child, I repeat, is now well. The recovery set in under my own
eyes. I saw for myself the return of life to a body that was moribund.
The return was swift. In one hour the transformation was complete, and
it was _in that hour_ that the child developed the outward signs of the
Blue Disease."

He paused. A murmur ran round the hall and then once more came silence.

"I am of the opinion," said Hammer deliberately, "that the cause of the
miracle--for it was a miracle--was the Blue Disease. Think, Gentlemen,
of a child in the last stages of septic peritonitis, practically dead.
Think again of the same child, one hour later, alive, free from pain,
smiling, interested--and stained with the Blue Disease. What conclusion,
as honest men, are we to draw from that?"

He sat down. At once a man near him got to his feet.

"The point of view hinted at by the last speaker is correct," he said.
"I can corroborate it to a small extent. This morning I was confined to
my bed with the beginnings of a bad influenzal cold. At midday I
developed the Blue Disease, and now I am as well as I have ever been in
the whole of my life. I attribute my cure to the Blue Disease."

Scarcely had he taken his seat again when a grave scholarly man arose in
the gallery.

"Gentlemen," he said, "I come from Birmingham; and it is a city of
miracles. The sick are being cured in thousands daily. The hospitals are
emptying daily. I verily believe that the Blue Disease may prove to be
all that Dr. Sarakoff and Dr. Harden claim it to be."

The effect of these speakers upon the meeting was remarkable. A thrill
passed over the crowded Hall. Hammer rose again.

"Let us accept for a moment that this new infection confers immortality
on humanity," he said, weighing each word carefully. "What are we, as
medical men, going to do? Look into the future--a future free from
disease, from death, possibly from pain. Are we to accept such a future
passively, or are we, as doctors, to strive to eradicate this new germ
as we strive to eradicate other germs?"

Sir Jeremy Jones, with an expression of dismay, raised his hand.

"Surely, surely," he exclaimed shrilly, "we are going too far. That the
Blue Disease may modify the course of illness is conceivable, and seems
to be supported by evidence. But to assume that it confers
immortality----"

"Why should we doubt it?" returned Hammer warmly. "We have been told
that it does by two responsible men of science, and so far thei