In one of their travels through time, the boys visited Pompeii as it was in 79 A.D. During that trip, they met Tullius, a nineyear- old Roman boy who worked in his father’s chariot repair shop. Unbeknownst to his father, Tullius was working on a chariot of his own that—if he succeeded— would be the fastest ever built. As he was showing his secret, superfast chariot to the boys, Comet Morehouse swooped and tried to capture Erbert and Gerbert. He failed to kidnap them, but in the process, flew too close to Mount Vesuvius and caused the volcano to erupt and totally destroy Pompeii. Luckily, the boys were saved when Tullius bravely outran the lava flow with his swift chariot. The whole experience taught the boys a valuable lesson: When faced with insurmountable danger, sometimes the bravest and smartest thing to do is run away.
