by Various
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ASTOUNDING
STORIES
OF SUPER-SCIENCE
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* * * * *
VOL. IV, No. 1 CONTENTS OCTOBER, 1930
COVER DESIGN H. W. WESSOLOWSKI
_Painted in Oils from a Scene in "The Invisible Death."_
STOLEN BRAINS CAPTAIN S. P. MEEK 7
_Dr. Bird, Scientific Sleuth Extraordinary, Goes After a Sinister Stealer of Brains._
THE INVISIBLE DEATH VICTOR ROUSSEAU 24
_With Night-Rays and Darkness-Antidote America Strikes Back, at the Terrific and Destructive Invisible Empire._ (A Complete Novelette.)
PRISONERS ON THE ELECTRON ROBERT H. LEITFRED 75
_Fate Throws Two Young Earthians into Desperate Conflict with the Primeval Monsters of an Electron's Savage Jungles._
JETTA OF THE LOWLANDS RAY CUMMINGS 94
_Into Remote Lowlands, in an Invisible Flyer, Go Grant and Jetta--Prisoners of a Scientific Depth Bandit._ (Part Two of a Three-Part Novel.)
AN EXTRA MAN JACKSON GEE 118
_Sealed and Vigilantly Guarded Was "Drayle's Invention, 1932"--for It Was a Scientific Achievement Beyond Which Man Dared Not Go._
THE READERS' CORNER ALL OF US 130
_A Meeting Place for Readers of Astounding Stories._
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Issued monthly by Publishers' Fiscal Corporation, 80 Lafayette St.,New York, N. Y. W. M. Clayton, President; Nathan Goldmann, Secretary.Entered as second-class matter December 7, 1929, at the Post Office atNew York, N. Y., under Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered as aTrade Mark in the U. S. Patent Office. Member Newsstand Group--Men'sList. For advertising rates address E. R. Crowe & Co., Inc., 25Vanderbilt Ave., New York; or 225 North Michigan Ave., Chicago.
Stolen Brains
_By Captain S. P. Meek_
_Two long arms shot silently down and grasped themotionless figure._]
[Sidenote: Dr. Bird, scientific sleuth extraordinary, goes after asinister stealer of brains.]
"I hope, Carnes," said Dr. Bird, "that we get good fishing."
"Good fishing? Will you please tell me what you are talking about?"
"I am talking about fishing, old dear. Have you seen the eveningpaper?"
"No. What's that got to do with it?"
Dr. Bird tossed across the table a copy of the _Washington Post_folded so as to bring uppermost an item on page three. Carnes saw hispicture staring at him from the center of the page.
"What the dickens?" he exclaimed as he bent over the sheet. Withgrowing astonishment he read that Operative Carnes of the UnitedStates Secret Service had collapsed at his desk that afternoon and hadbeen rushed to Walter Reed Hospital where the trouble had beendiagnosed as a nervous breakdown caused by overwork. There followed aguarded statement from Admiral Clay, the President's personalphysician, who had been called into conference by the armyauthorities.
The Admiral stated that the Chief of the Washington District was in noimmediate danger but that a prolonged rest was necessary. The papergave a glowing tribute to the detective's life and work and statedthat he had been given sick leave for an indefinite period and that hewas leaving at once for the fishing lodge of his friend, Dr. Bird ofthe Bureau of Standards, at Squapan Lake, Maine. Dr. Bird, the articleconcluded, would accompany and care for his stricken friend. Carneslaid aside the paper with a gasp.
* * * * *
"Do you know what all this means?" Carnes demanded.
"It means, Carnsey, old dear, that the fishing at Squapan Lake shouldbe good right now and that I feel the need of accurate information onthe subject. I didn't want to go alone, so I engineered this outrageon the government and am taking you along for company. For the love ofMike, look sick from now on until we are clear of Washington. We leaveto-night. I already have our tickets and reservations and all you haveto do is to collect your tackle and pack your bags for a month or twoin the woods and meet me at the Pennsy station at six to-night."
"And yet there are some people who say there is no Santa Claus," musedCarnes. "If I had really broken down from overwork, I would probablyhave had my pay docked for the time I was absent, but a man withofficial pull in this man's government wants to go fishing and presto!the wheels move and the way is clear. Doctor, I'll meet you asdirected."
"Good enough," said Dr. Bird. "By the way, Carnes," he went on as theoperative opened the door, "bring your pistol."
Carnes whirled about at the words.
"Are we going on a case?" he asked.
"That remains to be seen," replied the Doctor enigmatically. "At allevents, bring your pistol. In answer to any questions, we are goingfishing. In point of fact, we are--with ourselves as bait. If you havea little time to spare this afternoon you might drop around to theoffice of the _Post_ and get them to show you all the amnesia casesthey have had stories on during the past three months. They will beinteresting reading. No more questions now, old dear, we'll have lotsof time to talk things over while we are in the Maine woods."
* * * * *
Late the next evening they left the Bangor and Aroostook train atMesardis and found a Ford truck waiting for them. Over a rough trailthey were driven for fifteen miles, winding up at a log cabin whichthe Doctor announced was his. The truck deposited their belongings andjounced away and Dr. Bird led the way to the cabin, which proved to beunlocked. He pushed open the door and entered, followed by Carnes. Theoperative glanced at the occupants of the cabin and started back insurprise.
Seated at a table were two figures. The smaller of the two had hisback to the entrance but the larger one was facing them. He rose asthey entered and Carnes rubbed his eyes and reeled weakly against thewall. Before him stood a replica of Dr. Bird. There was the same sixfeet two of bone and muscle, the same beetling brows and the samecraggy chin and high forehead surmounted by a shock of unruly blackhair. In face and figure the stranger was a replica of the famousscientist until he glanced at their hands. Dr. Bird's hands were longand slim with tapering fingers, the hands of a thinker and an artistdespite the acid stains which disfigured them but could not hi
detheir beauty. The hands of his double were stained as were Dr. Bird's,but they were short and thick and bespoke more the man of action thanthe man of thought.
The second figure arose and faced them and again Carnes received ashock. While the likeness was not so, striking, there was no doubtthat the second man would have readily passed for Carnes himself in adim light or at a little distance. Dr. Bird burst into laughter at thedetective's puzzled face.
"Carnes," he said, "shake yourself together and then shake hands withMajor Trowbridge of the Coast Artillery Corps. It has been said bysome people that we favor one another."
