Show craff 0 r BLAZED TAL W haap RIU SYNOPSIS bwy darrow a loung scientist in of a job enters the office of mccarthy of new york mc has lust been threatened by an message ordering ham to flee te europe lie does not take the mes nice ter louly darrow goes up the lc vator to ry for a position with dr enox suddenly Sud deily the electric apparatus 1 the atlas building ROCS out of busl experts are unable to locate the trouble all bt once without apparent tt eon electric connections are restored the next even ng mccarthy Is warned that unless hs learea at once tor will be sen him at six promptly at that houf the entire electric ampara las of bew yirk is cut off percy dar mr thinks he han a clue chapter V continued 1 l could tell you exactly what must aade happened said be if the fail ten was compete never mind that assis the general or only acal how ar did it extend n to be confined to new lorac and only about to long island jersey yes it hit them too abai are the theories 1 I coulden couldn t see that they had any icat I 1 could understand said jack theres some talk of the influence of comet rubbish who sprung that processor aitken I 1 think he ought to know better any 1 I coulden couldn t understand them all etere was one of polarizing the island because of the steel structures and ae no human agency 1 what no man or men are suspected of cringing this about oh no you dont think no I 1 don t think I 1 only imagine nd I 1 haven t much basis for ig but if my imaginations come out sight we 11 have plenty to do where asked jack as the scientist dressing and reach J tor his hat breakfast no I 1 ate that before I 1 dressed well make a call on the atlas build e all right agreed jack cheerfully what for to ask mccarthy it he chasn t a job dor you in construction jack came to a dead halt say he cried look here you ion t quite get the humor of that why mccarthy loves the name of warford the bay a yellow dog loves a tin can to bis tail we II 11 call on him just the same darrow rm game said jack but I 1 an tell you the answer right now no seed to walk to the atlas building 1 I have a notion the atlas building to going to be a mighty interesting lylace eam darrow they debauched debouched debou ched on the street the air was soft and golden the sun warm with the indian summer the clock m tho metropolitan tower was boom ang nine As the two set out at a slow down the backwater of the side street darrow explained a little further jack said he abruptly tell coir buat I 1 think or imagine I 1 be diefe last night s phenomena were con strolled trolled not fortuitous or the result of latoral forces in other words some ran tamed oaf the juice in this city ind turned it on again how he did it 1 A not know but he did it very corn it was not a question of wr IBI alone even dry cell batteries were affected now I 1 can think of only ne broad general principle by which e could accomplish that result just nhat means be took to apply the pran aple Is beyond my knowledge but rf I 1 am correct in my supposition here occurs to me BO reason why he should not go a step or so farther 1 I don t believe I 1 follow said jack contritely what im driving at is this said harrow this Is not the end of the circus by any means were going to e int of funny things if my guess s near right CHAPTER VI 4 the wrath to come did you ever meet mccarthy asked darrow as tho elevator of the atlas sprang upward never well no matter what be says or does I 1 want you to eay nothing noab ana correct bald jack ill down charge that s right darrow approved first ot all wait outside until I 1 call you mccarthy was already at hla desk and in evil humor when darrow en he merelyn looked up and growled good morning darrow greeted librn abuy any wireless this morn aas mccarthy threw back his heavy fread damn operator a been deaki ace he ho there are observed hajy jy darrow no your operator dlan t leak who is hea if he dlan t leak what did you say that tor I 1 m a good guesser replied dar row enigmatically they say any thing about a sign being sent and such talk you ve been gettan the dope your self out of the air returned me carthy sullenly look here my fat friend drawled darrow his eyes halt closing I 1 m getting nothing from anywhere except in my own gray matter what do your messages have to say why should I 1 tell you because I 1 m interested and because I 1 know who sent em so do I 1 snarled mccarthy in a gust of temper and 1 m beginning to suspect he s a man to look out for and I 1 doubt it couii ever find him of course he s responsible for the row last night as well as for the trouble in the atlas building the night before I 1 don t know whether he Is or not oh es you do and I 1 do and the wireless man does we re the only three the rest of them are still figuring on comets well I 1 don t suppose there s any real doubt left in your mind but that this man can turn the juice off again if he wants to I 1 don t know as be did it persisted mccarthy stoutly now how long do you suppose last if the public should get on to the fact that this bidden power was going to exert itself again unless you left town A slight moisture bedewed mccarthy s forehead not all your police nor all your power could save you it the general public once became thoroughly con vinced that it was to go through an other experience like last