Show 1 L r F 4 t Edwi I If r III l 4 l I Lly TIU aH 1 wI Wf U CHAPTER I 1 The secret Itself was still safe It was clear that the public could not yet have learned It it o No the nature of the tremendous and terrific Discovery Discovery ery remained locked In the breasts of the men who had made It It No one had broken so badly under the burden of it that he be had bad let sUp slip any actual de- de de- de details tails ot of what hid been learned But the fact that there Has as a se- se set Secret cret t ot of Incomparable Importance was wasE E out ut DavId Ransdell received recel plenty of proof of It as he stood at the Europa s rail and the radIograms from shore Were brought to him He had had sec sev seven en all of the same sort within the hour and here was another The first arriving Ing less than an hour ago offered him one thouC dollars for first and exclusIve Information Information- to be withheld from all others for twelve hours of what hat he carried In his black box It wis sl sL ned by the themo mo most t famous newspaper In Ne e c York I Within ten minutes the offer h d jumped to five thousand dollars made by br another paper Plainly the knowl knowledge edge that there a secret of utmost Importance had spread swIftly The thrilling and all absorbing fact of It was that DavId Ransdell himself dId not know whet he carried which could become of such amazing concern He Be was as merely the courier who trans transported transported ported and guarded the secret Those who had bad entrusted It to him knew that I Ibe be would never violate his word ord Least I of aU all would he sell out to others Moreo Moreover pr If if curiosity tried him be beyond beyond yond hIs strength he hid Professor Bronson's word for It that the con coe contents tents of the box boa would be utterly meaningless to him a few with very special training could make mahe out the meaning Cole Hendron In New York York-Dr Cole Hendron the could physicist make mahe it out out Indeed he could deter determine determine mine It more completely than any oth other other er man all alive That was h why Dave Ransdell from South AfrIca was bound for New York he was bringing the box boa to Cole Hendron who ho after he had satisfied hImself of the sig significance of its contents would take tahe the courier courter Into his confidence Dave gripped the rail rall r Ith aggravated ed for arrival al in the city lie wondered but with mth secondary In Interest interest led terest only under the circumstances whit It 11 would be like lIbe In America It was the native land of hIs mother but David had never so much as seen Its shores before For he was as a South his African father an Englishman who had once ranched In Montana had married a Montana gIrl and had taken her to the Dave had been born at Pretoria schooled there and had run away from school to go to towar towar war He had been summoned at night to the great mansion of Lord near Capetown Lord him himself self f a big calm practical minded man received him and with Lord was a tall wiry man ot of forty odd with a quick and nervous manner Professor Bronson Bronson Lord said IntI introducing Ransdell The rhe astronomer Dave asked as they shook hands bands saId Lord Bronson did not speak at all or for several mInutes lie He merely grasped grasped Dive shand s hand s Ith nervous tightness end stared at him while he was thinking patently of something something else Dave recently had allowed hIm too little sleep Sit down Lord bade They The sere cre In a ilig secluded room given ghen to trophies of the hunt Animal thins skins covered coverd the floor and lion and buffalo and elephant heeds looked do down don n from the wall walls theIr glass j e eyes es glintIng In the light which as rt rc fleeted Elected also by festoons of shining Inn e and spears S We sent for you Ransdell said Lord ford because a very strange I dIscovery has hns been made made-a discovery I which If confirmed In aU all details Is of Incomparable consequence I ten tell you that at the outset Ransdell be because because cause I must refrain for tor the present from telling you ou an any thing else about It Dave felt his skin shin prickling with a excited as a ae e a There sis lS no doubt that this man Lord industrialist financier and conspicuous ous patron of science thoroughly be lle ed what he said behind the eyes which looked at Dive e Ransdell was awe at knos kno ledge s he dared not re ell But Dave asked boldly n l hy cant can't I tell you you'd Lord Rhon din