Chapters 48 and 49 Summary

While in Indianapolis, Wilbur is invited to visit the King of Lake Maxinkuckee at his summer palace. He and Captain O'Hare take off after bidding Carlos goodbye. The palace is a former military academy. There are no journalists or TV cameras at the meeting, only scribes who write with pen and paper. The pomp and circumstance of the palace amuses Wilbur. The King sits at a map table reading a war book. There are no other seats so Wilbur stands in front of him after he is announced. The king is the spitting image of his grandfather, Dr. Mott. He says that he only reads history books. Wilbur says that it's good to study history or humanity will undoubtedly repeat old mistakes such as using up fossil fuels, dying in the millions of a plague, and electing senile presidents and being...