"Well, what Government will you sell to?"
"To none. Germany’s out of the question, of course. France, Russia, Italy, Japan—they’re all unfitter than England, Canada or the States. Once I planned to raise up the people that are down—the Poles, Irish, Armenians, Filipinos, and so on. Then I got to fancying the Irish with power to blow everything above rock in England out to sea. Would they be satisfied with moving the Imperial Parliament to College Green, giving England a Viceroy and local councils, putting a Catholic King in George’s shoes and fixing the coronation oath to abjuring Protestant errors? I can’t seem to think they’d be so mild. What would the Poles do to the Prussians, Austrians, and Russians; or the Armenians to the Turks, if I gave them the Odistor? No—I won’t take such risks. If I gave the thing to one Nation the only fair deal would be to give it to all, big and little alike, making the smallest as powerful as the biggest, everyone with power to blow all the others off the footstool. What then? Would mutual fear make them live peaceably? I’m feared not. Probably every one would be so afraid of every other that each would be for getting its Odistors to work first. There’d be cyclones jamming into cyclones all over outdoors, a teetotal destruction of crops, and everything and everybody blown clean away at once. Wonder where they’d light?"
His query, did not divert me from the main matter. "If you won’t sell, how can you get any money out of it?" I asked.
"No difficulty getting money out of it. Here I am able to blow everything away—say Berlin and thereabouts for a starter, just to show how the thing works. Then all hands would know I could blow away all Europe—except maybe the Alps. I don’t know exactly how strong the Odistor could blow. Wouldn’t all the Governments unite to pay me _not_ to do it. See? All the money John Rockefeller ever handled wouldn’t pay five minutes’ interest on what I ought to get for just _not_ doing it. No harm in not hurting anybody—see? And me working for Miss Minnely for forty-five dollars a week!"
"Resign, Adam," I said earnestly, for the financial prospect was dazzling. "Take me in as junior partner. Let us get at this thing together."