Cold Light - Captain S P Meek

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cold Light by Captain S. P. Meek confound it, Carnes.
I am on my vacation. I know it, doctor, and
I hate to disturb you, but I felt that I
simply had to. I have one of the weirdest cases
on my hands that I have ever been mixed up in,
and I think that you'll forgive me for calling you
when I tell you about it, Doctor Bird, groaned into
the telephone transmitter. I took a vacation last summer, or

(00:23):
tried to, and you hauled me away from the best
fishing I have found in years to help you on
a case this year. I traveled all the way from
Washington to San Francisco to get away from you, and
the very day that I get here, you are after me.
I won't have anything to do with it. Where are
you anyway? I am at Fallon, Nevada. Doctor. I am
sorry that you won't help me out because the case
promises to be unusually interesting. Let me at least tell

(00:46):
you about it, Doctor Bird, groaned louder than ever into
the telephone transmitter. All right, go ahead and tell me
about it if it will relieve your mind. But I
have given you my final answer. I am not a
bit interested in it. That is quite all right, doctor,
I don't expect you to touch it. I hope, however,
that you will be able to give me an idea
of where to start. Did you ever see a man's

(01:06):
body broken in pieces? Do you mean badly smashed up? No? Indeed,
I mean just what I said, broken in pieces, legs
snapped off, as though the entire flesh had become brittle. No,
I didn't, and neither did anyone else I've seen it,
Doctor Hooey, what had you been drinking? Operative Carnes of
the United States Secret Service chuckled softly to himself. The

(01:29):
voice of the famous scientist of the Bureau of Standards
plainly showed an interest which was quite at variance with
his words. I was quite sober, doctor, and so was Hughes.
And we both saw it. Who is Hughes? He is
an air mail pilot, one of the cracked flyers of
the Transcontinental Air Mail Corporation. Let me tell you the
whole thing in order. All right, I have a few

(01:50):
minutes to spare, but I'll warn you again that I
don't intend to touch the case. Suit yourself, Doctor, I
have no authority to requisition your services. As you know,
the TAA has been handling a great deal of the
transcontinental air mail with a pretty clean record on accidents.
The day before yesterday, a special plane left Washington to
carry two packages from there to San Francisco. One of

(02:12):
them was a shipment of jewels valued at a quarter
of a million, consigned to a San Francisco firm, and
the other was a sealed packet from the War Department.
No one was supposed to know the contents of that
packet except the chief of Staff, who delivered it to
the plane personally, but rumors got out as usual, and
it was popularly supposed to contain certain essential features of
the army's war plans. This much is certain. The plane

(02:34):
carried not only the regular TAC pilot and courier, but
also an army courier, and it was guarded during the
trip by an Army plane armed with small bombs and
a machine gun. I rode in it. My orders were
simply to guard the ship until it landed at mills Field,
and then to guard the courier from there to the
presidio of San Francisco until his packet was delivered personally
into the hands of the commanding General of the Ninth

(02:56):
Corps area. The trip was quiet and monotonous until after
we left Salt Lake City at dawn this morning. Nothing
happened until we were about a hundred miles east of Reno.
We had taken elevation to cross the Still Water Mountains
and were skimming low over them, my plane trailing the
TACA plane by about half a mile. I was not
paying any particular attention to the other ship when I

(03:17):
suddenly felt our plane leap ahead. It was a fast Douglas,
and the pilot gave it the gun and made it move.
I can tell you I yelled into the speaking tube
and asked what was the reason. My pilot yelled back
that the plane ahead was in trouble. As soon as
it was called to my attention, I could see myself
that it wasn't acting normally. It was losing elevation and
was pursuing a very erratic chorus. Before we could reach it,

(03:39):
it lost flying speed and fell into a spinning nose
dive and headed for the ground. I watched, expecting every
minute to see the crew make parachute jumps, but they didn't,
and the plane hit the ground with a terrific crash.
It caught fire, of course, no, doctor. That is one
of the funny things about the accident. It didn't. It
hit the ground in an open place, free from brush

