hare each and the rest half a share," said Carson. "I know how
much has been given and it won't take me but a minute to check up."

* * * * *

He bent over the book, but Willis interrupted.

"Better put it away, Carson," he said, "here come the rest and we
don't want them to know we suspect anything."

He pointed toward a disc on the wall which had begun to glow.
Slavatsky looked at it and grasped the book from Carson and replaced
it in the cabinet. He moved over and started the generator and the
tube began to glow with a violet light. A noise came from the outside
and the door opened. Four men entered carrying a fifth whom they
propped up in the chair under the glowing tube.

"Did everything go all right?" asked the dwarf eagerly.

"Smooth as silk," replied one of the four. "I hope we get some results
this time."

The dwarf bent over the ray apparatus and made some adjustments and
the head of the unconscious man was bathed with a violet glow. For
three minutes the flood of light poured on his head and then the dwarf
shut off the light and Carson and Willis lifted the figure and laid it
on the operating table. The dwarf bent over the man and inserted the
needle of a hypodermic syringe into the back of the neck at the base
of the brain. The needle was an extremely long one, and Dr. Bird
gasped as he saw four inches of shining steel buried in the brain of
the unconscious man.

Slowly Slavatsky drew back the plunger of the syringe and Dr. Bird
could see it was being filled with an amber fluid. For two minutes the
slow work continued, until a speck of red appeared in the glass
syringe barrel.

"Seven and a half cubic centimeters!" cried the dwarf in a tone of
delight.

"Fine!" cried Carson. "That's a record, isn't it?"

"No, we got eight once. Now hold him carefully while I return some of
it."

* * * * *

Slavatsky slowly pressed home the plunger and a portion of the amber
fluid was returned to the patient's skull. Presently he withdrew the
needle and straightened up and held it toward the light.

"Six centimeters net," he announced. "Take him back, Frink. I'll give
Carson and Willis their share now and we'll take care of the rest of
you when you return. Is the ship well stocked?"

"Enough for two or three more trips."

"In that case, I'll inject this whole lot. Better get going, Frink,
it's pretty late."

The four men who had brought the p