The Ray of Madness
_By Captain S. P. Meek_
"_That's the one," he exclaimed. "Hold the glass therefor a moment._"]
Dr. Bird discovers a dastardly plot, amazing in its mechanical ingenuity, behind the apparently trivial eye trouble of the President.
A knock sounded at the door of Dr. Bird's private laboratory in theBureau of Standards. The famous scientist paid no attention to theinterruption but bent his head lower over the spectroscope with which hewas working. The knock was repeated with a quality of quiet insistenceupon recognition. The Doctor smothered an exclamation of impatience andstrode over to the door and threw it open to the knocker.
"Oh, hello, Carnes," he exclaimed as he recognized his visitor. "Come inand sit down and keep your mouth shut for a few minutes. I am busy justnow but I'll be at liberty in a little while."
"There's no hurry, Doctor," replied Operative Carnes of the UnitedStates Secret Service as he entered the room and sat on the edge of theDoctor's desk. "I haven't got a case up my sleeve this time; I just camein for a little chat."
"All right, glad to see you. Read that latest volume of the_Zeitschrift_ for a while. That article of Von Beyer's has got meguessing, all right."
Carnes picked up the indicated volume and settled himself to read. TheDoctor bent over his apparatus. Time and again he made minuteadjustments and gave vent to muttered exclamations of annoyance at theresults he obtained. Half an hour later he rose from his chair with asigh and turned to his visitor.
"What do you think of Von Beyer's alleged discovery?" he asked theoperative.
* * * * *
"It's too deep for me, Doctor," replied the operative. "All that I canmake out of it is that he claims to have discovered a new element named'lunium,' but hasn't been able to isolate it yet. Is there anythingremarkable about that? It seems to me that I have read of other newelements being discovered from time to time."
"There is nothing remarkable about the discovery of a new element by thespectroscopic method," replied Dr. Bird. "We know from Mendeleff'stable that there are a number of elements which we have not discoveredas yet, and several of the ones we know were first detected by thespectroscope. The thing which puzzles me is that so brilliant a man asVon Beyer claims to have discovered it in the spectra of the moon. Hisname, lunium, is taken from Luna, the moon."
"Why not the moon? Haven't several elements been first discovered in thespectra of stars?"
"Certainly. The classic example is Lockyer's discovery of an orange linein the spectra of the sun in 1868. No known terrestrial element gavesuch a line and he named the new element which he deduced helium, fromHelos, the sun. The element helium was first isolated by Ramsey sometwenty-seven years later. Other elements have been found in the spectraof stars, but the point I am making is that the sun and the stars areincandescent bodies and could be logically expected to show thecharacteristic lines of their constituent elements in their spectra. Butthe moon is a cold body without an atmosphere and is visible only byreflected light. The element, lunium, may exist in the moon, but themanifestations which Von Beyer has observed must be, not from the moon,but from the source of the reflected light which he spectro-analyzed."
* * * * *
"You are over my depth, Doctor."
"I'm over my own. I have tried to follow Von Beyer's reasoning and Ihave tried to check his findings. Twice this evening I thought that Icaught a momentary glimpse on the screen of my fluoroscope of theultra-violet line which he reports as characteristic of lunium, but I amnot certain. I haven't been able to photograph it yet. He notes in hisarticle that the line seems to be quite impermanent and fades so rapidlythat an accurate measurement of its wave-length is almost impossible.However, let's drop the subject. How do you like your new assignment?"
"Oh, it's all right. I would rather be back on my old work."
"I haven't seen you since you were assigned to the Presidential detail.I suppose that you fellows are pretty busy getting ready for PremierMcDougal's visit?"
"I doubt if he will come," replied Carnes soberly. "Things are notexactly propitious for a visit of that sort just now."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird sat back in his chair in surprise.
"I thought that the whole thing is arranged. The press seems to thinkso, at any rate."
"Everything is arranged, but arrangements may be cancelled. I wouldn'tbe surprised to hear that they were."
"Carnes," replied Dr. Bird gravely, "you have either said too much ortoo little. There is something more to this than appears on the surface.If it is none of my business, don't hesitate to tell me so and I'llforget what you have said, but if I can help you any, speak up."
Carnes puffed meditatively at his pipe for a few minutes beforereplying.
"It's really none of your business. Doctor," he said at length, "and yetI know that a corpse is a chatterbox compared to you when you are toldanything in confidence, and I really need to unload my mind. It has beenkept from the press so far; but I don't know how long it can be keptmuzzled. In strict confidence, the President of the United State actsas though he were crazy."
"Quite a section of the press has claimed that for a long time," repliedDr. Bird, with a twinkle in his eye.
"I don't mean crazy in that way, Doctor, I mean _really_ crazy. Bugs!Nuts! Bats in his belfry!"
* * * * *
Dr. Bird whistled softly.
"Are you sure, Carnes?" he asked.