"I'm glad to meet you, Major," said Carnes. "The resemblance ispositively uncanny. But for your hands, I would have trouble tellingyou two apart."
* * * * *
The Major glanced down at his stubby fingers.
"It is unfortunate but it can't be helped," he said. "Dr. Bird, thisis Corporal Askins of my command. He is not as good a second to Mr.Carnes as I am to you but you said it was less important."
"The likeness is plenty good enough," replied the Doctor. "He willprobably not be subjected to as close a scrutiny as you will. Did youhave any trouble in getting here unobserved?"
"None at all, Doctor. Lieutenant Maynard found a good landing fieldwithin a half mile of here, as you said he would, and he has hisDouglass camouflaged and is standing by. When do you expect trouble?"
"I have no idea. It may come to-night or it may come later. PersonallyI hope that it comes later so that we can get in a few days of fishingbefore anything happens."
"What do you expect to happen, Doctor?" demanded Carnes. "Every time Ihave asked you anything you told me to wait until we were in theMaine woods and we are there now. I read up everything that I couldfind on amnesia victims during the past three months but it didn'tthrow much light on the matter to me."
"How many cases did you find, Carnes?"
"Sixteen. There may have been lots more but I couldn't find any othersin the _Post_ records. Of course, unless the victim were a local man,or of some prominence, it wouldn't appear."
"You got most of them at that. Did any points of similarity strike youas you read them?"
"None except that all were prominent men and all of them mentalworkers of high caliber. That didn't appear peculiar because it is theman of high mentality who is most apt to crack."
"Undoubtedly. There were some points of similarity which you missed.Where did the attacks take place?"
"Why, one was at--Thunder, Doctor! I did miss something. Every case,as nearly as I can recall, happened at some summer camp or otherresort where they were on vacation."
"Correct. One other point. At what time of day did they occur?"
"In the morning, as well as I can remember. That point didn'tregister."
"They were all discovered in the morning, Carnes, which means that theactual loss of memory occurred during the night. Further, every casehas happened within a circle with a diameter of three hundred miles.We are near the northern edge of that circle."
* * * * *
Carnes checked up on his memory rapidly.
"You're right, Doctor," he cried. "Do you think--?"
"Once in a while," replied Dr. Bird dryly, "I think enough to know thefutility of guesses hazarded without complete data. We are now locatedwithin the limits of the amnesia belt and we are here to find out whatdid happen, if anything, and not to make wild guesses about it. Youhave the tent set up for us, Major?"
"Yes, Doctor, about thirty yards from the cabin and hidden so wellthat you could pass it a dozen times a day without suspecting itsexistence. The gas masks and other equipment which you sent to FortBanks are in it."
"In that case we had better dispense with your company as soon as wehave eaten a bite, and retire to it. On second thought, we will eat init. Carnes, we will go to our downy couches at once and leave oursubstitutes in possession of the cabin. I trust, gentlemen, thatthings come out all right and that you are in no danger."
Major Trowbridge shrugged his heavy shoulders.
"It is as the gods will," he said sententiously. "It is merely amatter of duty to me, you know, and thank God, I have no family tomourn if anything does go wrong. Neither has Corporal Askins."
"Well, good luck at any rate. Will you guide Carnes to the tent andthen return here and I'll join him?"
* * * * *
Huddled in the tiny concealed tent, Dr. Bird handed Carnes a haversackon a web strap.
"This is a gas mask," he said. "Put it on your neck and keep it readyfor instant use. I have one on and one of us must wear a maskcontinually while we are here. We'll change off every hour. If the gasused is lethane, as I suspect, we should be able to detect it beforeits gets too concentrated, but some other gas might be used and wemust take no chances. Now look here."
With the aid of a flash-light he showed Carnes a piece of apparatuswhich had been set up in the tent. It consisted of two telescopicbarrels, one fitted with an eye-piece and the other, which was at awide angle to the first, with an objective glass. Between the two wasa covered round disc from which projected a short tube fitted with aprotecting lens. This tube was parallel to the telescopic barrelcontaining the objective lens.
"This is a new thing which I have developed and it is getting itsfirst practical test to-night," he said. "It is a gas detector. Itworks on the principle of the spectroscope with modifications. Fromthis projector goes out a beam of invisible light and the reflectionsare gathered and thrown through a prism of the eye-piece. While aspectroscope requires that the substance which it examines beincandescent and throw out visible light rays in order to show thetypical spectral lines, this device catches the invisible ultra-violeton a fluorescent screen and analyzes it spectroscopically. Whoever hasthe mask on must continually search the sky with it and look for thethree bright lines which characterize lethane, one at 230, one at 240and the third at 670 on the illuminated scale. If you see any brightlines in those regions or any other lines that are not continuallypresent, call my attention to it at once. I'll watch for the firsthour."
* * * * *
At the end of an hour Dr. Bird removed his mask with a sigh of reliefand Carnes took his place at the spectroscope. For half an hour hemoved the glass about and then spoke in a guarded tone.
"I don't see any of the lines you told me to look for," he said, "butin the southwest I get wide band at 310 and two lines at about 520."
Dr. Bird advanced toward the instrument but before he reached it,Carnes gave an exclamation.
"There they are, Doctor!" he cried.
Dr. Bird sniffed the air. A faint sweetish odor became apparent and hereached for his gas mask. Slowly his hands drooped and Carnes graspedhim and drew the mask over his face. Dr. Bird rallied slightly andfeebly drew a bottle from his pocket and sniffed it. In anotherinstant he was shouldering Carnes aside and staring through thespectroscope. Carnes watched him for an instant and then a low whirringnoise attracted his attention and he looked up. Silently he caughtthe Doctor's arm in a viselike grip and pointed.
Hovering above the cabin was a silvery globe, faintly luminous in themoonlight. From its top rose a faint cloud of vapor which circledaround the globe and descended toward the earth. The globe hoveredlike a giant humming bird above the cabin and Carnes barely stifled anexclamation. The door of the cabin opened and Major Trowbridge,walking stiffly and like a man in a dream, appeared. Slowly headvanced for ten yards and stood motionless. The globe moved over himand the bottom unfolded like a lily. Two long arms shot silently downand grasped the motionless figure and drew him up into the heart ofthe globe. The petals refolded, and silently as a dream the globe shotupward and disappeared.
"Gad! They lost no time!" commented Dr. Bird. "Come on, Carnes, runfor your life, or rather, for Trowbridge's life. No, you idiot, leaveyour gas mask on. I'll take the spectroscope; it'll be all we need."
