I did the ultimate flight across the North Atlantic Ocean and got to Paris .  It started on the rooftop of the White House.  That's where the fourth plane would have hit.  Then I flew over the Pentagon, where the third did hit.  When I got to New York City I flew by the World Trade Center .  There were a lot of people on the rooftop cheering.  That's where they hit. I was so surprised that a giant building had fallen down into itself.  Then I looked up the trade center on the Internet.  It said how it had fallen down.  Most of the frames of the towers were on the outside and 60% and 40% were in the center.  So more space is inside all of the floors of both towers.  That makes a lot of office space in the center.  But when the airplanes hit, the floors fell into the hit spots.  They cascaded down to the floors beneath them, all the way to the street.  It's how the towers are built that made them cascade down.

     “After the attack, the war of Afghanistan got started.  The United States was bombing it and lots of people were looking for Osama Bin Laden.  There are a lot of mountains in Afghanistan and a lot of caves in the mountains.  They couldn't find him in those caves.  He was the planner of the attack.  I think he left Afghanistan before the attack and came here into Pakistan .  But maybe he's not in Asia at all.  He could be anywhere in the world.”

     The train left Pakistan and went on into India .  The three enjoyed the sight of the new country.  They looked at the towns, villages, farm fields and wildlife.  Then they got to a river and up to an old steel tower bridge.  The ends of the bridge looked like a castle.  They crossed the bridge and the three looked at the river where there were a lot of boats.  Just below the center of the bridge was a giant container ship.

     The train entered east China .  They enjoyed the scenery there, too.  There were a lot of statues of dragons.  Cadberry watched a sunset through the train window.

     Two days went by and they were almost to Xiamen .  Radon said, “This train ride through Asia is great.  We're seeing a lot of Asia .”  The train slowed down.  Radon said, “I don't see a train station here in this jungle.”  He got off and walked to the engine.  He asked the driver, “What's the problem?”

     “There is no problem at all.  This is the end of the line.  There's still a hundred miles of track from here to Xiamen .  Passengers have to get their own transportation from here on.”

     Mac said, “Your train line should not sell tickets from Cairo to Xiamen .  THAT'S FRAUD!!!”

     “There's thirty miles of clear path from here to the river, and a river boat called the River-Dragon.”

     It cost them ten thousand Euros to rent camels.  “What a rip off!!” Mac said.

     The camels took them twenty-one miles  of the way to the river, and then, as night was coming, they camped out.  Sounds of people singing were coming from the jungle, so they went to investigate.  They looked from the trees and saw a crowd in the midst of which was a dead man and a lady who was alive tied to a wagon.  There was an effigy of a dragon with flames in its mouth.  The camel guide said to them, “This village has it that if the king should die, the queen should die with him.  So they are being burnt.”

     “I should say,” said Radon.  “That's cold-blooded killing.  There are laws in England and the rest of the world and God's laws too.”

     “This is China and it's Chinese law.  We'd get arrested for interfering with it.”

     As they looked, they found Cadbery was gone.  The wagon was put in the dragon's mouth.  Radon, looking through a telescope, saw Cadbery dressed like the dead king, sitting with the queen.  When he stood up dressed like the dead king, they thought he was the king's ghost and ran away.  Cadbery returned to the others with the lady.  They left the area fast.  Cadbery learned her name was Charlene.

     The next day they got on the River-Dragon.  Charlene told Cadbery, “I do thank the winged man for saving me from death back in the village.”

     “It was me who really went to save you.”

     “Does that winged man have a mate of his own?”

     “Radon does not care about sex and females.”

     The next day they arrived at Xiamen .  They got off and got on rickshaws, which took them to the shipping docks.  Then they got on a ferry to get to the city of Taipel , Taiwan .  Charlene said, “Please take me out of China .  I do not want to be put to death and want to live to be an old lady.”

     “She will stay in our party to England .  Cadbery, this boat is leaving for Taiwan tonight, so get the tickets and no playing around.”

     Mac got a giant idea for a setup.  He said to Cadbery, “You go ahead on the ferry and the rest of our party will join you.”

     “I do not want to be apart from the Pterodactyloid Man.”

     “Well, let's have a farewell drink at the bar.”

