|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 15
Then, before the light had died away, they witnessed a curious
sight. The heavy wooden box seemed to dissolve, to collapse and to
crumple up like one of paper, and ere the last rays of the
illuminating bullet faded, the watchers saw the splinters of wood
fall back with a clatter in a little heap on the spot where the dry-
goods case had been.
A silence followed, and the darkness was all the blacker by contrast
with the intense light. At length Tom spoke, and he could not keep
from his voice a note of triumph.
"Well, did I do it?" he asked.
"You sure did!" exclaimed Ned heartily.
"Fine!" cried Mr. Swift.
"Golly! I wouldn't gib much fo' de hide ob any burglar what comed
around heah!" muttered Eradicate Sampson. "Dat box am knocked clean
into nuffiness, Massa Tom."
"That's what I wanted to do," explained the lad. "And I guess this
will end the test for tonight."
"But I don't exactly understand it," spoke Ned, as they all moved
toward the Swift home, Eradicate going to the stable to see how his
mule was. "Do you have two kinds of bullets, Tom, one for night and
one for the daytime?"
"No," answered Tom, "there is only one kind of bullet, and, as I
have said, that isn't a bullet at all. That is, you can't see it, or
handle it, but you can feel it. Strictly speaking, it is a
concentrated discharge of wireless electricity directed against a
certain object. You can't see it any more than you can see a
lightning bolt, though that is sometimes visible as a ball of fire.
My electric rifle bullets are similar to a discharge of lightning,
except that they are invisible."
"But we saw the one just now," objected Ned.
"No, you didn't see the bullet," said Tom.
"You saw the illuminating flash which I send out just before I fire,
to reveal the object I am to hit. That is another part of my rifle
and is only used at night."
"You see I shoot out a ball of electrical fire which will disclose
the target, or the enemy at whom I am firing. As soon as that is
discharged the rifle automatically gets ready to shoot the electric
charge, and I have only to press the proper button, and the
'bullet,' as I call it, follows on the heels of the ball of light.
Do you see?"
"Perfectly," exclaimed Ned with a laugh. "What a gun that would be
for hunting, since most all wild beasts come out only at night."
"That was one object in making this invention," said Tom. "I only
hope I get a chance to use it now."
"I thought you were going to Africa after elephants," spoke Mr.
Swift.
"Well, I did think of it." admitted Tom, "but I haven't made any
definite plans. But come into the house, Ned. and I'll show you more
in detail how my rifle works."
Thereupon the two chums spent some time going into the mysteries of
the new weapon. Mr. Swift and Mr. Jackson were also much interested,
for, though they had seen the gun previously and had helped Tom
perfect it, they had not yet tired of discussing its merits.
Ned stayed quite late that night, and promised to come over the next
day, and watch Tom do some more shooting.
"I'll show you how to use it, too," promised the young inventor, and
he was as good as his word, initiating Ned into the mysteries of the
electric rifle, and showing him to store the charges of death-
dealing electricity in the queer-looking stock.
For a week after that Tom and Ned practiced with the terrible gun,
taking care not to have any more mishaps like the one that had
marked the first night. They were both good shots with ordinary
weapons and it was not long before they had equaled their record
with the new instrument.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|