The Washington herald., 1907-10-27
BY
FLORENCE WARDEN

Wei, let him know you don,t Uas,
/ g have anything 10 do with him D, h..
said quickly in a low voice .-reU him
you're engaged 10 me-"
She shook her head.
darent say that" she wbispersd
You know, I'm not free TO decide al
together for myself"
Aren't you engaged TO rne2" said &
Quintin, diCtatorial!y.
But before she could answer. Monste,,r
! Leblanc, in the neatest manner. thrpst
! hlmseit between the two with an air of
easy gayety, and sending Marie back +,
her aunt with smiling wave Of the
/ hahd, put his hand through ST. OujDtin's
arm ana beekoning to InCe. who was
shaking hands with Nine. Leblanc. led
the way out Of the room.
silence fell upon an three when
they were In the hall and me hos,
leading the way to the door which SIM
on his own suite Of rooms. took a kav
| from MS pocket and unlocked il.
J Botn -. Qulntin and InCe each -.
/ memberinS the uncanny impression thev
/ mad received from that part of The
house, were absolutely silent as tbev fol-
| lowed their host into the corridor. which
Was lighted only by "a small vi7dry,
/ over the garden door az the other end
Monsieur Leblanc still bland. smiling
| ana gracious, relOCked the door behind
/ him -'-''-
This is my sacred domain" said bs
Where l allow no one 10 come even
/ with a broom and duster. except m,,
/ WlIe. servants are too careless 10 be
/ trusted among my precious books ar
1 my still more precious retorts and cru
clbles- DO you do anything in the Wsv
Of chemistry? It is my passion h.
went on, without waiting for an answer
as he led the way toward the door on
/ the right-that which overlooked the gar
| den at the back Of the house
James Ince could not have answered
MIN II he had wished 10 do so. Il seemed
10 him, with certain suspicious strong
in his mind, that the air of this corridor
was sickly and fetid and not even Tho
open window above the door seemed To
have any good effect upon the atmos-
phere- Monsieur Leblanc unlocked the
door OF the back room, talking all the
while.
This" he said, rs my laboratory
into which bring none but my intimate
friends. Do not expect much order or
tidiness. Those are not the virtues Of
the scientist; 1 mean in the hOusewifeIv
sense Of order. In the strict sense. we
By this time the door was open. and
he led the way into a large and lofty
room, well lighted by one window. which
was broad and high, the bottom Of which
was filled in with an old fashioned
brown wire office blind
The first impression Of the room was
one Of confusion and disorder But az
the eye became accustomed % il one
found that the chaos was apparent rather
than real. and that chests and boxes.
tables Of bottles and phiaIs. crucibIes.
TetOrts, and other paraphernaIia Of a
chemist. stood arranged, not in real con-
fusion, but in places where they were
easily REACHED by the masters hand.
Great chests Of drawers were there.
skins Of animals lay on boxes. giving
out musty SMELL while the skeleton Of
an animal, perhaps a sheep or goat. stood
in corner in dusty glass-fr0nted case.
Monsieur Leblanc took ST Quintin bv
the arm and led him to slab Of marble
which. supported on trestIes. formed. q
long. narrow table, not far from the win
dow. From the slab he took up a fused
mass of metal in a little crucible and
asked him. with a smile, il lie knew
what that was
81. Quintin confessed his ignorance.
1t IS the nearest thing YET discovered.
L honestly believe TO gold. and il IS com
posed without the admixture OF any par
tiCle Of natural gold. II I am on the
right road 70 making gold out OF
baser-"
he was interrupted by an exclamation
from James InCe, who, left behind bv the
other TWO. had had his ewes fixed in
tenuy upon long. wovm-eaten wooden
chest upon which lay a couple OF goat
skins, and which occupied an obscure cor
ner away from the window.
While the other two were occupied with
the contents of the CruCibIe. James Incs
crossed the room 10 this corner. and.
pulling off the two goat-skins. threw back
the lid Of the chest with loud crash
against the wall
The noise was so loud and so unex-
pected that both St. Quintin and Monsieur
Leblanc started and uttered explanations.
Turning quickly, they saw Ince lean
ing back against a table. his eyes gIar-
ms his chest heaving, staring down into
the chest.
With a shudder, St Quintin. suddenly
awakening TO the significance Of this
action. spraHg across the floor 20 his
friend side and looked into the chest
too. II smelt muSty horrible
But there was nothing I'm IT, The
rough sides Of the chest were dark and
worn, worm-eaten and maIodorous. That
was all there was 20 be noted.
Monsieur Leblanc came back across the
room very much surprised.
What is it? You look alarmed2 Is
Il a mouse?"
No, monsieur it doesn't appear TO
be anything, said St Quintin. answer
ng for lnCe, who seemed unable % speak.
Monsieur Leblanc laughed.
You are more impressi0nahIe even than
my wife, Mr.. Ince," said be. "She OBJ
ects 10 the skeletons of animals. But
hat is all"
James Ince, instead Of replying. mere
y bent his head in assent and stag
5ered out Of the room. St Quintin.
who also felt a strange oppression in
The atmosphere Of the room. although
he large window was wide open al the
0p soon followed
Monsieur Leblanc expressed his regret
hat he had not had more 10 show
hem, and appeared slightly offended az
ne lack OF interest they had taken IN
lis great alleged discovery.
You must come again and see NE at
york. That will please you more" he
'aid, as he led them out Of the corridor
nto the hall. and Immediately relocked
he door behind him. Let US make an
appointment. You took me by surprise
o-day. l will have something to awake
our interest, l assure YOU
They thanked him and took their leave
ather hurriedly, for James Ince seemed
till to be in a half-dazed condition and
Incapable of much conversation. while st.
luintin was curious about this new show
# agitation in Il man not easily moved.
1t was not until they had gone down
he garden and were we'll in the road.
With their faces turned in the direction
4 the railroad station, that James Ince
ompletely recovered his powers OF
peech.
IN answer to his friends eager ques-