Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-09

0rSL u9RIlJ Va Sbpile Sb6pS. dp
parentiy lost in admiration o
a TRANQUIL sea rejecting tn
stars.
Marney had never quite realized wha
a colossal man Ahlborg was until h
saw him outlined there In jet agains
q violet background. Won Roeschen
thickset as he was. seemed pigmy be
side him. The glowing tip of Ahlborg'
, cigar showed foot above that of tn
German.
''Fine!" calculated the shorter MAJ
presently Very beautiful
Ahlborg grunted.
"You Germans are queer fellows" b
declared. Even in your most seriou
moments you find time to be senti
mental And yet you call yourselves
nation of warriors! You will neve
conquer the world. my friend, until yo,
rid yourselves of sentiment"
He extended an arm toward the din
horizon.
You are wondering what Goethe O
Schiller would say about this scene
You are moved by the silver ripples or
the water, the white foam at the foo
of the cliffs. while at the same time yol
are wondering how far you can bea
me down. l tell you, Won RoeSchen
you cannot mix these things. When
sentiment to women and fools!
thought how many thousands of Ger
mans I could kill with my gas" HI
chuckled hoarsely. And then fool
sentimentalists stepped in and stopped
me-and almost lost because of 1t
They were afraid for their views. Vor
Roeschen, don't you see?-afraid fol
their precious countryside"
Marney, lurking in the shadows
wrinkled his forehead Something hac
happened to Ahlborg. For weeks or
end he had been morose. silent; nov
he was declaiming so loudly that his
words must surely be echolng in the
ears of the lovers in the garden.
there. Won Roeschen? I see ships, nat.
oil-driven monitors, moving through
the water at 30, perhaps 40, knots. NO
turrets. no torpedo tubes, no heavy
guns, Just flexible pipes pumping out
livid blue rays! Seaplanes, too. with
silent engines; airplanes, shore bat
teries-all equipped with those queer
unanswerable tubes!'
Won Roeschen eyed the other trifle
nervously and laughed.
"You are a prophet. Ahlborg,' he told
him. You have drawn aside the dark
curtain of the future-and revealed the
Ahlborg dealt the other a reSoundtng
blow with the fat of his hand which
sent him swaying on the brink. Of the
abyss. then ierked him back onto the
steps by his coattails.
I'm the days of which l am talking.
he said. there will be no German meet,
no British no French, nor even Amer1-
can"
"Soq" uueried the Teuton. more than
q little exercised as to his companions
sanity.
EXACTLY so. my dear Won Roeschen!
You people have haunted me too long.
You have made me realize the ineSti-
mable value of the secrets possess: l
am enlightened, my friend; disillil,
stoned. All the gold in the world would
not tempt me to sell, The board is
down. / tell you, and you can go back
to your country tomorrow. Karl ALL
borg haggles no longer"
His wild peal of laughter sent a cold
sensation passing down Marney's spine.
The man was mad Taverner had al
ways said he was mad. This last raid
had been too much for him.
The German thought so, too. for he
turned his back on the sea and made
as If to retface his footsteps to the
garden.
Divining his intention, Ahlborg caught
him by the arm.
Look" he Numbered. Cannot you
see them! Long blue bars of light
sweeping to infinity. How simple every
thing will be-and how effective
There will be no doctors in the next
war, no nurses. no cumbersome hos
pital ships. The Blue Death does not
wound. Won Roeschen; 1t kills merci-
fully. surely; it pulverizes everything!
I see YOU are a man with vision, man
after my own heart. We will go lower
down to the waters edge and talk about
this thing. I tell you there are spies
everywhere, listening - Italian spies,
French spies, English spies. German
spies! A German came to my house last
night Did you know that2 They trled
the Blue Death on him-and he melted
away on the path. When the ponce
came there was just a heap OF dust
German dust! They would try an ordl-
nary man for murder for thing like
that. but they are afraid of Ahlborg-
all of them. The police want me 10
leave Italy: the government dareS not
let me out of its sight?
4 still talking. he drew the other down
the steps to the bathing platform, and
Marney followed, with an automatic
shifted from his hip to his oVercoat,
hoping he would never have to use it.
He had forgotten Greta now. forgot
ten Dighton In nursing home In Genoa.
Ahlborg had gone stark. raving mad.
more mad than Taverner had ever be-
ieved possible. He was inflated with a
Ssnse of his own importance. He had
left of playing with the world now and
was in deadly earnest. In Marney's
ears the tocsin had already sounded.
the signal for that last grim effort that
was to send the inventor and his ghast-
ly dope sky high.
Above the incessant splashing Of rest
less waters engaged on their eternal
struggle with the rocks came the BOOM
ing Of Ahlborg's voice. The two men
had completed the descent and we're
halted where the waves threw up inter-
rnittent showers of spray
Won Roeschen was nervous. The
American could see that from the spot
behind the recess where Mafalda and
Diehton had talked. and where he now
chung. 7attene6 out between Jagged
powders. drinking in every syllable that
fen from the madman's lips. He kept
rlancins behind him, as il seeking
some means of escape from the glanl
who deafened him with his elo1uence.
IT have q secret service, too, Vor
Roeschen. and it is the best maid serv'
ice in the world. I pay by results ana
by heaven. I get them! If man BE-
trays me, / have means at hand OF get
ting rid of him. If / lose things
they come back to me-"
The other nodded.
And so you are keeping this inven-
ton Of yours for yourself, eh?"
"Ah!" commented Ahlborg 80 nov
you are beginning to understand. THIS
feet ! have shown you is Ahlborg''
feet, the great invincible armada thai
will terrorize the world That will MOI
come yet. One has to begin these
things slowly. deliberately shall have
To accumulate an arsenal Of weannns
The factories of Europe will make then
for me-a part here. a part there. 81
that Kanlanciu will sllsract A cnllln S.eta