“I—I guess I’ve got it fixed,” he said.
“What was the matter with it?”
“I don’t know, Bob. I never had a selector act like this one does; I’m afraid it’s permanently magnetized.”
“Why, what would put it in that condition, Fitz?”
“Oh! I don’t know, I guess.”
“Yes, you do. Out with it.”
“I don’t want to scare you, Bob, but—”
“Scare me? Pooh! Out with it.”
“Well, down here in Africa somewhere—I don’t know just where—there’s a magnetic mountain; and we goblins have had trouble with it. Whenever we get within the zone of its power with our balloons, it magnetizes our selectors so they won’t work right; and if we get too close, it draws us to it—and we have great trouble in getting away. Some of my countrymen have had to abandon their balloons and walk miles and miles, and then send a wireless message home for help.”