Silencer

Definition and stakes

Portrait of Natalie Sumner Lincoln Natalie Sumner Lincoln,  The three strings (1918)

“ Maynard’s words tumbled over themselves. “It is forbidden by law to put a Maxim silencer on any weapon.”
“Laws are broken daily in America, mon ami; why so excited over trifles?”
“Trifles!” Maynard ruffled his hair. “René, the man who shot at Burnham used a revolver or pistol with a Maxim silencer on it.”
“Eh bien! What then?”
“This,” tersely. “You have an automatic equipped with a Maxim silencer; you were standing within a few yards of where the shooting took place—the door and window both open; and your engagement to Evelyn is opposed by her step-father.” Maynard drew a long breath.
”
Source: Gutenberg

Camillo De Carlo,  The Flying Spy

“ This unusual noise would attract the attention of the Austrians. The only means for overcoming all difficulties was to apply such a powerful silencer to the plane as would deaden the noise of the motor, so that while descending, with the engine making but few revolutions, the firing of the engine would scarcely be heard and there would only remain the rustle of the propeller. ”
Source: Gutenberg

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