Rob yawned, for he thought the Demon"s speeches were growing rather tiresome. Perhaps the genius noticed this rudeness, for he continued:
"I regret, of course, that you are a boy instead of a grown man, for it will appear singular to your friends that so thoughtless a youth should seemingly have mastered the secrets that have baffled your most learned scientists. But that can not be helped, and presently you will become, through my aid, the most powerful and wonderful personage in all the world."
"Thank you," said Rob, meekly. "It"ll be no end of fun."
"Fun!" echoed the Demon, scornfully. "But never mind; I must use the material Fate has provided for me, and make the best of it."
"What will you give me first?" asked the boy, eagerly.
"That requires some thought," returned the Demon, and paused for several moments, while Rob feasted his eyes upon the gorgeous rays of color that flashed and vibrated in every direction and surrounded the figure of his visitor with an intense glow that resembled a halo.
Then the Demon raised his head and said:
"The thing most necessary to man is food to nourish his body. He pa.s.ses a considerable part of his life in the struggle to procure food, to prepare it properly, and in the act of eating. This is not right.
Your body can not be very valuable to you if all your time is required to feed it. I shall, therefore, present you, as my first gift, this box of tablets. Within each tablet are stored certain elements of electricity which are capable of nourishing a human body for a full day. All you need do is to toss one into your mouth each day and swallow it. It will nourish you, satisfy your hunger and build up your health and strength. The ordinary food of mankind is more or less injurious; this is entirely beneficial. Moreover, you may carry enough tablets in your pocket to last for months."
Here he presented Rob the silver box of tablets, and the boy, somewhat nervously, thanked him for the gift.
"The next requirement of man," continued the Demon, "is defense from his enemies. I notice with sorrow that men frequently have wars and kill one another. Also, even in civilized communities, man is in constant danger from highwaymen, cranks and policemen. To defend himself he uses heavy and dangerous guns, with which to destroy his enemies. This is wrong. He has no right to take away what he can not bestow; to destroy what he can not create. To kill a fellow-creature is a horrid crime, even if done in self-defense. Therefore, my second gift to you is this little tube. You may carry it within your pocket.
Whenever an enemy threatens you, be it man or beast, simply point the tube and press this b.u.t.ton in the handle. An electric current will instantly be directed upon your foe, rendering him wholly unconscious for the period of one hour. During that time you will have opportunity to escape. As for your enemy, after regaining consciousness he will suffer no inconvenience from the encounter beyond a slight headache."
"That"s fine!" said Rob, as he took the tube. It was scarcely six inches long, and hollow at one end.
"The busy lives of men," proceeded the Demon, "require them to move about and travel in all directions. Yet to a.s.sist them there are only such crude and awkward machines as electric trolleys, cable cars, steam railways and automobiles. These crawl slowly over the uneven surface of the earth and frequently get out of order. It has grieved me that men have not yet discovered what even birds know: that the atmosphere offers them swift and easy means of traveling from one part of the earth"s surface to another."
"Some people have tried to build airships," remarked Rob.
"So they have; great, unwieldy machines which offer so much resistance to the air that they are quite useless. A big machine is not needed to carry one through the air. There are forces in nature which may be readily used for such purpose. Tell me, what holds you to the Earth, and makes a stone fall to the ground?"
"Attraction of gravitation," said Rob, promptly.
"Exactly. That is one force I refer to," said the Demon. "The force of repulsion, which is little known, but just as powerful, is another that mankind may direct. Then there are the Polar electric forces, attracting objects toward the north or south poles. You have guessed something of this by the use of the compa.s.s, or electric needle.
Opposed to these is centrifugal electric force, drawing objects from east to west, or in the opposite direction. This force is created by the whirl of the earth upon its axis, and is easily utilized, although your scientific men have as yet paid little attention to it.
"These forces, operating in all directions, absolute and immutable, are at the disposal of mankind. They will carry you through the atmosphere wherever and whenever you choose. That is, if you know how to control them. Now, here is a machine I have myself perfected."
The Demon drew from his pocket something that resembled an open-faced watch, having a narrow, flexible band attached to it.
"When you wish to travel," said he, "attach this little machine to your left wrist by means of the band. It is very light and will not be in your way. On this dial are points marked "up" and "down" as well as a perfect compa.s.s. When you desire to rise into the air set the indicator to the word "up," using a finger of your right hand to turn it. When you have risen as high as you wish, set the indicator to the point of the compa.s.s you want to follow and you will be carried by the proper electric force in that direction. To descend, set the indicator to the word "down." Do you understand?"
