"His fingers, up to the knuckles, simply disappeared. No, they weren't cut off. The effect was similar to thrusting the hand into a basin of murky water. Morton instantly jerked his hand out, and it was uninjured, except that the fingers were stained a faint red. The point is--there was something in the box that was almost invisible, and an object thrust into it was rendered invisible, too. "Morton was tremendously puzzled. I can't recall his exact words, but he seemed to be of the opinion that the contents of the box were extra-dimensional." "Extra-dimensional?" Kennedy interrogated. "Something like that," Sharp admitted. "Oh I know it sounds utterly fantastic. I was of the opinion that Morton did not know what he was talking about, but later events showed me that I was wrong." "What happened next?" the detective queried. "This happened," Sharp answered. The man was trembling. The handkerchief with which he tried to mop his face fluttered in an unsteady hand. "_Either something came out of that box, or something came through that box and escaped into the basement!_" Sharp's eyes went over the room, jerking from object to object like a man who suspects the presence of an incredible enemy and is warily watching for that enemy to strike. The action sent cold chills up Rocks Malone's back. Something had come out of that box. It might still be here in the museum. Sharp thought it might be. He was looking for it. "Through the box?" McCumber spoke. "I don't understand. How could anything come through it?" "I don't understand either," the business manager answered. "I'm only telling you what Morton thought. He said the box might be a gateway between this world and a higher dimensional world. If the box is such a gateway, then something came through it. If it is not a gateway, then something came out of the box and escaped into the basement." His eyes ran from face to face of his hearers. "How do you know something came out?" McCumber persisted. He seemed to have taken over the questioning from Kennedy. "Because I saw it," Sharp answered. In the silence of the basement Rocks could hear several men breathing heavily. "It lifted up, out of the box," Sharp continued. "It was a mass of grayish smoke, of shifting planes and impossible angles. It rose straight up and seemed to pause in the air. While it hung in the air--and I cannot begin to suggest an explanation for this--I suddenly seemed to lose my hearing. I couldn't hear a sound. There was utter, complete silence. It was the oddest sensation I have ever experienced." Again the handkerchief wiped sweat from his face. "Then--like a finger snap--the thing vanished. It disappeared into thin air. And when it vanished, I recovered from my deafness." Rocks felt Penny's fingers searching for his hand. Her hand slid into his. She was trembling.