"As sure as may be. Both of his physicians think so. They werenon-committal for a while, especially as the first attack waned and heseemed to recover, but when his second attack came on more violentlythan the first and the President began to act queerly, they had to takethe Presidential detail into their confidence. He has been quietlyexamined by some of the greatest psychiatrists in the country, but noneof them have ventured on a positive verdict as to the nature of themalady. They admit, of course, that it exists, but they won't classifyit. The fact that it is intermittent seems to have them stopped. He wasbad a month ago but he recovered and became, to all appearances, normalfor a time. About a week ago he began to show queer symptoms again andnow he is getting worse daily. If he goes on getting worse for anotherweek, it will have to be announced so that the Vice-President can takeover the duties of the head of the government."
* * * * *
"What are the symptoms?"
"The first we noticed was a failing of his memory. Coupled with this wasa restlessness and a habit of nocturnal prowling. He tosses continuallyon his bed and mutters and at times leaps up and rages back and forth inhis bedchamber, howling and raging. Then he will calm down and composehimself and go to sleep, only to wake in half an hour and go through thesame performance. It is pretty ghastly for the men on night guard."
"How does he act in the daytime?"
"Heavy and lethargic. His memory becomes a complete blank at times andhe talks wildly. Those are the times we must guard against."
"Overwork?" queried the Doctor.
"Not according to his physicians. His physical health is splendid andhis appetite unusually keen. He takes his exercise regularly and suffersno ill health except for a little eye trouble."
Dr. Bird leaped to his feet.
"Tell me more about this eye trouble, Carnes," he demanded.
"Why, I don't know much about it, Doctor. Admiral Clay told me that itwas nothing but a mild opthalmia which should yield readily totreatment. That was when he told me to see that the shades of thePresident's study were partially drawn to keep the direct sunlight out."
* * * * *
"Opthalmia be sugared! What do his eyes look like?"
"They are rather red and swollen and a little bloodshot. He has atendency to shut them while he is talking and he avoids light as much aspossible. I hadn't noticed anything peculiar about it."
&
nbsp; "Carnes, did you ever see a case of snow blindness?"
The operative looked up in surprise.
"Yes, I have. I had it myself once in Maine. Now that you mention it,his case does look like snow blindness, but such a thing is absurd inWashington in August."
Dr. Bird rummaged in his desk and drew out a book, which he consultedfor a moment.
"Now, Carnes," he said, "I want some dates from you and I want themaccurately. Don't guess, for a great deal may depend on the accuracy ofyour answers. When was this mental disability on the part of thePresident first noticed?"
Carnes drew a pocket diary from his coat and consulted it.
"The seventeenth of July," he replied. "That is, we are sure, in viewof later developments, that that was the date it first came on. Wedidn't realize that anything was wrong until the twentieth. On the nightof the nineteenth the President slept very poorly, getting up andcreating a disturbance twice, and on the twentieth he acted so queerlythat it was necessary to cancel three conferences."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird checked off the dates on the book before him and nodded.
"Go on," he said, "and describe the progress of the malady by days."
"It got progressively worse until the night of the twenty-third. Thetwenty-fourth he was no worse, and on the twenty-fifth a slightimprovement was noticed. He got steadily better until, by the third orfourth of August, he was apparently normal. About the twelfth he beganto show signs of restlessness which have increased daily during the pastweek. Last night, the nineteenth, he slept only a few minutes and Brady,who was on guard, says that his howls were terrible. His memory has beenalmost a total blank today and all of his appointments were cancelled,ostensibly because of his eye trouble. If he gets any worse, it probablywill be necessary to inform the country as to his true condition."
When Carnes had finished, Dr. Bird sat for a time in concentratedthought.
"You did exactly right in coming to me, Carnes," he said presently. "Idon't think that this is a job for a doctor at all--I believe that itneeds a physicist and a chemist and possibly a detective to cure him.We'll get busy."
"What do you mean, Doctor?" demanded Carnes. "Do you think that someexterior force is causing the President's disability?"
* * * * *
"I think nothing, Carnes," replied the Doctor grimly, "but I intend toknow something before I am through. Don't ask for explanations: this isnot the time for talk, it is the time for action. Can you get me intothe White House to-night?"
"I doubt it, Doctor, but I'll try. What excuse shall I give? I am notsupposed to have told you anything about the President's illness."
"Get Bolton, your chief, on the phone and tell him that you have talkedto me when you shouldn't have. He'll blow up, but after he is throughexploding, tell him that I smell a rat and that I want him down here atonce with _carte blanche_ authority to do as I see fit in the WhiteHouse. If he makes any fuss about it, remind him of the fact that he hasconsidered me crazy several times in the past when events showed that Iwas right. If he won't play after that, let me talk to him."
"All right, Doctor," replied Carnes as he picked up the scientist'stelephone and gave the number of the home of the Chief of the SecretService. "I'll try to bully him out of it. He has a good deal ofconfidence in your ability."
