or her presence. For now he had a
thing to do which was of paramount importance,--and this was, to
deposit the treasured discovery of his life in a secret hiding-place he
had found for it, till he should be ready to remove it to safer
quarters--or--TILL HE RESOLVED TO USE IT. Had he been a religious man,
of such humility as should accompany true religion, he would have
prayed that its use should never be called upon,--but he had trained
himself into an attitude of such complete indifferentism towards life
and the things of life, that to him it seemed useless to pray for what
did not matter. Sometimes the thought, appalling in its truth, flashed
across his brain that the force he had discovered and condensed within
small compass might as easily destroy half the world as a nation! The
fabled thunderbolts of Jove were child's play compared with those
plain-looking, thimble-like cylinders which contained such terrific
power! A touch of hesitation--of pure human dread affected his nerves
for the moment,--he shivered in the sultry air as with cold, and looked
about him right and left as though suspecting some hidden witness of
his actions. There was not so much as a bird or a butterfly in sight,
and he drew a long deep breath of relief. The day was treading in the
steps of dawn with the full blazonry of burning Californian sunlight,
and away in the distance the ridges and peaks of distant mountains
stood out sharply clear against the intense blue of the sky. There was
great stillness everywhere,--a pause, as it seemed, in the mechanism of
the universe. The twitter of a bird or the cry of some wild animal
would have been a relief,--so Seaton felt, though accustomed to deep
silence.

"Better get through with this at once"--he said, aloud--"Now that a
safe place is prepared." Here he looked at his watch. "In a couple of
hours they will be sending up from the Plaza to know if I want
anything--Irish Jake or Manilla will be coming on some trivial
matter--I'd better take the opportunity of complete secrecy while I
can."

For the next few minutes or so he hesitated. With the sudden fancy that
he had forgotten something, he turned out his pockets, looking for he
scarcely knew what. The contents were mixed and various, and among them
was a crumpled letter which he had received some days since from Sam
Gwent. He smoothed it out carefully and re-read it, especially one
passage--

"I think the States will never get involved in another