Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-30

Fernando Gavira." he said. bruskly. ''It
was broken in the mail. Seer
Kennedy. waiting for the clerk to be
free again. glanced casually at the
package at first. then with sudden
though concealed interest. followed
his eye. In the crushed box could be
seen some thin broken pieces OF glass
and wadding Of cotton wool.
AS the clerk signed for another par
Gel Craig saw a chance. reached over
and distracted two or three OF the
broken pieces Of glass. then turned
with his back to the postman and the
One had a rim around It. 1t was
quite apparently test tube. The
other, to which some cotton wool still
adhered. was part Of the rounded bowl
one of the hotel envelopes that stood
in a rack on the desk. then strobe out
of the side entrance. where Marlowe's
car was waiting for us.
Hurriedly we drove across town to the
hospital, where we had no difficulty in
being admitted and finding on a white
cot the wounded guard Though his
wound was one that should not have
bothered him much. 1t had. as Mar
lowe. said, pulled up angriiy and In
most peculiar manner.
Puzzled himself. Craig did not say
much, but he pondered the case. shook
his head gravely to himself and finally
walked out of the hospital absently.
are to meet Marlowe at the yard, ne
considered as we came to the car. y
think I'll go up to the laboratory first."
In the quiet of his own workshop
Craig carefully examined again the Pc
culiar grooves on the bullet. He was
about to scrape It. but paused. Instead
he filled tube with q soapy solution
placed the bullet in 1t and let 1t stand
Next he did the same with the pieces
of glass from the envelope.
he onAne6 a drawer and from
a number Of capillary pipettes selected
a plain capillary tube of glass. He
held it in the fame of burner until
it was red hot. Then carefully he
was hair fine Again he heated the
other end. but this time he let the end
aiono. except that he allowed II to bend
by gravity. then cool. II now had !.
siphon curve. Another tube he treated
in the same way
BY this time he was ready to proceed
with what he had in mind. He took
a glass slide and on II placed a dror
bullet and the glass. That done he
placed the bent. larger end OF the
capillary tubes In turn on each OF the
drops on the slide. The liquid ascend ed
the tubes by capillary attraction and
siphoned over the curve. running as he
turned the tubes up to the finely point
cd ends.
Next in a watch glass he placed some
caustic soda and in another some pyro-
gallo acid. from each of which he took
just drop. as he had done before. in
Ginning tho tubes to let the fluid gravi-
tate to the throttle ends. Finally. in
the fame he sealed both the tip and
butt OF the tubes.
There's bubble Of air in there" he
remarked The ACID and the soda will
tell whether Pm right. BY the way
well have to hurry IL we're to be on
time to meet Mariowe at the yard" he
announced. as he placed the tubes in
his electric incubator.
We were q little late as the chauffeur
pulled in at the executive Offices at the
gate of the sbipyard, and Marlowe was
waiting impatiently for us. Evidently
he wanted action. but Kennedy said
nothing yet Of what he suspected and
appeared now to be Interested only in
the yard
1t was indeed something to interes,
any one. Everywhere were tokens OF
feverish activity, in Office, shop and
snp, AS We picked our way across
little narrow and big wide gauge en-
zines and trains whfstied and steamet
about. We passed rolling mills. fory-
'inE machines and giant shearing ma
chimes, furnaces for heating the frames
or ribs. stone floors on which fhay
could be pegged out and bent to shane
places for rolling and trimming the
plates; everything needed from the
keel plates TO the deck.
In the towering superstructure of tn.
building slip we at last came to tn,
huge steel monster itself. the Usona
As we approached above us rose hel
bow, higher than house. with poppet.
both there and at the stern. as well a.
bracings to support her. All had beer
done up to the launching, the stem
and stern posts set in place. her side,
framed and plated up. decks laid. bulk
heads and castings complete. even mucf
Of her internal fitting done.
Below again. Marlowe explained to u.