     He got Cadbery a mug of ice cold beer.  He asked Cadbery to detain Radon for a few days so he could make a request.  Cadbery refused and went to use the latrine, and while he was gone Cadbery put a tranquilizer in his beer.  They drank a toast when Cadbery got back and Cadbery blacked out.  Two men took Cadbery out of the bar and put him in a rickshaw.  Then they put him in a passenger seat on the ferry and presented a ticket for him.

     “I have been set up,” Cadbery said when he came to.  He checked his pocket and said, “They've stolen all of my money.”

     Mac approached Radon and said, “I see you have missed your boat.”

     “Yes, I know that!  And my butler is gone.  I should call the police.”

     “I would not do that if I were you.  Cadbery went on the Ferry to Taipel.”

     “Why would he do a stupid thing like that?  I need to get there badly.  If I have to, I'll fly there with you and Charlene.”  He looked at the docks and saw a lot of junks and said, “It will take longer, but we can get there.”

     Next thing, the three were on a junk.

     Cadbery was walking the streets of Taipel.  He was hungry and needed something to eat.  He saw a sign inviting people to join the circus.  He got the job.

     Radon spotted the ferry that had taken Cadbery there when they arrived two days later.  In the circus Cadbery was doing a show standing on a tightrope and then sliding down it standing up.  The audience loved it a lot!  Radon, Charlene and Mac came in and walked through the entrance.  Radon bought three tickets to see it.  On the stage there was a human pyramid and Cadbery was one of the people at the base.  Radon shouted his name.

     Cadbery heard it and saw Radon and ran to him.  The pyramid started to topple.  But the man on top was holding to the wire over the stage.  But the wire broke and all of the walls were coming down. Cadbery said, “I am so happy to see you!”

     Radon said, “We have not much time!  The container ship Brasilia will be departing from Taiwan in an hour.”

     The ship started out with a lot of exported goods from Taiwan .  It headed east in the Pacific, on its way to Pearl Harbor in Honolulu , Hawaii .  Cadbery and Charlene looked at the horizon.  Cadbery said, “Mac thinks Radon has stolen art.  But it's his own work which he was replacing.”

     Five days went by and they arrived in Honolulu and the ship was docked in Pearl Harbor , where it unloaded most of its containers.  They wanted to sight-see.  Radon flew all around the island of Oahu .   He flew over Honolulu looking at all the hotels, then he flew to the volcano Diamond Head and he flew around and inside of it.  He flew high up over it and said, “ Diamond Head is a dead volcano and it's safe to fly around it.  It's a landmark for the city and the islands.  I have a lot of art works of it.  It's a treat to fly around it.  But if it were a live volcano I'd stay far away from it.  I'd be killed by its gases and heat and then cooked to death in the lava.  But Diamond Head is dead.  So it's safe.”

     The next day Radon flew to Honolulu .  At the airport he saw Air Force One.  So he put in for a landing beside it and descended.

r

     Then the Secretary of State just off Air Force One saw Radon and said, “I have heard about you.”  Radon flew over to him.  The man said, “Can I ride on your back?  You can take me to the USS Arizona memorial.”

     Radon said, “Yes, and I want to go inside the memorial and see what it is.”

     So he flew to the memorial with the Secretary of State on his back.

     Radon landed on the dock and the secretary got off to go inside.  Radon said, “This memorial is a work of art about the men who died inside the Arizona back in 1941.  The attack on Pearl Harbor was like the attack in New York City .  It was deplorable.”

     “You're right about that 100%,” the secretary said.  “There's an old WW II fighter plane at the airport.  Its engine doesn't work.  I need you to tow it into the air and I want to be in the pilot seat to see Oahu from the air.”

     “Yes, I can do that.”

     “Just before I have you do this tow job, I want to take a photo of you standing on top of the Arizona memorial with your wings spread out.  You will look like the Phoenix rising from the ashes.”

     “Yes, I will pose for your photo.”

     In the air the secretary said, “I want to go the same way as the attack.  I have a video camera.  I want to film from the perspective of those attack airplanes back in 1941.  I will have you in the video with the tow rope just in front of this airplane.”

     “That is great and I am willing to make your video.”

     Just before Radon got to the memorial, the secretary threw a water balloon on top of the memorial.  It was like the bomb that had sunk the ship.  They headed back to the airport, and Radon towed the plane down its runway.  He cut the tow off his body.  The secretary headed back to the airport center.  Later they watched the video and Radon loved it.  He told the secretary what his own mission was and departed.