(04:00):
and literally burst into pieces, but it didn't flame up.
We headed directly for the scene of the crash, and
we encountered another funny thing. We almost froze to death.
What do you mean exactly what I say. Of course,
it's pretty cold at that altitude all the time, but
this cold was like nothing I had ever encountered. It
seemed to freeze the blood in our veins, and a

(04:20):
congealed frost on the wind shields and made the motor
miss for a moment. It was only momentary, and it
only existed directly over the wrecked plane. We went past
it and swung around in a circle and came back
over the wreck, but we didn't feel the cold again.
The next thing we tried to do was to find
a landing place. That country is pretty rugged and rough,
and there wasn't a flat place for miles that was

(04:41):
large enough to land a ship on. Hughes and I
talked it over, and there didn't seem to be much
of anything that we could do. Except to go on
until we found a landing place. I had had no
experience in parachute jumping, and I couldn't pilot the plane
if Hughes jumped. We swooped down over the wreck as
close as we dared, and that was when we saw
the condition of the bodies. The whole pl the lane
was cracked up pretty badly. But the weird part of

(05:02):
it was the fact that the bodies of the crew
had broken into pieces, as though they had been made
of glass. Arms and legs were detached from the torsos,
and lying at a distance, there was no sign of
blood on the ground. We saw all this with our
naked eyes from close at hand, and verified it by
observations through binoculars from a greater height. When we had
made our observations and marked the location of the wreck

(05:24):
as closely as we could, we headed east until we
found a landing place near Fallon. Hughes dropped me here
and went on to Reno or to San Francisco if necessary,
to report the accident and get more planes to aid
in the search. I was wholly at sea, but it
seemed to be in your line, and as I knew
you were at the Saint Francis, I called you up.
What are your plans? I made none until I talked

(05:45):
with you. The country where the wreck occurred is unbelievably wild,
and we can't get near it with any transportation other
than burrows. The only thing that I can see to
do is to gather together what transportation I can and
head for the wreck on foot, to rescue the packets
and to bring out the body. Can you suggest anything better?
When do you expect to start? As soon as I
can get my pack train together, possibly in three or

(06:08):
four hours. Carns, Are you sure that those bodies were
broken into bits and arm or a leg might easily
be torn off in a complete crash. They were smashed
into bits as nearly as I could tell. Doctor Hughes
is an old flyer, and he has seen plenty of crashes,
but he never saw anything like this. It beats anything
that I ever saw. If your observations were accurate, there

(06:28):
could be only one cause, and that one is a
patent impossibility. I haven't a bit of equipment here, but
I expect that I can get most of the stuff
I want from the University of California across the bay
at Berkeley I can get a plane at chrissy Field.
I'll tell you what to do. Carnes. Get your burrow
trained together and start as soon as you can, but
leave me half a dozen burrows and a guide at Fallon.

(06:48):
I'll get up there as soon as I can, and
i'll try to overtake you before you get to the wreck.
If I don't, don't disturb anything any more than you
can help until my arrival. Do you understand I thought
that you were on your vacari, Doctor, Oh shut up.
Like most of my vacations, this one will have to
be postponed. I'll move as swiftly as I can, and
I ought to be at Fallon tonight if I'm lucky

(07:09):
and don't run into any obstacles. Burrows are fairly slow,
but I'll make the best time possible. I rather expected
you would, Doctor. I can't get my pack train together
until evening, so I'll wait for you right here. I'm
mighty glad that you are going to get in on it. Silently.
Carnes and doctor Bird surveyed the wreck of the TAC plane.
The observations of the Secret Service operative had been correct.

(07:31):
The bodies of the unfortunate crew had been broken into fragments.
Their limbs had not been twisted off as a freak
of the fall, but had been cleanly broken off, as
though the bodies had suddenly become brittle and had shattered
on their impact with the ground. Not only the bodies,
but the ship itself had been broken up. Even the
clothing of the men was in pieces or had long
splits in the fabric, whose edges were as clean as

(07:52):
though they'd been cut with a knife. Doctor Bird picked
up an arm which had belonged to the pilot and
examined it. The brittleness, if it had ever exists, it
was gone, and the arm was limp No rigor mortis,
commented the doctor. How long ago was the wreck? About
seventy two hours ago? Hmm? What about those packets that
were on the plane. Carnes stepped forward and gingerly inspected

(08:15):
first the body of the army courier and then that
of the courier of the tac Both gone, doctor, he reported.
Straightening up, Doctor Bird's face fell into grim lines. There
is more to this case than appears on the surface, Carnes,
he said, this was no ordinary wreck. Bring up that
third burrow. I want to examine these fragments a little bill.

