We obeyed, I imitating blindly every vague, mechanical movement of
Foulet's. We settled ourselves in the comfortable chairs and Fraser
left us. He had told us to relax--but to do anything else would have
been impossible. The light soothed us, eased us; gave us, somehow, a
penetrating sensation of peace and complete comfort. It flowed around
us, warming us, lulling us to a delicious dreamy state that was
neither waking nor sleeping. It wiped out danger; it wiped out Time;
nothing existed but this warm and relaxing sense of utter satisfaction
and peace.
Through this mist of contentment came Fraser's voice, "That is all!"
The light faded gradually, and as gradually we came to ourselves. "You
will dress," directed Fraser in the same clear, clipped manner, "and
you will come to me in my laboratory."
Fifteen minutes later we stood before him, vacant-eyed and solemn.
Fraser fastened his black, polished eyes upon us. "You will tell me,"
he said distinctly, "all you know."
We were silent. How could we tell him all we knew when we were
supposed to have forgotten everything? Was this a trap? Or did our
inside secret service information come under the general head of
Science? But before these questions had actually formed in my mind I
remembered that several times Fraser had answered my questions before
they were asked. Might he be a mind reader? Best to take no chances! I
made my conscious mind as blank as possible and gazed back at him. At
my side Foulet made a vague and uncertain noise in his throat.
"Your countries are afraid of me?" Fraser leaned forward, that smug,
vain smile curling his lips. "Your countries know there is a power
abroad stronger than they? They feel that between the twin horns of
economic pressure and the red menace they will be tossed to
destruction?
"Destruction?" repeated Foulet with all the vacant inflection of
idiocy.
"Tossed?" I asked imitating Foulet. But instantly I wondered if we
were taking the right tack for Fraser's eyes grew red with fury.
* * * * *
"Answer me!" he raged. "Tell me that your countries know that soon I
shall be master of the world! Tell me they are afraid of me! Tell me
that in the last three years I have slowly gained control of commerce,
of gold! Tell me that they know I hold the economic systems of the
world in the hollow of my hand! Tell me that not a government on earth
but knows it is hanging on the brink of disaster! And I--I put it
there! My agents spread the propaganda of ruin! My agents crashed your
Wall Street and broke your banks! I! I! I! Mad Algy Fraser!" He
stopped, gasping for breath. His face was scarlet. His eyes glowed
like red coals. Suddenly he burst into a cascade of maniacal laughter,
high, insane, terrible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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