     The next day the group departed on the Brasilia for Rio de Janeiro in Brazil .  There in the streets they saw a giant party to vote for a new Brazilian president.  There was fireworks, balloons and free beer for everyone who voted for SAM!!  And Sam was making a speech.  He said, “For good paying jobs and lower taxes who should you vote for??”

     “For Sam!  SAM FOR PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL !!”

     A pickup truck came for all the people who voted for Sam.  It stopped in front of the four travelers.  There were GoGo ladies in the back of the truck.  Charlene and Cadbery looked at them.  But Radon raised his right wing in front of them.  He did not want them to see the sex trash Sam was showing off.

    As they were passing through the Brazilian jungles, their train stopped.  A wooden bridge ahead was so badly damaged that it could not support the train.  Radon got an idea.  He gave the engineer a bottle of the IV solution he had used to cross the Atlantic .  The engineer drank it and said, “WOW!  That tastes so sweet!”  He got hyper-active and said, “LET'S GO ACROSS THEAMAZON RIVER!”

     Radon said, “That's the ticket.”

     As the train crossed it made a lot of crunching and crackling sounds.  Just as the train got to the other side the bridge collapsed into the river.

     The next day the train reached Venezuela .  An Amazonian tribe was attacking the train and some of them got on.  But the driver ejected them.  Cadbery was fighting some of those between cars, and he fell off the train.

     An hour later the train stopped at a train station in Venezuela . Radon told the others, “I have looked all around the train and I can't find Cadbery anywhere.  I think the Amazons have kidnapped him.”  The ticket clerk told him they couldn't hold up the train.  Radon flew back.  At the village Cadbery was tied to a pole with a lot of hay all around.  The king had lighted the fire. They got Cadbery out and returned to the station but the train had departed.  The next train was in two days.

     Radon found a small savers rail car in the weeds and put it on the track.  He got on the front end and flapped his wings and the car moved fast on the track.  It caught up with the train, which had broken down, and passed it at the switch.  “Those South American trains!” Radon said.  He continued on to Caracas .

     “Now we can go to the steam schooner Atlantic Queen ,” Radon said.  “It was built back in Jules Verne's time.”

     The owner, Captain Triton, told them “My schooner is being rebuilt.  Tomorrow we depart for Cozumel , Mexico , and then to England .”

     Radon said, “I need to get to England priority and Cozumel is out of my way.  I'll pay you 500,000 Euros if you take my party to England on the Queen.”

     “Wow!  That's a lot of money,” Triton said.  “Yes, I will take you.”

y

     Radon left his hotel to view Caracas .  He strolled out to the airport and saw Air Force One there and next to the airport he saw a giant toy store.  He went in.  For three days the store was intending to donate proceeds from their sale to the kids' miracle network.  He told them, “I like what you're doing for helping the kids.”

     The owner said to Radon, “Well, I do want to help.”

     Radon said, “I am glad you told me that.”

     He left the store to go back to the hotel, and as he did he saw two men with turbans on their heads in the lobby in the new part of the hotel.  He hid behind a plant in the lobby.  Then he looked closer and knew who the men were.  The first was Osama Bin Laden.  And the second was Saddam Hussein.  Osama was saying to Saddam, “The city of Caracas is the best hiding place for me and you.  After I did the attack I left Afghanistan the same day in my jet airplane.”

     “Well, there is a war going on in my home land of Iraq .  And their President won't think to look for me here.”

     “I lost a lot of men in that attack.  Tonight we are going to steal money out of the giant toy store.”

     “We'll hide in the play-houses, then when the store closes we'll steal all the proceeds and break out.  We'll be gone before the police come.”

     Radon stepped out and said, “How low can you go?”  He went to the location.  Before he left he wanted to have fun with these two.  He went back to the hotel and found it in a mess, in a process of restoration.  It was ideal for setting up booby traps.  He rigged the hotel up nicely and then he returned to the store.  Hussein was just saying “It's like winning the lottery jackpot.”

     Radon tapped on the glass.  Saddam said, “IT'S THAT WINGED LIZARD MAN!”

     Radon took a picture of them.

     Saddam said, “THAT FLYING LIZARD TOOK OUR PICTURE!”

     “I hope my turban is clean.”

     He took three more pictures.  Then he picked up a cinder block and threw it in the window.  Alarm bells were ringing.  Hussein said, “Get the money!  I am going to kill that pterodactyloid!!”  The two ran out of the store to get Radon.

