Classic Audiobook Collection - His Wisdom, the Defender - A Story by Simon Newcomb ~ Full Audiobook [scifi]

Episode Date: February 1, 2024

His Wisdom, the Defender - A Story by Simon Newcomb audiobook. Genre: scifi Set in a near-future America imagined from the turn of the 20th century, His Wisdom, the Defender is presented as a later historical account of how the world was pushed toward an uneasy peace. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the brilliant and intensely private Professor Campbell makes a breakthrough that promises effectively limitless power, then withdraws from academia and becomes the wealthiest man alive almost overnight. But money is only a tool for his real ambition: ending war itself. When Campbell unveils a second, even more astonishing discovery that makes controlled flight possible, he begins building fast aerial craft and, in absolute secrecy, a disciplined corps of young recruits trained to operate them. Their most startling equipment is a protective, human-shaped flying rig: part vehicle, part armor, and wholly unprecedented. As governments, militaries, and newspapers react with suspicion, awe, and fear, Campbell is forced to defend his inventions from theft and weaponization while deciding how far one man should go to impose peace on the world. Blending techno-wonder with political tension, Newcomb's novel explores the seduction of benevolent power, the fragility of international order, and the price of a utopia enforced from the skies. For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:02:31) Chapter 02 (00:21:32) Chapter 03 (00:42:30) Chapter 04 (00:56:51) Chapter 05 (01:24:02) Chapter 06 (01:33:44) Chapter 07 (01:55:08) Chapter 08 (02:07:08) Chapter 09 (02:29:15) Chapter 10 (02:59:10) Chapter 11 (03:25:40) Chapter 12 (03:52:40) Chapter 13 (04:16:56) Chapter 14 (04:35:13) Chapter 15 (04:59:24) Chapter 16 (05:18:01) Chapter 17 (05:41:27) Chapter 18 (06:02:58) Chapter 19 (06:16:21) Chapter 20 (06:28:03) Chapter 21 (06:41:59) Chapter 22 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

His Wisdom the Defender, a story by Simon Newcomb. Prologue. We who live in this golden age never tire of comparing our happy lot with the backward condition of our forefathers. We need not go farther back than the beginning of the century now closing to see the striking contrast between our powers over nature and theirs. Did we not have historical evidence of the fact, it would scarcely be credible to the rising generation that nearly half

of this century had elapsed before such a thing as a moat was known or even imagined, before the words etherene and thirm were found in any dictionary. We can hardly imagine what a dull life even the greatest and most powerful men must have lived. President Reed never took a spin round the world. He never saw the Antarctic glacier or even knew of its existence. He never set foot upon the North Pole. He never looked down on the clouds from the window of a high moat. Had anyone told him that before he had been dead thirty years, it would be an everyday occurrence

for a merchant to talk with a furrier in Siberia and a leather dealer in Australia on the same day, he would have looked upon the speaker as Washington would have looked upon a prophet of the ocean cable in what men could do with it. The idea of utilizing the action of ether on matter, simple though it seems to us, never entered the mind of any 19th century philosopher. As all our readers are aware, the history of the steps by which the Golden Age was inaugurated, and the evils which afflicted humanity removed, has been enveloped in great mystery. We well know that the resolution was brought about by the first defender, whose work, for reasons which he deemed imperative, was carried on in profound secrecy. But recently his successor has permitted the publication of a

great mass of historical documents bearing on the subject. These are, however, too voluminous to be read by a busy man. We have, therefore, by their aid, and by a diary which has been placed at our disposal, prepared a brief history of such part of the first Defender's life and works as has hitherto been unknown to the public. This is the end of the prologue. Chapter 1 of His Wisdom, The Defender, A Story, by Simon Nookham. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. His Wisdom The Defender, A Story, Chapter 1. An Uncanny workshop. Among the historic monuments so carefully preserved in the University

Town of Cambridge, in the state of Massachusetts, the one which attracts most visitors is, in its aspect, the least attractive of all. It is nothing more than a long, unsightly old house, whose 60 feet of front are unbroken by a single ornament. Its material is the rough red brick of the early years of the century. The joints between the bricks have never been smoothed except by the trowel that originally fashioned them. The window-sails and caps are of wood, painted white. Not even a branch of ivy variegates the walls, which, at the top of their three stories, are surmounted by an old-fashioned tile roof, sloping to the front and back. The only visible doorway is but the breadth of an ordinary room from the east end.

