We ventured the humble opinion that the dog had scratched or bit himself in struggling to free himself from the cords with which Harbauer had bound him, and the inventor flew into a terrible rage, cursing and waving his arms as though demented. Feeling that discretion was the better part of valor, we beat a hasty retreat, pausing at the barbed-wire gate only long enough to ask Mr. Harbauer if he would be good enough, sometime when he had a few minutes of leisure, to dash into next week and bring back some stock market reports to aid us in our investment efforts. Under the circumstances, we did not wait for a response, but we presume we are persona non grata at the Harbauer establishment from this time on. All in all, we are not sorry. I folded the paper and passed it back to him; some of the allusions I did not understand, but the general tone of the article was very clear indeed. * * * * * "You see?" said Harbauer, his voice grating with anger. "I tried to be courteous to that man; to give him a simple, convincing demonstration of the greatest scientific achievement in centuries. And the fool returned to write _this_: to hold me up to ridicule, to paint me as a crack-brained, wild-eyed fanatic." "It's hard for the layman to conceive of a great scientific achievement," I said soothingly. "All great inventions and inventors have been laughed at by the populace at large." "True. True." Harbauer nodded his head solemnly. "But just the same--" He broke off suddenly, and forced a smile. I found myself wishing that he had completed that broken sentence, however; I felt that he had almost revealed something that would have been most enlightening. "But enough of that fool and his babblings," he continued. "I am here as living proof that my experiment is a success, and I have a tremendous curiosity about the world in which I find myself. This, I take it, is a ship for navigating space?" "Right! The _Ertak_, of the Special Patrol Service. Would you care to look around a bit?" "I would, indeed." There was a tremendous eagerness in the man's voice. "You're not too tired?" "No; I am quite recovered from my experience." Harbauer leaped to his feet, those abnormally long, slitted eyes of his glowing. "I am a scientist, and I am most curious to see what my fellows have created since--since my own era." I picked up my dressing gown and tossed it to him. "Slip this on, then, to cover your clothing. You would be an object of too much curiosity to those men who are on duty," I suggested. I was taller than he, and the garment came within a few inches of the floor. He knotted the cincture around his middle and thrust his hands into the pockets, turning to me for approval. I nodded, and motioned for him to precede me through the door. * * * * *