Evening star., 1922-03-18

but without seeming to be doing SO.
Poissan's laboratory was at the top
of%a sort of loft building dozen
stories or so high. 1t was pecuilar
building, with several entrances oe-
sides freight elevator at tne re"
and fire escapes that leu W au1oii''e
lower roofs. :;
we stopped around the corner IN
the shadow. and Kennedy and An
drews talked earnestly. AS near as
i could make out, kennsoH was im
sistinr that it would be best for An
drews and his men not to enter the
building at all, but wait downstairs
while he and l went up. Al last the
arrangement was agreed on.
Here" said Kennedy, undo'1s
package he had carried. rs a n!tie
electric bell with couple or 1resn
dry batteries attached to II, ano
wires that will reach at least .1our
hundred feet. You and the men wait
in the shadow here by this side en-
trance for five minutes after jane
son and L go up. Then you must en-
gage the night watchman in seme
way. While he is away you Will nno
two wires dangling down the eleva-
tor shaft. Attach them to these wires
from the bell and the batteries-these
two-you know how to do that. Ihe
wires will be hanging In the third
shaft-only one. elevator IS running
at night. the first: The moment you
hear the bell begin to ring, Jump mp INTO mo
the elevator and come up 10 tue
twelfth f1oor-we'H need YOU"
AS Kennedy and / rode up in the
elevator 1 could not help thinking
what an ideal place downtown OF
flee building is for committing
evening. If the streets were deserted.
the Office buildings were positively
uncanny in their grim. black silence
with only here and there light.
The elevator in the first Shaft shot
down again to the ground floor, and as
it disappeared Kennedy took two spoois
of wire from his pocket and hastily
showed them through the lattice work
Of the third elevator shaft. They quickly
unrolled, and ! could hear, them strike
the top of the empty car below IN the
basement. That meant that Andrews
on the ground floor could reach the
wires and attach them to the bell.
Quickly IN the darkness Kennedy at
curious little coil l had seen him work
ing on in the laboratory, and We pro-
ceeded down the hall to the rooms occu-
pied by Poissan. Kennedy had allowed
for the wire to reach from the elevator
shaft up this hall also. and as he walh-
ed he paid it out in such a manner that
it fell on the floor close to the wall.
where, in the darkness. 1t would never
be noticed or stumbled over.
Around an ."L'.in the hall ! could see
a
shining through it. Kennedy stopped
at the window and quickly place the lit
tie coil on the ledge. close up against
the glass. with the wires running from
it down the hall. Then We entered.
ION time to the minute, professor"
exclaimed Poissan. swapping shut his
watch. "And this. ] presume, is the
banker VINO is interested in my great
discovery of making artificial diamonds
of any size or color?" he added. indi-
eating me.
yes" answered Craig, "as told you.
q son of Mr.. T. Pierpont Spencer;
l shook hands with as much dignity
as I could assume, for the role Of i'm
personation was a new one to me.
Kennedy carelessly laid his coat and
hat on the inside ledge OF the ground
glass window. just opposite the spot
where he had placed the little coil on
: the window was simply large pane OF
wire glass set in the wall for the pur-
pose of admitting light in the daytime
from the hall outside.
The whole thing seemed eerie to me
especially as Poissan's assistant was
huge fellow and had an evil look such
as I had seen in pictures of the inhab-
itants of quarters of Paris which one
does not frequent except in the COM
pany of safe guide. I was glad Ken
nedy had brought his revolver and
rather veXed that he had not told me
to do likewise. However. I trusted that
Craig knew what he was about.
We seated ourselves some distance
from a table on which was huge. OBJ
long contrivance that reminded me OF
the diagram of parallelopiped which
had caused so much trouble in my solid
geometry at college.
"That's the electric furnace. sir" said
Craig to me with an assumed Difference,
becoming college professor explaining
things to the son Of great f1nancier.
'You see the electrodes at either end?
When the current is turned on and led
through them into the furnace you can
the crucible. The most refractory OF
chemical compounds can be broken up
by that heat. What is the highest tenn
perature you have attained, professor"
grade" replied Poissan. as he and his
assistant busted themselves about. the
furnace.
We sat watching him in silence
"Ah, gentlemen. now ! am ready
he exclaimed at length, when every
tion. "You see. here is a lump OF
sugar carbon-pure amorphous car
bon. Diamonds. as you know. are
composed of pure carbon crystallized
under enormous pressure. NOW. my
theory is that IL we can combine an
enormous pressure and an enormous
heat we can make diamonds artificial
ly The problem of pressure Is the
thing, for here in the furnace we have
the necessary heat 1t occurred to me
that when molten cast iron coo!s 1t
exerts a tremendous pressure. That
pressure is what 1 use"
"You know. Spencer, solid iron floats
on molten iron like solid water-ice--
floats on liquid water" explained
Craig to me.
Poissan nodded. II take this sugar
carbon and place it in this soft iron
cup. Then I screw on this cap over
the cup so. Now. l place this mass of
iron scraps in the crucible of the fur