If a visitor, unacquainted with the history of the place, as we assume the reader to be, should wonder why so ugly and seemingly useless an old trap had not long ago given way to the two or three modern houses that could have found room on its sight, an answer what it once had been suggested by its situation. It fronts on a narrow lane leading out from the little frequented church street, where no one would ever look for a residence unless he wanted to be forgotten by the world.

As our visitor went through the house, he would find nothing to explain the mystery. Passing through a narrow vestibule, he would see before him an entrance hall with a door on each side and a stairway in the rear. If he opened either of the doors, he would see nothing but bare plastered walls and old oak furniture, of which the uniformity is not relieved by a trace of ornament. But few stop for this, and we in imagination may follow the crowd. The attractive part of the house is in the third story, and thither we mount with the others.

But even when we get there, our curiosity would be wedded rather than gratified. We should see nothing but what might be collected from a few sufficiently old and dilapidated blacksmith and carpenter shops. What can people see here to interest them? To answer this question, we must ask the reader to go back with us two generations, while we describe the place as it would have been seen. There was one particular evening when the scene within would have raised our curiosity to the highest pitch. This was Thursday, May 15th, 1941.

The hour is of great importance. Let us make our visit at nine o'clock. Mounting to the third story, we see a door on each side of the hall, as in the stories below. That on the right has nailed to it a printed card, Professor Campbell. The opposite door bears the forbidding sign, no admittance. Having taken the liberty of choosing our time, we take the further liberty of paying no attention to this warning. Entering the forbidden door, we should have found ourselves in a study, rather narrow, but extending along the whole breadth of the building.

Seeing nothing but a lounge, tables, chairs, and four walls covered with books, we should have wondered why visitors should be excluded. But looking around, we should have noticed a door facing the one by which we entered, with the same sign painted on it in large capitals. Of course, after going thus far, the mandate would not have stopped us. Opening the second door, we should have found ourselves in a room of ample size. The walls on one side were without windows.

while on the other side they were pierced for two, which, however, were closed by solid wooden shutters. There was no ceiling. The roof of the building was that of the room. It was pierced with four skylights on each slope, sufficient to give ample light during the day. At the hour of which we speak, the place was brilliant with electric lights. Looking around him, the visitor would have been unable to decide whether he was in a physical laboratory, a workshop, or a garret for the deposit of old junk. Two turning lathes, a small forge, chemical and electrical apparatus, a carpenter's bench, countless old bottles, half of them filled with chemicals, balls of cord, bundles of rope, and every kind of tool used by carpenters or blacksmiths would have suggested to us the laboratory

of some 20th-century faust. At the hour in question the room had three occupants, two of whom were preparing to leave for the night. From their garb they were evidently workmen. They laid aside their tools, put on their coats, and departed. The third, who seemed to be their employer, followed them through the study, carefully locked and tried the door after them, then returning, locked the inner door with equal care. Thus left alone, he would have riveted our attention both by his appearance and his movements. In build he was a man of medium height, but slender and wiry. His ample supply of dark brown hair, and his full, though thin beard, betokened one disposed to avoid the barber's chair. His dark, quick-moving eyes had an anxious look.

Two characters seemed to be combined in his person, the businessman and the philosopher. It would have been difficult to decide which element was the dominant one. His photograph would have suggested nothing but a keen, active man of business. But no sooner had his workman gone, and he fell into the Brown study appropriate to a mathematical professor. Whatever his calling, he evidently wished to be enveloped in mystery. When he felt himself alone, he glanced.

furtively around on all sides, even scanning the skylights with the greatest solicitude, as if to make sure that no indiscreet eye was prying into his doings. Every now and then, sometimes when walking across the room, he stood still for a moment, evidently buried deep in thought, then as suddenly darted forward. On one side of the room, set in the wall, was a high but shallow safe. Near it, the wall was penetrated by a keyhole, so minute that no one would have noticed it except on careful examination. The man took a key from his vest pocket,

put it into this hole, and opened a small and almost invisible door. Here was nothing but a closet with one shelf, on the inner corner of which lay another key. He took the ladder, and with it opened the safe. From the safe, he took what looked like a polished metal rod, four feet long and about an inch in diameter, rounded off at each end.

He carried it carefully to the middle of the room and stood it up. Left to itself, it behaved as rod never did before. It stood alone. Worse still, it refused to fall down, even when the little man pressed against it. He could only make the bottoms slide along the floor as fast as the upper part was moved. Placing his foot against the bottom to keep it from sliding, he seized the top and swung himself around to get the rod out of its perpendicular position, but in vain. Determined it would seem to enforce the law of gravitation, he continued the experiment by screwing firmly to the floor a small block of wood with a hole in the center. He stood the rod in this hole.

