“I believe I have, vaguely,” replied Robin. “Isn’t it something to do with a motor engine?”
“No,” said Bruce. “It’s an extraordinary invention which absolutely suppresses the noise of the discharge of a gun.”
Robin shot a quick glance at the speaker.
“Go on,” he said.
“It’s a marvelous thing, really,” the boy continued, warming to his theme. “A man at Havre had one when I was at the base there, during the war. It’s a little cup-shaped steel fitting that goes over the barrel. You can fire a rifle fitted with one of these silencers in a small room and it makes no more noise than a fairly loud sneeze ...”
“Ah!”
Robin was listening intently now.
“Parrish had a Maxim silencer,” Bruce went on impressively.
“Parrish had?”
“It was fitted on his automatic pistol, the one he had in his hand when they found him ...”