* * * * *
Half an hour later the door of Dr. Bird's laboratory opened suddenly toadmit Bolton.
"Hello, Doctor," exclaimed the Chief, "what the dickens have you got onyour mind now? I ought to skin Carnes alive for talking out of turn, butif you really have an idea, I'll forgive him. What do you suspect?"
"I suspect several things, Bolton, but I haven't time to tell you whatthey are. I want to get quietly into the White House as promptly aspossible."
"That's easy," replied Bolton, "but first I want to know what the objectof the visit is."
"The object is to see what I can find out. My ideas are entirely toonebulous to attempt to lay them out before you just now. You've neverworked directly with me on a case before, but Carnes can tell you that Ihave my own methods of working and that I won't spill my ideas until Ihave something more definite to go on than I have at present."
"The Doctor is right, Chief," said Carnes. "He has an idea all right,but wild horses won't drag it out of him until he's ready to talk.You'll have to take him on faith, as I always do."
Bolton hesitated a moment and then shrugged his shoulders.
"Have it your own way, Doctor," he said. "Your reputation, both as ascientist and as an unraveller of tangled skeins, is too good for me toboggle about your methods. Tell me what you want and I'll try to getit."
* * * * *
"I want to get into the White House without undue prominence being givento my movements, and listen outside the President's door for a shorttime. Later I will want to examine his sleeping quarters carefully andto make a few tests. I may be entirely wrong in my assumptions, but Ibelieve that there is something there that requires my attention."
"Come along," said Bolton. "I'll get you in and let you listen, but therest we'll have to trust to luck on. You may have to wait untilmorning."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," replied the Doctor. "I'llget a little stuff together that we may need."
In a few moments he had packed some apparatus in a bag and, taking up itand an instrument case, he followed Bolton and Carnes down the stairsand out onto the grounds of the Bureau of Standards.
"It's a beautiful moon, isn't it?" he observed.
Carnes assented absently to the Doctor's remark, but Bolton paid noattention to the luminous disc overhead, which was flooding thelandscape with its mellow light.
"My car is waiting," he announced.
"All right, old man, but stop for a moment and admire this moon,"protested the Doctor. "Have you ever seen a finer one?"
"Come on and let the moon alone," snorted Bolton.
"My dear man, I absolutely refuse to move a step until you pause in yourheadlong devotion to duty and pay the homage due to Lady Luna. Don'tyou realize, you benighted Christian, that you are gazing upon what hasbeen held to be a deity, or at least the visible manifestation of deity,for ages immemorial? Haven't you ever had time to study the history ofthe moon-worshipping cults? They are as old as mankind, you know. Theworship of Isis was really only an exalted type of moon worship. Thecrescent moon, you may remember, was one of her most sacred emblems."
* * * * *
Bolton paused and looked at the Doctor suspiciously.
"What are you doing--pulling my leg?" he demanded.
"Not at all, my dear fellow. Carnes, doesn't the sight of the glowingorb of night influence you to pious meditation upon the frailty of humanlife and the insignificance of human ambition?"
"Not to any very great degree," replied Carnes dryly.
"Carnesy, old dear, I fear that you are a crass materialist. I ambeginning to despair of ever inculcating in you any respect for thefiner and subtler things of life. I must try Bolton. Bolton, have youever seen a finer moon? Remember that I won't move a step until you havecarefully considered the matter and fully answered my question."
Bolton looked first at the Doctor, then at Carnes, and finally he lookedreluctantly at the moon.
"It's a fine one," he admitted, "but all full moons look large on clearnights at this time of the year."
"Then you _have_ studied the moon?" cried Dr. Bird with delight. "I wassure--"
* * * * *
He broke off his speech suddenly and listened. From a distance came themournful howl of a dog. It was answered in a moment by another howl froma different direction. Dog after dog took up the chorus until the airwas filled with the melancholy wailing of the animals.
"See, Bolton," remarked the Doctor, "even the dogs feel the chasteninginfluence of the Lady of Night an
d repent of the sins of their youth andthe follies of their manhood, or should one say doghood? Come along. Ifeel that the call of duty must tear us away from the contemplation ofthe beauties of nature."
He led the way to Bolton's car and got in without further words. Ahalf-hour later, Bolton led the way into the White House. A word to thesecret service operative on guard at the door admitted him and hisparty, and he led the way to the newly constructed solarium where thePresident slept. An operative stood outside the door.
"What word, Brady?" asked Bolton in a whisper.
"He seems worse, sir. I doubt if he has slept at all. Admiral Clay hasbeen in several times, but he didn't do much good. There, listen! ThePresident is getting up again."
* * * * *
From behind the closed door which confronted them came sounds of aperson rising from a bed and pacing the floor, slowly at first, and thenmore and more rapidly, until it was almost a run. A series of groanscame to the watchers and then a long drawn out howl. Bolton shuddered.