Near him was a cord and several heavy weights. The cord passed around a pulley and had suspended to its lower end a scale pan, in which the weights could be put. The cord was then attached to the upper part of the rod as if to force it out of the perpendicular position, if possible. But the heaviest weight that the cord could bear did not appear to budge the rod. The little man made a record of the weight, and with some sort of a small optical instrument was evidently measuring the minute amount,

invisible to our unpracticed eyes, by which the rod could be made to diverge. The trial of the rod completed, he carried it back to the safe, it retaining its vertical position all the while, and stood it carefully up in its original place. He then took from the shelf of the safe something which, at first sight, looked like a tall half-gallon mug, but it had no bottom, being nothing but a hollow cylinder, perhaps a foot-high and three inches, in diameter, with a handle. It was of a black substance, which shone with a metallic luster,

though the color was not that of any metal. It was surrounded at top and bottom by thin metallic rings, in which were set clamps for holding wires. On a stand near the chimney piece was an electric battery. He set the implement upon the hearth and connected the wires of the battery with it. He then took from the workbench a roll of copper wire, cut off a piece about a yard in length, and returned it to the hearth. He took the mug in his left hand, and with the other held the wire so that it passed vertically through the center of the cylinder. In a few seconds, the portion of the wire within the mug was white-hot, then it began to melt and run to the hearth in drops, and yet all the while the implement was so cool that he held it in his hand. Then he held

a pipe-stem in the center in place of the wire. Soon white frost began to collect on the outside of the mug, while the pipe became red-hot. But nothing else occurred. With a look of disappointment, he took a hollow spirit lamp, shaped like the lamp of a lighthouse. lit it and placed the mug within the flame. Then, placing the pipe stem in the center, it grew red-hot, white-hot, and at length melted down and fell on the hearth and metallic drops. Going back to the safe, he next took from it an article of clothing. It was a close-fitting leather coat, fastened to the outside of which were a number of tubes of the size and shape of small organ pipes. When the little man arrayed himself in this coat, he stood in the center of the

circle of pipes, and looked as if an organist might have played a tune on him. The coat was a very close fit. He buttoned it as tightly as if he feared it would be torn off. He then walked to the carpenter's bench, on which lay an instrument looking like a pair of wooden pincers about four feet long. Near them lay two or three little round metal handles, rather more than a handsbreadth long. Simple though these things appeared, he seemed afraid to touch or even approach them. He carefully took hold of the long pincers, and, reaching out his arm, took the handles one by one

and laid them on the floor. near where he put them a solid staple had been driven firmly into the floor. He then took a piece of cord some twenty feet long, tied one end to his foot, and fastened the other end to the staple, as if he were a cow allowed to graze but secured from running away. As soon as the knots were tied, he tested each of them by a pull this way and that with all his strength as if resolved to make escape impossible. Then he stooped cautiously to where the handles were lying and took one in each hand, being careful at first to hold both at arm's length.

He gradually brought them closer to his body, holding them in a vertical position. As they approached the organ pipes, the reason for his caution became evident. The little man began to rise from the floor as the spiritual mediums were said to do a hundred years ago, and was very soon nearly up to the roof, being prevented from striking it and perhaps passing through it,

only by the rope with which his leg was tied. As he moved the handles slightly from him, he began to descend. he then proceeded to amuse himself by alternately swinging up and down in the way described. He could apparently move in any direction he might choose through the air by a slight inclination of the handles. Holding them in one way, he swung round and round a circle, having for its radius the length of the rope. Holding them another way, he swung in the reverse direction, and all the while he kept peering around, as if fearful that he might be seen. Having completed this exercise

to his satisfaction, he returned slowly to the floor, untied the the rope from his leg, and deposited the handles in the little closet where the key of the safe was kept. He removed his organ-pipe coat, replaced it carefully in the safe, and took from the ladder what seemed like a smooth wooden log, drew it in the middle of the room, and carefully fastened it at the end of the same rope with which he had been tied, evidently to keep it from running away. He then sat astride of the log, looking like a man riding an alligator. The careful observer would have noticed two holes on opposite sides of the log near the forward end. From each of these projected a little lever.

