eyes rest upon the scene about him, he will surely think
that he is dreaming of the temple of AEsculapius. Then, while his brain
is heavy with drugs, and his mind mystified, he will yield readily to
hypnotic influences."

The ten minutes had barely elapsed, when the sleeper moved. A moment
later, Leon opened his eyes, and as the dim light from the little lamp
enabled him to see the dome above him, he lay still, regarding it with
some surprise. A few moments more, and he rubbed his eyes with the
knuckle of his forefinger, and the Doctor knew that he was wondering
whether he were awake or dreaming. Not fully satisfied, Leon sat up,
and gazed about him. He was becoming more thoroughly awake, and very
soon he would know that he was not in dream-land. But the Doctor no
longer delayed his plan of action. Ere Leon could recover from the
surprise of his first awakening, and as he gazed directly in front of
him, Dr. Medjora touched an electric button with his foot, and
instantly a blaze of light appeared upon the wall. A hundred tiny
incandescent lamps, arranged in the form of radiating spokes from a
wheel, placed before a brightly burnished silver reflector, with
thousands of facets upon its concaved surface, shed a light as
dazzling as a sun. Leon closed his eyes to protect them from the
glare, but when he opened them again another surprise awaited him. By
touching another button, the Doctor had started a motor, which, with a
dull humming sound, set the wheel of lights in motion, the reflector
revolving rapidly in one direction while the fixture which contained
the lamps turned swiftly the opposite way. The scintillating rays were
so dazzling, that it was impossible for Leon to gaze upon it more than
an instant. He turned his back upon it, bewildered, but immediately
before his eyes there appeared on the wall confronting him another
similar wheel of light, which began to revolve also. Again he turned
his eyes away, and again, and again, and again; but wherever he
looked, the rapidly moving electric suns burst forth, until a dozen of
them surrounded him.

He stood a moment with his gaze upon the floor, trying to recover
control of himself, for his astonishment was such that he felt as
though he were losing his mind. But all in vain. As much as he dreaded
those fiery suns, as well as he knew instinctively that to look upon
them was to be lost, he could not resist the temptation. Slowly, as
with an effort, he raised his eyes an