"Yes!" cried Sir Basil. "There would be not a blade of grass, not a living spore, not a hidden egg! Think of it, Oakham! No more would the clean air and the sweet earth reek with life, and at last the ultimate mind-electron would be released forever." He was breathing fast, and his emaciated face burned with two red spots. Hale thought rapidly. He was convinced now that the fate of all life lay within that diabolical network of chemical apparatus. At last he said: "And what of you and I, Sir Basil? Shall we, too, be caught in this wholesale destruction?" "Not immediately," replied the scientist. "Of course, I want to remain in the flesh long enough to be sure that my purpose has been accomplished. I have provided a way for my own safety. If you desire, you may remain with me." He smiled craftily. "I have planned to keep Ana also, the woman whom I called into life and made as I wished." * * * * * His words pounded against Hale's tortured ears with almost physical force. With a supreme effort, the young man controlled his rage and despair. Ana needed him too much now for him to risk defeat by showing his emotions. To Sir Basil he said: "But if all life disappears from the earth, what shall we do for food--you, Ana, and I?" Sir Basil lifted his brows. "You don't think I overlooked that, do you? What is food? Various combinations of the basic elements. I who have conquered the atom need never worry about starving to death." All this time, the machinery had been humming, and now the humming changed its note to a shrill whistle. Sir Basil went to the eye-piece and looked into it. Opening a door in the machinery, he disappeared inside. He came out soon, flushed and evidently elated. "Bring the stretcher, Oakham," he ordered. Hale brought the stretcher, placing it close to the machine. Then Sir Basil opened a metal door and gently eased out a human body. It was Unani Assu, unconscious but alive and breathing. Hale, helping the scientist to get the man on the stretcher, noticed that the crushed legs were perfectly healed. Together they bore him to a long seat. The Indian's eyes were still closed, but his even breathing indicated that he was only sleeping. Suddenly Hale pointed a finger and cried out. "My God, Sir Basil, look at his hands and feet!" * * * * * Unani Assu, still lying like a recumbent bronze statue sculptured by a master, was perfect from shoulder to wrist, from thigh to ankle. But, somewhere in that diabolical machine through which he had passed, his hands and feet had undergone a hideous metamorphism which had transformed them from the well-formed extremities of a splendid young Indian into the hairy paws of a giant rat! Hale turned away his head, sick with disgust. Sir Basil cut the silence triumphantly: "Now he'll never again face Ana with love in his eyes!" "What!" broke in Hale. "Did you plan this monstrous thing?"