ed interior, a strap
affixed to his chin while four more straps held both the upper and lower
appendages securely to the insides of the cylinder. The machine man
released these, and with the help of his comrade removed the body of the
creature from the cosmic coffin in which they had found it.

"He is dead!" pronounced one of the machine men after a long and careful
examination of the corpse. "He has been like this for a long time."

"There are strange thought impressions left upon his mind," remarked
another.

One of the machine men, whose metal body was of a different shade than
that of his companions, stepped forward, his cubic body bent over that
of the strange, cold creature who was garbed in fantastic accoutrements.
He examined the dead organism a moment, and then he turned to his
companions.

"Would you like to hear his story?" he asked.

"Yes!" came the concerted reply.

"You shall, then," was the ultimatum. "Bring him into my laboratory. I
shall remove his brain and stimulate the cells into activity once more.
We shall give him life again, transplanting his brain into the head of
one of our machines."

With these words he directed two of the Zoromes to carry the corpse into
the laboratory.

As the space ship cruised about in the vicinity of this third planet
which 25X-987 had decided to visit on finding the metal cylinder with
its queer inhabitant, 8B-52, the experimenter, worked unceasingly in his
laboratory to revive the long-dead brain cells to action once more.
Finally, after consummating his desires and having his efforts crowned
with success, he placed the brain within the head of a machine. The
brain was brought to consciousness. The creature's body was discarded
after the all-important brain had been removed.

CHAPTER III

_Recalled to Life_

As Professor Jameson came to, he became aware of a strange feeling. He
was sick. The doctors had not expected him to live; they had frankly
told him so--but he had cared little in view of the long, happy years
stretched out behind him. Perhaps he was not to die yet. He wondered how
long he had slept. How strange he felt--as if he had no body. Why
couldn't he open his eyes? He tried very hard. A mist swam before him.
His eyes had been open all the time but he had not seen before. That was
queer, he ruminated. All was silent about his bedside. Had all the
doctors and nurses left him to sleep--or to die?

Devil take that mist which now swam bef