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What is it?" asked Rob, wonderingly.

It is an automatic Record of Events," answered the Demon.

I don't understand," said Rob, with hesitation.

I will explain to you its use," returned the Demon, "although the

electrical forces which operate it and the vibratory currents which are the

true records must remain unknown to you until your brain has mastered

the higher knowledge of electricity. At present the practical side of this

invention will be more interesting to you than a review of its scientific

construction.

Suppose you wish to know the principal events that are occurring in

Germany at the present moment. You first turn this little wheel at the

side until the word 'Germany' appears in the slot at the small end. Then

open the top cover, which is hinged, and those passing events in which

you are interested will appear before your eyes."

The Demon, as he spoke, opened the cover, and, looking within, the boy

saw, as in a mirror, a moving picture before him. A regiment of soldiers

was marching through the streets of Berlin, and at its head rode a body

of horsemen, in the midst of which was the Emperor himself. The people

who thronged the sidewalks cheered and waved their hats and

handkerchiefs with enthusiasm, while a band of musicians played a

German air, which Rob could distinctly hear.

While he gazed, spell-bound, the scene changed, and he looked upon a

great warship entering a harbor with flying pennants. The rails were

lined with officers and men straining their eyes for the first sight of their

beloved "VATERLAND" after a long foreign cruise, and a ringing cheer, as

from a thousand throats, came faintly to Rob's ear.

Again the scene changed, and within a dingy, underground room,

hemmed in by walls of stone, and dimly lighted by a flickering lamp, a

body of wild-eyed, desperate men were plighting an oath to murder the

Emperor and overthrow his government.

Anarchists?" asked Rob, trembling with excitement.

Anarchists!" answered the Demon, with a faint sneer, and he shut the

cover of the Record with a sudden snap.

The Master Key