“She said you might be willing to show it to us.”
“Mrs. Leonard displays a remarkable interest in our affairs,” Mrs. Bettenridge commented sarcastically.
Again her husband shot her a warning glance.
“My dear, it is only natural that she should be interested in such an amazing machine as ours,” he said. “I see no reason why the young ladies should not view it.”
“Oh, may we?” Louise cried eagerly.
Although his wife scowled with displeasure, the professor bade the girls follow him to the nearby shack. The door was padlocked and he opened it with a key.
Inside, the room was bare of furniture. There were a few boxes and a large table upon which rested a sizeable object covered with canvas.
“My secret ray machine is expected to revolutionize warfare,” the professor said proudly. “Behold the product of fifteen years of faithful work!”
Dramatically he jerked aside the canvas cover, revealing a complicated mechanism of convex and concave mirrors which rotated on their bases. In the center of the machine was a small crystal ball.
“How does it operate?” Louise asked, deeply impressed.