(08:36):
He went on to one of the two guides who
had accompanied them from Fallon, you and Walter, scout around
the ground and see what you can find out. I
especially wish to know whether anyone has visited the scene
of the wreck. The guides consulted a moment and started out.
Carnes drove up the burrow the doctor had indicated, and
doctor Bird unpacked it. He opened a mahogany case and

(08:57):
took from it a high powered microscope. Setting the instrument
up on a convenient rock, he subjected portions of the wreck,
including several fragments of flesh, to a careful scrutiny. When
he had completed his observations, he fell into a brown study,
from which he was aroused by Carnes. Why did you
find out about the cause of the wreck, doctor, I
don't know what to think. The immediate cause was that

(09:18):
everything was frozen. The plane ran into a belt of cold,
which froze up the motor and which probably killed the
crew instantly. It was undoubtedly the aftermath of that cold
which you felt when you swooped down over the wreck.
It seems impossible that it could have suddenly got cold
enough to freeze everything up like that it does. And
yet I am confident that that is what happened. It

(09:38):
was no ordinary cold, Carnes. It was cold of the
type that infests interstellar space. Cold beyond any conception you
have of cold. Cold near the range of the absolute
zero of temperature, nearly four hundred and fifty degrees below
zero on the Fahrenheit's scale. At such temperatures, things which
are ordinarily quite flexible and elastic, such as rubber or flesh,

(09:59):
becomes brittle is glass and would break in the manner
which these bodies have broken. An examination of the tissues
of the flesh shows that it has been submitted to
some temperature that is very low in the scale, probably
below that of liquid air. Such a temperature would produce
instant death and the other phenomena which we can observe.
What could cause such a low temperature, Doctor, I don't

(10:20):
know yet, although I hope to find out before we
are finished. Cold is a funny thing, Carnes. Ordinarily it
is considered as simply the absence of heat, and yet
I have always held it to be a definitive negative quantity.
All through nature, we observe that every force has its
opposite or negative force to oppose it. We have positive
and negative electrical charges, positive and negative, or north and

(10:41):
south magnetic poles. We have gravity and its opposite apergy.
And I believe cold is really negative heat. I never
heard of anything like that, doctor. I always thought that
things were cold because heat was taken from them, not
because cold was added. It sounds preposterous. Such is the
common idea, and yet I I cannot accept it, for
it does not explain all the recorded phenomena. You are

(11:04):
familiar with the searchlight, are you not? In a general way? Yes,
A searchlight is merely a source of light and of
course of heat, which is placed at the focus of
a parabolic reflector, so that all of the rays emanating
from the source travel in parallel lines. A searchlight, of course,
gives off heat. If we place a lens of the
same size as a searchlight, aperture in the path of

(11:25):
the beam, and concentrate all the light and heat at
one spot, the focal point of the lens, the temperature
at that point is the same as the temperature of
the source of the light, less what has been lost
by radiation. You understand that, do you not certainly suppose
that we place at the center of the aperture of
the searchlight a small opaque disc which is permeable neither

(11:45):
to heat nor light in such a manner as to
interrupt the central portion of the beam. As a result,
the beam will go out in the form of a
hollow rod or pipe of heat and light with a
dark cold core. This core will have the temperature of
the surrounding air, plus the small amount which is radiated
into it from the surrounding pipe. If we now pass
this beam of light through a lens in order to

(12:06):
concentrate the beam, both the pipe of heat and the
cold core will focus. If we place a temperature measuring
device near the focus of the dark core, we will
find that the temperature is lower than the surrounding air.
This means that we have focused or concentrated cold. That
sounds impossible, but I can offer no other criticism. Nevertheless,
it is experimentally true. It is one of the facts