repeated and looked at Bronson Why not tell him elm Bronson asked But went abruptly to busl busi business ness We asked ed lea leave leae e for you Hans Rans Ransdell dell because I have hl heard you are a reliable man It Is essen eBsen that material connected with the dIsco discovery ery be delivered In New York 1011 city at the earliest mo moment meat ment You a are e both an expert epert pIlot who can make the best speed and probably true but so sery ery much Is oh In Invoked cd thit It could be most truss trous If c cen e en a rumor of shat we be reeve lIe we e bl hue e disco ered were given h en out roe that remon on among others we cannot confide it e even een en to you but we must you personally to com coney e tits this box bot to Doctor who Is the scientific consultant of the el Universal sal Electric and PO Poser er corpora In New York lIe Is now In Pasa Pasadena Jena dena but will be In New Yoi L upon your Jour TIme Is the Itil-the great greatest est speed that Is consistent with rea safety You should retch Doc Doctor Doctor tor not later than a week from Monday You may return then If you wIsh On the other hand he paused as crop cro led cled heaped In his mind you u may be Indifferent as to where you are On the earth added Professor Bronson Of on course the earth Lord accepted I could go m myself Ransdell you understand Bronson then proceeded But But my place for tor the present Is here bere I mein of course at atthe atthe the observatory It Is po possible Ransdell In spite of precautions which ha have e been that some word ord of the Bronson dIscovery may get out Your tour errand ml mgr be suspected If It ItIs itis Is you know nothing nothing-nothIng y J ou understand You must ans answer anser er no In from an any source None None-none s er I Until now nothing hid happened to recall these cautions but now something was out A boy was Vas With another radio Twenty thousand dollars In cash paid to you If you grant first and e ex elusive e In interview ten low regarding the Bron Bronson Bronson son discovery ery to this paper It It was as signed by the man who ho nn an hour ago ngo had opened the bIdding with one thousand dollars Dave D l le e crumpled It and tossed It 0 over overboard er board It If the men who sent It had been In that trophy room with Bronson and Lord he would have 1 rs c i u air I Id IrI rI d t I r You Can KIss Me I Like to Be Kissed Out But Dont Don't Propose Why Not Not See Here Eve Im I'm Through With Christmas Kisses With You you are dependable It If you will take It I will put the material In your care can and you start tonight Yes sir But But- But shat sort of material mate mate- material rial rial I 1 must ask ack It if I am to fly with it Chiefly photographic glass plates How many of them Lord threw back a leopard skin shIn which covered ered a large black tn clIng eling case they are pecked care care- carefully carefully fully In thIs I sill III tell you ou this much more which you may guess from Crom Pro Bronson's pl presence They are photographIc plates taken by the greatest telescopes In South AfrIca ot of regions of the southern sky v s are ney DC er visible In the northern hemi hemisphere sphere lou me are to tale take them to Dr Cole In New York lOll city Ind m d delayer er them lly to hIm and to topo po 10 one else I v tell you more about this unusual errand If the the-the implications of these plates were absolutely certaIn At Professor ProCessor Bronson started but agaIn checked hun elf before speaking and lord I ord nhon ln vent ent on The Implications I IDlY say are re realized that the matter on their r minds completely transcended an y consideration 1 The evening e In New York was warm m I On Ca the hIgh terrace of the Hendron n t E Eve Ee e found that her h for a breath of fresh air nir was t less lor I or a moment she ga gazed d Into hat the mist and monotone that was as Man Ma n and then stared over oer the cIty cat y toward time the channels to the sea sen Suppose those lights are the 1 Cu u ropi she asked Tony It It left quarantine before se seven seen en its it's somewhere HICl theme e Tony said p m Lets Let's not go o beck lu In E Eve Ee e a the e and looked do don n at the aud an d he desirous of much more mort bent je 11 r I besIde her ber bony laid his inn rl possessively sh el on Eves s She turned her he r hand lessening subtly the p e ness of his and said lou loll can kl 11 ss me I like to be kissed But don t propose Vh not See here Eve P Im I'm Fr through wIth Christmas kisses