     Radon flew to the rooftop of the old Brasilia .  The two arrived.  Bin Laden was saying “Where did that pterodactyloid go?”

     Radon said, “I am UP.  Come and get me, you men with diapers on your heads!”  He took another picture of them.  Bin Laden said,

     “Kill the winged lizard man!”

     Hussein said, “Let me do the talking.  Hey, you winged lizard man.  Nothing would feel better than to shoot you.  But we're in a rush and I'm willing to make a deal with you.  You throw down your camera and we will not kill you and you will never hear from us again.”

     Radon answered, “Will you keep your promise?”

     Saddam said, “Cross my heart and end up in hell.”

     Radon said, “Okay, the camera is just behind me.”  Then he grabbed a cinder block.  Saddam said,

     “Okay, pterodactyloid, give it to me.”

     Radon threw down the cinder block and hit Osama Bin Laden on top of his head.  He fell down but was not knocked out.  “Direct hit,” Radon said.  He threw a second and third, hitting Bin Laden as before.  Saddam said, “If you cannot do any better than that you are going to lose.”  He turned to Bin Laden and said, “Get up, the pterodactyloid is out of cinder blocks.”  Osama looked up and saw Radon holding a cinder block and screamed with fear.  Radon threw it to hit Saddam, but it missed and hit Osama on the head a fourth time.

     Saddam said, “That does it—no one throws a cinder block and gets away with it!  Come on, Bin Laden, get up; it's you to the front.  I am going to the back!”

     Radon got off the rooftop and went back inside the hotel.  Osama got to his feet and walked to the front door.  He turned the knob but it came off the door and there was a string tied to it.  The string was tied to an air power staple gun.  Bin Laden turned and the gun fired and hit him in his butt.

     Saddam got to the back door.  He said, “You better do better, you winged lizard man!”  Saddam kicked the door open and it pulled a string that tipped over a box filled with beer cans and a beer keg and it fell and hit Saddam.

     Osama got back on his feet.  He pulled out the staples, then kicked open the front door and said, “Saddam, I am in the hotel's lobby!”  He walked in, but there was no floor and he fell into the basement.  He looked around and stepped on an oil spill and slipped and fell and slid on it into an open septic tank.

     Hussein got back into the hotel and was walking in it.  He went in the men's room and turned on the light.  It triggered a propane torch that set his turban on fire.  He raced to the sink but the water was turned off.  He picked up a pot of water and poured it over his head, but it was gasoline.

     Bin Laden got out of the septic tank and tried to wash off, but there was a welder power pack clamped on the sink.  Radon turned it on just before he got to it.  Osama wandered around dazed from getting zapped, then started climbing the rope to the lobby, but the other end was tied to a chamber pot that descended on him.

     He wanted to get out of the basement, so he piled up some junk to climb.  It fell just as he grabbed the floor, but he held on.  He saw Radon and yelled to Saddam, who was so mad he came straight after him.  Radon went up the ladder, avoiding the weak spot in it.  Saddam went up too but the ladder broke and he fell.

     Radon shouted to them, “Hey, you men with old diapers on your heads!  Why don't you try the stairs?”

     They both ran to the stairs, then Saddam stopped Bin Laden, saying, “That pterodactyloid has set a trap for us.”  Then he said, “Let's go up and kill him!” and started thumping up the stairs.  Radon threw a cinder block tied to a rope and Saddam caught it and said “It hit my head!  That's the first trap.”

     Radon threw another and caught Bin Laden.  “Right in my mouth!”

     “That's the second trap.  Come, let's get him!”

     Radon threw a beer keg on a rope and it knocked both of them off the stairs, and they went through the floor in the lobby and landed on their backs in the basement.  Bin Laden said, “That's the third trap.”

     Radon cut the rope and the keg rolled down the stairs and through the hole in the floor and hit them.  Bin Laden said, “That's the fourth trap.”

     Radon went to the next floor.  He got a soda vending machine on the edge of the stairs with a rope tied around it.  The two men got to the door and turned the knob and it came off, pulling the vending machine that was attached to it by a rope.  “What's that sound?” Saddam said as it crashed down the stairs.  It broke off the door and pushed the two across the hall and hit the wall.  Radon got on the rooftop.  He tied the rope to a pole and threw it in front of the hotel.  He took the lid off the septic tank just under the rope.  The two men got on the roof and Radon shouted, “Come and get me!”

