While the sailors looked on curiously he asked Archie to strip and dress for his part. The boy quickly shed his apparel, even to his underclothes, for Allerton gave him first of all a union-suit “mosquito proof”, and—as we later found—fairly proof against the poisoned darts of the natives. Knickerbockers and gaiters of a curious woven gauze material—pliable metal, in fact—came next, and the gas-jacket covered all the rest of his body save the head.
“The jacket is also an armor,” observed Allerton; “and, while it must be worn all the time, night and day, it need not be inflated until necessary to acquire lightness. The gas tank generator weighs but six ounces and will be worn with the jacket, so it may be ready in any emergency. It is the same with the eight electrites, which we eight adventurers will keep constantly at our sides. The extra belts must, of course, remain in one of the chests until needed, as will the extra supply of themlyne.”
He then supplied Archie with a head-mask of curious design. The top was like a pith helmet, very light and the more comfortable because it did not rest upon the head but upon a globe of woven wire, in which the boy’s entire head was encased.
This material, as transparent as a fine gauze screen, was so strong that when Allerton tested it by jumping on it with both feet it scarcely bent at all.
“This is a protection from gnats and mosquitoes, darts and arrows, and all other venomous things,” said Paul. “I think we shall find them quite comfortable when we get used to them.”
Being attached to a collar, with straps underneath the arms, these masks remained stationary, allowing the wearer to move his head in any direction, although he could not lower his chin very much. High leather shoes, lined with the same material, and pliable gauze gauntlets for the hands and arms, completed this remarkable attire. When Archie had slung his gun over his shoulder and stuck a brace of revolvers and a bowie into his belt, he certainly looked as curious as any individual that ever walked.
I am quite sure that this description of Allerton’s outfit will lead the reader to think it exceedingly clumsy and unmanageable; and such, at first was my own opinion. But subsequent use proved the contrary. Walking around to test his “rigging,” as he called it, Archie declared he was not uncomfortable in the least. Everything was very light in weight, and the gauze garments were cooler than the clothing he had been accustomed to. Yucatan is a hot country, but not insufferably so, owing to the prevailing breeze that comes from the sea in either direction. Allerton had realized this in preparing his outfits.
While the rest of us, using Archie as an example, proceeded to dress ourselves in a like manner, Allerton and Chaka were busily engaged in drawing especially prepared gas-jackets over the four chests we were to take with us. These coverings were then inflated with themlyne until the heavy boxes became so light that I could lift any one of them with one hand. No other gas known to science possesses so great buoyancy; a small volume of it overcame weight—i. e., the attraction of gravitation—to a wonderful degree. A single wire wheel with a broad, flat tire, was now attached to the front end of each chest, and two handles to the rear, converting the baggage into quaint looking wheelbarrows.
This task completed, Paul looked at a heap of material on the deck and said, as if the thought had just occurred to him:
“I see I have an extra outfit.” He turned to look at the interested group of sailors. “Will any one of you lads venture to join us?” he asked.