"Poor devil!" he muttered.
Dr. Bird shot a quick glance around.
"Where is Admiral Clay?" he asked.
"He is sleeping upstairs. Shall I call him?"
"No. Take me to his room."
The President's naval physician opened the door in response to Bolton'sknock.
"Is he worse?" he demanded anxiously.
"I don't think so, Admiral," replied Bolton. "I want to introduce you toDr. Bird of the Bureau of Standards. He wants to talk with you about thecase."
"I am honored, Doctor," said the physician as he grasped the scientist'soutstretched hand. "Come in. Pardon my appearance, but I was startledout of a doze when you knocked. Have a chair and tell me how I can serveyou."
Dr. Bird drew a notebook from his pocket.
"I have received certain dates in connection with the President's maladyfrom Operative Carnes," he said, "and I wish you to verify them."
"Pardon me a moment, Doctor," interrupted the Admiral, "but may I askwhat is your connection with the matter? I was not aware that you were aphysician or surgeon."
* * * * *
"Dr. Bird is here by the authority of the secret service," repliedBolton. "He has no connection with the medical treatment of thePresident, but permit me to remind you that the secret service isresponsible for the safety of the President and so have a right todemand such details about him as are necessary for his properprotection."
"I have no intention in obstructing you in the proper performance ofyour duties, Mr. Bolton," began the Admiral stiffly.
"Pardon me, Admiral," broke in Dr. Bird, "it seems to me that we aregetting started wrong. I suspect that certain exterior forces are moreor less concerned in this case and I have communicated my suspicions toMr. Bolton. He in turn brought me here in order to request from you yourcooperation in the matter. We have no idea of demanding anything and arereally seeking help which we believe that you can give us."
"Pardon me, Admiral," said Bolton. "I had no intention of angering you."
"I am at your service, gentlemen," replied Admiral Clay. "Whatinformation did you wish, Doctor?"
"At first merely a verification of the history of the case as I haveit."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird read the notes he had taken down from Carnes and the Admiralnodded agreement.
"Those dates are correct," he said.
"Now, Admiral, there are two further points on which I wishenlightenment. The first is the opthalmia which is troubling thepatient."
"It is nothing to be alarmed about as far as symptoms go, Doctor,"replied the Admiral. "It is a rather mild case of irritation, somewhatanalogous to granuloma, but rather stubborn. He had an attack severalweeks ago and while it did not yield to treatment as readily as I couldhave wished, it did clear up nicely in a couple of weeks and I was quitesurprised at this recurrent attack. His sight is in no danger."
"Have you tried to connect this opthalmia with his mental aberrations?"
"Why no, Doctor, there is no connection."
"Are you sure?"
"I am certain. The slight pain which his eyes give him could never havesuch an effect upon the mind of so able and energetic a man as he is."
"Well, we'll let that pass for the moment. The other question is this:has he any form of skin trouble?"
* * * * *
The Admiral looked up in surprise.
"Yes, he has," he admitted. "I had mentioned it to no one, for it reallyamounts to nothing, but he has a slight attack of some obscure form ofdermatitis which I am treating. It is affecting only his face andhands."
"Please describe it."
"It has taken the form of a brown pigmentation on the hands. On the faceit causes a slight itching and subsequent peeling of the affectedareas."
"In other words, it is acting like sunburn?"
"Why, yes, somewhat. It is not that, however, for he has been exposed tothe sun very little lately, on account of his eyes."
"I notice that he is sleeping in the new solarium which was added lastwinter to the executive mansion. Can you tell me with what type of glassit is equipped?"
"Yes. It is not equipped with glass at all, but with fused quartz."
"When did he start to sleep there?"
"As soon as it was completed."
"And all the time the windows have been of fused quartz?"
"No. They were glazed at first, but the glass was removed and the fusedquartz substituted at my suggestion about two months ago, just beforethis trouble started."
"Thank you, Admiral. You have given me several things to think about. Myideas are a little too nebulous to share as yet but I think that I cangive you one piece of very sound advice. The President is spending avery restless night. If you would remove him from the solarium and gethim to lie down in a room which is glazed with ordinary glass, and pulldown the shades so that he will be in the dark, I think that he willpass a better night."
* * * * *
Admiral Clay looked keenly into the piercing black eyes of the Doctor.
"I know something of you by reputation, Bird," he said slowly, "and Iwill follow your advice. Will you tell me why you make this particularsuggestion?"
"So that I can work in that solarium to-night without interruption,"replied Dr. Bird. "I have some tests which I wish to carry out while itis still dark. If my results are negative, forget what I have told you.If they yield any information, I will be glad to share it with you atthe proper time. Now get the President out of that solarium and tell mewhen the coast is clear."
The Admiral donned a dressing gown and stepped out of the room. Hereturned in fifteen minutes.
"The solarium is at your disposal, Doctor," he announced. "Shall Iaccompany you?"
