Rolling the cannon-ball to him, he lifted it very gently on to the
glass plate, and then taking a key from his pocket he appeared to wind
up on the inside of the instrument some mechanism which gave off a
buzzing sound. Next he drew on a pair of rubber gloves with vulcanized
rubber finger tips, and moistening with his lips the ends of the two
platinum wires, pressed them to either side of the ball, first the one
and then the other. A spark was given off when the second contact was
made, and the room was filled with a pungent odour as of overheated
metal which caused both men to cough violently.

Following this, with great care, and using only the tips of his
fingers, he lifted the glass plate with the ball on it. When he had
raised it his arm's length above the table, like a plum pudding on a
platter, he took the glass away, leaving the ball hanging unsupported
in the air.

He sat down and smiled across the table into the astonished, almost
incredulous, face of his companion.

"And now, Mr. Underhill, I hope you will pardon my rudeness," he
apologized lightly; "but I get so interested in these little tricks of
mine that sometimes I forget myself. If you will permit me, I shall,
when I go to Paris, order from Cartiers's a more befitting frame for
His Majesty, and shall beg you to accept it from me as a little
souvenir of our meeting today."

Underhill made no reply. His whole attention was riveted on that
amazing ball, and Edestone, a trifle mischievously, added: "If you
have a perfectly good heart, and think you can stand a bit of a shock,
touch that ball lightly with your finger."