3
From that day, Two-Legs collected as much amber on the beach as he could find.
He rubbed it and saw that then the spirit constantly came forth and seized upon the little things near by. He put his ear to it and listened, but could hear nothing. He tasted it and smelt it; he broke it to pieces and gazed at it with his old eyes, but could discover nothing:
“The spirit is hiding from me,” he said. “But I shall find him, I shall find him!”
It occurred to him one day that the strange spirit might dwell elsewhere than in the amber.
He began to rub a glass tube and shouted aloud for joy when the spirit at once appeared and seized upon the down and husks and shreds of paper. He took a piece of sulphur and rubbed it and exulted when just the same thing happened. But, in a little while, the spirit disappeared from the amber, the glass tube and the sulphur alike and did not come back until he rubbed them again.
He made himself a big sulphur ball, with an iron bar through the middle. The iron bar was fixed between two stakes, so that he could turn the ball with a handle which was at one end of the bar.
Now, when he turned the handle and laid his hand on the ball, he saw that the little fluffs which flew in the air at that moment stuck to the ball and, immediately after, flew out into the air, as though the spirit had pushed them away. He turned the handle briskly and the fluffs danced about the ball. One of them flew on his nose and stayed there for a little while and then flew back to the ball again.
“The spirit dwells in me too,” said Two-Legs, gladly. “I believe he is everywhere and in everything, if only one could manage to call him forth from his hiding-place. Now I will summon the whole tribe and show them something which they have never seen.”
He sent word round and they came and stood in crowds about his house. Then he asked for the little boy who had played with the amber on the beach and been the first of all to call forth the mysterious spirit:
“You deserve the honour of sharing in this day,” he said. “You all remember the spirit to whom I gave the name of Electricity?”
“We remember him,” said the oldest of those present. “If you have anything good to tell us about him, we shall be pleased to hear it. If it is anything bad, then keep it to yourself and we will flee to a new country where the spirit does not dwell.”
“The spirit is neither bad nor good,” said Two-Legs. “He is a force ... a strange, mysterious force, which I have not yet succeeded in discovering. I do not know if he is worth conquering and giving into your service even as I gave you the ox and the horse, the wind and Steam. I do not know how I am to conquer him. But I do know that it is not possible for one of us to flee from the electric spirit. For he dwells not only in the amber as you saw. He can take up his abode everywhere and in everything ... even in me ... even in every one of you.”
They pressed close together and gazed at him in alarm.
“Watch me now,” said Two-Legs. “Dismiss all your fears and look in wonder at what I shall show you.”
Two-Legs hung the little boy up between two ropes, so that he swung in the air at some height above the ground. Before him, from another cord, hung a glass tube. On the ground under him stood a bowl with little pieces of paper.
“I shall now rub the glass until the spirit comes forth,” said Two-Legs. “When that is done, the boy will touch the glass with one hand. The other he will hold at a distance above the bowl with the shreds of paper.”
He rubbed the glass tube and the boy did as he said.
“Look ... look!” said Two-Legs.
They stared and shouted with surprise. All the bits of paper leapt up and hung in the hand which the boy held over the dish.
“Do you see that?” asked Two-Legs. “He is electric. The spirit has taken up his abode in him.... Can you all see it?”
The oldest and cleverest bent over the boy and stared and talked of the remarkable thing that had happened. They did not understand it and shook their heads. But the others were seized with frenzy and clamoured against Two-Legs:
“It is magic!” they shouted. “Father Two-Legs is a magician! He is tempting God and killing the poor boy with his tricks!”
“You are fools,” said Two-Legs. “You talk of what you do not understand. Go away and leave me alone, while I enquire into the mighty spirit of Electricity. You can come again in a twelvemonth. Then I shall show you much stranger things than you have seen to-day.”
They went on clamouring and crowded round Two-Legs, threatened him with their clenched fists and abusing him:
“Father Two-Legs must die!” they cried. “He will bring misfortune upon us all, with his magic! He calls forth spirits whom he cannot lay! Let us kill him before he has brought down God’s wrath upon us!”
The elders placed themselves between Two-Legs and the infuriated people. They reminded them of his venerable age and of all the good which he had done to his kinsfolk. They talked until, at length, they persuaded the others to go, though they still muttered and cast angry glances at Two-Legs. The mother of the boy whom he had made electric ran and seized him by his long white beard:
“If ever again you use my boy for your odious tricks, I’ll kill you!” she screamed.
“You are only a silly woman,” said Two-Legs and pushed her away. “If I taught your boy the secret of what you call my magic, he would make a name for himself that would be spoken with respect so long as the world lasts. However, go away and take him with you too. No harm has happened to him; and to-morrow he will have forgotten all about it.”
She went, hand in hand with the boy, who did not cry, but kept his eyes on Two-Legs. When they were gone, the elders told him he had better move into another country if he wanted to continue searching for the electric spirit, otherwise it would end in this, that the people would kill him one day, when the elders were not there to defend him.
Two-Legs stood and rubbed the glass tube with a piece of leather and paid no heed to them. They had to say it once more before he heard. Then he merely nodded and said:
“I will go away this very night and seek another country where the people are cleverer.”