Followed by
the panting Carnes, Dr. Bird sped through the night alongan almost invisible path. For half a mile he kept up a headlong paceuntil Carnes could feel his heart pounding as though it would bursthis ribs. The pair debouched from the trees into a glade a few acresin extent and Dr. Bird paused and whistled softly. An answeringwhistle came from a few yards away and a figure rose in the darknessas they approached.
"Maynard?" called Dr. Bird. "Good enough! I was afraid that you mightnot have kept your gas mask on."
"My orders were to keep it on, sir," replied the lieutenant in muffledtones through his mask, "but my mechanician did not obey orders. Hepassed out cold without any warning about fifteen minutes ago."
"Where's your ship?"
"Right over here, sir."
"We'll take off at once. Your craft is equipped with a Birdsilencer?"
"Yes, sir."
"Come on, Carnes, we're going to follow that globe. Take the frontcockpit alone, Maynard; Carnes and I will get in the rear pit with thespec and guide you. You can take off your gas mask at an elevation of athousand feet. You have pack 'chutes, haven't you?"
"In the rear pit, Doctor."
"Put one on, Carnes, and climb in. I've got to get this spec set upbefore he gets too high."
The Douglass equipped with the Bird silencer, took the air noiselesslyand rapidly gained elevation under the urging of the pilot. Dr. Birdclamped the gas-detecting spectroscope on the front of his cockpit andpeered through it.
"Southwest, at about a thousand more elevation," he directed.
"Right!" replied the pilot as he turned the nose of his plane in theindicated direction and began to climb. For an hour and a half theplane flew noiselessly through the night.
"Bald Mountain," said the pilot, pointing. "The Canadian Border isonly a few miles away."
"If they've crossed the Border, we're sunk," replied the doctor. "Thetrail leads straight ahead."
* * * * *
For a few minutes they continued their flight toward the CanadianBorder and then Dr. Bird spoke.
"Swing south," he directed, "and drop a thousand feet and come back."
The pilot executed the maneuver and Dr. Bird peered over the edge ofthe plane and directed the spectroscope toward the ground.
"Half a mile east," he said, "and drop another thousand. Carnes, getready to jump when I give the word."
"Oh, Lord!" groaned Carnes as he fumbled for the rip cord of hisparachute, "suppose this thing doesn't open?"
"They'll slide you between two barn doors for a coffin and bury youthat way," said Dr. Bird grimly. "You know your orders, Maynard?"
"Yes, sir. When you drop, I am to land at the nearest town--it will beLowell--and get in touch with the Commandant of the Portsmouth NavyYard if possible. If I get him, I am to tell him my location and waitfor the arrival of reenforcements. If I fail to get him on thetelephone, I am to deliver a sealed packet which I carry to thenearest United States Marshal. When reenforcements arrive, either fromthe Navy Yard or from the Marshal, I am to guide them toward the spotwhere I dropped you and remain, as nearly as I can judge, two milesaway until I get a further signal or orders from you."
"That is right. We'll be over the edge in another minute. Are youready, Carnes?"
"Oh, yes, I'm ready, Doctor, if I have to risk my precious life inthis contraption."
"Then jump!"
* * * * *
Side by side, Carnes and the doctor dropped toward the ground. TheDouglass flew silently away into the night. Carnes found that thesensation of falling was not an unpleasant one as soon as he gotaccustomed to it. There was little sensation of motion, and it was notuntil a sharp whisper from Dr. Bird called it to his attention that herealized that he was almost to the ground. He bent his legs as he hadbeen instructed and landed without any great jar. As he rose he sawthat Dr. Bird was already on his feet and was eagerly searching theground with the spectroscope which he had brought with him in thejump.
"Fold your parachute, Carnes, and we'll stow them away under a rockwhere they can't be seen. We won't use them again."
Carnes did so and deposited the silk bundle beside the doctor's, andthey covered them with rocks until they would be invisible from theair.
"Follow me," said the doctor as he strode carefully forward, stoppingnow and then to take a sight with the spectroscope. Carnes followedhim as he made his way up a small hill which blocked the way. A hissfrom Dr. Bird stopped him.
Dr. Bird had dropped flat on the ground, and Carnes, on all fours,crawled forward to join him. He smothered an exclamation as he lookedover the crest of the hill. Before him, sitting in a hollow in theground, was the huge globe which had spirited away Major Trowbridge.
"This is evidently their landing place," whispered Dr. Bird. "The nextthing to find is their hiding place."
* * * * *
He rose and started forward but sank at once to the ground and draggedCarnes down with him. On the hill which formed the opposite side ofthe hollow a line of light showed for an instant as though a door hadbeen opened. The light disappeared and then reappeared, and as theywatched it widened and against an illuminated background four menappeared, carrying a fifth. The door shut behind them and they madetheir way slowly toward the waiting globe. They laid down their burdenand one of them turned a flash-light on the globe and opened a door inits side through which they hoisted their burden. They all entered theglobe, the door closed and with a slight whirring sound it rose in theair and moved rapidly toward the northeast.
"That's the place we're looking for," muttered Dr. Bird. "We'll goaround this hollow and look for it. Be careful where you step; theymust have ventilation somewhere if their laboratory is underground."
Followed by the secret service operative, the doctor made his wayalong the edge of the hollow. They did not dare to show a light and itwas slow work feeling their way forward, inch by inch. When they hadreached a point above where the doctor thought the light had been hepaused.
"There must be a ventilation shaft somewhere around here," hewhispered, his mouth not an inch from Carnes' ear, "and we've got tofind it. It would never do to try the door; if any of them are stillhere it is sure to be guarded. You go up the hill for five yards andI'll go down. Quarter back and forth on a two hundred yard front andwork carefully. Don't fall in, whatever you do. We'll return to thispoint every time we pass it and report."
The operative nodded and walked a few yards up the hill and made hisway slowly forward. He went a hundred yards as nearly as he couldjudge and then stepped five yards further up the hill and made his wayback. As he passed the starting point he approached and Dr. Bird'sfigure rose up.
"Any luck?" he whispered.
Dr. Bird shook his head.
"Well try further," he said. "I think it is probably beyond us, sosuppose you go fifteen yards up and quarter the same as before."
* * * * *
Carnes nodded and stole silently away. Fifteen yards up the hill hewent and then paused. He stood on the crest of the hill and before himwas a steep, almost precipitous slope. He made his way along the edgefor a few yards and then paused. Faintly he could detect a murmur ofvoices. Inch by inch he crept forward, going over the ground underfoot. He paused and listened intently and decided that the sound mustcome from the slope beneath him. A glance at his watch told him thathe had spent ten minutes on this trip and he made his way back to themeeting place.
