"I do not," said Garry. "'There is, sadly, no indication of an abatement of the spirit of irresponsibility that has kept the world, especially in recent years, in turmoil, at war or in fear of war. "'The only real remedy, perhaps, is fear of God, but the materialist knows that when he dies his rotting carcass is beyond punishment, beyond hope, beyond recall. Thus the only restraint on beastliness is the ineffectual one of conscience, and in consequence--'" "_Why_ beyond recall?" interrupted Nancy, surprisingly. "What?" "Well, if science can do anything, like he says, why can't they bring the dead people back some day? Now you just read that tripe to yourself, if that 'scientist' knew anything he wouldn't have to write for trashy Sunday Supplements, and let me read in peace, _do you hear me_?" "How can I help it?" muttered Garry, who had already conceived the germ of a notion. The notion grew into an idea, and the idea hardened into a resolve. And in the natural course of events he went to H.D. Haworth with his proposition and there was a meeting of minds. But a third talent was needed for their project, and the logical candidate was Ellsworth Stevens, M.D., Ph.D. The seduction of Ellsworth Stevens made a temporary stir in certain lofty circles, shocking all but the most cynical. A brilliant bio-chemist, a few months previously Stevens had reported some attempts at suspending animation in mammals by a method involving preliminary partial dehydration of the living tissue through starvation, followed by freezing. The technique exploited the newly-discovered tendency of very minute quantities of radioactive phosphorus in certain phospholipids to counteract the degenerative anti-gelation effect of low temperatures on the colloidal phases of protoplasm. He had not succeeded in reviving any of the animals, since none of the nerve tissue had lived through the freezing, but results had been nonetheless promising. Now Stevens was employed by the Cancer Institute, consecrated to this most important work. Until one evening a Tempter called at his modest home. His name, of course, was Jones. "Dr. Stevens," said Garry, "I want you to quit your job and go back to work on suspended animation." Stevens blinked rapidly behind his bifocals and smiled deprecatingly. "Well, Mr. Jones, I could hardly do that. You see, I've been doing some work with radioactive tracers and I'm beginning to get significant results. Can't very well quit now, can I? That other matter isn't very important--I hardly think it could be done, anyway." "Dr. Stevens," said Garry, "the Cancer Institute doesn't pay you very much. You have a daughter who is getting to the age where she would like to be dressed up. I will give you a ten year contract at ten thousand dollars a years."