(12:27):
which lead me to consider cold as negative heat. However,
this is true of cold as it is of the
other negative forces. They exist and manifest themselves only in
the presence of the positive forces. No one has yet
concentrated cold except in the presence of heat. As I
have outlined how this cold belt which the TAC plane
encountered came to be, there is another question. The thing

(12:48):
which we have to determine is whether it was caused
by natural or artificial forces. Both of the packets which
the plane carried are gone, doctor observed Carnes, Yes, and
that seems to add weight to the possibility that the
cause was artificial, but it is far from conclusive. The
packets might not have been on the men when the
plane fell, or someone may have passed later in taken

(13:09):
them for safe keeping. The doctor's remarks were interrupted by
the guides. Someone has been here since the wreck, doctor
said Bill Walter, and I found tracks where two men
came up here and prowled around for some time and
then left By the way they came. They went off
toward the northwest, and we followed their trail for about
forty rods and then lost it. We weren't able to
pick it up again. Thanks, Bill replied the doctor. Well, Carnes,

(13:33):
that seems to add more weight to the theory that
the spot of cold was made and didn't just happen.
If a prospecting party had just happened along, they would
either have left the wreck alone or would have made
some attempt to inter the bodies. That cold belt must
have been produced artificially by men who planned to rob
this plane after bringing it down, and who were near
at hand to get their plunder. Is there any chance
of following that trail? I doubt it. Doc Walter and

(13:55):
I scouted around quite a little, but we couldn't pick
it up again. Is there any power line passing within
twenty miles of here? None that Walter and I know of,
Doc Funny, Such a device as must have been used,
would need power, and lots of it for operation. Well,
I'll try my luck. Carnes, help me unpack and set
up the rest of my apparatus. With the aid of

(14:16):
the operative doctor Bird unpacked two of the burrows and
extracted from cases where they were carefully packed and padded
some elaborate electrical and optical apparatus. The first was a
short telescope of large diameter, which he mounted on a
base in such a manner that it could be elevated
or depressed, and rotated in any direction. At the focal
point of the telescope was fastened a small knot of wire,

(14:36):
from which one lead ran to the main piece of apparatus,
which he sat on a flat rock. The other lead
from the wire knot ran into a sealed container surrounded
by a water bath, under which a spirit lamp burned.
From the container, another lead led to the main apparatus.
This main piece consisted of a series of wire coils
mounted on a frame and attached to the two leads.

(14:57):
The doctor took from a padded case a tiny magnet
suspended on a piece of wire of exceedingly small diameter,
which he fastened in place. Inside the coils. Cemented to
the magnet was a tiny mirror. What is that apparatus?
Asked Carnes, as the doctor finished his set up and
surveyed it with satisfaction. Merely a thermo couple attached to
a Dars and Vall galvanometer, replied the doctor. This large

(15:20):
squat telescope catches and concentrates on the thermo couple, and
the galvanometer registers the temperature. You're out of my depth.
What is a thermocouple? A juncture of two wires made
of dissimilar metals, in this case of platinum and of
platinum iridium alloy. There is another similar junction in this case,
which is kept at a constant temperature by the water bath.

(15:42):
When the temperatures of the two junctions are the same,
the system is in equilibrium. When they are at different temperatures,
an electrical potential is set up which causes a current
to flow from one to the other through the galvanometer.
The galvanometer consists of a magnet set up inside coils
through which the current I spoke of flows. This current
cause the magnet to rotate, and by watching the mirror,

(16:02):
the rotation can be detected and measured. This device is
one of the most sensitive ever made and is used
to measure the radiation from distant stars. Currents as small
as point zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero
zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero
zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero one ampere

(16:23):
have been detected and measured. This particular instrument is not
that sensitive to begin with, and has its sensitivity further
reduced by having a high resistance in one of the leads.
What are you going to use it for? I am
going to try to locate somewhere in these hills a
patch of local cold. It may not work, but I
have hopes if you will manipulate the telescope so as

(16:44):
to search the hills around here. I will watch the
galvanometer for several minutes. Carn swung the telescope around twice.
Doctor Bird stopped him and decreased the sensitiveness of his
instrument by introducing more resistance in the lines in order
to keep the magnet from twisting clear around due to
the fluctuations and the heats received on account of the
varying conditions of reflection. As Carnes swung the telescope again,

(17:07):
the magnet swung around sharply, nearly to a right angle
to its former position. Stop, cried the doctor. Read your azimuth.
Carnes read the compass bearing on the protractor attached to
the frame which supported the telescope. Doctor Bird took a
pair of binoculars and looked long and earnestly in the
indicated direction. With a sigh, he laid down the glasses.