Dr. Bird was waiting for him, and in a low whisper Carnes reported hisdiscovery. The doctor went back with him and together they renewed thesearch. The slope of the hill was almost sheer and Carnes lookeddubiously over the edge.
"I wish we had brought the parachutes," he whispered to the doctor."We could have taken the ropes off them and you could have lowered meover the edge."
Dr. Bird chuckled softly and tugged at his middle. Carnes watched himwith astonishment in the dim light, but he understood when Dr. Birdth
rust the end of a strong but light silk cord into his hands. Helooped it under his arms and the doctor with whispered instructions,lowered him over the cliff. The doctor lowered him for a few feet andthen stopped in response to a jerk on the free end. A moment laterCarnes signaled to be drawn up and soon stood beside the doctor.
"That's the place all right," he whispered. "The whole cliff iscovered with creepers and there is a tree growing right close to it.If we can anchor the cord here, I think that we can slide down to asafe hold on the tree."
A tree stood near and the silk cord was soon fastened. Carnesdisappeared over the cliff and in a few moments Dr. Bird slid down thecord to join him. He found the detective seated in the crotch of atree only a few feet from the face of the cliff. From the cliff came apronounced murmur of voices. Dr. Bird drew in his breath in excitementand moved forward along the branch. He touched the stone and after amoment of searching he cautiously raised one corner of a paintedcanvas flap and peered into the cliff. He watched for a few secondsand then slid back and silently pulled Carnes toward him.
* * * * *
Together the two men made their way toward the cliff and Dr. Birdraised the corner of the flap and they peered into the hill. Beforethem was a cave fitted up as a cross between a laboratory and ahospital. Almost directly opposite them and at the left of a door inthe farther wall was a ray machine of some sort. It was a puzzle toCarnes, and even Dr. Bird, although he could grasp the principle at aglance, was at a loss to divine its use. From a set of coils attachedto a generator was connected a tube of the Crookes tube type with therays from it gathered and thrown by a parabolic reflector onto thespace where a man's head would rest when he was seated in a whitemetal chair with rubber insulated feet, which stood beneath it. Anoperating table occupied the other side of the room while a gascylinder and other common hospital apparatus stood around ready foruse.
Seated at a table which occupied the center of the room were threemen. The sound of their voices rose from an indistinct murmur toaudibility as the flap was raised and the watchers could readilyunderstand their words. Two of them sat with their faces toward themain entrance and the third man faced them. Carnes bit his lip as helooked at the man at the head of the table. He was twisted andmisshapen in body, a grotesque dwarf with a hunched back, not overfour feet in height. His massive head, sunken between his hunchedshoulders, showed a tremendous dome of cranium and a brow wider andeven higher than Dr. Bird's. The rest of his face was lined and drawnas though by years of acute suffering. Sharp black eyes glaredbrightly from deep sunk caverns. The dwarf was entirely bald; even thebushy eyebrows which would be expected from his face, were missing.
* * * * *
"They ought to be getting back," said the dwarf sharply.
"If they get back at all," said one of the two figures facing him.
"What do you mean?" growled the dwarf, his eyes glittering ominously."They'll return all right; they know they'd better."
"They'll return if they can, but I tell you again, Slavatsky, I thinkit was a piece of foolishness to try to take two men in one night. Wegot Bird all right, but it is getting late for a second one, and theyhad to take Bird over a hundred miles and then go nearly three hundredmore for Williams. The news about Bird may have been discovered andspread and others may be looking out for us. Carnes might haverecovered."
"Didn't he get a full dose of lethane?"
"So Frick says, and Bird certainly had a full dose, but I can't helpbut feel uneasy. Our operations were going too nicely on schedule andyou had to break it up and take on an extra case in the same night asa scheduled one. I tell you, I don't like it."
"I'm sorry that I did it, Carson, but only because the results were sopoor. We had planned on Williams for a month and I wanted him. AndBird was so easy that I couldn't resist it."
"And what did you get? Not as much menthium as would have come from anordinary bookkeeper."
"I'll admit that Bird is a grossly overrated man. He must have workedin sheer luck in his work in the past, for there was nothing in hisbrain to show it above average. We got barely enough menthium toreplace what we used in capturing him."
"We ought to have taken Carnes and left Bird alone," snorted Carson."Even a wooden-headed detective ought to have given us a better supplythan Bird yielded."
"We are bound to meet with disappointments once in a while. I hadmarked Bird down long ago as soon as I could get a chance at him."
"Well, you ran that show, Slavatsky, but I'll warn you that we aren'tgoing to let you pull off another one like it. I take no more crazychances, even on your orders."
* * * * *
The hunchback rose to his feet, his eyes glittering ominously.
"What do you mean, Carson?" he asked slowly, his hand slipping behindhim as he spoke.
"Don't try any rough stuff, Slavatsky!" warned Carson sharply. "I canpull a tube as fast as you can, and I'll do it if I have to."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" protested the third man rising, "we are alltoo deep in this to quarrel. Sit down and let's talk this over. Carsonis just worried."
"What is there to be worried about?" grunted the dwarf as he slid backinto his chair. "Everything has gone nicely so far and no suspicionhas been raised."
"Maybe it has and then again maybe it hasn't," growled Carson. "Ithink this Bird episode to-night looks bad. In the first place, itcame too opportunely and too easily. In the second place Bird shouldhave yielded more menthium, and in the third place, did you notice hishands? They weren't the type of hands to expect on a man of his type."
"Nonsense, they were acid stained."
"Acid stains can be put on. It may be all right, but I am worried.While we are talking about this matter, there is another thing I wantcleared up."
"What is it?"
"I think, Slavatsky, that you are holding out on us. You are gettingmore than your share of the menthium."
Again the dwarf leaped to his feet, but the peace-maker intervened.
"Carson has a right to look at the records, Slavatsky," he said. "I amsatisfied, but I'd like to look at them, too. None of us have seenthem for two months."
The dwarf glared at first one and then the other.
"All right," he said shortly and limped to a cabinet on the wall. Hedrew a key from his pocket and opened it and pulled out aleather-bound book. "Look all you please. I was supposed to get themost. It was my idea."