night s un less it ousted you why a mob of a million men would gather against you in as hour you see drawled percy darrow why you d better look after that wireless man of yours and me and you repeated mccarthy what do you want I 1 want to see those wireless mes sages first of all said darrow reaching out bis hand mccarthy hesitated then swiftly thrust forth the flimsies darrow a slight smile curving his full red lips held them to the light they read as follows mccarthy A agn wa promised you at alx lx 0 clock itjima been bent repent and beware go while there la yet time M there were tour of these couched in almost identical language the fifth and last message was shorter flee from the wrath to M what said darrow Is to prevent the other operators who must have caught this message from giving it do you know whether any other instrument caught thlu to the public what indeed la to prevent M 8 appealing direct to the public I 1 dont know confessed mccarthy miserably do you not at this moment will you bend for the operator who took these mccarthy snatched down the telephone receiver through which prea antly he spoke a message what have you got to do with this he demanded after he had hung up the book I 1 want something said percy of course sure growled mccarthy once more back on familiar ground and glad of it what Is if tell you when I 1 m sure whether I 1 can do anything tor you in this mat ter if this fellow dlan t leak bow did you know about them do roandl roan dd mccarthy again how do you irrow who B dota ahls fl darrow smiled the man who can control the juice as this man has Is a scientific ex pert with a full scientific equipment it he communicated at all it would be by wireless as that Is the easiest way to cover his trall I 1 remembered your telephone message from the fa about sending a sign immedi abely after the atlas ex perlen ced on a small scale what next day the city experienced on a larger scale it was legitimate inference to connect one with the other of course if our telephone friend was the man who bad brought these thing about he had done it to force you to do what be demanded but he would lose the effect of his lesson unless you understood his connection with the matter hence I 1 concluded that you must have received messages by wireless and that they must have repeated the warning as to a sign being sent it was very simple you re smart all right conceded mccarthy after a moment the wireless opera tor came in sammons said mccarthy answer this man s questions they will be in regard to these messages said darrow where are they from somewhere in the one hundred to two hundred mile circles depending on the power of the sending instrument replied the operator promptly are you I 1 know my instruments pretty well and ive had experience enough so I 1 can tell by the sound of the sending about how far oft they come from and this was from somewhere about one to taso hundred miles away you thinks yes sir do you know whether any other instrument caught thise no only mine lie was very alve how do you know mr mccarthy had me inquire how do you account for ita I 1 don t know except that maybe my instrument happened to be just tuned to catch it teats another reason I 1 know it was from tar off the farther away the sending instrument the nearer exactly it has to be tuned to the receiving instrument I 1 it was nearer most anybody d get it percy darrow nodded that s all I 1 guess no hold on did any of these come between six and eight last evenings 9 for the first time the operator smiled no sir my instrument was dead he went out wella growled mccarthy I 1 don t know but I 1 can see more trouble let him turn off his juice blustered the boss well be ready next time percy darrow smiled will you he contented himself by saying then after a moments pause he added agree to stop this fellow it you 11 give me an absolutely free band I 1 II 11 even agree to find him what do you want I 1 want a job a good engineering construction job for a friend of mine what can he dof he can learn I 1 want a good hon est place where he can learn under a good man who Is he bring him in A moment later jack in answer to a summons entered the office mccarthy stared at him what kind of a job he growled something active and out of doors darrow answered or him streets water engineering it B a holdup said mccarthy sul lenly drawing a tablet toward himself and thrusting the stub of a pencil into bis mouth A beneficent and just holdup add ed darrow the first ot its kind in this city mccarthy glared at him malevolently it don t go unless you deliver the goods he threatened understood agreed darrow what a his name demanded me carthy withdrawing the pencil stub and preparing to write his name answered darrow Is john warford junior mccarthy started to his feet with a bellow ot rage bis face turning pur pie ot all the infernal t he roared and stopped as though stricken dumb for two or three words further his mouth and throat went through the motions of speech then an expression of mingled fear and astonishment overspread his countenance he sank back into his chair percy darrow nodded twice and smiled CHAPTER VII A world of ahot A deathly stillness bad all at once fallen like a blanket blotting out me carthy s violent speech the rattling typewriter n the next room was abruptly