"Perfectly!" cried Rob, taking the machine from the Demon with unfeigned delight. "This is really wonderful, and I"m awfully obliged to you!"
"Don"t mention it," returned the Demon, dryly. "These three gifts you may amuse yourself with for the next week. It seems hard to entrust such great scientific discoveries to the discretion of a mere boy; but they are quite harmless, so if you exercise proper care you can not get into trouble through their possession. And who knows what benefits to humanity may result? One week from to-day, at this hour, I will again appear to you, at which time you shall receive the second series of electrical gifts."
"I"m not sure," said Rob, "that I shall be able again to make the connections that will strike the Master Key."
"Probably not," answered the Demon. "Could you accomplish that, you might command my services forever. But, having once succeeded, you are ent.i.tled to the nine gifts--three each week for three weeks--so you have no need to call me to do my duty. I shall appear of my own accord."
"Thank you," murmured the boy.
The Demon bowed and spread his hands in the form of a semi-circle. An instant later there was a blinding flash, and when Rob recovered from it and opened his eyes the Demon of Electricity had disappeared.
4. Testing the Instruments
There is little doubt that this strange experience befallen a grown man he would have been stricken with a fit of trembling or a sense of apprehension, or even fear, at the thought of having faced the terrible Demon of Electricity, of having struck the Master Key of the world"s greatest natural forces, and finding himself possessed of three such wonderful and useful gifts. But a boy takes everything as a matter of course. As the tree of knowledge sprouts and expands within him, shooting out leaf after leaf of practical experience, the succession of surprises dulls his faculty of wonderment. It takes a great deal to startle a boy.
Rob was full of delight at his unexpected good fortune; but he did not stop to consider that there was anything remarkably queer or uncanny in the manner in which it had come to him. His chief sensation was one of pride. He would now be able to surprise those who had made fun of his electrical craze and force them to respect his marvelous powers. He decided to say nothing about the Demon or the accidental striking of the Master Key. In exhibiting to his friends the electrical devices he had acquired it would be "no end of fun" to mark their amazement and leave them to guess how he performed his feats.
So he put his treasures into his pocket, locked his workshop and went downstairs to his room to prepare for dinner.
While brushing his hair he remembered it was no longer necessary for him to eat ordinary food. He was feeling quite hungry at that moment, for he had a boy"s ravenous appet.i.te; but, taking the silver box from his pocket, he swallowed a tablet and at once felt his hunger as fully satisfied as if he had partaken of a hearty meal, while at the same time he experienced an exhilarating glow throughout his body and a clearness of brain and gaiety of spirits which filled him with intense gratification.
Still, he entered the dining-room when the bell rang and found his father and mother and sisters already a.s.sembled there.
"Where have you been all day, Robert?" inquired his mother.
"No need to ask," said Mr. Joslyn, with a laugh. "Fussing over electricity, I"ll bet a cookie!"
"I do wish," said the mother, fretfully, "that he would get over that mania. It unfits him for anything else."
"Precisely," returned her husband, dishing the soup; "but it fits him for a great career when he becomes a man. Why shouldn"t he spend his summer vacation in pursuit of useful knowledge instead of romping around like ordinary boys?"
"No soup, thank you," said Rob.
"What!" exclaimed his father, looking at him in surprise, "it"s your favorite soup."
"I know," said Rob, quietly, "but I don"t want any."
"Are you ill, Robert?" asked his mother.
"Never felt better in my life," answered Rob, truthfully.
Yet Mrs. Joslyn looked worried, and when Rob refused the roast, she was really shocked.
"Let me feel your pulse, my poor boy!" she commanded, and wondered to find it so regular.
In fact, Rob"s action surprised them all. He sat calmly throughout the meal, eating nothing, but apparently in good health and spirits, while even his sisters regarded him with troubled countenances.
"He"s worked too hard, I guess," said Mr. Joslyn, shaking his head sadly.
"Oh, no; I haven"t," protested Rob; "but I"ve decided not to eat anything, hereafter. It"s a bad habit, and does more harm than good."
"Wait till breakfast," said sister Helen, with a laugh; "you"ll be hungry enough by that time."
However, the boy had no desire for food at breakfast time, either, as the tablet sufficed for an entire day. So he renewed the anxiety of the family by refusing to join them at the table.