fying a neglected appetite, and so, apparently, had his wife.

_Wife!_ The thought jolted him.

Their eyes met, and he knew that the same thing was in her mind.

The sulfa-tetradine!

With the edge barely off his hunger, he stopped eating. She did, too.
They sipped the steaming coffee and looked at each other.

"I--feel better," Phyllis said at last.

"So do I."

"I mean--I feel differently."

He studied her face. It was new. The tenseness was gone and it was a
beautiful face, with soft lips and intelligent eyes. But now the eyes
were merely friendly.

And it aroused no more than a casual pleasure in him, the pleasure of
viewing a lovely painting or a perfect sunset. A peaceful intellectual
rapport settled over them, inducing a physical lethargy. They spoke
freely of their sensations, of the hypo-adrenal effects, and wondered
that there was no unpleasant reaction. They decided that, initially at
least, sulfa-tetradine was a miraculous success. Murt thought he should
go back to the hospital and work out a report right away.

Phyllis agreed and offered to accompany him, but he said she had better
get a night's sleep. The next day would be hectic.

After four hours at his desk, he called a taxi and, without hesitation,
gave the address of his club. Not until he fell wearily into bed did he
remember it was his wedding night.

By mutual agreement, the marriage was annulled the next day.

Feldman and Peterson were gratified at the efficacy of their drug, but
both were horrified that Murt had chosen to experiment on himself. As
usual, Phyl had insisted on being left out of the report.

* * * * *

After a week of close observation, one of the monkeys was chloroformed
and tissue-by-tissue examination was made by an army of histologists.
Blood samples showed completely clear of the virus, as did a recheck on
Murt's own blood. No deleterious effects could be detected, so the
results were published through the Government Health Service.

It was the day before Christmas before Dr. Sylvester Murt first noticed
the approaching symptoms of a relapse, or reinfection--he couldn't guess
which. The past weeks had been pleasantly busy and, as acclaimed
authority on Murt's virus, he had had little time to think subjectively
about his experience.

Sulfa-tetradine was now considered the specific for the affliction and
was being produced and shipped by the carload all over the world. The
press