"I do not mean by God," quickly returned the other. "God is all powerful; but by man?" "Then, of course, I would say that it cannot be done." "But if I were to show you that it was a fact, an accomplished fact, you would, of course, admit it?" "No, Cobb. Look here, old fellow," pettishly exclaimed Hathaway, rising from his chair, "what is all this about, anyway?" Cobb glanced at him with an expression of pity, and quickly replied: "I mean, Hathaway, that it is in my power to hold the life of mortal man within its living body for an unlimited time. I mean that I can take your body, Hathaway, and so manipulate it that you will be, to all appearance, dead; but your soul, or whatever you choose to call it, will still be in your body; and further, that after a certain time you will again come to life, having all your former freshness and youth." Cobb stood at the table with his hand upon the pages of his book, and a smile upon his face which seemed to say, "Deny it if you can." Hathaway and Craft looked at him in amazement. These men had known Cobb to be a student, but neither of them had ever thought him demented. The proposition advanced by him seemed so terribly contrary to all the principles of science, natural law, and life, that neither of them could believe that the man was in earnest. Both Hathaway and Craft had often come to Cobb's quarters, and exchanged ideas with him concerning various and many topics; both knew him to be a student of chemistry and philosophy, and that he worked many hours in his little back room. They knew that he worked with chemicals and electricity, and both knew him to be a very peculiar man, yet neither of them had ever before seemed to be imbued with the belief that the man was of unsound mind. The grave and startling statement advanced by Cobb had so astonished them that it was impossible to think him sane. "Yes," continued Cobb, "I have found this power. I have no doubt that it strikes you with amazement that I should even suggest such an almost preposterous theory. I have no doubt that you almost think me insane; but my researches in the past few years have been rewarded by the most startling discoveries. We have all imagined, for many years, that as soon as the body was deprived of air for a considerable time, life would become extinct, or, in other words, that life could not exist without air. Such is not the case--ah! do not start," he exclaimed, seeing both Hathaway and Craft bend forward inquiringly in their chairs. "I repeat, such is not the case. Without the oxygen in the air, the blood of man would be white, yet it would possess all the properties necessary to continue life. But one thing must not be confounded with this statement: oxygen is necessary for life _with_ action, but not necessary for life _without_ action. A strange statement, is it not? Am I tedious?" he asked, looking at his listeners. "No; not at all," they both exclaimed. "Please continue, for we are very much interested."