ghting every second,
fighting desperately with the trace of strength he possessed to slide
to the door, break the contact and get out from under the ray's
remorseless influence. Almost imperceptibly, the effort lacerating
him with pain, he slid his feet forward. Hagendorff talked on. He
seemed to be blinded by the vision of the fame his treachery would
bring him.

"We shall have an experiment, my Professor; and then you will have an
interesting death! The ray will suck you down; you will crumple and
crumple till you're not much bigger than my thumbnail! And then I
shall--_ah!_"

Garth had torn loose. Calling on every ounce of strength and will, the
midget, now no more than one foot high, had reached the edge of the
floor plate and pitched out onto the long laboratory table.

Giant and dwarf faced each other. For a moment neither spoke or moved.
A breathless tensity hung over the laboratory. The machine droned on,
forgotten. From outside, startlingly near, came the eery hoot of an
owl.

A tight smile broke through the angry surprise on Hagendorff's face.
"Well, well!" he said, with gargantuan, macabre humor. "We object! It
was foolish, eh, to reduce the power? Next time, it shall not be so.
We--_object!_"

With the word, he lunged, and his bulky arms lashed down in a wide,
grasping sweep.

But Garth's taut muscles, retaining all the strength and vigor of
their normal size had been awaiting just such a move, and his tiny
body described the arc of a tremendous leap that neatly vaulted one
huge arm and started him sprinting swiftly down the table.

* * * * *

At the end he wheeled, and before the other overcame his surprise at
such a nimble retreat, burst out indignantly:

"For God's sake, Hagendorff, what's come over you? Be sensible! You
can't do this; you can't really mean it! Why--"

"So!" roared the assistant, and his rush cut short the midget's
shrill, frantic words. But his grasp this time was better judged;
Garth felt the great fingers slip over his body. Remembering his
strength, he lashed out at one with all his might. Hagendorff grunted
with pain; but instead of continuing the attack, he suddenly turned
and strode to the door leading into the other room, and closed it with
a bang.

"You cannot escape," he growled, advancing again; "you merely delay."

Panting, Garth glanced around the room. He was, in truth, trapped.
There was but the one door; and even if he could