The Master Key

by L. Frank Baum

  "How are you going?" inquired his father, in the gentle, soothing tonepersons use in addressing maniacs.

  "Through the air," said Rob.

  His father groaned.

  "Where's your balloon?" inquired sister Mabel, sarcastically.

  "I don't need a balloon," returned the boy. "That's a clumsy way oftraveling, at best. I shall go by electric propulsion."

  "Good gracious!" cried Mr. Joslyn, and the mother murmured: "My poorboy! my poor boy!"

  "As you are my nearest relatives," continued Rob, not noticing theseexclamations, "I will allow you to come into the back yard and see mestart. You will then understand something of my electrical powers."

  They followed him at once, although with unbelieving faces, and on theway Rob clasped the little machine to his left wrist, so that his coatsleeve nearly hid it.

  When they reached the lawn at the back of the house Rob kissed them allgood-by, much to his sisters' amusement, and turned the indicator ofthe little instrument to the word "up."

  Immediately he began to rise into the air.

  "Don't worry about me!" he called down to them. "Good-by!"

  Mrs. Joslyn, with a scream of terror, hid her face in her hands.

  "He'll break his neck!" cried the astounded father, tipping back hishead to look after his departing son.

  "He'll break his neck!" cried the astounded father]

  "Come back! Come back!" shouted the girls to the soaring adventurer.

  "I will--some day!" was the far-away answer.

  Having risen high enough to pass over the tallest tree or steeple, Robput the indicator to the east of the compass-dial and at once beganmoving rapidly in that direction.

  The sensation was delightful. He rode as gently as a feather floats,without any exertion at all on his own part; yet he moved so swiftlythat he easily distanced a railway train that was speeding in the samedirection.

  "This is great!" reflected the youth. "Here I am, traveling in finestyle, without a penny to pay any one! And I've enough food to lastme a month in my coat pocket. This electricity is the proper stuff,after all! And the Demon's a trump, and no mistake. Whee-ee! How smalleverything looks down below there. The people are bugs, and the housesare soap-boxes, and the trees are like clumps of grass. I seem tobe passing over a town. Guess I'll drop down a bit, and take in thesights."

  He pointed the indicator to the word "down," and at once begandropping through the air. He experienced the sensation one feels whiledescending in an elevator. When he reached a point just above thetown he put the indicator to the zero mark and remained stationary,while he examined the place. But there was nothing to interest him,particularly; so after a brief survey he once more ascended andcontinued his journey toward the east.

  At about two o'clock in the afternoon he reached the city of Boston,and alighting unobserved in a quiet street he walked around for severalhours enjoying the sights and wondering what people would think of himif they but knew his remarkable powers. But as he looked just like anyother boy no one noticed him in any way.

  It was nearly evening, and Rob had wandered down by the wharves tolook at the shipping, when his attention was called to an ugly lookingbull dog, which ran toward him and began barking ferociously.

  "Get out!" said the boy, carelessly, and made a kick at the brute.

  The dog uttered a fierce growl and sprang upon him with bared teethand flashing red eyes. Instantly Rob drew the electric tube from hispocket, pointed it at the dog and pressed the button. Almost at thesame moment the dog gave a yelp, rolled over once or twice and laystill.

  "I guess that'll settle him," laughed the boy; but just then he heardan angry shout, and looking around saw a policeman running toward him.

  "Kill me dog, will ye--eh?" yelled the officer; "well, I'll just run yein for that same, an' ye'll spend the night in the lock-up!" And on hecame, with drawn club in one hand and a big revolver in the other.

  "You'll have to catch me first," said Rob, still laughing, and to theamazement of the policeman he began rising straight into the air.

  "Come down here! Come down, or I'll shoot!" shouted the fellow,flourishing his revolver.

  Rob was afraid he would; so, to avoid accidents, he pointed the tubeat him and pressed the button. The red-whiskered policeman keeledover quite gracefully and fell across the body of the dog, while Robcontinued to mount upward until he was out of sight of those in thestreets.

  "That was a narrow escape," he thought, breathing more freely. "I hatedto paralyze that policeman, but he might have sent a bullet after me.Anyhow, he'll be all right again in an hour, so I needn't worry."

  It was beginning to grow dark, and he wondered what he should do next.Had he possessed any money he would have descended to the town andtaken a bed at a hotel, but he had left home without a single penny.Fortunately the nights were warm at this season, so he determined totravel all night, that he might reach by morning some place he hadnever before visited.

  Cuba had always interested him, and he judged it ought to lie in asoutheasterly direction from Boston. So he set the indicator to thatpoint and began gliding swiftly toward the southeast.

  He now remembered that it was twenty-four hours since he had eatenthe first electrical tablet. As he rode through the air he consumedanother. All hunger at once left him, while he felt the sameinvigorating sensations as before.

  After a time the moon came out, and Rob amused himself gazing at thecountless stars in the sky and wondering if the Demon was right when hesaid the world was the most important of all the planets.

  But presently he grew sleepy, and before he realized what was happeninghe had fallen into a sound and peaceful slumber, while the indicatorstill pointed to the southeast and he continued to move rapidly throughthe cool night air.

