Dr. Bird strove to lift the detective, but
toward again. Dr. Bird hurled a second his strength was not equal to the task. He grenade and again the rush was checked but
lowered the detective again and a soul-shaking the third time it came on again. Carnes stood
sob of sheer agony broke from the tortured
up and swung his arm in imitation of the
man’s lips. With a sigh, Dr. Bird again bent
Doctor but his foot slipped on the purple moss his muscles to the task. Another groan came
and his grenade fell short of its mark. Full in from Carnes and he relapsed into a dead
the center of the silver pool it fell and after a weight.
moment’s pause, a crash like all the thunder of
“He’s fainted,” muttered the Doctor
the universe rent the air. From the pool rose a after a brief examination. “It’s a good thing.
Amazing
14
I’ll have to drag him.”
He dropped on all fours and hauled the
FIVE days later, Dr. Bird, to all external
unconscious detective’s body up on his back
appearances none the worse for his adventure,
and started the long crawl back towards the
sat by the side of the bed where Carnes lay
car.
with his leg in splints.
Foot by foot with infinite torture and
“This is the first time you’ve been able
Herculean efforts, the Doctor won his way
to see anyone, old dear,” he said. “I’ll never forward. The grass had been beaten flat by the forget what you did for me. You saved my
force of the explosion but the path showed
life!”
plainly to guide him. Foot by foot and yard by
“We’re quits, Doctor,” replied Carnes
yard he crawled with rapidly failing strength, with a grin, “You saved mine when you
now half carrying and now dragging the dragged me out.”
unconscious Carnes. Night had almost fallen
“Oh, that!” exclaimed the Doctor.
and he sobbed with weakness and despair at
“That was nothing, but you deliberately gave
the thought of spending the night in the open
up your chance of escape and ran your head
with his stricken companion. Again and again
into a noose——”
he stopped to rest and at last after a hundred-
“Oh, that!” mocked Carnes. “That was
yard drag he collapsed in a heap.
nothing.”
“I guess I’m done,” he muttered to
Their eyes met and then their hands.
himself.
Dr. Bird coughed suddenly and turned away.
After a rest he strove to renew his
“Doctor,” said Carnes after a moment
progress, but his tired muscles refused to obey of silence, “What was that pool?”
his will and he sank back in a lethargy of
“To the best of my knowledge and
helplessness. A sound, faint and far-off belief. Carnes.” replied the Doctor, “that was a brought his head up with a jerk. He listened
pool of molten metallic radium. I suspected
intently and gave a sob of joy as the sound
something of the sort when I first began to
was repeated. Far-off and faint it was, but it study this case in Washington. There has been
was unmistakable. It was a hail in a human
a theory advanced by certain physicists for a
voice.
number of years that the interior of the earth With fumbling fingers he unbound and
contains a very large amount of radioactive
raised his helmet and expended his last material and I believe that the eruption of strength in an answering hail. A reply came
Cinder Cone last year threw some of this
back and in a few minutes the sound of material to the surface.
footsteps making their way across the leveled
“Radium, as you probably know,
vegetation could be heard. An electric flash
throws off three distinct kinds of rays; the
stabbed its way through the gathering dusk
alpha rays which are atoms of helium gas, the
and a searching party headed by Dr. Albright
beta rays which are electrons, and the gamma
came into view. With a feeble cry. Dr. Bird
rays which are a true ray, a wave-motion of
directed the searchers to him.
very short wavelength. When I took samples
“What on earth, Doctor?” exclaimed
of the air at various points I was looking for Albright in dismay. “What happened?”
helium gas. I can’t make a quantitative
“Can’t tell now,” mumbled Dr. Bird.
analysis until we get back to Washington but
“Carnes is hurt, I’m tired—take us home—
my spectroscope shows the gas present in each
need——”
sample in larger than normal amounts.
His voice trailed off into silence.
“I detected and measured the beta rays
The Earth’s Cancer
15
by means of the electroscope. The beta rays
am convinced that the detonation wave which
ionize air and make it an electrical conductor the grenade started, set off the entire pool,
so the charge of the electroscope leaked off in which would account for the terrific disruptive proportion to the concentration of beta rays in effect which we witnessed.”
the air. They were also the cause of the
“I always thought that a little radium
missing of our motor and the cause of the
would blow up the world,” exclaimed Carnes.
wreck of the plane. The air became a “That pool must have contained tons of it.”
conductor instead of an insulator as it usually
“I fancy that it was a pretty thick skin
is and the spark failed.
which lay on top of some other substance—
“It was the gamma rays which played
possibly some form of dense lava,” replied Dr.
havoc with the people and the vegetation. As I Bird. “Further, I have no idea that a complete told you some time ago, cancer is not a germ
atomic disintegration took place. Radium in its disease. It is an abnormal growth of giant
breakdown eventually degenerates into lead
cells; growth run wild. It may be caused or
and I fancy that that was as far as the break-
induced by several of the shorter rays. X-ray
down went. Lead is a pretty stable substance.
burns have been known to develop into On our way back we passed through the glade cancerous growths and there a number of where I was captured and I picked up two of instances on record of radium burns having
those pieces of radium which they applied to
done so. These facts gave me an inkling of the my body and brought them with me. They are
truth of the matter and I had those lead suits in a heavy lead box now and I’m going to
and those helmets with lead glass windows
examine them when I get back to Washington
prepared before we came. Lead is the material
and have the proper apparatus. If they turn out which is most nearly impervious to the gamma
to be radium, we’re millionaires, Carnesy, old rays of radium.
dear.”
“When I saw those lights, so typical of
“I hope so, Doctor. Much obliged for
radioactivity, I was more than ever convinced
the explanation.
I understood some of it.”
of the correctness of my theory and so gave up
“I’m glad you did. Now, if you please,
the idea of exploring by plane and decided to
explain something to me. Here the other night, try it on foot.
you were immensely attracted by those lights
“As to what happened at the pool when
while I kept my head, yet at the pool I
the last rush came, I was puzzled for several
succumbed to their influence while you did
days but I think that I have the answer. You
not. How did you manage it?”
remember that the explosion was initiated by a
“Why, Doctor,” exclaimed Carnes in
grenade which you threw into the pool? Well,
surprise, “I merely obeyed your orders.”
that grenade was loaded with a new explosive
“My
orders?”
of mine, radite, which contains a small amount
“Yes. All the time I was near than I
of radium, which, by its atomic disintegration, kept repeating the multiplication table.”
adds greatly to the effect of the explosion. I
The Earth’s Cancer by Capt Page 4
