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Authors: The Master Key
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cupboard."
The king smiled.
"I hope you haven't killed my guards," said he.
"Oh, no; they'll come around all right."
"It is necessary," continued Edward, "that public men be protected from
intrusion, no matter how democratic they may be personally. You would
probably find it as difficult to approach the President of the United
States as the King of England."
"Oh, I'm not complaining," said Rob. "It wasn't much trouble to break
through."
"You seem quite young to have mastered such wonderful secrets of
Nature," continued the king.
"So I am," replied Rob, modestly; "but these natural forces have really
existed since the beginning of the world, and some one was sure to
discover them in time." He was quoting the Demon, although
unconsciously.
"You are an American, I suppose," said the minister, coming close to
Rob and staring him in the face.
"Guessed right the first time," answered the boy, and drawing his
Character Marking spectacles from his pocket, he put them on and stared
at the minister in turn.
Upon the man's forehead appeared the letter "E."
"Your Majesty," said Rob, "I have here another queer invention. Will
you please wear these spectacles for a few moments?"
The king at once put them on.
"They are called Character Markers," continued the boy, "because the
lenses catch and concentrate the character vibrations radiating from
every human individual and reflect the true character of the person
upon his forehead. If a letter 'G' appears, you may be sure his
disposition is good; if his forehead is marked with an 'E' his
character is evil, and you must beware of treachery."
The king saw the "E" plainly marked upon his minister's forehead, but
he said nothing except "Thank you," and returned the spectacles to Rob.
But the minister, who from the first had been ill at ease, now became
positively angry.
"Do not believe him, your Majesty!" he cried. "It is a trick, and
meant to deceive you."
"I did not accuse you," answered the king, sternly. Then he added: "I
wish to be alone with this young gentleman."
The minister left the room with an anxious face and hanging head.
"Now," said Rob, "let's look over the record of the past day and see if
that fellow has been up to any mischief."
He turned the cylinder of the Record to "England," and slowly the
events of the last twenty-four hours were reproduced, one after the
other, upon the polished plate.
Before long the king uttered an exclamation. The Record pictured a
small room in which were seated three gentlemen engaged in earnest
conversation. One of them was the accused minister.
"Those men," said the king in a low voice, while he pointed out the
other two, "are my avowed enemies. This is proof that your wonderful
spectacles indicated my minister's character with perfect truth. I am
grateful to you for thus putting me upon my guard, for I have trusted
the man fully."
"Oh, don't mention it," replied the boy, lightly; "I'm glad to have
been of service to you. But it's time for me to go."
"I hope you will favor me with another interview," said the king, "for
I am much interested in your electrical inventions. I will instruct my
guards to admit you at any time, so you will not be obliged to fight
your way in."
"All right. But it really doesn't matter," answered Rob. "It's no
trouble at all to knock 'em over."
Then he remembered his manners and bowed low before the king, who
seemed to him "a fine fellow and not a bit stuck up." And then he
walked calmly from the palace.
The people in the outer room stared at him wonderingly and the officer
of the guard saluted the boy respectfully. But Rob only smiled in an
amused way as he marched past them with his hands thrust deep into his
trousers' pockets and his straw hat tipped jauntily upon the back of
his head.
11 - The Man of Science
*
Rob passed the remainder of the day wandering about London and amusing
himself by watching the peculiar ways of the people. When it became so
dark that there was no danger of his being
The king smiled.
"I hope you haven't killed my guards," said he.
"Oh, no; they'll come around all right."
"It is necessary," continued Edward, "that public men be protected from
intrusion, no matter how democratic they may be personally. You would
probably find it as difficult to approach the President of the United
States as the King of England."
"Oh, I'm not complaining," said Rob. "It wasn't much trouble to break
through."
"You seem quite young to have mastered such wonderful secrets of
Nature," continued the king.
"So I am," replied Rob, modestly; "but these natural forces have really
existed since the beginning of the world, and some one was sure to
discover them in time." He was quoting the Demon, although
unconsciously.
"You are an American, I suppose," said the minister, coming close to
Rob and staring him in the face.
"Guessed right the first time," answered the boy, and drawing his
Character Marking spectacles from his pocket, he put them on and stared
at the minister in turn.
Upon the man's forehead appeared the letter "E."
"Your Majesty," said Rob, "I have here another queer invention. Will
you please wear these spectacles for a few moments?"
The king at once put them on.
"They are called Character Markers," continued the boy, "because the
lenses catch and concentrate the character vibrations radiating from
every human individual and reflect the true character of the person
upon his forehead. If a letter 'G' appears, you may be sure his
disposition is good; if his forehead is marked with an 'E' his
character is evil, and you must beware of treachery."
The king saw the "E" plainly marked upon his minister's forehead, but
he said nothing except "Thank you," and returned the spectacles to Rob.
But the minister, who from the first had been ill at ease, now became
positively angry.
"Do not believe him, your Majesty!" he cried. "It is a trick, and
meant to deceive you."
"I did not accuse you," answered the king, sternly. Then he added: "I
wish to be alone with this young gentleman."
The minister left the room with an anxious face and hanging head.
"Now," said Rob, "let's look over the record of the past day and see if
that fellow has been up to any mischief."
He turned the cylinder of the Record to "England," and slowly the
events of the last twenty-four hours were reproduced, one after the
other, upon the polished plate.
Before long the king uttered an exclamation. The Record pictured a
small room in which were seated three gentlemen engaged in earnest
conversation. One of them was the accused minister.
"Those men," said the king in a low voice, while he pointed out the
other two, "are my avowed enemies. This is proof that your wonderful
spectacles indicated my minister's character with perfect truth. I am
grateful to you for thus putting me upon my guard, for I have trusted
the man fully."
"Oh, don't mention it," replied the boy, lightly; "I'm glad to have
been of service to you. But it's time for me to go."
"I hope you will favor me with another interview," said the king, "for
I am much interested in your electrical inventions. I will instruct my
guards to admit you at any time, so you will not be obliged to fight
your way in."
"All right. But it really doesn't matter," answered Rob. "It's no
trouble at all to knock 'em over."
Then he remembered his manners and bowed low before the king, who
seemed to him "a fine fellow and not a bit stuck up." And then he
walked calmly from the palace.
The people in the outer room stared at him wonderingly and the officer
of the guard saluted the boy respectfully. But Rob only smiled in an
amused way as he marched past them with his hands thrust deep into his
trousers' pockets and his straw hat tipped jauntily upon the back of
his head.
11 - The Man of Science
*
Rob passed the remainder of the day wandering about London and amusing
himself by watching the peculiar ways of the people. When it became so
dark that there was no danger of his being
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