wit wIth h you lIe He put his hand on her shoulder nail and turned her a away aay ay from the pano of the city Is there some real trouble Eve Ive Lie InquIred gently Io 1 0 theres there's no trouble Tony Ihen hen there s somebody else plse ahead of me-Is me there t Somebody perhaps In dena Nobody In pasadena or any anywhere here else Ton Then whit Is It tonIght What's changed yoa loure not listening to me even now no Youre You're thinking Instead Whet do you want ant me to do ret reel II 1 Oh I can do thit too I know then hy dont don't you and and ou-and stop thinking I Not now Tony Do you suppose the Europa Wiry Why do you care See here Eve Is there anything In that ne newspaper spa per story your father and you JOU have been den mg all that afternoon something unusual Is up between b all the big set leaders Theres es e's ays something up In scIence C Ce E e e e Time The doors were ere flung wIde open In Inthe Inthe the room a halt half dozen pea peo- people pie continued to dance Another glou group surrounded time the punch bowl Some one stepped out and asked E Eve Ee e to dance and she che s eat ent In with him Tony Drake wondered In from the tel terrace race An arm encircled his broad shoulders ders hello lleno Ton Sa Say give gl e mo the thelow thelow low down n on what shot sho the market to tob b b- today Tony frowned hIs eyes were followIng follow followIng Ing Inge Eve e Why do you ou compliment me with thinking I may know It s something happened In Africa I hear Any lj the African cables were carrying mg It But what could p hp pen down there to shoot l h-l out of ofus ofus us thIS way ay Another discovery ery of gold A of gold that would male make gold so chelp It would unsettle ev e eer er ery thIng Cheap gold would mlle stocks not dear send them down Tony ob objected objected Sure It can t be that But shit could happen b In South Africa Ton returned alone to the terrace Ills his senses were swept by Intimate thoughts of Eve 1 e A seductive e perfume Gold lights In her red bro brown bron n hair Dark eves efel The s sleep seep of a forehead behind In rare company a womans woman's Instincts and dwelt elt with a mind ordinarily as hon honest est eat and une as n a mans man's All the tremendous thit ha have hae e to a man possessed by the woman ho he loves lIe stood spellbound through the night Anthon Anthony Drake was ln In athlete would have ha been the second observation another man n mild have made of him The first that ne lie owned that traIt which goes wIth shat hat we cill good birth and breeding and generations of the like before hIm With this he had the pIn physical sure sureness sureness ness and the gestures of suppressed potter po which are the result of train lag Ing In sports He had the slender alst of a b boxer cr w Ith ith time the shoulders of a discus thrower er Ills His clothes nl seemed frail In comparison with his physique He also had Intelligence ills 1118 companions considered It a Ill I'll side I issue ue when he 13 graduated graduated from ard with a cum laude Ian de but the concer ath e Investment e house wIth which he be became be- be became came affiliated the adjunct of braIns to n a so corn com pealing His head 19 large and square and It required his bIg physique phy physique to gh give e that head proportion Ho was blue e ed sand haired lIe He possessed u a deep voIce lie entirely normal Ills His attain attainments meats ments be beyond ond the average a were fere not unusual He belonged more or less to that t type pe of young oung American businessman business businessman man upon whom horn the older generation plates places Its hope and trust 1 to c was really a much more mOle remarkable humin hu min not being on account of her beauty but because of her intellectual brilliance and her unique trainIng from her father Yet J Je Eve e s as not tho sort who pre preferred preferred intellectual men Ism us as such Immensely bored her herShe herShe She liked ed the outrIght and rigorous gad normal She liked Tony rony DI Drake ahe und and Tony Ing this wis more mora thin by her attitude tonight ht lIe Ile belie believed ed her hel when hen she told him th It her wa was not of another man anon Then Then whit was Its cause canse Tony as dr t n from his reverie by the appearance of Dough is Ihl con Om senior partner of his firm HIS I presence here tele surprised lon ion o I len rea son why old ll Balcom should not drop I Ison In It If ire he pleased but th tn rest of tuo guests were much younger I TO DID 1315 |