It was too good a chance to
miss. One doesn't find such a complete outfit ready to hand every
day."
Out of the tanks stout tubes led, with stop-cocks and gauges at
the top. From a case under his arm Kennedy produced a curious
arrangement like a huge hook, with a curved neck and a sharp beak.
Really it consisted of two metal tubes which ran into a sort of
cylinder, or mixing chamber, above the nozzle, while parallel to
them ran a third separate tube with a second nozzle of its own.
Quickly he joined the ends of the tubes from the tanks to the
metal hook, the oxygen tank being joined to two of the tubes of
the hook, and the second tank being joined to the other. With a
match he touched the nozzle gingerly. Instantly a hissing,
spitting noise followed, and an intense, blinding needle of flame.
"Now we'll see what an oxyacetylene blow-pipe will do to you, old
stick-in-the-mud," cried Kennedy, as he advanced toward the safe,
addressing it as though it had been a thing of life that stood in
his way. "I think this will make short work of you."
Almost as he said it, the steel beneath the blow-pipe became
incandescent. For some time he laboured to get a starting-point
for the flame of the high-pressure torch.
Pages:
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277