"You were to get one share and a half, while Willis, Frink and I gotone share each and the rest half a share," said Carson. "I know howmuch has been given and it won't take me but a minute to check up."
* * * * *
He bent over the book, but Willis interrupted.
"Better put it away, Carson," he said, "here come the rest and wedon't want them to know we suspect anything."
He pointed toward a disc on the wall which had begun to glow.Slavatsky looked at it and grasped the book from Carson and replacedit in the cabinet. He moved over and started the generator and thetube began to glow with a violet light. A noise came from the outsideand the door opened. Four men entered carrying a fifth whom theypropped up in the chair under the glowing tube.
"Did everything go all right?" asked the dwarf eagerly.
"Smooth as silk," replied one of the four. "I hope we get some resultsthis time."
The dwarf bent over the ray apparatus and made some adjustments andthe head of the unconscious man was bathed with a violet glow. Forthree minutes the flood of light poured on his head and then the dwarfshut off the light and Carson and Willis lifted the figure and laid iton the operating table. The dwarf bent over the man and inserted theneedle of a hypodermic syringe into the back of the neck at the baseof the brain. The needle was an extremely long one, and Dr. Birdgasped as he saw four inches of shining steel buried in the brain ofthe unconscious man.
Slowly Slavatsky drew back the plunger of the syringe and Dr. Birdcould se
e it was being filled with an amber fluid. For two minutes theslow work continued, until a speck of red appeared in the glasssyringe barrel.
"Seven and a half cubic centimeters!" cried the dwarf in a tone ofdelight.
"Fine!" cried Carson. "That's a record, isn't it?"
"No, we got eight once. Now hold him carefully while I return some ofit."
* * * * *
Slavatsky slowly pressed home the plunger and a portion of the amberfluid was returned to the patient's skull. Presently he withdrew theneedle and straightened up and held it toward the light.
"Six centimeters net," he announced. "Take him back, Frink. I'll giveCarson and Willis their share now and we'll take care of the rest ofyou when you return. Is the ship well stocked?"
"Enough for two or three more trips."
"In that case, I'll inject this whole lot. Better get going, Frink,it's pretty late."
The four men who had brought the patient in stepped forward and liftedhim from the table and bore him out. Dr. Bird dropped the canvasscreen and strained his ears. A faint whir told him that the globe hadtaken to the air. He slid back along the limb of the tree until hetouched the rope and silently climbed hand over hand until he gainedthe crest. He bent his back to the task of raising Carnes, and theoperative soon stood beside him on the ledge surmounting the cliff.
"What on earth were they doing?" asked Carnes in a whisper.
"That was Professor Williams of Yale. They were depriving him of hismemory. There will be another amnesia case in the papers to-morrow. Ihaven't time to explain their methods now: we've got to act. You havea flash-light?"
"Yes, and my gun. Shall we break in? There are only three of them, andI think we could handle the lot."
"Yes, but the others may return at any time and we want to bag thewhole lot. They've done their damage for to-night. You heard my ordersto Lieutenant Maynard, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"He should be somewhere in these hills to the south with assistance ofsome sort. The signal to them is three long flashes followed in turnby three short ones and three more long. Go and find them and bringthem here. When you get close give me the same light signal and don'ttry to break in unless I am with you. I am going to reconnoitre alittle more and make sure that there is no back entrance through whichthey can escape. Good luck. Carnes: hurry all you can. There is notime to be lost."
* * * * *
The secret service operative stole away into the night and Dr. Birdclimbed back down the rope and took his place at the window. Willislay on the operating table unconscious, while Slavatsky and Carsonstudied the now partially emptied syringe.
"You gave him his full share all right," Carson was saying. "I guessyou are playing square with us. I'll take mine now."
He lay down on the operating table and the dwarf fitted an anesthesiacone over his face and opened the valve of the gas cylinder. In amoment he closed it and rolled the unconscious man on his face anddeftly inserted the long needle. Instead of injecting a portion of thecontents of the syringe as Dr. Bird had expected to do, he drew backon the plunger for a minute and then took out the needle and held thesyringe to the light.
"Well, Mr. Carson," he said with a malignant glance at the unconsciousfigure, "that recovers the dose you got a couple of weeks ago whileWillis watched me. I don't think you really need any menthium; yourbrain is too active to suit me as it is."
He gave an evil chuckle and walked to the far side of the cave andopened a secret panel. He drew from a recess a flask and carefullyemptied a portion of the contents of the syringe into it. He replacedthe flask and closed the panel, and with another chuckle he limpedover to a chair and threw himself down in it. For an hour he satmotionless and Dr. Bird carefully worked his way back along the branchand climbed the rope and started for the hollow.
* * * * *
A faint whirring noise attracted his attention, and he could see thefaintly luminous globe in the distance, rapidly approaching. It cameto a stop at the spot where it had previously landed and four men gotout. Instead of going toward the cave, they towed the globe, whichfloated a few inches from the earth, toward the side of the hillfarthest from where the doctor stood. Three of them held it, while thefourth went forward and bent over some controls on the ground. Acreaking sound came through the night and the men moved forward withthe globe. Presently its movement stopped and men reappeared. Againcame the creaking sound and the glow faded out as though a screen hadbeen drawn in front of it. The four men walked toward the door of thecave.
Dr. Bird dropped flat on the ground and saw them pause a few yardsbelow him on the hill and again work some hidden controls. A glare oflight showed for an instant and they disappeared and everything wasagain quiet. Dr. Bird debated the advisability of returning to thewindow but decided against it and moved down the face of the hill.
Inch by inch he went over the ground, but found nothing. In thedarkness he could not locate the door and he made his way around tothe back of the hill. The precipice loomed above him and he swept itwith his gaze, but he could locate no opening in the darkness and hedared not use a flash-light. As he turned he faced the east and notedwith a start of surprise that the sky was getting red. He glanced athis watch and found that Carnes had been gone for nearly three hours.
"Great Scott!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Time has gone faster than Irealized. He ought to be back at any time now."
* * * * *
He mounted the highest point of the hill and sent three long flashes,followed in turn by three short and three more long to the south andwatched eagerly for an answer. He waited five minutes and repeated thesignal, but no answering flashes came from the empty hills. With agrunt which might have meant anything, he turned and made his waytoward the opposite side of the hollow where the globe haddisappeared. Here he met with more luck. He had marked the locationwith extreme care and he had not spent over twenty minutes feelingover the ground before his hand encountered a bit of metal. As hepulled on it his eyes sought the side of the hill.