  _CHAPTER FIVE_

  THE CANNIBAL ISLAND

  Doubtless the adventures of the day had tired Rob, for he sleptthroughout the night as comfortably as if he had been within his ownroom, lying upon his own bed. When, at last, he opened his eyes andgazed sleepily about him, he found himself over a great body of water,moving along with considerable speed.

  "It's the ocean, of course," he said to himself. "I haven't reachedCuba yet."

  It is to be regretted that Rob's knowledge of geography was sosuperficial; for, as he had intended to reach Cuba, he should havetaken a course almost southwest from Boston, instead of southeast. Thesad result of his ignorance you will presently learn, for during theentire day he continued to travel over a boundless waste of ocean,without the sight of even an island to cheer him.

  The sun shone so hot that he regretted he had not brought an umbrella.But he wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, which protected him somewhat, andhe finally discovered that by rising to a considerable distance abovethe ocean he avoided the reflection of the sun upon the water and alsocame within the current of good breeze.

  Of course he dared not stop, for there was no place to land; so hecalmly continued his journey.

  "It may be I've missed Cuba," he thought; "but I can not change mycourse now, for if I did I might get lost, and never be able to findland again. If I keep on as I am I shall be sure to reach land of somesort, in time, and when I wish to return home I can set the indicatorto the northwest and that will take me directly back to Boston."

  This was good reasoning, but the rash youth had no idea he was speedingover the ocean, or that he was destined to arrive shortly at thebarbarous island of Brava, off the coast of Africa. Yet such was thecase; just as the sun sank over the edge of the waves he saw, to hisgreat relief, a large island directly in his path.

  He dropped to a lower position in the air, and when he judged himselfto be over the center of the island he turned the indicator to zero andstopped short.

  The country was beautifully wooded, while pretty brooks sparkledthrough the rich green foliage of the trees. The island sloped upwardsfrom the sea-coast in all directions, rising to a hill that was almosta mountain in the center. There were two open spaces, on
e on eachside of the island, and Rob saw that these spaces were occupied byqueer-looking huts built from brushwood and branches of trees. Thisshowed that the island was inhabited, but as Rob had no idea whatisland it was he wisely determined not to meet the natives until he haddiscovered what they were like and whether they were disposed to befriendly.

  So he moved over the hill, the top of which proved to be a flat,grass-covered plateau about fifty feet in diameter. Finding it couldnot be easily reached from below, on account of its steep sides, andcontained neither men nor animals, he alighted on the hill-top andtouched his feet to the earth for the first time in twenty-four hours.

  The ride through the air had not tired him in the least; in fact,he felt as fresh and vigorous as if he had been resting throughoutthe journey. As he walked upon the soft grass of the plateau he feltelated, and compared himself to the explorers of ancient days; for itwas evident that civilization had not yet reached this delightful spot.

  There was scarcely any twilight in this tropical climate and it grewdark quickly. Within a few minutes the entire island, save where hestood, became dim and indistinct. He ate his daily tablet, and afterwatching the red glow fade in the western sky and the gray shadows ofnight settle around him he stretched himself comfortably upon the grassand went to sleep.

  The events of the day must have deepened his slumber, for when he awokethe sun was shining almost directly over him, showing that the day waswell advanced. He stood up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and decidedhe would like a drink of water. From where he stood he could seeseveral little brooks following winding paths through the forest, so hesettled upon one that seemed farthest from the brushwood villages, andturning his indicator in that direction soon floated through the airto a sheltered spot upon the bank.

  Kneeling down, he enjoyed a long, refreshing drink of the clear water,but as he started to regain his feet a coil of rope was suddenly thrownabout him, pinning his arms to his sides and rendering him absolutelyhelpless.

  At the same time his ears were saluted with a wild chattering in anunknown tongue, and he found himself surrounded by a group of nativesof hideous appearance. They were nearly naked, and bore spears andheavy clubs as their only weapons. Their hair was long, curly, andthick as bushes, and through their noses and ears were stuck the teethof sharks and curious metal ornaments.

  These creatures had stolen upon Rob so quietly that he had not heard asound, but now they jabbered loudly, as if much excited.

  Finally one fat and somewhat aged native, who seemed to be a chief,came close to Rob and said, in broken English:

  "How get here?"

  "I flew," said the boy, with a grin.

  The chief shook his head, saying:

  "No boat come. How white man come?"

  "Through the air," replied Rob, who was rather flattered at beingcalled a "man."

  The chief looked into the air with a puzzled expression and shook hishead again.

  "White man lie," he said calmly.

  Then he held further conversation with his fellows, after which heturned to Rob and announced:

  "Me see white man many times. Come in big boats. White men all bad.Make kill with bang-sticks. We kill white man with club. Then we eatwhite man. Dead white man good. Live white man bad!"

  This did not please Rob at all. The idea of being eaten by savages hadnever occurred to him as a sequel to his adventures. So he said ratheranxiously to the chief:

  "Look here, old fellow; do you want to die?"

  "Me no die. You die," was the reply.

