"Then do me a favor. It won't interfere with your work, and it may be very useful at a pinch." He drew from his hip pocket a small automatic pistol. "Accept this," he went on, "and keep it somewhere handy as a sort of guardian. It's much stronger than the strongest man."
"How absurd!" she said. "And what are you doing carrying concealed weapons? I'm beginning to think that you're a desperado yourself."
He rose, smiling imperturbably, and laid the pistol in her lap.
"At least," she said, "show me how it works."
He explained the mechanism clearly and with patience, not once, but several times. "Point it," he said, "as you would point your finger, and keep pulling the trigger until the enemy drops."
"One every two hours," Barbara commented, "until relieved."
"May you never need it," said Wilmot, earnestly.
"I never shall," said Barbara. "Must I really keep it?"
"Yes."
"But you," she exclaimed, "you will be quite unprotected all the way from here to the nearest shop where such things are sold."