Adventure, December 3, 1920 — page 154: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

144 “No chance. He came out here this morn- ing, left the car and taxied to the wharf. Why?” 3 “IT was thinking that since the boat only left this morning, and the paper had been printed during the night, he-———” “Bright boy!” chuckled Kilgore. He had passage long ahead.” “Oh! Then it wasn’t yesterday that sent him kiting to China?” “No. It was day before yesterday—in other words, our plans already made.” McAuliffe threw open the doors, and we stepped into the garage. This was a fine roomy place with cement floor and.was excellently adapted to its pres- ent use asa shop. Money had not been spared to fit it up, either. There was a lathe with a drill beside it, run by electricity, and a good many more tools. Not being much of a me- chanic, I can not describe the place in detail. The main point of interest, to me, was the gun. And with this, I must confess, I fell in love at the first sight. My initial feeling was one of surprize. The gun was small, and an exclamation broke from me as I picked it up—the thing scarcely weighed fifteen pounds. The length was only a foot and a half. “Why, this—this is a toy,” I said. “Think ye so?” McAuliffe chuckled proudly. “Tt’s a verra deadly sort o’ toy, then. Let me haver a bittie we’ the lady, and I’ll guarantee she’ll aye speak to some purpose.” - The gun was mounted on a quadrupod, two legs of which, I perceived, had grab-bands for weights of stone or other material. The legs, also, were telescopic, evidently for altitude, one pair being longer to offer a long recoil- base. With the machine lay its case, a stout leather affair twenty inches in length and five square, the shoulder-strap of which served when in action as a Stirrup-strap for the feet of the operator, thus forming a strong resist- ance to the firing-throb. Kilgore went over the thing and explained its weight, or rather its lack of weight. “Tt’s built of a special steel and aluminum alloy. Here, the housing shows how thin it can be, yet I defy you to crack it with a sledge. She’s air-cooled. “She'll need air, all right,” I commented bluntly. ‘Fifty rounds, and this jigger will be red-hot and blowing up!” Kilgore laughed. “Think so? We tried her out two days ago, Day, on the shore. We timed a set-up to first shot and take-down and load. From cargo-pack to first shot was fifty-two seconds, and one minute twenty-five seconds from mounted to cargo again.’ “Oh, there’s no denying she’s a very handy little thing, except for the heat——” “Sure. Adventure ‘And we fired five hundred rounds within the minute. The gun showed less heat than would a rifle after twenty rounds.” I whistled. “But where’s the hammer to your gun?” “None. It’s fired by electric battery. Now you have the advantage of cheapness, light weight and strength.” “But you have to carry a battery——” “It weighs less than a_ single box of cartridges,” and he touched a_ battery-case on the work-bench. “Day, don’t you think the three of us would be fools to go up against the Gobi and that crowd of priests, with their tributary people, unless we’d tried and perfected this weapon? Of course. “Fandi Singh has taken the plans with him. He’ll arrange to make the Chinese Govern- ment a free gift of this weapon, you under- stand? In return, we have free access to the temple of the Ten Dromedaries and protection for all the loot we bring out. Incidentally we hope to get a good deal of scientific data, ethnic and so forth.” “Oh!” I said, wrinkling up my brows. “I smell a mouse in this free-gift business, old man! If the Chinese Republic had a few batteries of these guns scattered along the border, the little brown brothers would scarcely bother their sovereignty any more, eh?” Mac grinned. Kilgore looked a bit confused. “Oh, I say!” He attempted to protest, coloring a trifle. “You know, Japan is our ally. I mean, Great Britain’s ally——” I had him by this time, however. “You're a hot conspirator, you are!” I told him cheerfully. ‘This is where you fall down, old Canuck, you bet! I’m on to the game, all right. Let’s see,now. You've got a strong pull with the Chinese Republic, eh? And you’re making this gun here in San Francisco, where the Six Companies and the Welfare Societies can keep watch of things and assure no interference from Japanese gentlemen. Oh, this thing brightens up amazingly! Then you go over to China and presently the Republic equips its army with some new weapons, and the next time Japan comes along with a big bluff—blooey! The bluff doesn’t work. And Japan finds out why, and backs down. And China gains her own place among nations. And of course Great Britain knows nothing at all about it, nothihg at all! But China will be properly. grateful.” Mac broke into a peal of laughter and I was forced to grin a little myself at the con- fusion of Kilgore. “Dash it!’ he murmured. anything about that at all!” “No need,” I returned. “Craig Day can figure out two and two, occasionally! To carry the thing a bit farther, James Death knew something of your plans and kept an eye “T never said VOLO KS (G a" (E(0) im + . ea S - ~~ a a — . - . ie at ee ee STR