(17:29):
I can't see a thing, Carnesy, he said. We'll have
to move over to the next crest and make a
new set up. Plant a rod on the hill so
that we can get an azimuth bearing and get the
air line distance with a range finder on the hilltop
which doctor Bird had pointed out. The apparatus was again
set up for several minutes. Carnes swept the hills before
an exclamation from the doctor told him to pause. He

(17:51):
read the new azimuth, and the doctor laid off the
two readings on a sheet of paper with a protractor
and made a few calculations. I don't know, he said reflectively,
when he had finished his computations. This darned instrument is
still so sensitive that you may have merely focused on
a deep shadow, or a cold spring, or something of
that sort. But the magnet kicked clear around, and it

(18:11):
may mean that we have located what we are looking for.
It should be about two miles away and almost due
west of here. There is no spring that I know of, Doc,
and I think I know of every water hole in
this country, remarked Bill. There could hardly be a spring
at this elevation. Anyway, replied the doctor, maybe it is
what we are seeking. We'll start out in that direction. Anyway, Bill,

(18:31):
you had better take the lead, for you know, the
country spread out a little so that we won't be
too bunched if anything happens. For three quarters of an hour,
the little group of men made their way through the
wilderness in the direction indicated by the doctor. Presently, Bill,
who was in the lead, held up his hand with
a warning gesture. The other three closed up as rapidly
as cautious progress would allow. What is it, Bill asked

(18:54):
the doctor in an undertone. Slip up ahead and look
over that crest. The doctor obeyed instructions. As he glanced over,
he gave vent to a low whistle of surprise and
motioned for Carnes to join him. The operative crawled up
and glanced over the crest. In a hollow before them
was a crude, one storied house and erected on an
open space. Before it was a massive piece of apparatus.

(19:16):
It consisted of a number of huge metallic cylinders, from
which lines ran to a silvery concave mirror mounted on
an elaborate frame which would allow it to be rotated
so as to point in any direction. What is it,
whispered Carnes. Some kind of a projector, muttered the doctor.
I never saw one quite like it, but it is
meant to project something. I can't make out. The curve

(19:36):
of that mirror. It isn't a parabola, and it isn't
an ellipse. It must be a high degree subcaternary, or
else built on a transcendental function. He raised himself to
get a clearer view, and as he did so, a
puff of smoke came from the house, to be followed
in a moment by a sharp crack as a bullet
flattened itself a few inches from his head. The doctor
tumbled back over the crest out of sight of the house.

(19:59):
Bill and Walter hurried forward, their rifles held ready for action.
Get out on the flanks. Men directed the doctor. The
man we want is in a house in that hollow.
He's armed, and he means business. Bill and Walter crawled
under the shelter of the rocks to a short distance away,
and then rifles ready advanced to the attack. A report
came from the hollow, and a bullet wind over Bill's head.

(20:21):
Almost instantly, a crack came from Walter's rifle, and splinters
flew from the building in the hollow, a few inches
from a loophole through which projected the barrel of a rifle.
The rifle barrel swung rapidly in a circle and barked
in Walter's direction. But as it did so, Bill's gun spoke,
and again splinters flew from the building. Good work, ejaculated
Doctor Bird as he watched the slow advance of the

(20:43):
two guides. If we just had rifles, we could join
in the party. But it's a little far for effective
pistol work. Let's go ahead and we may get close
enough to do a little shooting. Pistols in hand. Caerns
and the Doctor crawled over the crest and joined the advance.
Again and again. The rifles spoke from the hollow, and
was answered by the vicious barks of the rifles in
the hands of the guides, Carnes and the Doctor resting