The dawn had grown sufficiently bright for him to see the result ofhis action. A portion of the hill folded back and the faintly glowingship became visible. With a muttered exclamation of triumph heapproached it.
The globe was about nine feet in diameter and was without visibledoors or windows. Around and around it the doctor went, searching foran entrance. The ship now rested solidly on the ground. He failed tofind what he sought and his sensitive hands began to go over itsearching for an irregularity. He had covered nearly half of it beforehis finger found a hidden button and pressed it. Silently a door inthe side of the craft opened and he advanced to enter.
"Keep them up!" said a sharp voice behind him.
Dr. Bird froze into instant immobility and the voice spoke again.
"Turn around!"
Dr. Bird turned and looked full into the eye of a revolver held by theman the dwarf had addressed as Frink. Behind Frink stood the dwarf andthree other men.
As his eye fell on Dr. Bird, Frink turned momentarily pale andstaggered back, the revolver wavering as he did so. Dr. Bird made alightning-like grab for his own weapon, but before he could draw itFrink had recovered and the revolver was again steady.
"Dr. Bird!" gasped Slavatsky. "Impossible!"
"Get his gun, Harris," said Frink.
* * * * *
One of the men stepped forward and dextrously removed the doctor'sautomatic and frisked him expertly to insure himself that he had noother weapon concealed.
"Bring him to the cave," directed Slavatsky, who, though obviouslystill shaken, had just as obviously recovered enough to be a verydangerous man. Two of the men grasped the doctor and led him alongtoward the entrance to the laboratory cave which stood wide open inthe gathering daylight. Frink paused long enough to shut the side ofthe hill and conceal the ship, and then followed the doctor. In thecave the door
was shut and the doctor placed against the wall underthe window through which he had peered earlier in the night. Slavatskytook his seat at the table, his malignant black eyes boring into theDoctor. Carson and Willis sat on the edge of the operating table,evidently still partially under the effects of the anesthetic that hadbeen administered to them.
"How did you get back here?" demanded Slavatsky.
"Find out!" snapped Dr. Bird.
The dwarf rose threateningly.
"Speak respectfully to me; I am the Master of the World!" he roared inan angry voice. "Answer my questions when I speak, or means will befound to make you answer. How did you get back here?"
Dr. Bird maintained a stubborn silence, his fierce eyes answering thedwarf's, look for look, and his prominent chin jutting out a littlemore squarely. Carson suddenly broke the silence.
"That's not the Bird we had here earlier," he cried as he staggered tohis feet.
"What do you mean?" demanded Slavatsky whirling on him.
"Look at his hands!" replied Carson pointing.
* * * * *
Slavatsky looked at Dr. Bird's long mobile fingers and an evil leercame over his countenance.
"So, Dr. Bird," he said slowly, "you thought to match wits with IvanSlavatsky, the greatest mind of all the ages. For a time you fooled mewhen your double was operated on here, but not for long. I presume youthought that we had no way of detecting the substitution? You havediscovered differently. Where is your friend, Mr. Carnes?"
"Didn't your men leave him in the cabin when you kidnapped me?"
Slavatsky looked at Frink inquiringly.
"He stayed in the cabin if he was in it when we got there," the leaderof the kidnapping gang replied. "He got a full shot of lethane andhe's due to be asleep yet. I don't know how this man recovered. I lefthim there myself."
"Fool!" shrieked Slavatsky. "You brought me a double, a dummy whom Iwasted my time in operating on. Was the other a dummy, too?"
"I didn't enter the cabin."
Slavatsky shrugged his shoulders.
"If that is all the good the menthium I have injected has done you, Imight as well have saved it. It doesn't matter, however: we have theone we wanted. Dr. Bird, it was very thoughtful of you to come hereand offer your marvelous brain to strengthen mine. I have no doubtthat you will yield even more menthium than Professor Williams didthis evening especially as I will extract your entire supply andreduce you to permanent idiocy. I will have no mercy on you as I haveon the others I have operated on."
Dr. Bird blanched in spite of himself at the ominous words.
"You have the whip-hand for the moment, Slavatsky, but my time maycome--and if it does, I will remember your kindness. I saw youroperation on Professor Williams this evening and know your power. Ialso know that you stole the idea and the method from Sweigert ofVienna. I saw you inject the fluid you drew into Willis' brain. ShallI tell what else I saw?"
It was the dwarf's turn to blanch, but he recovered himself quickly.
"Into the chair with him!" he roared.
* * * * *
Three of the men grasped the doctor and forced him into the chair andSlavatsky started the generator. The violet light bathed Dr. Bird's headand he felt a stiffness and contraction of his neck muscles, and as hetried to shout out his knowledge of Slavatsky's treachery, he found thathis vocal chords were paralyzed. Through a gathering haze he could seeCarson approaching with an anesthesia cone and the sweet smell of lethaneassailed his nostrils. He fought with all his force, but strong hands heldhim, and he felt himself slipping--slipping--slipping--and then fallinginto an immense void. His head slumped forward on his chest and Slavatskyshut off the generator.
"On the table," he said briefly.
Four men picked up the herculean frame of the unconscious doctor andhoisted him up on the table. Carson seized his head and bent itforward and the dwarf took from a case a syringe with a five-inchneedle. He touched the point of it to the base of the doctor's brain.
"Slavatsky! Look!" cried Frink.
With an exclamation of impatience the dwarf turned and stared at adisc set on the wall of the cave. It was glowing brightly. With anoath he dropped the syringe and snapped a switch, plunging the caveinto darkness. A tiny panel in the door opened to his touch and hestared out into the light.
"Soldiers!" he gasped. "Quick, the back way!"
As he spoke there came a sound as of a heavy body falling at the backof the cave. Slavatsky turned the switch and flooded the cave withlight. At the back of the cave stood Operative Carnes, an automaticpistol in his hand.
"Open the main door!" Carnes snapped.
* * * * *
Slavatsky made a move toward the light, and Carnes' gun roareddeafeningly in the confined space. The heavy bullet smashed into thewall an inch from the dwarf's hand and he started back.
"Open the main door!" ordered Carnes again.
The men stared at one another for a moment and the dwarf's eyes fell.
"Open the door, Frink," he said.
Frink moved over to a lever. He glanced at Slavatsky and a momentarygleam of intelligence passed between them. Frink raised his handtoward the lever and Carnes gun roared again and Frink's arm fell limpfrom a smashed shoulder.
"Slavatsky," said Carnes sternly, "come here!"