stilled the roar of the city died as a living creature Is cut by the sword all at once without the flonary running down of most silences absolute dense stillness like that of a sea calm at night took the place of the customary city noises in his as mccarthy thrust a heavy inkstand oft the edge of bis desk it hit the floor spilled rolled away but noiselessly as would the inkstand in a moving picture to have one s world thus suddenly stricken dumb to be transported oral ly from the roar of a city to the peace of a woodland or a becalmed sea Is certainly astonishing enough but this silence was particularly ter to both mccarthy and jack warford though neither would have been able to analyze the reason for its weirdness for silence la in reality a composite of many lesser noises in a woodland almost inaudible insects hum breezes blow leaves and grasses rustle at sea the tiny waves lap the sides and equally tiny breaths of air stir the cordage within the confines of the human shell the mere physical acts of breathing swallowing wink ing the mere physical facts of the circulation of the blood the beating of the heart produce each its sound even a man totally deaf feels the subtle influence of these latter abys leal phenomena and underneath all sound perceptible alike to those who can hear and those who can not are i the vibrations that accompany every activity of nature as the manifesta alons of motion or of life an or deep silence Is not so much an absence of sound as an absence of accustomed or loud sound and in that unusual hush often for the first time a man becomes astutely act aware of the singing of the blood in bis ears but this silence was absolute all these minor sounds bad been eliminated for a moment boss mccarthy star ed then shoved back his chair with a violent motion and rose he was like a shadow on a screen the filching from the world of one element of its every day life had unexpectedly ren dered it all phantasmagoric As mccarthy shouted and no sound came as he moved from behind his desk and no jar accompanied his heavy footfall he appeared to lose blood and substance to become unreal As no sound issued from his contorted face so it seemed that no force would follow his blow were be to deliver one he stumbled forward dazed and groping as though he in the dark instead of merely in silence a striking example in the uncertainty of his movements 0 how closely our senses depend on one another jack spoke twice then closed his lips in a grim straight line he held his elbows close to his sides and looked ready for anything A look of mild triumph illumined percy darrows usually languid coun cenance he stepped quickly to the wall and turned the button of the in caden scent globe the light instantly glowed at this he nodded twice more from his pocket he drew a notebook note book and pencil wrote in it a few words and banded it to the dazed and un certain boss I 1 was right darrow had scrawled this proves it it s by no means the end detter be good mccarthy s bulldog courage had recovered from its first daze he began to see that this visitation was not en personal but extended also to his two companions this relieved his mind for he bad suspected some strange new apoplexy did you expect this he wrote darrow nodded together the three ghosts left the phantom office and glided down the phantom balls other ghosts in varl ous stages of alarm were already maki ing their way down the stairs some of them spoke but no sound came one woman her eyes frightened reached out furtively to touch her neighbor apparently to assure herself of his reality urged by an ancon troll able impulse a man thrust bis hand through the ground glass of an office door the glass shivered and crashed to the tile floor abo pieces broke silently it was as though the man had been the figure in a cinematograph illusion he stared at bis cut and bleeding hand the woman who had touched the man suddenly threw back her head and screamed they could see her eyes roll back her face change color could discern the strain ing of her throat no sound came at this a panic seized them they rushed down the stairs clambering over one another pushing scrambling falling A mob of a hundred men fought for precedence blows were struck no faintest murmur of tumult came from jbell tuttle beat it might have been the riot of a wax works in a vacuum they fell into the lower hallway and fought their way to the street and stood there dazed and staring a strange wild eyed white faced bloody crew the hurrying avenue stopped to gaze on them curiously gathering corn pact a mob that blocked all traffic policemen pushed their way in and began roughly to question and fr question in real audible words but for the space of full these people stood there staring upward drinking in the blessed sound that poured in on them lavishly from the life of the street drinking deep gulps of air as though air had lacked darrow and with him jack war ford had descended more leisurely before leaving the building darrow placed the flat of his bands over his ears and motioned jack to do the same thus they missed the stunning effect of receiving the world of noise all at once as a man goes to a bright light from a dark room furthermore darrow returned several times from the sound to the silence trying to determine where the line of |