(21:05):
their pistols on rocks and sending an occasional bullet toward
the loophole. The conditions of light and the moving target
were not conducive to good marksmanship on the part of
the besieged man, and none of the attackers were hit. Presently,
Walter succeeded in sending a bullet through the loophole. The
rifle barrel suddenly disappeared with a shout. The four men
rose from their cover and advanced toward the building at

(21:27):
a run. As they did so, an ominous whirring sound
came from the apparatus in front of the house, and
a sudden chill filled the air. Back, shouted doctor Bird,
back below the hill, if you value your lives. He
turned and raced at full speed toward the sheltering crest
of the hill, the others following him closely. The whirring
sound continued, and the concave reflector turned with a grating

(21:50):
sound on its gears. As the path of its rays
struck the ground, the rocks became white with frost, and
one rock split with a sharp report. One fragment rolling
down the slow carrying others in its trail with panic
stricken faces. The four men raced toward the sheltering crest,
but remorselessly the reflectors swung around in their direction. The
intense cold numbed the racing men, cutting off their breath

(22:13):
and impeding their efforts for speed. Stop, cried the doctor. Suddenly,
fire at that reflector. It's our only chance. He set
the example by turning and emptying his pistol futilely at
the turning mirror. Bill Walter and Carnes followed his example.
Nearer and nearer to them came the deadly ray. Bill
was the nearest to its path, and he suddenly stiffened

(22:34):
and fell forward, his useless gun still grasped in his hands.
As his body struck the ground, it rolled down hill
for a few feet. The deadly ray following it his
head struck a rock, and Carnes gave a cry of
horror as it broke into fragments. Walter threw his rifle
to his shoulder and fired again and again at the
rotating disk. The cold had become intense and he could

(22:56):
not control the actions of his muscles, and his rifle
wavered about. He threw himself flat on the ground, and
with an almost superhuman effort, steadied himself for a moment
and fired. His aim was true, and with a terrific crash,
the reflector split into a thousand fragments. Doctor Bird staggered
to his feet. It's out of order. For a moment,
he cried to the house while we can. As swiftly

(23:19):
as his numbed feet would allow him, he stumbled toward
the house. The muzzle of the rifle again projected from
the loophole, and with its crack. The doctor staggered for
a moment and then fell. Walter's rifle spoke again, and
the rifle disappeared through the loophole with a spasmodic jerk.
Carnes stumbled over the doctor. Are you hit badly? He
gasped through chattering teeth. I'm not hit at all, muttered

(23:42):
the doctor. I stumbled and fell just as he fired.
Look out, he's going to shoot again. The rifle barrel
came slowly into view through the loophole. Walter fired, but
his bullet went wild. Carnes threw himself behind a rock
for protection. The rifle swung in Walter's direction and paused.
As it did so, from the house came a strangled
cry and a sound as of a blow. The rifle

(24:04):
barrel disappeared, and the sounds of a struggle came from
the building. Come on, cried Carnes as he rose to
his feet and made his stumbling way forward, the others
following at the best speed which their numbed limbs would allow.
As they reached the door, they were aware of a
struggle which was going on inside. With an oath, the
doctor threw his massive frame against the door. It creaked,

(24:25):
but the solid oak of which it was composed was
proof against the attack, and he drew back for another
onslaught from the house. Came a pistol shot, followed by
a despairing cry and a guttural shout. Reinforced by Carnes.
The doctor threw his weight against the door again with
a rending crash. It gave and they fell, sprawling into
the cabin. The doctor was the first one on his feet.

(24:47):
Who are you, asked a voice from one corner. The
doctor whirled like a flash and covered the speaker with
his pistol. Put them up, he said, tersely, I am unarmed.
The voice replied, who are you? We're from the the
United States Secret Service, replied Carnes, who had gained his feet.
The game is up for you, and you'd better realize it.
Secret Service. Thank god, cried the voice. Get Koskoff. He

(25:10):
has the plans. He has gone out through the tunnel.
Where is it, demanded Carnes. The entrance is that iron
plate on the floor. Carnes and the doctor jumped at
the plate and tried to lift it, without result. There
was no handle or projection on which they could take hold.
Not that way cried the voice. That cover is fastened
on the inside. Go outside the building. He'll come out

