ood smiling triumphantly between
table and desk.

Parker shot from his chair with the speed of utter desperation. He
feinted, and drove a vicious uppercut to the jaw of Dr. Friedrich von
Stein. The doctor reeled but he did not go down. His fists swung.
Parker found him no boxer, and beat a tattoo upon his middle. Von
Stein began to slump.

Then two thick muscled arms closed around the artist from behind and
he was lifted clear of the floor. He kicked, and tried to turn, but it
was useless. The doctor recovered himself. His eyes blazed fury.

"Put him in the chair, Heinrich!" he roared. "For this I will show you
what I can do, Herr Parker!"

* * * * *

At that instant little Hans, who had been yelping on the edge of the
battle, dashed in. He leaped for the throat of Von Stein. The doctor
kicked him brutally.

The shriek of agony from Hans loosened the arms of Heinrich. Parker
got his footing again. He saw the clumsy serving man spring forward
and gather his dog up to his breast. Again Parker rushed for his
enemy.

It was clear now that Von Stein was cut off from the controls he
wanted, and without Heinrich he could not master Parker in a fight.
For an instant he stood baffled. Then he retreated the length of the
room, taking what blows he could not beat off. He staggered upon a
plate of metal set into the floor, righted himself, and failed in an
attempt to catch hold of Parker. Suddenly he bowed in the direction of
the distant doorway.

Allen half turned. Betty was coming down the room, staring and
breathless.

"_Leben sie wohl!_" cried Von Stein. "Farewell, Madame! I should like
to take you with me!"

A great flash of the colors of the spectrum sent Parker reeling back.
Dr. Friedrich von Stein had gone the way of the crumpled ball of
paper.

There was a long moment of silence. Then Allen Parker found his wife
in his arms, clinging to him.

"'Are not two prayers a perfect strength?'" she murmured, sobbing
against his heart.

A HUNDRED MILES UNDERGROUND

Scientists bidding their families good-by in the morning to drop fifty
or a hundred miles underground in high speed elevators, there to
undertake researches not possible nearer to the earth's surface, may
be realities of the next decade or two if some wealthy individual or
institution accepts the recommendation of Dr. Harlow Shapley,
distinguished astronomer of Harvard, in a talk recently before the
American Geographi