“My laboratory,” Dr. Gill said, leading them on. “Believe it or not, I am growing a new variety of plants down here. I foresee the day when everybody will live under the seas. And I realize that not all of them will have a taste for seaweed. So…”
He opened a door and ushered them into a large room that looked much like a greenhouse. Plants, in shallow wooden boxes, were growing everywhere.
Dr. Gill escorted them down the rows. “These are my sea cabbages.. these are my sea carrots… these are my sea spinaches… these are my sea peas… these are my sea-”
“Just a second,” Max interrupted, reaching into the satchel. “I think one of your sea peas dropped on the floor.”
Dr. Gill looked down. “I don’t see it.”
“Right here,” Max said, reaching down, then rising, holding a pea-like pellet between his fingers.
Dr. Gill took the pea from him. “Case of weak stem,” he frowned. “I’ll have to look into that.”
“Maybe you could glue it back onto the plant,” Max suggested.
Dr. Gill shook his head. “No, it’s useless now.”
He tossed the pea into the air and it floated out of the room.
Max and 99 stared.
“How did it do that?” Max asked.
“It was caught by the flow of air,” Dr. Gill explained. “As I told you, the air circulates, then is rejected by the exhaust system. Anything as light as a pea, if it isn’t anchored to something heavier, is carried away by the air flow.”
“Hmmmm.”
The tour proceeded.
“These are my sea tomatoes,” Dr. Gill said, pointing. “And these are my sea potatoes… and my sea rutabagas… and…”
Max dropped a pellet in among the rutabagas. It immediately floated away.
“Drat!”
“Pardon?” Dr. Gill said.
“I said, ‘Drat’s very interesting,’ ” Max replied. “You seem to have rations here to suit anybody’s taste. Which is quite an accomplishment-for sea rations.”
“Too bad you won’t be around a few months from now,” Dr. Gill said. “I’m cross-breeding some of these plants. I expect to produce sea lettabagas and sea carraches and sea tomapeas and sea spinatoes and all sorts of fascinating varieties.”
“You intend to release us, then, eh?” Max said.
“You could call it that,” Dr. Gill smiled. “I’ll call it ‘destroy’. But you can call it ‘release’ if you want to. You are fortunate that you were so impressed by my little garden. Otherwise, I would have destroyed you now. As it is, however, I will keep you around for a while. Later, you will join me at dinner. Then, after that, I will show you my garden again.”
“I can hardly wait,” Max said.
With Dr. Gill leading the way once more, they left the laboratory. A few moments later the three reached a cell.
“In here,” Dr. Gill said, opening the door. “I’ll keep you here until dinnertime.”
Max and 99 entered the cell, and Dr. Gill closed and locked the door.
“There is no escape from this cell,” Dr. Gill said. “But, even if you did get out, you couldn’t escape from the installation. The exhaust outlet-the only way out-is located near my office. I would see you. And when I saw you, I would-”
He pressed the button on the gadget.
“Max! Air!” 99 gasped.
“99! Air!” Max choked.
Dr. Gill pressed the button again. “You get the idea,” he grinned.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Max told him. “We’re just not the kind who eat and run.”
Still grinning, Dr. Gill departed.
“Max! We’re doomed!” 99 wailed.
“Not quite, 99!” Max replied. “This will come as a surprise to you, but, actually, I was lying when I said that we’re not the type to eat and run.”
“Max!”
“Considering the circumstance, I thought a little fib was pardonable,” Max said.
“I agree, Max. But how are we going to get out of here?”
“Be a little more specific, 99. Out of the installation or out of the cell?”
“Both.”
“Couldn’t you limit it to ‘out of the installation’? I know the answer to that.”
“But, Max, if we can’t get out of the cell, how can we get out of the installation?”
“There, 99, I think you have the nub of the problem,” Max replied. “In fact, my guess is that we’re doomed.”
“Max! The black bag. Maybe there’s something in the bag that will help us.”
“Well, it’s worth a look,” Max said.
He opened the bag and began extracting gadgets. “Here’s a collapsible shovel for digging out of a mud slide. And a collapsible compass for finding the side of the tree that the moss grows on. And a collapsible electric saw for sawing through the bars of a cell. And a collapsible-”
“Max!” 99 broke in. “That’s it-the collapsible saw!”
Max shook his head. “Collapsible electric saw, 99,” he pointed out. “As you can see, there’s no electrical outlet in this cell.”
“Oh… yes. Too bad. What else is there, Max?”
“Well, let’s see. Collapsible electric power unit for operating collapsible electric saw for sawing through the bars of a cell if there is no electrical outlet in the cell. Say! that might come in handy!”
“Max! Quick! Saw through the bars!”
Max plugged in the saw. Then, “Oh-oh,” he said.
“What is it, Max?”
“Unfortunately, this collapsible electric power unit has to be plugged into an electrical outlet.”
“Oh…”
“Well, I guess R amp; D can’t be expected to think of everything,” Max said. “At least, they made a try.” He began digging in the black bag again. “Here’s a set of collapsible fins,” he reported. “To be used when invited to a seaweed lunch. That’s thoughtful-but a bit late. And here’s-wait a minute, 99! Here’s exactly what we need-a collapsible battery pack to operate a collapsible electric power unit for operating a collapsible electric saw for sawing through the bars of a cell when there is no electrical outlet in the cell. R amp; D does think of everything!”
“Marvelous, Max!”
Max plugged the electrical power unit into the battery pack, then plugged the electric saw into the electrical power unit. The motor whirred. But Max simply stared at the saw.
“Max… what is it?” 99 asked.
“99… you know how the gadgets that R amp; D dreams up are not always what they appear to be?”
“Yes, Max…”
“It isn’t a saw, 99. It’s an electric toothbrush.”
“Oh.”
“Well, still, it’ll come in handy,” Max said. “As I recall, we didn’t brush after lunch.”
Max went back to the bag. He held up a tiny metal box. “Now, here’s something for the man who has everything,” he said. “A six-ounce container of superactivated rust.”
“Rust, Max?”
“Yes, you know-the stuff that eats away iron bars.”
“Max, if it eats away iron bars, why couldn’t we-”
