"Taken alone it does not, but in view of the third case, it is quite significant. The third case happened about nine-thirty last night. This time the victim was a girl, aged ten. She was returning home from a moving picture with some companions and she disappeared. This time the other children saw her go. They say she was suddenly taken straight up into the air and then disappeared from sight. They, also claim to have heard a sound like a big electric fan in the air at the time, although they could see nothing." "Had they heard the details of the second disappearance?" "They had not. I can see what you are thinking; that they were unconsciously influenced by the account given of the other case." "Consciously or unconsciously." "I doubt it, for the fourth case was almost a duplicate of the third. The fourth and fifth cases happened this morning. In the fourth case the child, for it was a nine year old girl this time, was lifted into the air in broad daylight and disappeared. This disappearance was witnessed, not only by children, but also by two adults, and their testimony agrees completely with that of the children. The fifth case is similar to the first: a ten year old boy disappeared without trace. The whole city is in a reign of terror." * * * * * The telephone at Carpenter's elbow rang and he answered it. A short conversation took place and he turned to me with a grim face as he hung up the receiver. "Another case has just been reported to police headquarters from Beverly Hills," he said. "Again the child was seen to be lifted into the air by some invisible means and disappeared. The sound of a motor was plainly heard by five witnesses, who all agree that it was just, above their heads, but that nothing could be seen." "Was it in broad daylight?" "Less than an hour ago." "But, Jim, that's impossible!" "Why is it impossible?" "It would imply the invisibility of a tangible substance; of a solid." "What of it?" "Why, there isn't any such substance. Nothing of the sort exists." Carpenter pointed to one of the windows of his laboratory. "Does that window frame contain glass or not?" he asked. I strained my eyes. Certainly nothing was visible. "Yes," I said at a venture. He rose and thrust his hand through the space where the glass should have been. "Has this frame glass in it?" he asked, pointing to another. "No." He struck the glass with his knuckle. "I'll give up," I replied. "I am used to thinking of glass as being transparent but not invisible; yet I can see that under certain light conditions it may be invisible. Granted that such is the case, do you believe that living organisms can be invisible?" "Under the right conditions, yes. Has any observer been able to see any of the purple amoeba which we know are so numerous on the outer side of the heaviside layer?" "Not until they have entered the hole through the layer."