Slowly the dwarf approached.
"Turn around!" said Carnes.
He turned and felt the cold muzzle of Carnes' gun against the back ofhis neck.
"Now tell one of your men to open the door," said the detective. "Ifhe promptly obeys your order, you are safe. If he doesn't, you die."
Slavatsky hesitated for a moment, but the cold muzzle of the automaticbored into the back of his neck and when he spoke it was in aquavering whine.
"Open the door, Carson," he whimpered.
There was moment of pause.
"If that door isn't open by the time I count three," said Carnes,"--as far as Slavatsky is concerned, it's just too bad. I'll have fourshots left--and I'm a dead shot at this range. One! Two!"
His lips framed the word "three" and his fingers were tightening onthe trigger when Carson jumped forward with an oath. He pulled a leveron the wall and the door swung open. Carnes shouted and through theopened door came a half dozen marines followed by an officer.
"Tie these men up!" snapped Carnes.
* * * * *
In a trice the six men were securely bound and Frink's bleedingshoulder was being skilfully treated by two of the marines. Carnesturned his attention to the unconscious doctor.
He rolled him over on his back and began to chafe his hands. Anofficer in a naval uniform came through the door and with a swiftglance around, bent over Dr. Bird. He raised one of the doctor'seyelids and peered closely at his eye and then sniffed at his breath.
"It's some anesthetic I don't know," he said. "I'll try a stimulant."
He reached in his pocket for a hypodermic, but Carnes interrupted him.
"Earlier in the evening Dr. Bird said they were using lethane," hesaid.
"Oh, that new gas the Chemical Warfare Service has discovered," saidthe surgeon. "In that case I guess it'll just have to wear off. I knowof nothing that will neutralize it."
Without replying, Carnes began to feverishly search the pockets of theunconscious scientist. With an exclamation of triumph he drew out abottle and uncorked it. A strong smell as of garlic penetrated theroom and he held the opened bottle under Dr. Bird's nose. The doctorlay for a moment without movement, and then he coughed and sat up halfstrangled with tears running down his face.
"Take that confounded bottle away, Carnes!" he said. "Do you want tostrangle me?"
He sat up and looked around.
"What happened?" he demanded. "Oh, yes, I remember now. That brute wasabout to operate on me. How did you get here?"
"Never mind that, Doctor. Are you all right?"
"Right as a
trivet, old dear. How did you get here so opportunely?"
"I was a little slow in locating Lieutenant Maynard and the marines.When we got here I was afraid that we couldn't find the door, so Itook Maynard and a detail around to the back and I went up to the topand slid down our cord and looked in the window. You were unconsciousand Slavatsky was bending over you with a needle in his hand. I wasabout to try a shot at him when something called their attention tothe men in front and I squeezed through the window and dropped in onthem. They didn't seem any too glad to see me, but I overlooked thatand insisted on inviting the rest of my friends in to share in theparty. That's all."
"Carnes," said the Doctor, "you're probably lying like a trooper whenyou make out that you did nothing, but I'll pry the truth out of yousooner or later. Now I've got to get to work. Send for LieutenantMaynard."
* * * * *
One of the marines went out to get the flyer, and Dr. Bird stepped tothe cabinet from which Slavatsky had taken his record book earlier inthe evening and took out the leather-bound volume. He opened it andhad started to read when Lieutenant Maynard entered the cave.
"Hello, Maynard," said the Doctor, looking up. "Are the rest of theparty on their way?"
"They will be here in less than two hours, Doctor."
"Good enough! Have some one sent to guide them here. In the meanwhile,I'm going to study these records. Keep the prisoners quiet. If theymake a noise, gag them. I want to concentrate."
For an hour and a half silence reigned in the cave. A stir was heardoutside and Admiral Clay, the President's personal physician, enteredleading a stout gray-haired man. Dr. Bird whistled when he saw themand leaped to his feet as another figure followed the admiral.
"The President!" gasped Carnes as the officers came to a salute andthe marines presented arms.
The President nodded to his ex-guard, acknowledged the salute of therest and turned to Dr. Bird.
"Have you met with success, Doctor?" he asked.
"I have, Mr. President; or, rather, I hope that I have. At the sametime, I would rather experiment on some other victim of their deviltrythan the one you have brought me."
"My decision that the one I have brought shall be the first to beexperimented on, as you term it, is unalterable."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird bowed and turned to the dwarf who had been a sullen witnessof what had gone on.
"Slavatsky," he said slowly, "your game is up. I have witnessed one ofyour brain transfusions and I know the method. I gather from yournotes that the menthium you have hidden in that cabinet is still aspotent as when it was first extracted from a living brain, but in thiscase I am going to draw it fresh from one of your gang. Some of thedetails of the operation are a little hazy to me, but those you willteach me. I am going to restore this man to the condition he was inbefore you did your devil's work on him and you will direct mymovements. Just what is the first step in removing the menthium from abrain?"
The dwarf maintained a stubborn silence.
"You refuse to answer?" asked the Doctor in feigned surprise. "Ithought that you would rather instruct me and have me try theoperation first on other men. Since you prefer that I operate on youfirst, I will be glad to do so."
He stepped to the opposite wall and in a few moments had opened thedwarf's hiding place and taken out the flask of menthium.
"Carson," he said, "after you had watched Slavatsky inject menthiuminto Willis, you took lethane and expected him to inject menthium intoyour brain. Instead of doing so he withdrew a portion from your brainand put it in this flask. I have reason to believe from his secretrecords which I found in the cabinet with this flask that he has doneso regularly. Are you willing to instruct me while I remove thementhium from him?"
"The dirty swine!" shouted Carson. "I'll do anything to get even withhim, but I have never performed the operation. Only Slavatsky andWillis have operated."
"Will you help me, Willis? asked Dr. Bird.
"I'll be glad to, Doctor. I am sick of this business anyway. At first,Slavatsky just planned to give us abnormally keen brains, but latelyhe has been talking of setting himself up as Emperor of the World, andI am sick of it. I think I would have broken with him and told all Iknow, soon, anyway."
"Throw him in that chair," said Dr. Bird.
* * * * *
Despite the howlings and strugglings of the dwarf, three of themarines strapped him in the chair beneath the tube. The dwarf howledand frothed at the mouth and directed a final appeal for mercy to thePresident.
"Spare me, Your Excellency," he howled. "I will put my brains at yourservice and make you the greatest mentality of all time. Together wecan conquer and rule the world. I will show you how to build hundredsof ships like mine--"
The President turned his back on the dwarf and spoke curtly.
