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Rob was quickly surrounded by a crowd of the villagers, who chattered

fiercely and made threatening motions in his direction; but as the chief

cried out to them a warning in the native tongue they kept a respectful

distance and contented themselves with brandishing their spears and

clubs.

If any of your fellows come nearer," Rob said to the fat chief, "I'll knock

'em over."

What you make do?" asked the chief, nervously.

Watch sharp, and you'll see," answered Rob. Then he made a mocking

bow to the circle and continued: "I'm pleased to have met you fellows,

and proud to think you like me well enough to want to eat me; but I'm in

a bit of a hurry to-day, so I can't stop to be digested." After which, as the

crowd broke into a hum of surprise, he added: "Good-day, black folks!"

and quickly turned the indicator of his traveling machine to the word

up."

Slowly he rose into the air, until his heels were just above the gaping

blacks; but there he stopped short. With a thrill of fear he glanced at the

indicator. It was pointed properly, and he knew at once that something

was wrong with the delicate mechanism that controlled it. Probably the

pressure of the rope across its face, when he was bound, had put it out

of order. There he was, seven feet in the air, but without the power to

rise an inch farther.

This short flight, however, had greatly astonished the blacks, who, seeing

his body suspended in mid-air, immediately hailed him as a god, and

prostrated themselves upon the ground before him.

The fat chief had seen something of white men in his youth, and had

learned to mistrust them. So, while he remained as prostrate as the rest,

he peeped at Rob with one of his little black eyes and saw that the boy

was ill at ease, and seemed both annoyed and frightened.

So he muttered some orders to the man next him, who wriggled along the

ground until he had reached a position behind Rob, when he rose and

pricked the suspended "god" with the point of his spear.

Ouch!" yelled the boy; "stop that!"

The Master Key