Hoberman Spear

Dr. Splendid had spent the last six days slashing his way through the jungle in Darkest Bwanowonia and had not eaten for the past three. You can imagine how pleased he was when he finally broke into a clearing, on the other side of which was an adult tapir, busily licking out the inside of a termite mound.

"Kwanagu!" he whispered to his bearer "Quick, my spear!".

Kwanagu fished inside Dr. Splendid's haversack and pulled forth an odd looking but compact steel contraption. It consisted of an extendible scissor action arm, on one end of which was mounted a six inch steel spike with a cork on the tip. On the other end there was a cylindrical bundle of plastic, held tight with an elastic band.

After removing the cork from the end of the spike Dr. Splendid removed the elastic band, allowing the plastic to unfurl and form a cluster of flights that stood smartly out from their steel mount.

He weighed the device carefully in his right hand and hungrily took aim at the tapir. "Chocks away Kwanagu!" he whispered before hurling it towards the unsuspecting beast.

Once in flight, a curious metamorphosis occured. The drag from the flights slowed one end of the weapon down, first swinging it around so that the spike was facing forward, then stretching out the scissor arm, extending it to it's full six feet. The tapir just had time to register a moment of surprise in it's eyes as the spike punctured the skin, before the full force of the scissor arm snapping shut behind it drove the spike into it's heart.

Dr. Splendid grinned at Kwanagu from under his pith helmet. "Gather firewood while I pour the last of the Umgeni Fire Juice, we shall eat well tonight!"