Frictional Electricity

Bandaged from head to foot in an accident ward, plumber Mordecai Barnes asks his visitor a startling question: does he look like a burglar? Then he begins to explain how frictional electricity ruined his evening—and much more.

In the kitchens and boardinghouses of Mordecai’s world, scientific lectures offer wonders, and a black cat’s sparks can seem kin to the aurora borealis. His mate George has taught him that frictional electricity can cure pain; when rival William Jones challenges the claim while courting Bella Dougherty, Mordecai takes up the wager—and discovers he can send William into a sleep that looks remarkably like hypnosis. A little control over a rival seems harmless enough, until Mordecai decides to turn William’s affections elsewhere. What could possibly go wrong when a plumber mistakes a lecture-room marvel for a way to manage the heart?

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