"If you wish," assented Dr. Bird as he picked up his apparatus andstrode out of the room.
In the solarium he glanced quickly around, noting the position of eachof the articles of furniture.
"I presume that the President always sleeps with his head in thisdirection?" he remarked, pointing to the pillow on the disturbed bed.
The Admiral nodded assent. Dr. Bird opened the bag which he had packedin his laboratory, took out a sheet of cardboard covered with a metalliclooking substance, and placed it on the pillow. He stepped back anddonned a pair of smoked glasses, watching it intently. Without a word hetook off the glasses and handed them to the Admiral. The Admiral donnedthem and looked at the pillow. As he did so an exclamation broke fromhis lips.
"That plate seems to glow," he said in an astonished voice.
* * * * *
Dr. Bird stepped forward and laid his hand on the pillow. He was wearinga wrist watch with a radiolite dial. The substance suddenly increasedits luminescence and began to glow fiercely, long luminous streamersseeming to come from the dial. The Doctor took away his hand andsubsti
tuted a bottle of liquid for the plate on the pillow. Immediatelythe bottle began to glow with a phosphorescent light.
"What on earth is it?" gasped Carnes.
"Excitation of a radioactive fluid," replied the Doctor. "The questionis, what is exciting it. Somebody get a stepladder."
While Bolton was gone after the ladder, the Doctor took from his bagwhat looked like an ordinary pane of glass.
"Take this, Carnes," he directed, "and start holding it over each ofthose panes of quartz which you can reach. Stop when I tell you to."
* * * * *
The operative held the glass over each of the panes in succession, butthe Doctor, who kept his eyes covered with the smoked glasses andfastened on the plate which he had replaced on the pillow, said nothing.When Bolton arrived with the ladder, the process went on. One end andmost of the front of the solarium had been covered before an exclamationfrom the Doctor halted the work.
"That's the one," he exclaimed. "Hold the glass there for a moment."
Hurriedly he removed the plate from the pillow and replaced the phial ofliquid. There was only a very feeble glow.
"Good enough," he cried. "Take away the glass, but mark that pane, andbe ready to replace it when I give the word."
From the instrument case he had brought he took out a spectroscope. Heturned back the mattress and mounted it on the bedstead.
"Cover that pane," he directed.
Carnes did so, and the Doctor swung the receiving tube of the instrumentuntil it pointed at the covered pane. He glanced into the eyepiece, andthen held a tiny flashlight for an instant opposite the third tube.
"Uncover that pane," he said.
Carnes took down the glass plate and the Doctor gazed into theinstrument. He made some adjustments.
"Are you familiar with spectroscopy, Admiral?" he asked.
"Somewhat."
"Take a squint in here and tell me what you see."
* * * * *
The Admiral applied his eye to the instrument and looked long andearnestly.
"There are some lines there, Doctor," he said, "but your instrument isbadly out of adjustment. They are in what should be the ultra-violetsector, according to your scale."
"I forgot to tell you that this is a fluoroscopic spectroscope designedfor the detection of ultra-violet lines," replied Dr. Bird. "Those linesyou see are ultra-violet, made visible to the eye by activation of aradioactive compound whose rays in turn impinge on a zinc blende sheet.Do you recognize the lines?"
"No, I don't."
"Small wonder; I doubt whether there are a dozen people who would. Ihave never seen them before, although I recognize them from descriptionsI have read. Bolton, come here. Sight along this instrument and throughthat plate of glass which Carnes is holding and tell me what office thatwindow belongs to."
Bolton sighted as directed up at the side of the State, War and NavyBuilding.
"I can't tell exactly at this time of night, Doctor," he said, "but I'llgo into the building and find out."
"Do so. Have you a flashlight?"
"Yes."
"Flash it momentarily out of each of the suspected windows in turn untilyou get an answering flash from here. When you do, flash it out of eachpane of glass in the window until you get another flash from here. Thencome back and tell me what office it is. Mark the pane so that we canlocate it again in the morning."
* * * * *
"It is the office of the Assistant to the Adjutant General of the Army,"reported Bolton ten minutes later.
"What is there in the room?"
"Nothing but the usual desks and chairs."
"I suspected as much. The window is merely a reflector. That is all thatwe can do for to-night, gentlemen. Admiral, keep your patient quiet andin a room with _glass_ windows, preferably with the shades drawn, untilfurther notice. Bolton, meet me here with Carnes at sunrise. Have apicked detail of ten men standing by where we can get hold of them in ahurry. In the mean time, get the Chief of Air Service out of bed andhave him order a plane at Langley Field to be ready to take off at 6A. M. He is not to take off, however, until I give him orders to do so.Do you understand?"
"Everything will be ready for you, Doctor, but I confess that I don'tknow what it is all about."
"It's the biggest case you ever tackled, old man, and I hope that we canpull it off successfully. I'd like to go over it with you now, but I'llbe busy at the Bureau for the rest of the night. Drop me off there, willyou?"
