Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-05

them. rye been working hard on new
Gun-or rather an old gun. It's field ar.
tillery. quick 1ring. got onte the tdes
vented. have the speci2cation in my
pocket. The model Is 1t home. bfousha
II from Paris"
He fetched q parcel Of manuscript FROM
his pocket Ss, and nd u1eo lied, into
yeu mind?'
1T would interest me enormously saia
sypher.
II don't know why. hope you've done
nothing further with the guns OF issee
caliber. I've been thinking about them
seriously. and find they're al moon
shine
He smiled with wan cheersulnsss at the
waste Of the labor OF years. syphsr. o.
whose conscience the guns had laid th<i-
two-hundred.ton weight. felt greatly re-
ssurh nh1 his ssoe ns SS or.
big conceptions. Their working hAc
seemed plausible to his inexpert eye. He
had gone with confidence to his friend.
the expert on naval gunnery. who had re-
Of disrespect. Since then he had shrunk
from destroying his poor friends iilu-
sions.
YES. they're ell unmansgeable. I see
interest in naval affairs" He paused
and added. dreamily: II was horribly
| seasick crossing the channel this time"
Let us have q look at the field gum"
said sypher. eneourasingIy. Rememb.r-
| tie hope that Septimus would be more
successful by land than by sea; but his
| love and pity for the inventor compelled
interest Septimus' face frightened.
thing You see know more about it,
That's where the bomhardier comes
| in" laughed Sypher.
II shouldn't wonder" replied Septimus.
expounded the gun. Absorbed in his ex-
PLANTATION. he lost the drowsy incertitude
| OF his speech and the dreaminess Of his
| eyes. He spoke with rapidity. sureness
and a note Of enthusiasm rang oddly In
his voice. On the margins he sketched
illustrations Of the Calling. the Maxim,
and the Hotchkiss. and other guns, and
demonstrated the superior delicate dead
Illness OF his own. 1t could fire more
rounds per minute than any other piece
Of artillery known to man. 1t could feed
itself automatically from q magazine.
The new sighting apparatus made 1t a.
accurate as match rifle. It's power OF
massacre was unparalleled in the history
Of wholesale slaughter. A child might
| work 1t.
Septimus' explanation was too lucid for
q man of Sypher's intelligence not 10
grasp the essentials OF his invention. TO
l
factory answers. He could md no flaw
in the gun. Yet in his heart he felt that
the expert would put his finger on the
weak spot and consign the machine .
III 1t 10 all you say. there's fortune
in it, said he.
There's no shadow OF doubt about it,"
replied Septimus. I'll send Wiggleswick
over with the model tomorrow and you
can see for yourself
What are you going to do with it,
| II don't know" said Septimus. in hi
usual manner. II never know what to Il
with things when / invent them. I once
knew q man In the patent Office who pat
ented things for me. But he's marrie.i
now and gone to live In Balham.''
But he's still at the patent ofnce?"
Perhaps he Is" said 6eptimus. cit
never occurred to me. But Il has never
ented. One has to get them taken up.
Some Of them are drunk and disorderiy
i enough for them to be taken up at once"
he added, with his pale smile. He con.
replace the big-ealiber guns In our con-
tract by this one
Sypher agreed with pleasure to the rro-
posal. He knew q high military ofliciai
office who would SEQ that the thing was
properly considered. "If he's I'm town III
go and see him at once"
There's no hurry said SNptimus IL
| SnOul0nt Ike you 10 put y0ufOeu OUT. j
know you're a very busy man. Go in any
time you happen TO be passing. You ere
there pretty often now, I suppose"
| 'Why?'
my friend, Hegisippe Cruchot, gave
you an idea I'm Paris-about soldiers feet.
| How Is it deyeiopinGY'
Sypher made q wry face. II found, my
dear Dix, 1t was like your gums OF large
caliber." He rose and walked impatient
ly about the room. Don't Let ms talk
| about the Cure, there's q dear fellow. ]
come down here to forget It,"
Forget it?'
TTo be continued tomorrow