clutch the
world-old mystery of the life-essence, and found himself, instead,
confronted on its threshold by the equal mystery of death.

Herr Lebensfunke smiled feebly at this movement.

"A subject received this morning from Berlin," he said, in answer to
Wyde's look of inquiry. "A sad piece of extravagance, mein Herr--a
luxury to which I can rarely afford to treat myself."

Ronald Wyde bent over the body and looked into its face. A rough, red
face, that had seemingly seen forty years of low-lived dissipation.
The blotched skin and bleary eyes told of debauchery and drunkenness,
and a slight alcoholic foetidness was unpleasantly perceptible, as
from the breath of one who sleeps away the effects of a carouse.

"I hope you don't think of restoring this soaked specimen to life?"
said Ronald.

"That is still beyond me," answered the old man, mournfully. "As yet I
have not created life of a higher grade than that of the lowest
zoophytes."

"Do you claim to have done as much as that?"

"It is not an idle claim," said Herr Lebensfunke, solemnly. "Look at
this, if you doubt."

"This" was the great crystal globe that rose from the middle of the
long table, and dominated its lesser accessories, as some great dome
swells above the clustered houses of a town. Tubes passing through its
walls met in a smaller central globe half filled with a colorless
liquid. Beneath this, and half encircling it, was an intricate maze of
bright wire; and two other wires dipped into it, touching the surface
of the liquid with their platinum tips. Within the liquid pulsed a
shapeless mass of almost transparent spongy tissue.

"You see an aggregation of cells possessed of life--of a low order, it
is true, but none the less life," said the philosopher, proudly.
"These were created from water chemically pure, with the exception of
a trace of ammonia, and impregnated with liquid carbon, by the
combined action of heat and induced electricity, in vacuo. Look!"

He pressed one of the keys before him. Presently the wire began to
glow with a faint light, which increased in intensity till the coil
flamed into pure whiteness. Removing his finger, the current ceased to
flow, and the wire grew rapidly cool.

"I passed the whole strength of sixty cups through it to show you its
action. Ordinarily, with one or two carbon cells, and refining the
current by triple induction, the temperature is barely blood-warm."

"Pardon an interruption," said Ronald.