he centre into a succession of
troughs.

"You will soon understand all about it," said Raffles Haw, throwing off
his coat, and pulling on a smoke-stained and dirty linen jacket. "We
must first stoke up a little." He put his weight on a pair of great
bellows, and an answering roar came from the furnace. "That will do. The
more heat the more electric force, and the quicker our task. Now for the
lead! Just give me a hand in carrying it."

They lifted a dozen of the pigs of lead from the floor on to the glass
stand, and having adjusted the plates on either side, Haw screwed up the
handle so as to hold them in position.

"It used in the early days to be a slow process," he remarked; "but now
that I have immense facilities for my work it takes a very short time. I
have now only to complete the connection in order to begin."

He took hold of a long glass lever which projected from among the wires,
and drew it downwards. A sharp click was heard, followed by a loud,
sparkling, crackling noise. Great spurts of flame sprang from the two
electrodes, and the mass of lead was surrounded by an aureole of golden
sparks, which hissed and snapped like pistol-shots. The air was filled
with the peculiar acid smell of ozone.

"The power there is immense," said Raffles Haw, superintending the
process, with his watch upon the palm of his hand. "It would reduce an
organic substance to protyle instantly. It is well to understand the
mechanism thoroughly, for any mistake might be a grave matter for the
operator. You are dealing with gigantic forces. But you perceive that
the lead is already beginning to turn."

Silvery dew-like drops had indeed begun to form upon the dull-coloured
mass, and to drop with a tinkle and splash into the glass troughs.
Slowly the lead melted away, like an icicle in the sun, the electrodes
ever closing upon it as it contracted, until they came together in the
centre, and a row of pools of quicksilver had taken the place of the
solid metal. Two smaller electrodes were plunged into the mercury, which
gradually curdled and solidified, until it had resumed the solid form,
with a yellowish brassy shimmer.

"What lies in the moulds now is platinum," remarked Raffles Haw. "We
must take it from the troughs and refix it in the large electrodes.
So! Now we turn on the current again. You see that it gradually takes a
darker and richer tint. Now I think that it is perfect." He drew up the
lever, removed the electrodes, and