The would-be rider seized these levers in his fingers and gave them a slight turn. Immediately the log, with him on it, rose in the air until it was at the full height of the rope. He then rode around, evidently to his great amusement, with motions much the same as those he had made with the organ-pipe coat. Looking round, to be sure he could not be heard, he laughed heartily to himself. So much did he enjoy the sport. When he had satisfied himself, he descended to the ground by simply taking holding hold of the levers, guiding the log alligator back to the safe as if it had been a tame animal and returned it to its place. The secrecy, which he threw around his operations, was clearly

justified, unless he wished to make the looker-on doubt the evidence of his senses, or lose confidence in the law of gravitation. Again, a fit of abstraction came over him, which lasted several minutes. Then he took a large folio-blank book, very strongly bound from the safe, placed it on the workbench, took a seat in front of it, and proceeded to write. it was evidently a diary. When he had finished his entry, which took some time, the book was returned to the safe, the ladder locked, and the key itself again locked up in the closet with the greatest care,

and the key of the closet returned to his vest pocket. Looking carefully to see that all was secure, he extinguished the electric lights and left the room. His experiments finished, he looked around in the adjoining study for something to read. The books with which the long walls were lined were of the most heterogeneous character, scientific textbooks, histories, old folios with the writings of the church fathers,

law books, especially works on international law, old English state trials, and on collections of all sorts were mixed up in the utmost confusion. Apparently, quite a random, he took down a folio, Grosius de lege-belli at Pachis, in the original Latin, sat down and began to read. He could not have been much interested, for he soon began to nod. Probably he only used the book as a operific after his exciting experiences, for he now arose and prepared to retire. He locked all the doors with the utmost care, tried each to make sure that there was no failure on the part of the keys to perform their function, put them in his pocket, went across to the rooms on the opposite side of the passage, which formed his reception and sleeping apartments, and retired to his

bed. The morning after these queer proceedings, President Winthrop was sitting in his office. Professor Campbell was announced. Mr. President, I have called to apprise you of my resignation. The President knew that Campbell generally used the English language to carry a point by assault, rather than my regular approaches, but he fancied that his manner was even more abrupt than usual, as if he had come with an ultimatum to be immediately and unconditionally accepted. If you will allow me to be as abrupt as yourself, I reply that your resignation will not be accepted. Not accepted. But if I stop work and leave, what is the corporation going to do about?

about it. This is not a military organization. The corporation will do just this. It will give you leave of absence for a year. You have been entitled to your sabbatical for some time, and now you shall have it. Scofield was here, only ten minutes ago, proposing that you should be forced to take it. We know that you have been overworked, and you must travel abroad and cease to think of your work here. This will be even better than accepting your resignation. But I did not propose to travel abroad. The fact is, I intend to completely change my occupation and go into business. If the university chooses to give me a year's leave of absence with that understanding, I have no objection. Of course, I have no right to inquire into the matter. But if you choose to tell me what business you expect to undertake,

that information might be useful in enabling the corporation to decide upon a course. Well, I propose to go into a manufacturing business. First of all, I shall start a brickyard. It took the president some moments to recover the power of speech. You do not expect me to take you seriously. the idea of the professor of molecular physics in Harvard University resigning to make brick and may do well in a comic paper but could hardly be discussed before the corporation of the university. I did not say I was going to do nothing but make brick. I said that was the first thing I should undertake. The fact is there are cogent reasons, which I am not at liberty to set forth, which make me desire to proceed as quietly as possible in my enterprise, exciting neither remark

or surprise on the part of anyone. I wish to disappear from the post, with no notice whatever, if such a thing be possible, for my friends or the newspapers. The latter will be sure to find me out quicker than I want to be found out, but I shall postpone the evil day as long as I can. Are you not willing to solve for me, in the most private and confidential way, if you wish, a mystery of your speech? You must see how enigmatical the situation is, as you presented. You know that I have very great confidence in your discretion, and yet I am not it liberty to unravel what may seem to you a mystery. I see as well as you do in the reasonableness of your standpoint. But I will tell you one thing. If you will solemnly promise to keep it an absolute secret,

as between knowing nothing and knowing a secret, I shall for the moment take the part of a woman and choose the secret, so you may rely on my confidence and talk freely. If the day ever comes when my enterprise succeeds, and all hopes are realized, that day will be the greatest in the history of the world. The two men looked at each other for a moment in silence, the one to see the effect of his words, the other wondering if his companion was really sane, how you talk. Is that all you have to say? That is all. I hope it is enough. Then I will bring the matter before the corporation, set forth the absolute necessity of giving you a year's relief from your work, and ask that you be allowed to take your sabbatical year without any questions as to where you shall go or what you

