*

As he started to cautiously reconnoiter, he was suddenly arrested in
his tracks. He had caught the sound of deep, rhythmic breathing.
Hagendorff was asleep, not in the adjoining living room--but in the
laboratory!

For a moment, Garth did not know what to do. Caution urged him to
retreat; but that would not get him back to his size. On tip-toe, he
explored around. The boards squeaked beneath his great weight, but the
nearby breathing beyond continued in regular rhythm.

His eyes were toned to the darkness of the laboratory; he saw the
chamber of his atom-compacting machine, its outer sides ghostly in the
faint, reflected starlight, and stared at it with a pang of fierce
longing. So near, it was--so very near! Holding the stolen size of his
body; holding all that was vital to him; holding life itself--it
rested there silently, within reach of a few steps and a quick climb
up one of the table legs. So he thought, his brain whirling with
mingled emotions, his tiny body shivering and aching with cold and its
many hurts. The machine was near--but a barrier blocked the way.

Hagendorff's bulk lay outstretched on a side table, black in the
shadows, and from him came the level breathing of a sound sleeper,
climaxed now and again by a rumbling snore. He was taking no chances;
his presence there seemed to destroy any hope of the midget's
regaining normal size. But Garth was desperate, and for a minute or so
he considered.

* * * * *

Forty seconds, the increase would take, at half speed. It might be
that long before the giant would waken thoroughly and see what was
happening. He, Garth, might start the process, and, when he saw the
huge figure stirring and waking from the noise of the dynamo, switch
off the ray and get out. No matter how short a time it took Hagendorff
to throw off the fogginess of his sleep, he would be somewhat
increased in size, and the odds of combat would not be so great.

It was a terrible risk. Did he dare take it? He thought of the forest,
of the raw night, of what was threatened in the morning.... Yes!

Silently, the manikin clasped the nearest table leg, shinnied up and
hauled himself over the top. As he got there his heart leaped. A sharp
thumping had come from behind. He dropped to his knees and glanced
round; but he immediately rose again, reassured. It was only the
rabbits in their cage, disturbed by the strange figure on the table.
He thanked God tha