At sunrise the next morning, Bolton met Dr. Bird at the entrance to theWhite House grounds.
"Where is your detail?" he asked.
"In the State, War and Navy Building."
"Good. I want to go to the solarium, put a light on the place where thePresident's pillow was last night, and mark that pane of quartz we werelooking through. Then we'll join the detail."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird placed the light and walked with Carnes across the White Housegrounds. Bolton's badge secured admission to the State, War and NavyBuilding for the party and they made their way to the office of theAssistant to the Adjutant General.
"Did you mark the pane of glass through which you flashed your lightlast night, Bolton?" asked the Doctor.
The detective touched one of the panes.
"Good," exclaimed the Doctor. "I notice that this window has hooks for awindow washer's belt. Get a life belt, will you?"
When the belt was brought, the Doctor turned to Carnes.
"Carnes," he said, "hook on this life saver and climb out on the windowledge. Take this piece of apparatus with you."
He handed Carnes a piece of apparatus which looked like two telescopesfastened to a base, with a screw adjustment for altering the angles ofthe barrels.
* * * * *
Carnes took it and looked at it inquiringly.
"That is what I was making at the Bureau last night," explained Dr.Bird. "It is a device which will enable me to locate the source of thebeam which was reflected from this pane of glass onto the President'spillow. I'll show you how to work it. You know that when light isreflected the angle of reflection always equals the angle of incidence?Well, you place these three feet against the pane of glass, thus puttingthe base of the instrument in a plane parallel to the pane of glass. Byturning these two knobs, one of which gives lateral and the othervertical adjustment, you will manipulate the instrument until the firsttelescope is pointing directly toward the President's pillow. Now noticethat the two telescope barrels are fastened together and are connectedto the knobs, so that when the knobs are turned, the scopes are turnedin equal and opposite amounts. When one is turned from its presentposition five degrees to the west, the other automatically turns fivedegrees to the east. When one is elevated, the other is correspondinglydepressed. Thus, when the first tube points toward the pillow, the otherwill point toward the source of the reflected beam."
"Clever!" ejaculated Bolton.
"It is rather crude and may not be accurate enough to locate the sourceexactly, but at least it will give us a pretty good idea of where tolook. Given time, a much more accurate instrument could have been made,but two telescopic rifle sights and a theodolite base were all thematerials I could find to work with. Climb out, Carnesy, and do yourstuff."
* * * * *
Carnes climbed out on the window and fastened the hooks of the lifesaver to the rings set in the window casings. He sat the base of theinstrument against the pane of glass and manipulated the telescope knobsas Dr. Bird signalled from the inside. The scientist was hard to pleasewith the adjustment, but at last the cross hairs of the first telescopewere centered on the light in the solarium. He changed his position andstared through the second tube.
"The angle is too acute and the distance too great for accuracy," hesaid with an air of disappointment. "The beam comes from the roof of ahouse down along
Pennsylvania Avenue, but I can't tell from here whichone it is. Take a look, Bolton."
The Chief of the Secret Service stared through the telescope.
"I couldn't be sure, Doctor," he replied. "I can see something on theroof of one of the houses, but I can't tell what it is and I couldn'ttell the house when I got in front of it."
"It won't do to make a false move," said the Doctor. "Did you arrangefor that plane?"
"It is waiting your orders at the field, Doctor."
"Good. I'll go up to the office of the Chief of Air Service and get intouch with the pilot over the Chief's private line. There are someorders that I wish to give him and some signals to be arranged."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird returned in a few minutes.
"The plane is taking off now and will be over the city soon," heannounced. "We'll take a stroll down the Avenue until we are in thevicinity of the house, and then wait for the plane. Carnes will takefive of your men and go down behind the house and the rest of us will goin front. Which building do you think it is, Bolton?"
"About the fourth from the corner."
"All right, the men going down the back will take station behind thehouse next to the corner and the rest of us will get in front of thesame building. When the plane comes over, watch it. If you receive nosignal, go to the next house and wait for him to make a loop and comeover you again. Continue this until the pilot throws a white parachuteover. That is the signal that we are covering the right house. When youget that signal, Carnes, leave two men outside and break in with theother three. Get that apparatus on the roof and the men who areoperating it. Bolton and I will attack the front door at the same time.Does everybody understand?"
Murmurs of assent came from the detail.
"All right, let's go. Carnes, lead out with your men and go half a blockahead so that the two parties will arrive in position at about the sametime."
* * * * *
Carnes left the building with five of the operatives. Dr. Bird andBolton waited for a few minutes and then started down PennsylvaniaAvenue, the five men of their squad following at intervals. Forthree-quarters of a mile they sauntered down the street.
"This should be it, Doctor," said Bolton.
"I think so, and here comes our plane."