shall do. Thank you. Please remember that I want the fact of my retirement kept secret as long as possible. I delivered my last lecture for the term yesterday, so there is no occasion that anyone should notice my absence. I may, at some future day, have occasion to take you into my confidence. For the present. Good morning. The president was deeply concerned. Either one of his favorite professors had gone completely daft, or something incredible was going to occur. Were Campbell addicted to rhetorical exaggeration, some escape from the dilemma might have been possible. Knowing him to be the most exact of men in his talk, there was none. The president could not disguise from himself that the unfavorable horn of the dilemma was the more

likely one. Two generations had passed without a scientific discovery that could be called epic making. Investigators had, to all appearances, found out everything of a radical nature that was to be learned, and were now quietly developing new phases of the known. How unlikely that one of them, without any premonitory announcement would be able to make a revolution in human affairs and granting that a revolution was possible how could it possibly begin with a brickyard? The end of Chapter 1 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story.

Chapter 2 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 2. The City of the Potomac If we had, at the time our history begins, searched the whole land east of the Mississippi to find some nook into which the forces of modern civilization had never been able to penetrate, we might well have hit upon a certain bend in the Potomac River, less than a hundred miles south of Washington. In the peninsula thus formed, no railway had ever been seen. What little produce was

raised by the farmers found his way to market from occasional steamboat landings. No one had ever wanted to move into such a place, and so it happened that the land had remained in the families which held it for, I know not how many, generations. The ancestral houses in various stages of decay were scattered at great distances, and the only society which their inhabitants enjoyed was that afforded by an occasional frolic, coming off once a year, perhaps, when some farmer would invite all the inhabitants of the peninsula to a dance. Great, therefore, was the surprise of Farmer Williams' household one fine morning when the children came running into the house in a condition of great excitement. Oh, Pop, there's somebody a-comin' in a buggy. Boy, you're crazy.

Who would ever come here in a buggy? I don't know, but if you look out, you'll see. The father went to the door, and sure enough, the boy was right. A person attired like a city gentleman was driving up in a more respectable-looking vehicle than was usual in those parts. A cigar in his mouth added greatly to the effect. It is very surprising how much more impressive a man driving a carriage looks when he has a cigar in his mouth. It gives him the appearance of knowing exactly what he is about, of being master of the situation, in fact. The result of this city gentleman's visit to the region was that a few weeks later, sundry deeds, conveying large areas of land to Archibald Campbell, were duly recorded in the land records of the county seat. The whole of Peter's Island was included, Campbell deeming

the possession of an island necessary to the protection of some of his works from the curiosity of the public. A few days later, the new owner, accompanied by his attorney and a surveying party, had engaged a river tug to make an inspection of his possessions. As the party were stepping into it, an unlooked-for interruption occurred. I was just going to engage a boat for a little excursion down the river. I see you gentlemen are on a similar errand. If it will be agreeable to you to join with me, I should be very glad to pay my share of the excursion. expense. Campbell looked at the newcomer with amazement. He was a short and rather plump, young man, of a decidedly florid complexion, round, unwrinkled face and bright red hair and mustache.

His prevailing tint had even entered his eyes. His rubicund visage was illuminated by what was intended to be, a very pleasant smile. In the eyes of Campbell it was the most repulsive leer he had ever seen. The cool audacity of the proposal filled him with a surprise which might have been quite evident to its maker. But the latter was unaffected by the unpleasant impression he had made. As Campbell mutely surveyed him, he surveyed back. And his manner, smile, and expression all seemed to say, "'No, you need not put on any airs with me. I've got your measure exactly, and know who and what you are. It is for you to accept or decline my offer, as you may deem best, but no expressions of either courtesy or contempt will have the slightest effect upon me.' It took our friend several seconds to decide what to say.

We are going on more than a mere excursion and may not return for two or three days. Under any circumstances, we do not desire additional company. All right, good morning. As the two men boarded the tug, they saw the red-headed man engaging another at the next dwarf below. It seemed a little puzzling that a lone man should hire a tug to make an excursion on his own account. In a few minutes, more steam was up and the party made its way down the river at a moderate speed. As they passed the next dwarf, the red-haired. man gazed upon them, his smile undiminished, and his placidity undisturbed.

