The Lightning Catcher by Anne Cameron Read Free Book Online

state of repair, with deep gouges in the walls, large cracks that ran the full length of the floor, and water leaking from an exposed copper pipe beneath their feet. It wasn’t hard to see why no one had bothered to fix any of these problems, for the experimental division was exactly like Uncle Max’s workshop, only on a much bigger scale.
    Angus was hit immediately by the familiar smell of scorched oil and steam, and he grinned. Everywhere he looked there were strange machines and fascinating inventions; some were old and rusted, while others were quietly stewing with menace. Several of Uncle Max’s finest inventions, including his hailstone hurler, had been polished and placed under bright spotlights like the prize exhibits at a museum, and he wondered why he had never noticed before just how many of his uncle’s inventions were weather related. He also realized, with another rush of excitement, that Uncle Max must be a fully qualified lightning catcher himself—with at least three lightning bolts to his name.
    â€œI would advise you not to touch anything while we’re in the experimental division, Angus,” Edmund warned over his shoulder as they made their way into the long room. “It might also be a good idea to keep any breathing you have to do to an absolute minimum, just to be on the safe side. You never know what might be lurking in the air, toxic miasmas, poisonous fogs, infectious odors. . . . The whole Exploratorium had to be evacuated only last week after a foul stink extractor allowed dangerous levels of sweaty-sock concentrate to escape back into the air.”
    Angus took a deep gulp of air before they went any deeper into the room, hoping that he hadn’t just swallowed an infectious odor himself.
    At the far end of the experimental division, a group of men and women were busy working on what looked like an enormous vacuum cleaner. It had a long suction pipe at the front and a gigantic collection bag, which resembled the body of a massive spider, behind it.
    â€œWhat is that thing?” Angus asked nervously as they drew closer to it.
    â€œAh, now, that is one of our most sophisticated storm vacuums,” Edmund declared as though he himself had invented it. “I have it on very good authority that it can suck up several small blizzards and a medium-sized gale before the bag has to be emptied. But the storm vacuum is just one of the many ingenious inventions created by our excellent team in the experimental division, as you will learn in the course of your studies.”
    Angus felt a small thrill of nerves shiver through him at the mention of studies and grinned quietly to himself.
    â€œMy own personal favorite is the cloud-busting rocket launcher,” Edmund continued, pointing to a large machine to their left, which had a giant harpoon attached to the front of it.
    â€œWhat does it do?” Angus asked eagerly.
    â€œWell, I don’t wish to get too technical on your first day here, Angus, but the rocket launcher dissolves clouds. It simply melts them away with a bit of help from some silver iodide crystals and the basic laws of attraction. Only last year, in fact, it was used to disperse a very nasty storm that was threatening to spoil a sample-gathering operation by our rough weather research team. If all else fails, however, a storm snare must be used.”
    â€œA storm snare?” Angus asked.
    Edmund Croxley pointed to a cabinet filled with antique-looking instruments, each shaped like a trumpet. “Storm snares can temporarily trap cloudbursts, thunderstorms, and almost any other type of weather you can think of. They’re extremely rare and highly unstable, however. Hardly anyone knows how to use them, due to the great risk of death involved. Principal Lightning Catcher Dark-Angel is the only person at Perilous who owns one.”
    Angus was tempted to ask more about the deadly snares, but just then, there was a very threatening