  "You'll die, too, if you eat me," said Rob. "I'm full of poison."

  "Poison? Don't know poison," returned the chief, much perplexed tounderstand him.

  "Well, poison will make you sick--awful sick. Then you'll die. I'm fullof it; eat it every day for breakfast. It don't hurt white men, yousee, but it kills black men quicker than the bang-stick."

  The chief listened to this statement carefully, but only understood itin part. After a moment's reflection he declared:

  "White man lie. Lie all time. Me eat plenty white man. Never get sick;never die." Then he added, with renewed cheerfulness: "Me eat you, too!"

  Before Rob could think of a further protest, his captors caught up theend of the rope and led him away through the forest. He was tightlybound, and one strand of rope ran across the machine on his wrist andpressed it into his flesh until the pain was severe. But he resolvedto be brave, whatever happened, so he stumbled along after the savageswithout a word.

  After a brief journey they came to a village, where Rob was thrust intoa brushwood hut and thrown upon the ground, still tightly bound.

  "We light fire," said the chief. "Then kill little white man. Then eathim."

  With this comforting promise he went away and left Rob alone to thinkthe matter over.

  "This is tough," reflected the boy, with a groan. "I never expectedto feed cannibals. Wish I was at home with mother and dad and thegirls. Wish I'd never seen the Demon of Electricity and his wonderfulinventions. I was happy enough before I struck that awful MasterKey. And now I'll be eaten--with salt and pepper, probably. Wonderif there'll be any gravy. Perhaps they'll boil me, with biscuits, asmother does chickens. Oh-h-h-h-h! It's just awful!"

  In the midst of these depressing thoughts he became aware thatsomething was hurting his back. After rolling over he found that he hadbeen lying upon a sharp stone that stuck out of the earth. This gavehim an idea. He rolled upon the stone again and began rubbing the ropethat bound him against the sharp edge.

  Outside he could hear the crackling of fagots and the roar of anewly-kindled fire, so he knew he had no time to spare. He wriggledand pushed his body right and left, right and left, sawing away at therope, until the strain and exertion started the perspiration from everypore.

  At length the rope parted, and hastily uncoiling it from his body Robstood up and rubbed his benumbed muscles and tried to regain hislost breath. He had not freed himself a moment too soon, he found,for hearing a grunt of surprise behind him he turned around and saw anative standing in the door of the hut.

  Rob laughed, for he was not a bit afraid of the blacks now. As thenative made a rush toward him the boy drew the electric tube from hispocket, pointed it at the foe, and pressed the button. The fellow sankto the earth without even a groan, and lay still.

  Then another black entered, followed by the fat chief. When they sawRob at liberty, and their comrade lying apparently dead, the chiefcried out in surprise, using some expressive words in his own language.

  "If it's just the same to you, old chap," said Rob, coolly, "I won't beeaten to-day. You can make a pie of that fellow on the ground."

  "No! We eat you," cried the chief, angrily. "You cut rope, but no getaway; no boat!"

  "I don't need a boat, thank you," said the boy; and then, as the othernative sprang forward, he pointed the tube and laid him out beside hisfirst victim.

  At this act the chief stood an instant in amazed uncertainty. Then heturned and rushed from the hut.

  Laughing with amusement at the waddling, fat figure, Rob followed thechief and found himself standing almost in the center of the nativevillage. A big fire was blazing merrily and the blacks were busy makingpreparations for a grand feast.

  Rob was quickly surrounded by a crowd of the villagers, who chatteredfiercely and made threatening motions in his direction; but as thechief cried out to them a warning in the native tongue they kept arespectful distance and contented themselves with brandishing theirspears and clubs.

  "If any of your fellows come nearer," Rob said to the fat chief, "I'llknock 'em over."

  "What you make do?" asked the chief, nervously.

  "Watch sharp, and you'll see," answered Rob. Then he made a mocking bowto the circle and continued: "I'm pleased to have met you fellows, andproud to think you like me well enough to want to eat me; but I'm in abit of a hurry to-day, so I can't stop to be digested." After which,as the crowd broke into a hum of surprise, he added: "Good-day, blackfolks!" and
quickly turned the indicator of his traveling machine tothe word "up."

  Slowly he rose into the air, until his heels were just above the gapingblacks; but there he stopped short. With a thrill of fear he glancedat the indicator. It was pointed properly, and he knew at once thatsomething was wrong with the delicate mechanism that controlled it.Probably the pressure of the rope across its face, when he was bound,had put it out of order. There he was, seven feet in the air, butwithout the power to rise an inch farther.

  This short flight, however, had greatly astonished the blacks, who,seeing his body suspended in mid-air, immediately hailed him as a god,and prostrated themselves upon the ground before him.

  The fat chief had seen something of white men in his youth, and hadlearned to mistrust them. So, while he remained as prostrate as therest, he peeped at Rob with one of his little black eyes and saw thatthe boy was ill at ease, and seemed both annoyed and frightened.

  So he muttered some orders to the man next him, who wriggled along theground until he had reached a position behind Rob, when he rose andpricked the suspended "god" with the point of his spear.