into a
million sparks and vanished.

For a moment, no one spoke; then I heard Hinman's voice, and it was
decidedly unsteady.

"What is this, anyway?" he demanded. "The Arabian Nights?"

"No," said Godfrey, and in his voice was the ring of triumph. "It's
merely a device of one of the cleverest fakirs who ever lived. Take
the torch, Simmonds, and let us see how it works."

He dropped to his knees, while Simmonds lighted him, and I saw that
there was a hole in the floor about three inches in diameter. Godfrey
felt carefully about it for a moment, and then, with a little
exclamation of triumph, found a hold for his fingers, pulled sharply,
and raised a hinged section of the floor, about eighteen inches square.

"Now give us the light," he said, and plunged it into the opening.

In line with the little hole was an upright metal tube about a foot
long, ending in a small square box. Beside the tube, a slender iron
rod ran from the platform down into the box.

"That's the lever that sets it off," remarked Godfrey, tapping the
rod. "A pressure of the foot did it."

He pulled the rod loose, seized the tube, and lifted the whole
apparatus out upon the platform.

"Let's take it down where we can look at it," he said, and, carrying
it easily in one hand, led the way back to the library, cleared a
place on the table and set it down. Then, after a moment's
examination, he pulled back a little bolt and tilted the top of the
box, with the tube attached, to one side.

A curious mechanism lay revealed. There was a powerful spring, which
could be wound up with a key, and a drum wound with filament-like wire
and connected with a simple clock-work to revolve it. Two small
dry-batteries were secured to one side of the box, their wires running
to the drum.

"Why, it's nothing but a toy catapult!" I said.

"That's all," and Godfrey nodded. "It remained for Silva to add a few
trimmings of his own and to put it to a unique use. Instead of a
missile, he loaded it with his little aerial shell, attached to the
end of this wire. Then he shot it off with a pressure of the foot;
when it reached the end of the wire, the pull brought this platinum
coil against the battery wires and closed the circuit. The spark fired
the shell, and the drum began to revolve and pull it down. That
explains, Lester, why it descended so steadily and in a straight line.
The fellow who could devise a thing like that deserves to succeed!
Here's health to him!"