     Osama saw Radon and grabbed a cinder block and said “EAT CINDER BLOCKS!!” Then he threw it at Radon, but missed.  Saddam said, “Go down the rope.”

     “I do not know how to.”

     They both went down the rope.  It was soaked with heating oil and Radon lit the rope.  They both fell into the septic tank.

     Radon flew to the airport.  They saw him go so they ran there.  Then Radon phoned the police about the break-in. As the two arrived, the Caracas police department caught them.  The Secretary of State was at the airport and saw what had happened.  Radon told him all about it.  He said, “Job well done.”  The Secret Service took Hussein and Bin Laden under arrest.  They took them aboard Air Force One and flew them back to Washington , D.C.   And Radon flew back to the new Brasilia Hotel to get some sleep.

]

     The next day, Radon's group checked out of the Brasilia Hotel.  They went to the dock where the Atlantic Queen was departing from Caracas to England .

     The wind blew into the sails and the ship entered national waters.  Then the steam pressure got up and the paddle wheels began to turn.

     Seven days went by.  Captain Triton said to Radon, “You are burning the coal up too fast.  You will never get to England .”  The next day Radon saw that the paddle wheels were slowing.  Finally they ceased turning.  Triton said, “Well, that's it.  All of the coal.”  He turned to Radon.  “Sorry, Radon, we do have the wind but that can't get us to England on time.”

     The ship moved slowly by wind for one hour.  Then Radon got a giant idea and said to Triton, “How much do you want for this schooner?”  When Triton saw how many Euros he had he said, “WOW!  The Atlantic Queen is yours!”

     Radon had everything combustible thrown into the furnace.  It kept them going.  Finally they ran out of anything to use.  But the fireman got a call.  They were nearing Liverpool .  Everyone began to cheer.  Triton came into the engine room and said, “What a giant relief!  I didn't think we'd get here.  But I don't deny that we did.”

     Radon told him, “It's thanks to you and your crew.”  He turned the ship back over to them, and promised to rebuild it.

i

     The ship entered Liverpool and docked. Radon's group got off and headed to the underground subway station.  It would take them to London .  As the group waited, Mac called the Liverpool police to put Radon under arrest for art theft.  He entered the station with two policemen and they took Radon to the station.  He had only four hours left to reach Griff's club.

     They kept Radon in the tank four hours. After awhile Mac came in and said, “I'm sorry about my mistake.  The museum saw you taking art from it.  But it was your own art.  You can flap your wings and fly away.”

     “Well, we can all make mistakes.  But I don't like the way you were looking at me, and I don't like the way you doped my butler.  That was a dirty stunt, and I hope that I will never see you again!!”

     They released him and he looked at his watch and told his group, “The wager is lost.  Let's go back to my art studio.”

     When they arrived, Charlene said, “That's a lonely place.  I'm sorry you lost your wager.”

     “Get the guest room made for Charlene.  I want to be alone.”

     Charlene told Radon the next day, “I'm in love with your butler Cadbery.  He saved my life.  And he's in love with me, Radon.”

     It hit Radon what she had said.  He called Cadbery on the speaker and said, “For helping my trip around the world and winning the soccer game and bullfight, I'll get the wedding started so you can marry Charlene.  We will have the wedding right here in my art studio.  And I will record your wedding with my video camera.  I'll get the pastor and pay for your wedding.”

     Cadbery ran up the street for the pastor. As they walked to the studio Cadbery saw a paper boy selling the London Times Sunday Edition.  He yelled at the pastor, “IT'S SUNDAY!!  RADON'S WAGER IS NOT LOST!!”

     He ran in to see Radon.  “We have ten minutes left!”  He showed them the date on the paper.  Radon flew to the club with Cadbery on his back.

     Griff was just saying “I know Radon will not be here before the time is up,” when Radon entered.

     “Well, Griff, I have done what Jules Verne did.”

     “You won the wager, Radon.”

     Charlene came in and Griff got up and said, “A FEMALE IN MY CLUB!!”

     Radon walked over to Charlene and said, “ I have to ask you to leave here.  No female ever set foot in Griff's men's club.  It could spell the end of the city as we know it.”

     Griff's butler saw a female in the club and dropped Griff's breakfast on the floor.  Griff's computer exploded.  All of his books fell off the shelf.  All his club windows broke.

     Griff the Griffin man said, “This is….”

The end

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