(25:32):
about two hundred yards north. Shoot him as he appears,
or he'll get away. The three men nearly tumbled over
each other to get through the doorway into the bitter
cold outside. As they emerged from the cabin, the gaze
of the guide swept the surrounding hills. There he goes,
he cried, Get him, said Carnes sharply. Walter ran forward

(25:52):
a few feet and dropped prone on the ground, cuddling
the stock of his rifle to his cheek. Two hundred
yards ahead, a figure was scurrying over the rock away
from the cabin. Walter drew in his breath, and his
hands suddenly grew steady as his keen gray eyes peered
through the sights. Carnes and the doctor held their breath
in sympathy. Suddenly the rifle spoke, and the fleeing man

(26:12):
threw up his arms and fell forward on his face.
Got him, said Walter laconically. Go bring the body in, Carnes,
exclaimed the doctor. I'll take care of the chap inside.
Did you get him, asked the voice eagerly. As the
doctor stepped inside. He's dead, all right, replied the doctor grimly.
Who the devil are you? And what are you doing here?

(26:34):
There is a light switch on the left of the door.
As you come in, was the reply. Doctor Bird found
the switch and snapped on a light. He turned toward
the corner from whence the voice had come, and recoiled
in horror. Propped in the corner was the body of
a middle aged man, daubed and splashed with blood, which
ran from a wound in the side of his head.
Good lord, he ejaculated. Let me help you. There's not

(26:56):
much use, replied the man, rather faintly. I'm about this
face wound doesn't amount too much, but I am shot
through the body and am bleeding internally. If you try
to move me it may easily kill me. Leave me
alone until your partners come. The doctor drew a flask
of brandy from his pocket and advanced toward the corner.
Take a few drops of this, he advised. With an effort,

(27:19):
the man lifted the flask to his lips and gulped
down a little of the fiery spirit. A sound of
tramping feet came from the outside, and then a thud,
as though a body had been dropped. Carnes and Walter
entered the cabin. He's dead as a mackerel, said Carnes,
in answer to the doctor's look. Walter got him through
the neck and broke his spinal cord. He never knew
what hit him. The plans came in a gasping voice

(27:41):
from the man in the corner. We got them, too,
replied Carnes. He had both packets inside his coat. They
have been opened, but I guess they are all here.
Who the devil are you? Since Koskoff is dead and
I am dying, there is no reason why I shouldn't
tell you, was the answer. Leave that brandy handy to
keep up my strength. I have only a short time,

(28:02):
and I can't repeat as to who I am or
what I was. It doesn't really matter. Coskoff knew me
as John Smith, and it will pass as well as
any other name. Let my past stay buried. I am,
or was a scientist of some ability, but fortune frowned
on me and I was driven out of the world.
Money would rehabilitate me. Money will do anything nowadays, so

(28:24):
I set out to get it. In the course of
my experimental work, I had discovered that cold was negative
heat and reacted to the laws which governed heat. I
knew that, cried doctor Bird, but I could never prove it.
Who are you, demanded John Smith, doctor Bird of the
Bureau of Standards. Oh Bird, I've heard of you. You
can understand me when I say that as heat, positive

(28:46):
heat is a concomitant of ordinary light. I have found
that cold negative heat is a concomitant of cold light.
Is my apparatus in good shape? Outside the reflector is smashed.
I'm sorry you would have enjoyed study it. I presume
that you saw that it was a cat andary curve.
I rather thought so it was, and it was also adjustable.

(29:07):
I could vary the focal point from a few feet
to several miles. With that apparatus, I could throw a
beam of negative heat with a focal point, which I
could adjust at will. Close to the apparatus, I could
obtain a temperature almost down to absolute zero. But at
the longer ranges it wasn't so cold due to leakage
into the atmosphere. Even at two miles I could produce
a local temperature of three hundred degrees below zero. What

(29:30):
was the source of your cold liquid? Helium? Those cylinders contain,
or rather did contain, for I expect that cost cop
has emptied them helium in a liquid state. Where is
your compressor? I didn't have to use one. I developed
a cold light under whose rays helium would liquefy and
remain in a state of equilibrium until exposed to light rays.