"Proceed with your experiments, Dr. Bird," he said.
Slavatsky directed his appeals to the doctor, who peremptorilysilenced him.
"I told you a few hours ago, Slavatsky, that the time might come whenI would remember your threats against me. I will show you the samemercy now as you promised me then. Carnes, put a cone over his face."
Despite the howls of the dwarf, the operative forced an anesthesiacone over his face and Dr. Bird turned to the valve of the lethanecylinder. With Willis directing his movements, he turned on the rayfor three minutes and removed the unconscious dwarf to the operatingtable. He took the long-needled syringe from a case and sterilized itand then turned to the President.
"I am about to operate," he said, "but before I do so, I wish toexplain to all just what I have learned and what I am about to do.With that data, the decision of whether I shall proceed will rest withyou and Admiral Clay. Have I your permission to do so?"
* * * * *
The President nodded.
"When I first read of these amnesia cases, I took them forcoincidences--until you consulted me and gave me an opportunity toexamine one of the victims. I found a small puncture at the base ofthe brain which I could not explain, and I began to dig into oldrecords. I knew, of course, of Sweigert of Vienna, and the extravagantclaims he had put forward in 1911. He was far ahead of his time, buthe mixed up some profound scientific discoveries with mysticism andoccultism until he was discredited. Nevertheless, he continued hisexperiments with the aid of his principal assistant, a man namedSlavatsky.
"Sweigert's theory was that intellectuality, brain power,intelligence, call it what you will, was the result of the presence ofa fluid which he called 'menthium' in the brain. He thought that itcould be transferred from one person to another, and with the aid ofSlavatsky, he experimented on himself. He removed the menthium from anunfortunate victim, who was reduced to a state of imbecility, andSlavatsky injected the substance into Sweigert's brain. The experimentresulted fatally and Slavatsky was tried for murder. He was acquittedof intentional murder but was imprisoned for a time for manslaughter.He was released when the Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up, andfor a time I lost track of him.
"I found translations of both the records of the trials and ofSweigert's original reports, and the thing that attracted my attentionwas that the puncture I found in the victim corresponded exactly withthe puncture described by Sweigert as the one he made in extractingthe menthium. I asked the immigration authorities to check over theirrecords and they found that a man named Slavatsky whose descriptioncorresponded with the ill-fated Sweigert's assistant had entered theUnited States under Austria's quota about a year ago. The chain ofevidence seemed complete to me, and it only remained to find the manwho was systematically robbing brains.
"If such a thing was really going on, I felt that my reputation wouldmake me an attractive bait and I secured a double, as you know, andplaced him in a position where his kidnapping would be an easy matter.I was sure that the victims were being taken away by air and thatlethane was being used to reduce the neighborhood to a
state ofprofound somnolence, so I hid myself near my double with a gasdetector which would find even minute traces of lethane in the air.
"My fish rose to the lure and came after the bait last night. When hisship arrived, I found a strange gas in the air, and followed the shipby the trail of the substance which it left behind it. Carnes was withme, and we got here in time to witness the extraction of the menthiumfrom my friend, Professor Williams of Yale, and to see it injectedinto one of Slavatsky's gang. I sent Carnes for help and messed arounduntil I was captured myself--and help arrived just in time. That'sabout all there is to tell. I am now about to reverse the process andtry to remove the stolen brains from the criminals and restore them totheir rightful owners. I have never operated and the result may befatal. Shall I proceed?"
The President and Admiral Clay consulted for a moment in undertones.
"Go on with your experiments, Dr. Bird," said the President, "and wewill hold you blameless for a failure. You have worked so manymiracles in the past that we have every confidence in you."
Dr. Bird bowed acknowledgment to the compliment and bent over theunconscious dwarf. With Willis directing every move, he inserted theneedle and drew back slowly on the plunger. Twenty-three and one-halfcubic centimeters of amber fluid flowed into the syringe before aspeck of blood appeared.
"Enough!" cried Willis. Dr. Bird withdrew the syringe and motioned toAdmiral Clay. The man the Admiral had brought in was placed in thechair and lethane administered. He was laid on the table, and, with asilent prayer, Dr. Bird inserted the needle and pressed the plunger.When five and one-quarter centimeters had flowed into the man'sbrains, he withdrew the needle and held the bottle which Carnes hadused to revive him under the man's nose. The patient coughed a momentand sat up.
"Where am I?" he demanded. His gaze roved the cave and fell on thePresident. "Hello, Robert," he exclaimed. "What has happened?"
With a cry of joy the President sprang forward and wrung the hand ofthe man.
"Are you all right, William?" he asked anxiously. "Do you feelperfectly normal?"
"Of course I do. My neck feels a little stiff. What are you talkingabout? Why shouldn't I feel normal? How did I get here?"
"Take him outside, Admiral, and explain to him," said the President.
Admiral Clay led the puzzled man outside and the President turned toDr. Bird.
"Doctor," he said, "I need not tell you that I again add my personalgratitude to the gratitude of a nation which would be yours, could themiracles you work be told off. If there is ever any way that can serveyou, either personally or officially, do not hesitate to ask. Theother victims will be brought here to-day. Will you be able to restorethem?"
"I will, Mr. President. From Slavatsky's records I find that I willhave enough if I reduce all of his men to a state of imbecility exceptWillis. In view of his assistance, I propose to leave him with enoughmenthium to give him the intelligence of an ordinary schoolboy."
"I quite approve of that," said the President as Willis humblyexpressed his gratitude. "Have you had time to make an examination ofthat ship of Slavatsky's, yet?"
"I have not. As soon as the work of restoration is completed, I willgo over it, and when I master the principles I will be glad to takethem up with the Army-Navy General Board."
"Thank you, Doctor," said the President. He shook hands heartily andleft the cave. Carnes turned and looked at the Doctor.
"Will you answer a question, Doctor?" he asked. "Ever since this casestarted, I have been wondering at your extraordinary powers. You haveordered the army, the navy, the department of justice and everyoneelse around as though you were an absolute monarch. I know thePresident was behind you, but what puzzles me is how he came to be sovitally interested in the case."
Dr. Bird smiled quizzically at the detective.
"Even the secret service doesn't know everything," he said. "Evidentlyyou didn't recognize the man whose memory I restored. Besides beingone of the most brilliant corporation executives in the country, hehas another unique distinction. He happens to be the only brother ofthe President of the United States."
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