The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11


 | tacle.
 | Although the atoms composing the | powder had been extracted rom many different elements, yet the pro1essor saw with undisguised satisfaction that chemical union was rapidly taxing place.
 l For a moment he bade him pause. as he stood on the border-iand as n were | of the marvelous.-the supernatural.
 He realized that his pursuit of that which he had denominatei the Cosmis Element, was at an end. that the cru cial moment was now at hand. It was no cause for wonder then. that he was deeply agitated. It was more than I mere matter of life and death to him for in defending his pet theory he had alienated the affections Of many fellow scientists. besides being made the butt of ridicules by certain school of Know -alls.'
 Briefly outlined his theory was as follows: "The Universe is composed of a certain number of elements. Per | meating each and every element, there | is a mysterious element that has ever eluded the most critical research of man. This element once discovered. could be made useful in multifarious | ways"
 With steady hand he removed the current of air from the mouth of the receptacle. Then with eager eyes he gazed at the substance in the glass container. And then a strange thing happened The substance began to rise from its receptacle in a solid body. Each individual particle had become united to its fellow through the law of chemism.
 The glowing substance ascended slowly, until it reached the ceiling. Being checked in its upward movement, 1t moved about in various directions as though seeking an avenue of es- cape.
 Professor Rothstone looked at the reatless. glowing. moving substance and knew that the work of his life had been accomplished.
 In the delirium of his first great joy. he felt a burning desire to shout aloud, to reveal lis great discovery. but by great effort he restrained himself and proceeded to restore the substance to the glass jar. taking the precaution to seal 1t securely. Then for the first time he became conscious Of great hunger and thirst. For thirty-six hours he had taken neither food nor drink. | It soCn became known that Professor Rothstone had made a wonderful dis- covery: one by which aerial navigation could be easily accomplished without the slightest danger
 l One enthusiastic errand boy who was the possessor of an extremely vivid imagination. made the following remark in strictest confidence to few intimate chums.
 | "Purfessor Rothstone took a piece ot fosferrus and made 1t lighter than air. I know 1t was fosferrus cause 1t was shney. Then he made that there piece of fosferrus float In the air jes' like | bird, and when the purfessor tried to pull it down 1t drug him all around the labertory and we had to catch him by the feet and pull him down. I sholy believe 1t would have pulled him right on through the ceiling" |, Such stories, while not coming from an authentic source, were calculated to heighten curiosity and to raise all manner of conjectures concerning Pro- lessor Rothstone's discovery.
 As for the Professor himself, he refused to be interviewed by the nu- merous newspaper reporters who flock ed to his laboratory.
 TO one and all he made the following statement: "I believe that have made a new discovery; that I have discov- cred new element possessing hereto fore unknown and, therefore, wonderful l properties. I am prosecuting my re- searches and experiments day and
 
 vinced that there is no delusion in my discovery, I will publish the whole se- cret to the world Further than this have nothing to say Within an incredibly short time, let ters tclegrams and cablegrams tGgan to pour in on the Professor from all parts of the world. They came from the curious, from spectators, from ' scientists and from learned Societies.
 A School of Scientific Research." carried away by the enthusiasm of the moment, conferred upon the Professor an honorary degree as long as the dec alogue and the Honorable Secretary not to be out done by his confreres. cabled the degree with all it's appurtenances to the Professor and forgot to pay the charges
 In the meantime, Professor Rothstone had continued his experiments and had verified every step In the elaborate process of eliminating the Cosmic Ele- ment
 Every vestige of doubt was removed. The newly discovered element was many times lighter than atmospheric air and was not subject to Newton's law.
 Professor Rothstone had no desire to keep the world in ignorance concern ing his secret process of extracting the | Cosmic Element from other clements. On the contrary. he distinctly minated that he would give the process to the world within a reasonable length uf time
 First of all he determined to make practical demonstration of the vast pos abilities of his new element. With that end in view. he purchased tract of land near the city of N. and be- gan the erection of a gigantic plant. The main building. an enormous struc- ture. was circular in shape and was covered by a glass, dome shaped roof that could be easily removed in sec lions without injuring the walls of the building.
 While conducting his experiments. Professor Rothstone found that a few of the baser elements were richly en- dowed with the Cosmic Element, while in others the most careful analysis dls- covered scarcely more than trace. The section In which the plant was located was an ideal one; the ores nec- essary to prosecute the work being found in profusion. These ores wero } transported from their native beds to the interior of the circular building by . means of tram cars.
 The dead" ore was removed in similar manner.
 Professor Rothstone found that the iCosmic Element constituted the vital . spark" of an ore. that its removal from an element caused that element to lose it's physical physiological and thera- peutical properties. It became dull