He shivered a trifle as he thought of it. Swiftly his fingers flew over
the typewriter. Meanwhile the crook stood over him, glaring hostilely,
his gun in readiness to send instant death into the man whose life had
been spent delving into the mysteries of the dimensions. The ignorant
fellow could not know what was in store for him, and he had refused to
listen to cold reason. Mortenson's warning had come from the heart. He
had seen what lay behind the veil, and had been so sick and nauseated
at what he saw, that he had slept little for some nights thereafter.
But let the obstinate fellow go.
Mortenson yanked a sheet of paper from his typewriter, glancing over it
quickly and stood erect.
"There you are, my friend," he said with a shrug. "The instructions are
full and complete. I'll get the apparatus for you."
"Mortenson," the man snapped coldly. "If you've bunked me I'll come
back and blast you into hell! Get that?"
"Never fear, young man," the scientist said, eyeing the fellow
squarely. "The instructions are perfect and simple. Follow them to your
doom. Now for the apparatus...."
"Just a minute, professor," the crook cut in. "You got any plans for
the apparatus?"
Mortenson glanced at him shrewdly, suspiciously. He shook his head.
"No, I have not," he lied glibly. "I have no way of duplicating the
apparatus, if that's what you mean."
"That's it exactly," the other sneered. "If you're lying--"
"I'm not!" the scientist grumbled. "I have not yet had time to make
plans or illustrations. Not getting cold feet, are you?"
The man laughed peculiarly.
"Do I look yellow?" he grunted.
Mortenson agreed silently that he certainly did not look like a coward.
But maybe the yellow streak would show up afterward, when it was too
late to save himself. He smiled grimly and turned his back on the man.
Quickly he strode to a big steel vault that stood in one corner of the
room. The doors hung open. He bent over and removed a strange-looking
helmet and an oval apparatus to which was attached a wide metal belt.
Wires ran down from the helmet and hung loosely with small plugs
dangling at the ends. In front of the helmet were firmly attached two
projecting tubes. With the helmet in place on a man's head, these tubes
fitted in front of the eyes, like field glasses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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