The Silver Menace

by Murray Leinster

  CHAPTER VIII.

  Nita was clinging to Davis' hand as they drove out to the Gerrods'cottage again. Traces of her fright still lingered on her face,and Davis' hand was comforting. Gerrod and Evelyn were silent anddiscouraged. The only really promising plan for fighting the SilverMenace had proven so ineffectual as to be practically useless. Insilence the little motor car wound along the twisting road to thelittle cottage.

  All of them were quiet, even gloomy, as they sat down to lunch. Evelyntried to talk lightly, but conversation lagged in spite of her efforts.The maid brought in their dishes and removed others without a sound.None of them could eat more than a very little.

  When the meal was finished Gerrod and Evelyn went out on the porchto discuss gravely the chances, even now, of producing the explosiveneeded to hold back the Silver Menace. The almost instantaneousreproduction that had taken place over the cleared area at sea,however, made it evident that nine hundred tons of explosive wouldbe needed, not every week, but every day. All the factories in thecountry, working at their highest speed, could not supply the quantitynecessary.

  Davis went into the laboratory and brought out one of the silvery testtubes of animalcules.

  "Nita," he said mournfully, "I've fought Germans and come out on top.Gerrod and I fought Varrhus and won out. But these infernal littleanimals, so small I have to take a microscope to see them, seem to haveme beaten."

  Nita's soft hand crept up and snuggled inside Davis' larger one.

  "No, they haven't, either," she insisted stoutly. "You'll think ofsomething yet."

  Davis sighed.

  "And it would be so perfect if we could be the ones to find out how tobeat them," he said dolefully. "That would satisfy your father, andwe'd have nothing else to worry about."

  Nita looked up into his solemn face, and, in spite of herself, laughed.

  "You're worrying too much," she announced. "We're going to take avacation and go into the music room and I'm going to play soft musicthat will take your mind off your troubles."

  She led him into the tiny music room of the bungalow, and sat down atthe small grand piano there.

  "You can turn over the music for me," she said gravely as she made roomfor him on the seat before the keyboard.

  There was no music on the rack of the piano, but neither of themthought of that. Davis set down the test tube he had brought with himand prepared to listen. Nita quite forgot to play any recognizablemelody, too. Davis thoughtlessly took possession of her left hand, soshe idly struck chords with her right, while the two of them talkedfoolishnesses that were very delightful. They spoke in low tones, andtheir voices were soft. They were having an amazingly pleasant time.

  They heard footsteps on the porch, and self-consciously drew apart.Gerrod and Evelyn were coming indoors to go back into the laboratory towork on wearily in hopes of stumbling on something that might have aneffect upon the ever-encroaching Silver Menace. Davis hastily picked upthe test tube full of animalcules. As he took it in his hands, however,he uttered an exclamation of astonishment. The contents were no longersilvery! The tube was full of water with a faintly yellowish tinge.Davis' jaw dropped.

  "People!" he called hastily. "Come here! Something has happened!"

  Gerrod and Evelyn appeared in the doorway.

  "What's the matter?"

  "Something's happened to these little beasts." Davis held out the testtube. "Twenty minutes ago this was full of the silver stuff. I put itdown on the sounding board here and now they're smashed up and dead!"

  Gerrod looked at the tube intently.

  "Where was it?"

  Davis showed him. Gerrod put one hand on the spot and struck a chordtentatively. His expression changed from weariness to hope.

  "Wait a minute!" he exclaimed, and darted into the laboratory, toreturn a moment later with half a dozen test tubes full of the stickyanimalcules. "We'll put another one there and strike a chord."

  He did so. The contents of the test tube remained unchanged. He struckanother. Still no change. Then, deliberately striking one key afterthe other, with the eyes of all four of them fixed hopefully on thetest tube, he began to go up the keyboard. Note after note was struck,but just as they were about to give up hopes of finding the cause ofthe first tube's clearing Gerrod struck a key--the _F_ above high _C_.The instant the shrill note sounded out the test tube clouded--and wasclear! It had lain upon the sounding board of the piano. The vibrationsof the piano string had been communicated to it through the soundingboard.

  "_Done!_" shouted Davis at the top of his voice.

  Nita was speechless.

  "Sympathetic vibrations," said Gerrod happily. "If you could hang upone of those microscopic shells and ring it it would ring that note.So, when the vibrations from the piano strike them, they vibrate insympathy, only the piano vibrations are so strong and the shells sofragile that they rack themselves to bits, and the animals are killed.Whee! Hurray! Hurray!"

  He shook hands all around, hardly, able to contain his excitement.

  "But I say," said Davis anxiously, "will those vibrations travelthrough water, and can we put a piano overboard?"

  Gerrod laughed.

  "We'll put a submarine siren overboard," he said excitedly, "and tuneit to that note. You can hear a submarine siren for fifteen miles withan under-water telephone. Man, you've done the trick!"

  The maid appeared in the doorway.

  "Some one on the telephone for Miss Morrison."

  Nita reluctantly left the room where the others were chatteringexcitedly. She went to the telephone and put the receiver to her ear,still unconsciously trying to catch the words of the party in the musicroom. Almost the first words she heard drove them from her mind,however. Her father was speaking.

  "Nita," he was saying coolly, "this is your father. I'm marooned in thehouse on the island, and the Silver Menace is climbing up the walls.The windows are blocked. I'm expecting them to break in any minute.When they do I'm done."

  "Daddy!" Nita choked, aghast.

  "Simmons, the chauffeur, tried to get across the bridge this morning,"said her father still more coolly, "and the sticky stuff got him. Theroom I'm in is dark. The Silver Menace has climbed up to the roof.We've stopped up the chimney so it can't come down to get us, but whenthe house is completely covered we'll be in an air-tight case that willsuffocate us sooner or later. I'm rather hoping the windows will breakin before that time. I'd rather die like Simmons this morning."

  "But, daddy, daddy, hold on! We'll come to you----"

  "It can't be done," her father interrupted crisply. "I called youto say good-by and to tell you to look after the families of theservants that are fastened up here with me." He paused a moment, andsaid quietly: "I'm in the library downstairs. I can hear the windowscreaking. They may give way at any moment and let the horror into thehouse. It tried to creep in under the doorsills, but we calked themwith the table linen."

  "Daddy!" cried Nita agonizedly. "Oh, daddy, try to fight it off just alittle while! We've found a way to stop it! We can kill them all!"

  "I have about ten minutes more, Nita," said her father gently. "Youcouldn't get to me. Be a good girl, Nita----" There was a crash. "Therego the windows! Good-by, Nita, good-by----"

  The others heard her cry out, and rushed from the music room to hearher calling, calling desperately for her father to answer her, callinginto a silent phone.