They watched the swift scout plane from Langley Field swing down lowover the house and then swoop up into the sky again without making asignal. The party walked down the street one house and paused. Again theplane swept over them without sign. As they stopped in front of the nexthouse a white parachute flew from the cockpit of the plane and theaircraft, its mission accomplished, veered off to the south toward itshangar.
"This is the place," cried Bolton. "Haggerty and Johnson, you two coverthe street. Bemis, take the lower door. The rest come with me."
* * * * *
Followed closely by Dr. Bird and two operatives, Bolton sprinted acrossthe street and up the steps leading to the main entrance of the house.The door was barred, and he hurled his weight against it without result.
"One side, Bolton," snapped Dr. Bird.
The diminutive Chief drew aside and Dr. Bird's two hundred pounds ofbone and muscle crashed against the door. The lock gave and the Doctorbarely saved himself from sprawling headlong on the hall floor. Awoman's scream rang out, and the Doctor swore under his breath.
"Upstairs! To the roof!" he cried.
Followed by the rest of the party, he sprinted up the stairway whichopened before him. Just as he reached the top his way was barred by anAmazonian figure in a green bathrobe.
"Who th' divil arre yer?" demanded an outraged voice.
"Police," snapped Bolton. "One side!"
"Wan side, is it?" demanded the fiery haired Amazon. "The divil a stipye go until ye till me ye'er bizness. Phwat th' divil arre yer doin' inth' house uv a rayspictable female at this hour uv th' marnin'?"
"One side, I tell you!" cried Bolton as he strove to push past thefigure that barred the way.
"Oh, ye wud, wud yer, little mann?" demanded the Irishwoman as shegrasped Bolton by the collar and shook him as a terrier does a rat. Dr.Bird stifled his laughter with difficulty and seized her by the arm.With a heave on Bolton's collar she raised him from the ground and swunghim against the Doctor, knocking him off his feet.
"Hilp! P'lice! Murther!" she screamed at the top of her voice.
"Damn it, woman, we're on--"
* * * * *
Dr. Bird's voice was cut short by the sound of a pistol shot from theroof, followed by two others. The Irishwoman dropped Bolton and slumpedinto a sitting position and screamed lustily. Bolton and Dr. Bird, withthe two operatives at their heels, raced for the roof. Before theyreached it another volley of shots rang out, these sounding from therear of the building. They made their way to the upper floor and found aladder running to a skylight in the roof. At the foot of the ladderstood one of Carnes' party.
"What is it, Williams?" demanded Bolton.
"I don't know, Chief. Carnes and the other two went up there, and then Iheard shooting. My orders were to let no one come down the ladder."
As he spoke, Carnes' head appeared at the skylight.
"It's the right place, all right, Doctor," he called. "Come on up, theshooting is all over."
* * * * *
Dr. Bird mounted the ladder and stepped out on the roof. Set on one edgewas a large piece of apparatus, toward which the scientist eagerlyhastened. He bent over it for a few moments and then straightened up.
"Where is the operator?" he asked.
Carnes silently led the way to the edge of the roof and pointed down.Dr. Bird leaned over. At the foot of the fire escape he saw a crumpleddark heap, with a secret service operative bending over it.
"Is he dead, Olmstead?" called Carnes.
"Dead as a mackerel," came the reply. "Richards got him through the headon his first shot."
"Good business," said Dr. Bird. "We probably could never have secured aconviction and the matter is best hushed up anyway. Bolton, have two ofyour men help me get this apparatus up to the Bureau. I want to examineit a little. Have the body taken to the morgue and shut up the press.Find out which room the chap occupied and search it, and bring all hispapers to me. From a criminal standpoint, this case is settled, but Iwant to look into the scientific end of it a little more."
"I'd like to know what it was all about, Doctor," protested Bolton. "Ihave followed your lead blindly, and now I have a housebreaking withoutsearch-warrant and a killing to explain, and still I am about as much inthe dark as I was at the beginning."
"Excuse me, Bolton," said Dr. Bird contritely; "I didn't mean to slightyou. Admiral Clay wants to know about it and so does Carnes, although heknows me too well to say so. As soon as I have digested the case I'lllet you know and I'll go over the whole thing with you."
* * * * *
A week later Dr. Bird sat in conference with the President in theexecutive office of the White House. Beside him sat Admiral Clay, Carnesand Bolton.
"I have told the President as much as I know, Doctor," said the Admiral,"and he would like to hear the details from your lips. He has fullyrecovered from his malady and there is no danger of exciting him."
"I cannot read Russian," said Dr. Bird slowly, "and so was forced todepend on one of my assistants to translate the papers which Mr. Boltonfound in Stokowsky's room. There is nothing in them to definitelyconnect him with the Russian Union of Soviet Republics, but there islittle doubt in my mind that he was a Red agent and that Russia suppliedthe money which he spent. It would be disastrous to Russia's plans tohave too close an accord between this country and the British Empire,and I have no doubt that the coming visit of Premier McDougal was theunderlying cause of the attempt. So much for the reason.
