wled their
"Wuxtras" and made much small money.

The newspapers devoted solid pages in attempting to describe what had
happened. Nervously, efficient reporters had written and written, using
all their best adjectives and inventing new ones in attempts to picture
the crash and the hysterics which followed.

* * * * *

When the excitement was at its height a middle-aged man, bleeding at the
head, clothes torn and dusty, staggered into the West 47th street
police station. He found a lone sergeant at the desk.

The police sergeant jumped to his feet as the bedraggled man entered and
stumbled to a bench.

"I'm Pat Brennan, street floor watchman of the Colossus," he said. "I
ran for it. I got caught in the edge of the wreck and a brick clipped
me. I musta been out for some time. When I came around I looked back
just once at the wreck and then I beat it over here. Phone my boss."

"I'll let you phone your boss," said the sergeant, "but first tell me
just what happened."

"Earthquake, I guess. I saw the floor heaving in waves. Glass was
crashing and falling into the street. All windows in the arcade buckled,
either in or out. I ran into the street and looked up. God, what a
sight! The building from sidewalk to towers was rocking and waving and
twisting and buckling and I saw it was bound to crumple, so I lit out
and ran. I heard a roar like all Hell broke loose and then something
nicked me and my light went out."

"How many got caught in the building?"

"Nobody got out but me, I guess. There weren't many tenants. The
building is all rented, but not everybody had moved in yet and those as
had didn't spend their nights there. There was a watchman for every five
stories. An engineer and his crew. Three elevator operators had come in.
There was no names of tenants in or out on my book after 4 A.M. The
crash musta come about 6. That's all."

* * * * *

Throughout the country the news of the crash was received with great
interest and wonderment, but in one small circle it caused absolute
consternation. That was in the offices of the Muller Construction
Company, the builders of the Colossus. Jason V. Linane, chief engineer
of the company, was in conference with its president, James J. Muller.

Muller sat with his head in his hands, and his face wore an expression
of a man in absolute anguish. Linane was pacing the floor, a wild
expression in his eyes, and at