8. Rob Acquires New Powers
"I have seen the folly of sending you into the world with an offensive
instrument, yet with no method of defense," resumed the Demon,
presently. "You have knocked over a good many people with that tube
during the past week."
"I know," said Rob; "but I couldn't help it. It was the only way I
had to protect myself."
"Therefore my next gift shall be this Garment of Protection. You must
wear it underneath your clothing. It has power to accumulate and
exercise electrical repellent force. Perhaps you do not know what
that means, so I will explain more fully. When any missile, such as a
bullet, sword or lance, approaches your person, its rush through the
air will arouse the repellent force of which I speak, and this force,
being more powerful than the projective force, will arrest the flight
of the missile and throw it back again. Therefore nothing can touch
your person that comes with any degree of force or swiftness, and you
will be safe from all ordinary weapons. When wearing this Garment you
will find it unnecessary to use the electric tube except on rare
occasions. Never allow revenge or animosity to influence your
conduct. Men may threaten, but they can not injure you, so you must
remember that they do not possess your mighty advantages, and that,
because of your strength, you should bear with them patiently."
Rob examined the garment with much curiosity. It glittered like
silver, yet was soft and pliable as lamb's wool. Evidently the Demon
had prepared it especially for his use, for it was just Rob's size.
"Now," continued the Demon, more gravely, "we approach the subject of
an electrical device so truly marvelous that even I am awed when I
contemplate the accuracy and perfection of the natural laws which
guide it and permit it to exercise its functions. Mankind has as yet
conceived nothing like it, for it requires full knowledge of
electrical power to understand even its possibilities."
The Being paused, and drew from an inner pocket something resembling a
flat metal box. In size it was about four inches by six, and nearly
an inch in thickness.
"What is it?" asked Rob, wonderingly.
"It is an automatic Record of Events," answered the Demon.
"I don't understand," said Rob, with hesitation.
"I will explain to you its use," returned the Demon, "although the
electrical forces which operate it and the vibratory currents which
are the true records must remain unknown to you until your brain has
mastered the higher knowledge of electricity. At present the
practical side of this invention will be more interesting to you than
a review of its scientific construction.
"Suppose you wish to know the principal events that are occurring in
Germany at the present moment. You first turn this little wheel at
the side until the word 'Germany' appears in the slot at the small
end. Then open the top cover, which is hinged, and those passing
events in which you are interested will appear before your eyes."
The Demon, as he spoke, opened the cover, and, looking within, the boy
saw, as in a mirror, a moving picture before him. A regiment of
soldiers was marching through the streets of Berlin, and at its head
rode a body of horsemen, in the midst of which was the Emperor
himself. The people who thronged the sidewalks cheered and waved
their hats and handkerchiefs with enthusiasm, while a band of
musicians played a German air, which Rob could distinctly hear.
While he gazed, spell-bound, the scene changed, and he looked upon a
great warship entering a harbor with flying pennants. The rails were
lined with officers and men straining their eyes for the first sight
of their beloved "VATERLAND" after a long foreign cruise, and a
ringing cheer, as from a thousand throats, came faintly to Rob's ear.
Again the scene changed, and within a dingy, underground room, hemmed
in by walls of stone, and dimly lighted by a flickering lamp, a body
of wild-eyed, desperate men were plighting an oath to murder the
Emperor and overthrow his government.
"Anarchists?" asked Rob, trembling with excitement.
"Anarchists!" answered the Demon, with a faint sneer, and he shut the
cover of the Record with a sudden snap.
"It's wonderful!" cried the boy, with a sigh that was followed by a
slight shiver.
"The Record is, indeed, proof within itself of the marvelous
possibilities of electricity. Men are now obliged to depend upon
newspapers for information; but these can only relate events long
after they have occurred. And newspaper statements are often
unreliable and sometimes wholly false, while many events of real
importance are never printed in their columns. You may guess what an
improvement is this automatic Record of Events, which is as reliable
as Truth itself. Nothing can be altered or falsified, for the
vibratory currents convey the actual events to your vision, even as
they happen."
"But suppose," said Rob, "that something important should happen while
I'm asleep, or not looking at the box?"
"I have called this a Record," replied the Demon, "and such it really
is, although I have shown you only such events as are in process of
being recorded. By pressing this spring you may open the opposite
cover of the box, where all events of importance that have occurred
throughout the world during the previous twenty-four hours will appear
before you in succession. You may thus study them at your leisure.
The various scenes constitute a register of the world's history, and
may be recalled to view as often as you desire."
"It's--it's like knowing everything," murmured Rob, deeply impressed
for perhaps the first time in his life.
"It IS knowing everything," returning the Demon; "and this mighty gift
I have decided to entrust to your care. Be very careful as to whom
you permit to gaze upon these pictures of passing events, for
knowledge may often cause great misery to the human race."
"I'll be careful," promised the boy, as he took the box reverently
within his own hands.
"The third and last gift of the present series," resumed the Demon,
"is one no less curious than the Record of Events, although it has an
entirely different value. It is a Character Marker."
"What's that?" inquired Rob.
"I will explain. Perhaps you know that your fellow-creatures are more
or less hypocritical. That is, they try to appear good when they are
not, and wise when in reality they are foolish. They tell you they
are friendly when they positively hate you, and try to make you
believe they are kind when their natures are cruel. This hypocrisy
seems to be a human failing. One of your writers has said, with
truth, that among civilized people things are seldom what they seem."
"I've heard that," remarked Rob.
"On the other hand," continued the Demon, "some people with fierce
countenances are kindly by nature, and many who appear to be evil are
in reality honorable and trustworthy. Therefore, that you may judge
all your fellow-creatures truly, and know upon whom to depend, I give
you the Character Marker. It consists of this pair of spectacles.
While you wear them every one you meet will be marked upon the
forehead with a letter indicating his or her character. The good will
bear the letter 'G,' the evil the letter 'E.' The wise will be marked
with a 'W' and the foolish with an 'F.' The kind will show a 'K' upon
their foreheads and the cruel a letter 'C.' Thus you may determine by
a single look the true natures of all those you encounter."
"And are these, also, electrical in their construction?" asked the
boy, as he took the spectacles.
"Certainly. Goodness, wisdom and kindness are natural forces,
creating character. For this reason men are not always to blame for
bad character, as they acquire it unconsciously. All character sends out
certain electrical vibrations, which these spectacles concentrate in their
lenses and exhibit to the gaze of their wearer, as I have explained."
"It's a fine idea," said the boy; "who discovered it?"
"It is a fact that has always existed, but is now utilized for the
first time."
"Oh!" said Rob.
"With these gifts, and the ones you acquired a week ago, you are now
equipped to astound the world and awaken mankind to a realization of
the wonders that may be accomplished by natural forces. See that you
employ these powers wisely, in the interests of science, and do not
forget your promise to exhibit your electrical marvels only to those
who are most capable of comprehending them."
"I'll remember," said Rob.
"Then adieu until a week from to-day, when I will meet you here at
this hour and bestow upon you the last three gifts which you are
entitled to receive. Good-by!"
"Good-by!" repeated Rob, and in a gorgeous flash of color the Demon
disappeared, leaving the boy alone in the room with his new and
wonderful possessions.
