He positively thrilled us when he spoke thus, for there was a look in his eyes which seemed to penetrate depths unfathomable to our intelligence. Yet we had not the faintest conception of what was really passing in his mind. If we had understood it, if we had caught a single clear glimpse of the workings of his intellect, we should have been appalled. And if we had known how close we stood to the verge of an abyss of mystery about to be lighted by such a gleam as had never before been emitted from the human spirit, I believe that we would have started from our chairs and fled in dismay. But we understood nothing, except that Edmund was indulging in one of his eccentric dreams, and Jack, in his large, careless, good-natured way broke in with: "Well, Edmund, suppose _you_ could 'get at it,' as you say; what would you do with it?" Stonewall's eyes gleamed for a moment, and then he replied, with a curious emphasis: "I might do what Archimedes dreamed of." None of us happened to remember what it was that Archimedes had dreamed, and the subject was dropped. For a considerable time afterwards we saw nothing of Stonewall. He did not come to the club, and we were beginning to think of looking him up, when one evening, quite unexpectedly, he dropped in, wearing an unusually cheerful expression. We had greatly missed him, and we now greeted him with effusion. His animation impressed us all, and he had no sooner shaken hands than he said, with suppressed excitement in his voice: "Well, I've 'got at it.'" "Got at what?" drawled Jack. "The inter-atomic energy. I've got it under control." "The deuce you have!" said Jack. "Yes, I've arrived where a certain professor dreamed of being when he averred that 'when man knows that every breath of air he draws has contained within itself force enough to drive the workshops of the world he will find out some day, somehow, some way of tapping that energy.' The thing is done, for I've tapped it!" We stared at one another, not knowing what to say, except Jack, who, inspired by the spirit of mischief, drawled out: "Ah, yes, I remember. Well then, Edmund, as I asked you before, what are you going to do with it?" There was not really any thought among us of poking fun at Edmund; we respected and admired him far too much for that; nevertheless, catching the infection of banter from Jack, we united in demanding, in a manner which I can now see must have appeared most provoking: "Why, yes, Edmund, tell us what you are going to do with it." And then Jack added fuel by mockingly, though with perfectly good-natured intention, taking Edmund by the hand and swinging him in front of us with: "Gentlemen, Archimedes junior." Stonewall's eyes flashed and his cheek darkened, but for a moment he said nothing. Presently, with a return of his former affability, he said: "I wish you would come over to the laboratory and let me show you what I am going to do."