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Calbraith talked to the Sheriff.
They fixed it all up. Everybody with toothaches was going to the Town Hall and set. Then
Abernathy would bring the Perfesser over, with the shotgun gadget, and try it out.
'Will it stop the toothaches?" the Sheriff wanted to know. "For sure?"
"I'm-quite certain it will."
Abernathy had caught that behitation.
"Then you better try it on me first. Just to make sure. I don't trust you."
It seemed like nobody was trusting nobody.
I hiked back to the hotel and made the switch-over in the shotgun gadget. And then I run
into trouble. My invisibility was wearing thin. That's the worst part of being just a kid.
After I'm a few hunnerd years older I can stay invisible all the time if I want to. But I ain't
right mastered it yet. Thing was, I needed help now because there was something I had to
do, and I couldn't do it with people watching.
I went up on the roof and called Little Sam. After I'd tuned in on his haid, I had him put
the call through to Paw and Uncle Les. After a while Uncle Les come flying down from the
sky, riding mighty heavy on account of he was carrying Paw. Paw was cussing because a
hawk had chased them.
"Nobody seen us, though," Uncle Les said. "I think."
"People got their own troubles in town today," I said. "I need some help. That Perfesser's
gonna call down his commission and study us, no matter what he promises."
"Ain't much we can do, then," Paw said. 'We cain't kill that feller. Grandpaw said not to."
So I told 'em my idea. Paw being invisible, he could do it easy. Then we made a little place
in the roof so we could see through it, and looked down into Gaibraith's room.
We was just in time. The Sheriff was standing there, with his pistol out, just waiting, and
the Perfesser, pale around the chops, was pointing the shotgun gadget at Abernathy. It
went along without a hitch. Galbraith pulled the trigger, a purple ring of light popped out,
and that was all. Except that the Sheriff opened his mouth and gulped.
"You wasn't faking! My toothache's gone!"
Gaibraith was sweating, but he put up a good front. "Sure it works," he said. "Naturally. I
told you-"
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"C'mon down to the Town Hall. Everybody's waiting. You better cure us all, or it'll be just
too bad for you."
They went out. Paw snuck down after them, and Uncle Los picked me up and flew on their
trail, keeping low to the roofs, where we wouldn't be spotted. After a while we was fixed
outside one of the Town Hall's windows, watching.
I ain't heard so much misery since the great plague of London. The hall was jam-full, and
everybody had a toothache and was moaning
and yelling. Abernathy come in with the Perfesser, who was carrying the shotgun gadget,
and a scream went up.
Galbraith set the gadget on the stage, pointing down at the audience, while the Sheriff
pulled out his pistol again and made a speech, telling everybody to shet up and they'd get
rid of their toothaches.
I couldn't see Paw, natcherally, but I knew he was up on the platform. Something funny
was happening to the shotgun gadget. Nobody noticed, except me, and I was watching for
it. Paw-invisible, of course
-was making a few changes. I'd told him how, but he knew what to do as well as I did. So
pretty soon the shotgun was rigged the way we wanted it.
What happened after that was shocking. Galbraith aimed the gadget and pulled the trigger,
and rings of light jumped out, yaller this ~time. I'd told Paw to fix the range so nobody
outside the Town Hall would be bothered. But inside- Well, it sure fixed them toothaches.
Nobody's gold filling can ache if he ain't got a gold filling.
The gadget was fixed now so it worked on everything that wasn't growing. Paw had got the
range just right. The seats was gone all of a sudden, and so was part of the chandelier. The
audience, being bunched together, got it good. Pegleg Jaffe's glass eye was gone, too. Them
that had false teeth lost 'em. Everybody sorta got a once-over-
lightly haircut. . -
Also, the whole audience lost their clothes. Shoes ain't growing things, and no more are
pants or shirts or dresses. In a trice everybody in the hall was naked as needles. But,
shucks, they'd got rid of their toothaches, hadn't they?
We was back to home an hour later, all but Uncle Les, when the door busted open and in
come Uncle Les, with the Perfesser staggering after him. Galbraith was a mess. He sank
clown and wheezed, looking back at the door in a worried way.
"Funny thing happened," Uncle Les said. "I was flying along outside town and there was
the Perfesser running away from a big crowd of people, with sheets wrapped around 'em-
some of 'em. So I picked him up. I brung him here, like he wanted." Uncle Les winked at
me.
"Ooooh!" Galbraith said. "Aaaahl Are they coming?"
Maw went to the door.
"They's a lot of torches moving up the mountain," she said. "It looks right bad."
The Perfesser glared at me.
"You said you could bide me! Well, you'd better! This is your fault!"
"Shucks," I said.
"You'll hide me or else!" Calbraith squalled. "I-I'll bring that commission down."
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"Look," I said, "if we hide you safe, will you promise to fergit all about that commission
and leave us alone?"
The Perfesser promised. "Hold on a minute," I said, and went up to the attic to see
Grandpaw.
He was awake.
"How about it, Grandpaw?" I asked.
He listened to Little Sam for a second.
"The knave is lying," he told me pretty soon. "He means to bring his commission of
stinkards here anyway, recking naught of his promise."
"Should we hide him, then?"
"Aye," Grandpaw said. "The Hogbens have given their word-there must be no more killing.
And to hide a fugitive from his pursuers would not be an ill deed, surely."
Maybe he winked. It's hard to tell with Grandpaw. So I went down the ladder. Galbraith
was at the door, watching the torches come up the mountain.
He grabbed me.
"Saunk! If you don't hide me-"
"We'll hide you," I said. "C'mon."
So we took him down to the cellar.
When the mob got here, with Sheriff Abernathy in the lead, we played dumb. We let 'em
search the house. Little Sam and Grandpaw turned invisible for a bit, so nobody noticed
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