The Southern herald., 1912-07-19
A Race With the Sun
SSronSs Expsri<nesF "a re Life
ef 9 Doctor.
tcOpyriEht hy W. Q. ChapnAal

NNcF n ny AAllfaAulg Win ecLASe
OF important experiments. / believed
that was in a fair way TO the discOv-
cry Of a new explosive which would
put gunpowdeF, dynamite. and all
other explosives completely in the
shade. II It turned out as l expected,
II would prove a most important fac
tor in case Of war, and Of immense
use to America as a nation.
Ny experiments were progressing
tavorably. but wanted stlll one link
No combinations that l attempted
would produce the desired result, and
] was beginning 10 wonder II. after
all. ! was doomed to failure, when on
q certain afternoon the door Of my
laboratory opened and two visitors
were announced. A tall man entered
the room; he was dark. heavily beard
ed. with the complexion of a
gypsy. Following him was a clean
shaven little man with a bald head.
The elder Of the two came forward
with outstretched hands.
Pardon me-" he said; 'I know we
are intruding. My name is Paul
levin; this is my friend, Carl Kruse.
We are from England and had the
pleasure Of listening to your lecture
before the National Chemists society
the other night. From hints you let
drop II became clear to us both that
you were on the track of a discov-
cry which has occupied us the best
part Of our lives. We had hoped not
70 ask for outside assistance, but time
is precious-any moment you may per-
rect your process. In that case the
patent and the honor would be yours,
and we would be out in the cold. So
we have come here to ask you frankly
II you will cooperate with US"
I don't quite understand" I said.
To what discovery do you allude?"
TO that of the great explosive"
returned Kruse.
You must be mistaken" l said. 'T
have not spoken of that to anyone"
Well. you dropped hints at your
lecture" said Kruse. Listen to my
proofs" He took note book out of
his pocket and read certain extracts
which made 1t clear to me that these
men were certainly working on my
own lines, and that 1t was highly prob
able that they would be FIRST in the
field.
The fact is" said Levin, my friend
and have really been advancing with
you step BY step without knowing IL.
While you have been perfecting the
explosive In your New York labora-
tory, we have been conducting matters
on large scale in our more exten.
siVe laboratories in England, off the
Cornish coast. The solitude of the
place enables us to test our explo-
siVes In the open air We know ex-
actly the point to which you have
come. Your present difficulty is that
you are trying to combine certain
gases to produce a certain result. We
have discovered what you require but
our explosive is still far from perfect.
You can help us, for you have certain
information which we lack. On the
other hand, we have mastered details
which would be of immense benefit to
you. The discovery will be a mag
nificent one, and when absolutely com.
plete we intended to sell it to the
German government. But there is a
possibility that you will be first in
the field. VIII you join forces with
us, naming your own price, orr"
He stopped for lack of breath and
Kruse took up the subject.
There is a big wad of money in
this matter, Dr. Halifax" he said.
I'VE don't mean to give up our share
without struggle, but we are willing
to go hand in glove with you. viii
you visit us in Cornwall and help us?
We win gladly impart to you all we
know on condition that you in turn
give us information. Without our
united efforts it may be long time
before the discovery is complete. Let
us go shares in the deal"
I'm not working at this thing for
money" l said. 'T am unmarried
and have as much money as l need.
When my discovery is complete l
mean to offer it to the American gov
ernment-they can do what they
please with It; my reward will be the
protection which 1t will give to my
country. This explosive promises to
be most important factor in time of
war"
Kruse laughed somewhat nervously.
'Well," he said, Il have a wife and
Levin has certain claims upon him
which render it necessary that he
should improve his financial condition
all he can Now, will you come to
terms or not? Our knowledge is in
dispensable to you; your knowledge is
equally indispensable to US"
reflected a moment. "Your visit
has astonished me-" said at last.
IF you call upon me to morrow may
be in position to decide what shall
do"
My visitors took the hint and left.
After thinking the matter over care
fully | resolved to make terms with