in a minute!"

"Half a minute," calmly corrected the stranger, as he snapped his watch
shut. At that instant Mary, the waitress, came into the room with a
large pitcher of water. As Dick turned to flee, for he realized that he
might be courting death to remain, should the lunatic's infernal
apparatus go off, Gibbs grabbed the pitcher.

"I'll fix it!" the butler cried, throwing the water at the ticking
machine. "But jump, all the same, Master Dick!"

As Dick prepared to jump from one of the dining-room windows, believing
that, as he had often read of such things occurring, he was to be made
the victim of a crank, the machine gave a louder click. Professor
Messapatomia, with a sudden motion of his arm, diverted the aim of
Gibbs, and the water flew to one side of the box. At the same moment
there was a jar, as from a heavy spring, and a shower of white objects
scattered about the room.

"There!" exclaimed the professor, triumphantly, "that's how it works!
Very simple, you see, and it scatters the bait all around. Then all you
have to do is to take your pole and line and catch all the fish you
want."

"Fish!" repeated Dick, somewhat in a daze. He had expected the house to
be half-blown apart, yet the machine only scattered harmless pieces of
paper about.

"Fish, of course," replied the professor, "What did you think this was?"

"Aren't you an Anarchist, and isn't that an infernal machine?" demanded
Gibbs, wiping away some of the water he had accidentally spilled over
his head when the professor knocked up his arm.

"Anarchist? Infernal machine?" repeated Professor Messapatomia. "Why, my
dear sir, that is my latest invention of a fish-catching device. You
see, you wind up the spring, and you set it to go off at any hour you
wish. Then you put some finely chopped pieces of meat in this top pan.
That is the bait. Only in this case, as I didn't want to muss up the
room, I used bits of paper. At the proper time the machine, which you
have set beside the stream where you desire to fish, goes off. The bait
is thrown all over the surface of the water. It attracts the fish, and
when you throw in your line you have no end of bites. It's the greatest
idea of the age! It will revolutionize fishing! It's simply marvelous!

"I have just perfected the invention, but I need money to put the
machine on the market. You, sir," turning to Dick, "are just the person
to help me. I read of your immense wealth and that you are fond of al