“Let me take a look at it,” Jack said, and Biff handed it to him.
A great feeling of relief had come over Biff. When Chuba had come rushing in, crying out in a voice filled with fright, Biff had figured that another in the series of strange happenings had taken place. To discover that all the excitement was only about a toy relaxed Biff completely for the first time since he had arrived in the Orient.
Jack inspected the toy somewhat gingerly. “How does it work?”
Biff took the box back. “Look. I’ll show you.” He raised the lid of the box, and as he did so, Chuba took a step back. He was taking no chances with evil spirits even if the Americans did. Jack’s and Biff’s heads were together inspecting the box. This was too much for Chuba. He had to see, too. He cautiously poked his head forward for a closer look.
“See this small siren? That’s where the noises come from. The toy has two small batteries, like the ones used in a transistor radio. They power this small motor, and it does the rest. Raises the lid and makes this hand snake out.”
Biff looked at Chuba and smiled. A shy, friendly grin lit up the native boy’s face. “Want to see it work with the lid open?”
Chuba nodded his head rapidly.
Biff set the toy in motion. The siren reached its high pitch. The hand, attached to the end of a small iron rod, snaked out, flopped over the front side of the box, and touched the cut-off button.
“That’s all there is to it. Some gadget, isn’t it?”
Jack laughed. “I can see how it must have been the toy sensation of last Christmas. I can also see why it scared the daylights out of Chuba. It would scare me, too, if it woke me from a sound sleep.”