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emergencies Rob had taken the electric tube from his pocket, and now,

as he examined the dress and features of the people below, the tube

suddenly slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, where one end

stuck slantingly into the soft earth.

A man rushed eagerly towards it, but the next moment he threw up his

hands and fell upon his back, unconscious. Others who ran to assist

their fallen comrade quickly tumbled into a heap beside him.

It was evident to Rob that the tube had fallen in such a position that the

button was being pressed continually and a current of electric fluid

issued to shock whoever came near. Not wishing to injure these people

he dropped to the ground and drew the tube from the earth, thus

releasing the pressure upon the button.

But the villagers had now decided that the boy was their enemy, and no

sooner had he touched the ground than a shower of stones and sticks

rained about him. Not one reached his body, however, for the Garment

of Repulsion stopped their flight and returned them to rattle with more or

less force against those who had thrown them--"like regular

boomerangs," thought Rob.

To receive their own blows in this fashion seemed so like magic to the

simple folk that with roars of fear and pain they ran away in all

directions.

It's no use stopping here," remarked Rob, regretfully, "for I've spoiled my

welcome by this accident. I think these people are Irish, by their looks

and speech, so I must be somewhere in the Emerald Isle."

He consulted his map and decided upon the general direction he should

take to reach England, after which he again rose into the air and before

long was passing over the channel towards the shores of England.

Either his map or compass or his calculations proved wrong, for it was

high noon before, having changed his direction a half dozen times, he

came to the great city of London. He saw at a glance that it would never

do to drop into the crowded streets, unless he wanted to become an

object of public curiosity; so he looked around for a suitable place to

alight.

Near by was a monstrous church that sent a sharp steeple far into the

air. Rob examined this spire and saw a narrow opening in the masonry

The Master Key