The Master Key | Page 4

The Demon shrugged his shoulders.
"Then take the words of Mr. Shakespeare, to whom you all defer," he
replied. "Do you not remember that he says:
'Thy demon (that's thy spirit which keeps thee) is Noble, courageous,
high, unmatchable.'"
"Oh, if Shakespeare says it, that's all right," answered the boy. "But it
seems you're more like a genius, for you answer the summons of the
Master Key of Electricity in the same way Aladdin's genius answered
the rubbing of the lamp."
"To be sure. A demon is also a genius; and a genius is a demon," said
the Being. "What matters a name? I am here to do your bidding."

3. The Three Gifts
Familiarity with any great thing removes our awe of it. The great
general is only terrible to the enemy; the great poet is frequently
scolded by his wife; the children of the great statesman clamber about
his knees with perfect trust and impunity; the great actor who is called
before the curtain by admiring audiences is often waylaid at the stage
door by his creditors.
So Rob, having conversed for a time with the glorious Demon of
Electricity, began to regard him with more composure and less awe, as
his eyes grew more and more accustomed to the splendor that at first
had well-nigh blinded them.
When the Demon announced himself ready to do the boy's bidding, he
frankly replied:
"I am no skilled electrician, as you very well know. My calling you

here was an accident. So I don't know how to command you, nor what
to ask you to do."
"But I must not take advantage of your ignorance," answered the
Demon. "Also, I am quite anxious to utilize this opportunity to show
the world what a powerful element electricity really is. So permit me to
inform you that, having struck the Master Key, you are at liberty to
demand from me three gifts each week for three successive weeks.
These gifts, provided they are within the scope of electricity, I will
grant."
Rob shook his head regretfully.
"If I were a great electrician I should know what to ask," he said. "But I
am too ignorant to take advantage of your kind offer."
"Then," replied the Demon, "I will myself suggest the gifts, and they
will be of such a character that the Earth people will learn the
possibilities that lie before them and be encouraged to work more
intelligently and to persevere in mastering those natural and simple
laws which control electricity. For one of the greatest errors they now
labor under is that electricity is complicated and hard to understand. It
is really the simplest Earth element, lying within easy reach of any one
who stretches out his hand to grasp and control its powers."
Rob yawned, for he thought the Demon's speeches were growing rather
tiresome. Perhaps the genius noticed this rudeness, for he continued:
"I regret, of course, that you are a boy instead of a grown man, for it
will appear singular to your friends that so thoughtless a youth should
seemingly have mastered the secrets that have baffled your most
learned scientists. But that can not be helped, and presently you will
become, through my aid, the most powerful and wonderful personage
in all the world."
"Thank you," said Rob, meekly. "It'll be no end of fun."
"Fun!" echoed the Demon, scornfully. "But never mind; I must use the

material Fate has provided for me, and make the best of it."
"What will you give me first?" asked the boy, eagerly.
"That requires some thought," returned the Demon, and paused for
several moments, while Rob feasted his eyes upon the gorgeous rays of
color that flashed and vibrated in every direction and surrounded the
figure of his visitor with an intense glow that resembled a halo.
Then the Demon raised his head and said:
"The thing most necessary to man is food to nourish his body. He
passes a considerable part of his life in the struggle to procure food, to
prepare it properly, and in the act of eating. This is not right. Your body
can not be very valuable to you if all your time is required to feed it. I
shall, therefore, present you, as my first gift, this box of tablets. Within
each tablet are stored certain elements of electricity which are capable
of nourishing a human body for a full day. All you need do is to toss
one into your mouth each day and swallow it. It will nourish you,
satisfy your hunger and build up your health and strength. The ordinary
food of mankind is more or less injurious; this is entirely beneficial.
Moreover, you may carry enough tablets in your pocket to last for
months."
Here he presented Rob the