"As to how I came to suspect what was happening, the explanation is verysimple.
When Carnes first told me of your malady, Mr. President, Ihappened to be checking Von Beyer's results in the alleged discovery ofa new element, lunium. In the article describing his experiments, VonBeyer mentions that when he tried to observe the spectra, he encountereda mild form of opthalmia which was quite stubborn to treatment. He alsomentions a peculiar mental unbalance and intense exhilaration which therays seemed to cause both in himself and in his assistants. The analogybetween his observations and your case struck me at once.
* * * * *
"For ages the moon has been an object of worship by various religioussects, and some of the most obscene orgies of which we have recordoccurred in the moonlight. The full moon seems to affect dogs to a stateof partial hypnosis with consequent howling and evident pain in theeyes. Certain feeble minded persons have been known to be adverselyaffected by moonlight as well as some cases of complete mentalaberration. In other words, while moonlight has no practical effect onthe normal human in its usual concentration, it does have an adverseeffect on certain types of mentality and, despite the laughter ofmedical science, there seems to be something in the theory of 'moonmadness.' This effect Von Beyer attributed to the emanations of lunium,which element he detected in the spectra of the moon, in the form of awide band in the ultra-violet region.
* * * * *
"I obtained from Carnes a history of your case, and when I found thatyour attacks grew violent with the full moon and subsided with the newmoon, I was sure that I was on the right track, although I had at thattime no way of knowing whether it was from natural or artificial causesthat the effect was being produced. I interviewed Admiral Clay and foundthat you were suffering from a form of dermititis resembling sunburn,and that convinced me that an attack was being made on your sanity, foran excess of ultra-violet light will always tend to produce sunburn. Iinquired about the windows of your solarium, for ultra-violet light willnot pass through a lead glass. When the Admiral told me that the glasshad been replaced with fused quartz, which is quite permeable toultra-violet and that the change had been almost coincident with thestart of your malady, I asked him to get you out of the solarium and letme examine it.
"By means of certain fluorescent substances which I used, I found thatyour pillow was being bathed in a flood of ultra-violet light, and thefluoro-spectroscope soon told me that lunium emanations were present inlarge quantities. These rays were not coming to you directly from theirsource, but one of the windows of the State, War and Navy Building wasbeing used as a reflector. I located the approximate source of the rayby means of an improvised apparatus, and we surrounded the place.Stokowsky was killed while attempting to escape. I guess that is aboutall there is to it."
"Thank you, Doctor," said the President. "I would be interested in adescription of the apparatus which he used to produce this effect."
* * * * *
"The apparatus was quite simple, Sir. It was merely a large collector ofmoonlight, which was thrown after collection onto a lunium plate. Theresultant emanations were turned into a parallel beam by a parabolicreflector and focused, through a rock crystal lens with an extremelylong focal length, onto your pillow."
"Then Stokowsky had isolated Von Beyer's new element?" asked thePresident.
"I am still in doubt whether it is a new element or merely an allotropicmodification of the common element, cadmium. The plate which he used hasa very peculiar property. When moonlight, or any other reflected lightof the same composition falls on it, it acts on the ray much as thebutton of a Roentgen tube acts on a cathode ray. As the cathode ray isabsorbed and an entirely new ray, the X-ray, is given off by the button,just so is the reflected moonlight absorbed and a new ray ofultra-violet given off. This is the ray which Von Beyer detected. Ithought that I could catch traces of Von Beyer's lines in myspectroscope, and I think now that it is due to a trace of lunium in thecadmium plating of the barrels. Von Beyer could have easily made thesame mistake. Von Beyer's work, together with Stokowsky's opens up anentirely new field of spectroscopic research. I would give a good dealto go over to Baden and go into the matter with Von Beyer and make someplans for the exploitation of the new field, but I'm afraid that mypocketbook wouldn't stand the trip."
"I think that the United States owes you that trip, Dr. Bird," said theChief Executive with a smile. "Make your plans to go as soon as you getyour data together. I think that the Treasury will be able to take careof the expense without raising the income tax next year."
+------------------------------------------------------+ | | | _IN THE NEXT ISSUE_ | | | | | | Murder Madness | | | | _Beginning an intensely Gripping, Four-Part Novel_ | | | | _By_ MURRAY LEINSTER | | | | | | The Atom Smasher | | | | _A Thrilling Adventure into Time and Space_ | | | | _By_ VICTOR ROUSSEAU | | | | | | Into the Ocean's Depths | | | | _A Sequel to_ "_From the Ocean's Depths_" | | | | _By_ SEWELL PEASLEE WRIGHT | | | | | | Brigands of the Moon | | | | _Part Three of the Amazing Serial_ | | | | _By_ RAY CUMMINGS | | | | | | ----_And Others!_ | | | +------------------------------------------------------+
Astounding Stories of Super-Science April 1930 Page 27