“You are too valuable a person to experiment upon,” said he; “but in a way Chaka and I have tested each of our eight tubes, using an extra storage belt which I brought along for that purpose. We secured permission to hunt, one day, on the shore of Magdalena Bay, and knocked over rabbits, gulls and a couple of coyotes with ease. We could not wait to see if they recovered, but I have Uncle Simeon’s assurance that, in the case of a man, recovery is certain unless he has some bad heart trouble or other physical defect. Uncle’s janitor, upon whom he experimented—a brawny Irishman—was upon his feet again in a little more than two hours.”
“It’s surely a queer weapon,” remarked Uncle Naboth. “But when it comes to fighting natives in Yucatan I guess I’d prefer a good rifle. What’s the use of knockin’ an enemy over if you don’t put him out o’ business for good an’ all?”
“No one likes to kill a human being when it can be avoided,” I answered, rather indignantly. “If we are opposed by natives and can render them unconscious for two hours, it’s just as good for our purpose as killing the poor devils.”
“My idea, exactly, Sam,” approved Allerton. “But unfortunately we cannot use our electrites at will, being limited in our number of battery charges. So we must carry guns and revolvers, too, and save these finer weapons for emergencies.”
He then proceeded to show us other curious things contained in the chests, some of which you will hear of during the progress of my story. Three of the big boxes were completely filled with mechanical toys and novelties, aluminum utensils, brass buttons, metal combs, brushes of various sorts, bales of gorgeous colored silks and china ornaments. Allerton admitted that these things had cost him considerable money, practically exhausting the combined resources of his eccentric but inspired uncle and himself, as well as Chaka’s savings.
“If we do not succeed,” said he, quietly enough, “I shall be a bankrupt. But if my plans carry, as I hope they will, no sacrifice is too great to redeem the old homestead and provide for the future of those dear, dependent women.”
“Succeed!” cried Archie; “of course we’ll succeed. With such an outfit as that there’s no chance at all of failure.”
No one replied to this enthusiastic speech. We were busy with our thoughts. There was a long and difficult journey before us, fraught with desperate adventures, before any one might say with assurance that success lay within our grasp.
But we considered it worth the attempt, nevertheless.