Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1902-09-19

the whole secret because they have
been working at ordinary tempera-
lures. just as the drop Of water viii
not form from It's two gases at 4.JQo
degrees +. or at It's own lower explo-
sion temperature unless the spark be
added. SO will %protoplnsm not form
except under certain electric and Their
NAL conditions.
"For the last two months l have
been working on these lines alone,
varying my temperatures from the ex-
treme cold produced by liquid air to
the intense heat OF the compound blow
pipe, and ! have been repaid. a fort
night ago | discovered how 1t was that
I had erred. and since then | have sue
ceeded in everything | have tried. l
have formed the proteids. the fats and
the carbohydrates which go to make
up protoplasm. and with these for my
solid foundations / have made every
minute and complicated organ Of the
body. l have done more than that
have put those component parts to-
gether. and now behold what 1 have
NADER
lie lifted n sheet, which was thrown
over n heap Of something on the table,
and | started bHck with a strange
mixture of W and horror, for stretch
cd out on that marble slab lay n naked
body, which. If it had never been a
man, living and breathing as | lived
and breathed. then l would have sworn
1 dreamed.
The thoughts which began TO come
into my mind probably showed in my
face, for the professor said: You
doubt2 You think that have lost my
reason and this thing is ONE man that
| have killed. Well, | do not blame
you. 4 year ago l myself would have
scoffed Mt the very idea of creating
such a man. But you shall sec. you
shall be convinced. for in the next part
Of the experiment | must have your
help. l will show you how ! have
made this man or l will make another
before your eyes. Then you and |. we
will 20 further; we will do what no
one but God has ever done before-we
will make that inert mass a living man."
The horror of the thing began TO
leave me. for l was fascinated by what
he said, and / began to feel the same
spirit with which he was inspired.
He took me into his private labora-
tory. and before my eyes. with only
the contents Of n few reagent bottles,
a blowplpc and an electric battery. he
made n mass of human flesh. l will
not give you the formula, neither will
tell you in detail how it was done.
God forbid that any other man should
see what / saw afterward.
"Now all that remains is the final
experiment. and hat with your help
propose doing tonight" said the pro.
lessor. What we have to do is as
much of a riddle to me as it is to you.
1t is purely and simply an experiment
| am going to pass through that life
less clay the same current of electric
ity which if sent through a living maj
would produce death. OF course. will
a man who had died from the giving
out Of some vital function l could no
hope to succeed, but the organs of thil
man which | have made are in a per
fectly healthy condition. 1t is IN!
hope. therefore, that the current whicl
would destroy a living mar will bring
this thing to life"
We bore that naked body. not {
corpse and yet so terribly like, into tho
electric laboratory and laid it on
slab Of slate. lust at the base Of It's
brain we scraped Il little bare spot moi
larger than Il pea, and, as l live, Il droI
Of blood oozed out. On the right wrist
just over the pulse we made another
abrasion, and TO these spots we brought
the positive and negative wires from
Off the mains of the street current out
side.
l held the two bare, un~insulated bits
Of copper close to the flesh, Professor
Holbrok switched into circuit 2,0cC
volts Of electricity. and then before
our startling eyes that thing which
was only a mass Of chemical com
pounds became Il man.
A convulsiye twitching brought tn,
body almost into a sitting position
then the mouth opened, and there burs
forth from the lips n groan.
I have been in the midst of battles
and / have seen men dying all aroun'
me, torn TO ribbons by shot and shell
and have not finched; but when
tore the wires from that writing
groaning shape and saw its chest be
gin TO hcave with spasmodlc breathin.
/ tainted.
When l came "a myself. | vas lyln
half across the slab Of slate, and th
room was filed with a s'ckenin
stencil. an odor OF burning flesh.
looked for the writing form which
had last seen ON the table, but thos
wires. with their deadly current, whic
l tried to tear away rs l tainted, mus
have been directed back by a highe
hand, for there only remained on tn
slab a charred and cinderlike mass.
And the man who had made a ma
could not explain, for he was crawlin
about on the floor counting the nail
In the boards and laughing wildly.