he opened his eyes. To one
side of him he saw Morey smiling down at him.

"You're a fine guard, Arcot. I thought you were going to stay awake and
watch them!"

"Oh, no, I left a much more efficient watchman! _It_ didn't go to
sleep--I'm willing to bet!"

"No, it may not have gone to sleep, but the doctor here tells me it has
gone somewhere else. It wasn't found in our room when we woke up. I
think the Pirate found it and confiscated it. All our luggage, including
the gas sample bottles, is gone."

"That's all right. I arranged for that. The ship was brought down by an
emergency pilot and he had instructions from father. He took care of the
luggage so that no member of the pirate's gang could steal it. There
might have been some of them in the ground crew. They'll be turned over
to us as soon as we see the emergency man. I don't have to lie here any
longer, do I, doctor?"

"No, Dr. Arcot, you're all right now. I would suggest that for the next
hour or so you take it easy to let your heart get used to beating again.
It stopped for some two hours, you know. You'll be all right, however."

II

Five men were seated about the Morey library, discussing the results of
the last raid, in particular as related to Arcot and Morey. Fuller, and
President Morey, as well as Dr. Arcot, senior, and the two young men
themselves, were there. They had consistently refused to tell what their
trip had revealed, saying that pictures would speak for them. Now they
turned their attention to a motion picture projector and screen that
Arcot junior had just set up. At his direction the room was darkened;
and he started the projector. At once they were looking at the three
dimensional image of the mail-room aboard the air liner.

Arcot commented: "I have cut out a lot of useless film, and confined the
picture to essentials. We will now watch the pirate at work."

Even as he spoke they saw the door of the mail-room open a bit, and
then, to their intense surprise, it remained open for a few seconds,
then closed. It went through all the motions of opening to admit
someone, yet no one entered!

"Your demonstration doesn't seem to show much yet, son. In fact, it
shows much less than I had expected," said the senior Arcot. "But that
door seemed to open easily. I thought they locked them!"

"They did, but the pirate just burned holes in them, so to save property
they leave 'em unlocked."

Now the scene seemed to swing a bit as the pl