ling hand spilled some of the
pellets, but none of them noticed it.

"Father, dear, this one." Alan held an opalescent vial. "This one."

Glora said abruptly, "Listen! Is that someone coming?"

They thought they heard approaching footsteps. A moment passed, but no
one came into the room.

"Hurry," urged Glora. "It is nothing. We wait too long."

"My boy--Alan, dear, after all these years--"

They were about to take the diminishing drug. From across the room
there came a very queer sound. A scuttling, scratching, and the drone
of wings.

"Father, good God--look!"

Over by the wall, a giant fly was running across the floor. It was
growing larger!

At Dr. Kent's feet the pellets he had dropped were crushed by his
footsteps and strewn on the floor. A fly had eaten of the sweetish
powder.

The enlarging drug was loose!

A few drops of water lay mingled with the drug on the floor. And from
the water nameless hideous things were rising!

CHAPTER IX

_The Doomed Realm_

To Alan the first few moments that followed the escape of the drug
were the most horrible of his life. The discovery struck old Dr. Kent,
Glora and Alan into a numb, blank confusion. They stood transfixed,
staring with cold terror. The fly was scurrying along the floor close
against the wall Already it was as large as Alan's hand. It ran into
the corner, hit the wall in its confused alarm, and turned back. Its
wings were droning with an audible hum. It reared itself on its hairy
legs, lifted and sailed across the room.

As though drawn by a magnet Alan turned to watch it. It landed on the
wall. Alan was aware of Dr. Kent rushing with trembling steps to a
shelf where bottles stood. Glora was stricken into immobility, the
blood draining from her face.

The fly flew again. It passed directly over Alan. Its body, with a
membrane sac of eggs, was now as large as his head; its wide-spread
transparent wings were beating with a reverberating drone.

Alan flung a bottle which was on the table beside him. It missed,
crashed against the ceiling, came down with splintering glass and
spilling liquid. Fumes spread chokingly over the room.

The fly landed again on the floor. Larger now! Expanding with a
horribly rapid growth. Glora flung something--a little wooden rack
with a few empty test-tubes in it. The rack struck the monstrous fly,
but did not hurt it. The fly stood with hairy legs braced under its
bulging body. Its multiple-lensed eyes were st