Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-02-21

4
ing of the great white fingers against
the dark wood.
Il. have, brought you here tonight.
he said, .";to make you, a proposition
have. need, of helpwof, a akind-that you
can give me. It will require certain
qualities which / think you possess
which we possess in common have
chosen you because you have daring and
because you are not troubled with what
the coward calls consequential fools
name, for rfsari2a vakf ssr, e4ees
Phil touched his dry clips with his
tongussss1 haze, as little Of rthat as the
next man. he replied. 4 never found
needed much"
sBersonin continued:
What l have to say can say with
out misgiving For If you told, it be-
fore the fact there is possibly but one
man In Japan who would. think you
sane; and if cyous told it after--well. for
your. own safety You will not tell it
them Your acceptance of my propo-
sition will have definite effect on your
prospects. which, believe, can scarcely
be looked on as bright"
Phil muttered an OATH You needn't
remind raesof he said with surly
empllas got about as much pros
poets Rs cooIie stevedofe Well what
Of ftzt
Bersonin leaned forward, his hands on
the stand IT rocked under his weight
II have talked OF money ] VIII show
YOU a .dSlick way to gain it-not by
years. but by dayss--wealth such as you
have never dreamed, enough TO make
your brother poor beside you, Not only
money, but power and place and hon
ors. Is the stake big enough to play
for?"
Phil stared at him. fascinated
What do you-want me to do?" He
almost gasped the words.
The expert Hooked him in the eye
full moment in silence. his fingers
crawling and twitching. Then,. with a
quick Ieopard-like movement. he went
to the wall-safe opened it and took out
what seemed a square metal Nx. In its
top was set an indicator. like the range
seemed to melt his ICY control. His
'paleness flushed; his hand trembled as
he set it upon the desk.
Waltz he said. Watt"
He looked swiftly about the room.
His eye rested on the bamboo cage and
quick CLEAN shot across his face. He
opened the wire door and the little bird
hoped to his finger. He moved a metal
pen-rack to the very center Of the desk
and perched the tiny creature on it. 1t
burst into song. warbling full-throated,
packed with melody. Bersonin set the
metal case a little distance away and
adjusted it with minutest care.
Sing, Dickr" he cried loudly; sing!
sing!-'j
The song stopped There had come
thrill in the ARA puff of icy wind
on Pills face-a thin Ginning like
fairy cymbal. Phil sprang up with
cry. The fluffy ball with its metal
perch, had utterly disappeared; only in
the center of the desk was a pinch of
reddfsh-brown powder like the dust of
an emery-wheel, laid in feathery whorls.
He stared transfixed What does 1t
mean2' he asked hoarsely-
The DOCTORS voice was no longer tone
less. 1t leaped now with an evil exulta-
ton. 1T means that I-Bersonin-have
found what physicists have dreamed OF
for so years. 1 have solved the secret
of the love and hatred of atoms. That
box is the harness of a force beside
which the engines Of modern war are
children's toys" 81
He grasped PhiYs arm with a force
that made him vince. The amber eyes
glittered.
AT first / planned to sell it to the
highest bidder among the powers.
was fool to think of that The nation
that buys it, to guard the secret for
itself, must wall me in a fortress, That
would be the reward of Bersonin-the
great Bersonin, who had wrested from
nature the most subtle Of her secrets.
But 1 am too clever for that! 1t must
be II aIone-who holds the key. 1t
shall bring me many things, but the first
of these is money. / must have funds
unlimited funds The money ] despise,
except as a stepping-stone, but the
money you love and must have Well.
1 offer it to youE
Pills heart was beating hard. The
tension of the ROOM had increased; a
hundred suffecating atmospheres seemed