The Project Gutenberg EBook of Restricted Tool, by Malcolm B. Morehart

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Restricted Tool

Author: Malcolm B. Morehart

Release Date: May 31, 2010 [EBook #32631]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RESTRICTED TOOL ***

Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

RESTRICTED TOOL

By Malcolm B. Morehart, Jr.

[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from Imagination Stories of
Science and Fantasy January 1953. Extensive research did not uncover any
evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Sidenote: Finders, keepers, is an unwritten law. But the gadget Clark
accidentally found had a special set of rules governing its use by
whom--and when!]

Richard Clark loaded his shotgun. He glanced up the canyon, gray and
misty under a cold dawn sky. A cotton-tail darted from a nearby bush and
bounced away. Clark's gunsights followed in a weaving line after his
bobbing target. Before he could draw a bead, the rabbit vanished behind
a distant scrub oak. Clark stalked him quietly. He knew he'd bag this
one without trouble, but any others around him would take cover at his
first shot.

His boots crunched loudly on gravel. At the sound the rabbit sprang into
the open and zigzagged toward a thicket. Furious at his clumsiness,
Clark blasted away with both barrels. He charged up the canyon, fumbling
in his parka for more shells, and crashed through dank high brush into a
shadowy clearing. A soft rustling sound quickly faded.

"Well, there he goes," Clark grumbled.

Something metallic glittered in a low, thorny shrub, and he bent down,
curious. From a black cord caught in its branches dangled a silvery
pocket flashlight. He smiled faintly as he pulled it loose. After months
of testing and inspecting complicated electronic devices, he found
simple gadgets amusing. He pressed a button on one end and eyed a white
knob on the other. When it didn't light up, he stuffed it in a pocket,
finishing reloading, and sighed, "At least I bagged something."

"Quite tr