(29:51):
Those cylinders had merely enough pressure to force the liquid
out to where the sun could hit it, and then
it turned to a gas, dropping the temperature at the
first focal point of the reflect to absolute zero. When
I had this much done, Coscoff and I packed the
whole apparatus here and were ready for work. We were
on the path of the transcontinental air mail, and I
bided my time until an especially valuable shipment was to

(30:13):
be made. My plans, which worked perfectly, were to freeze
the plane in mid air and then rob the wreck.
I heard of the jewel shipment the T A C
Was to carry, and I planned to get it. When
the plane came over, Coscoff and I brought it down.
The unsuspected presence of another plane upset us a little,
and I started to bring it down. But we had
been all over this country and knew there was no

(30:33):
place that a plane could land. I let it go
on in safety, thank you, replied Carnes with a grimace.
We robbed the wreck and we found two packets, one
the jewels I was after, and the other a sealed
packet which proved to contain certain war Department plans. That
was when I learned who Coscoff was. I had hired
him in San Francisco as a good mechanic who had

(30:53):
no principles. He was to get one fourth of the loot.
When we found these plans, he told me who he was.
He was really a Russian secret agent, and he wanted
to deliver the plans to Russia. I may be a
thief and a murderer, but I am not yet ready
to betray my country, and I told him so. He
offered me almost any price for the plans, but I
wouldn't listen. We had a serious quarrel, and he overpowered

(31:15):
me and bound me. We had a radio set here,
and he called San Francisco and sent some code message.
I think he was waiting here for someone to come.
Had we followed our original plans, we would have been
miles from here before you arrived. He had me bound
and helpless as he thought. But I worked my bonds
a little loose. I didn't let him know it, for
I knew that the plane I had let get away

(31:35):
would guide a party here, and I thought I might
be able to help out when you came and attack
the house. I worked at my bonds until they were
loose enough to throw off. I saw Coskoff start my
cold apparatus to working, and then he quit because he
ran out of helium. When he started shooting again, I
worked out of my bonds and tackled him. He was
a better man than I gave him credit for, or
else he suspected me for. About the time I grabbed him,

(31:57):
he whirled and struck me over the head with his
gun barrel and tore my face open. The blow stunned me,
and when I came to I was thrown into this corner.
I meant to have another try at it, but I
guess you rushed him too fast. He turned and ran
for the tunnel, but as he did so, he shot
me through the body. I guess I didn't look dead
enough to suit him. You gentlemen broke open the door
and came in. That's all, not by a long shot.

(32:21):
It isn't, exclaimed doctor Bird. Where is that cold light
apparatus of yours in the tunnel? How do you get
into it? If you will open that cupboard on the wall,
you'll find an open knife switch on the wall. Close it.
Doctor Bird found the switch and closed it. As he
did so, the cabin rocked on its foundations, and both
Carnes and Walter were thrown to the ground. The thud

(32:43):
of a detonation deep in the earth came to their ears.
What was that, cried the doctor, that replied Smith with
a wan smile. Was the detonation of two hundred pounds
of T and T. When you dig down into the
underground cave where we used the cold light apparatus, you
will find it in It was my only child, and
I'll take it with me. As he finished, his head

(33:05):
slumped forward on his chest. With an exclamation of dismay.
Doctor Bird sprang forward and tried to lift the prostrate
form in an agony of desire. The doctor tightened his
grip on the dying man's shoulder, but Smith collapsed into
a heap. Doctor Bird bent forward and tore open his
shirt and listened at his chest. Presently, he straightened up

(33:25):
he is gone, he said sadly, and I guess the
results of his genius have died with him. He doesn't
strike me as a man who left over much to chance. Carnes,
is your case completed very satisfactorily, doctor, I have both
of the lost packets, all right? Then come back to
the wreck and help me pack my burrows. I can
make my way back to Fallon without a guide. Where

(33:48):
are you going? Doctor, That Carnes, old dear, is none
of your blankety blank business. Permit me to remind you
that I'm on my vacation. I haven't decided yet just
where I am going, but I can tell you one thing.
It's going to be some place where you can't call
me on the telephone, and of cold light.