“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-”
“Just a second, 99. I think I’ve just had an idea that may save our lives. If rust eats away iron bars, why can’t we apply this rust to those iron bars? The rust will eat away the iron bars, and we’ll be free!”
“Max, that’s wonderful! Try it.”
“I will. Just let me read the instructions. ‘Apply rust to bars. Within a period of three to six years the rust will completely destroy the iron…’ 99, I think I better keep looking.”
“No, Max, read on,” 99 said, looking over his shoulder.
“All right. ‘In cases of emergency, the rusting process can be hurried by the use of heat. Note: friction creates heat.’ ”
“Max! We’re saved!”
“We are?”
“Max, apply the rust to the bars, then brush the bars with the electric toothbrush. The brushing will cause friction, which will create heat.”
Max thought a second, then replied, “99, I think I’ve got an idea. Why not apply this rust to the bars, then brush the bars with the electric toothbrush?”
“How will that help, Max?”
“Don’t be a needler, 99,” Max replied sourly. “Nobody likes a needler.”
“Sorry about that, Max.”
Max applied the rust to the bars, then switched on the electric toothbrush and began brushing the bars. Within minutes the bars had rusted away.
Max put all the items back into the black bag, then he and 99 stepped from the cell.
“What now, Max?” 99 asked.
“To the laboratory,” Max replied. “We still have to plant the explosive.”
They moved quietly along the corridor until they came to Dr. Gill’s plant laboratory. Then, entering, they made their way along a row.
“Ah-here’s what I want!” Max said.
“Max, that’s a tomato plant.”
Max opened the black bag. “As of now, it is,” he said. “In about a second it will be a cross-breed-a peamato plant.” He straightened, holding a tube. “In this tube,” he explained, “I have cement. I’ll simply glue this pellet-which looks like a pea-to the tomato plant, and when Dr. Gill sees it, he’ll think he has a peamato.”
“Good thinking, Max. And, of course, he’ll take special care of it.”
“Yes, until the whole thing blows up in his face,” Max smiled.
Max glued the pellet to the tomato plant, then put the cement back into the bag, and closed the bag. “Now, to escape from the installation,” he said, leading the way out of the laboratory.
“How, Max?”
“Don’t ask questions, 99. I have a theory. But if it were questioned too closely, I’m afraid I might find out that it won’t work.”
“I won’t say a thing, Max.”
Stealthily, they made their way along the corridor. Soon they reashed the room that housed the ventilating system.
“Now, when I say ‘now’,” Max said, “you and I will hold onto the end of this pipe.”
“This pipe where the air comes out?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t see-”
“Please, 99, no questions.”
“All right, Max.”
Max reached up and turned a small wheel. “Now!” he said.
He and 99 grabbed hold of the pipe.
“Max-”
“That little wheel controls the air pressure,” Max explained. “As you can see, air is now rushing into the tank-right?”
“Yes, I see, Max. But-”
“And what happens when you blow a lot of air into a bubble?” Max said.
“Well… it gets larger.”
“You will note that the bubbles in the tank are growing larger. They are growing so large, in fact, that the tank cannot hold them. So, what will happen?”