They had not got half a mile down the river when the other tug had got up steam and was following them. Through his glass, Campbell could see the red-headed man sitting in the bow, calmly smoking a cigar. The pursuer slowly gained upon them, and at Alexandria was not a hundred yards in the rear. I think, said Campbell, we may as well let that fellow go past us. I have not brought along any materials for notes or sketches, so let us stop here a moment. moment and buy pencils and paper. No doubt we shall find a stationary shop near the wharf. So the tug fastened to a wharf while he inquired the way to the nearest shop and made his purchase. Meanwhile, the other tug passed and then slowed up. When he returned to his tug, it was less than a

mile below and scarcely making headway. There was no time to lose because it was desired to commence the inspection if possible before nightfall. Under a full head of steam, the other tug was soon reached. The red-headed man was still placidly smoking his cigar, and bestowed only a glance upon the other party as it passed. But by this time his tug was making more rapid progress, and was soon again following them in a distance of a few hundred yards. "'That fellow is evidently out to watch us,' said Campbell. "'Do get away from him, if possible. Yeah, Captain, put on all steam your boilers with stand and get out of sight of the rascal.'

Well, the other tug was nearly as fast as theirs. The black smoke from their own funnel was soon followed by black smoke from the other. Her boughs dashed up foam on both sides. The distance apart was only increased half a mile. Campbell turned to his companion. Is that fellow a right to follow us up this way? I am quite unacquainted with the law in such a case as this. Here we are going down the river on our own private business, and the idle scamp turns out to follow us up. Can we do anything lawful to stop him? I feel nothing can be done at the moment. He would claim that the river was free, and if there is any law for the case, we could only enforce it by returning at least to Alexandria to sue out an injunction. That would make our expedition public

with a vengeance. Can you imagine what he is after? I may have my suspicions, but they are not worth much. Let us wait and see. They had only to wait until they could get a copy of the next day's New York Herald. As Campbell looked over it, a headline caught his eye. There was a dispatch, a column long, from our Washington correspondent. It began as follows. A new land company. Project for Improving the Lower Potomac. A syndicate, having its headquarters in Boston, is about to establish a new watering place on the Lower Potomac, a well-known real estate dealer in Baltimore, and a distinguished Harvard professor are the active promoters of the scheme. A site has already been selected near Nanjimoy.

A large hotel will soon be erected, which it is thought will attract many Bostonians in search of a mild winter climate. The history of Campbelltown, the great manufacturing city of the Potomac, has been so often written that we need not repeat it. But the diary of the founder has recently come into our possession, and it sheds so new a light upon the beginning of his enterprise that we transcribe some passages. June 18, 1941. I have murder in my heart. A herald man has located my enterprise before I got it started. I must go on in the broad daylight of Population. I must go on in the broad daylight of publicity. This is annoying, but after all my secret cannot be endangered. No one else has ever conceived of a substance whose vibrations could react on the ether of space in such a way as to fly through it

as a bird flies through the air. If I should talk of etherene, as I call it, no one would know what I meant, and yet I am superstitious enough to feel troubled. June 23rd, 1941. Here I am ready to begin work. What the end shall be I cannot foresee. It seems contrary to all human experience to suppose that one man should be able to revolutionize the world without letting his fellow men know what he is about. I fear that when I have everything ready for the decisive move, my men will be unwilling to engage in what will seem a foolish and dangerous enterprise, not only without public support, but in the face of opposition by the whole world. I have been planning how to meet the difficulty. My army must have officers and men

like any other. I have long thought of engaging Lieutenant Gein, graduate of West Point, to command it. But will he be willing to brave such a risk? Will anyone be willing? After much pondering, I have concluded to choose the other officers from the athletes, especially the football players, of our leading colleges. These are the men who, having the greatest physical and mental vigor, will be most ready to engage in an exciting enterprise. If possible, I must, before I begin active operations, arranged to have them isolated from all human society for several weeks, perhaps for several months. This, with the consciousness of their power, which will be evident to them, will induce that mental condition known as spoiling for a fight. To add to their interest in the

affair and their mutual confidence in each other, I proposed to organize them into a secret society to be called the Angelic Order of Seraphim. No one will at first glance see the significance of the name, but when actual operations are begun, it will be apparent enough. In the case of the men, I will solve the problem of making up an army of Irishmen. The latter are loyal to employers who get into their good graces, and, like good soldiers, are always ready to obey orders without counting the cost. Once in a fight, they will go through it to the bitter end. July 8, 1941.

I have talked with Gein, and to my pleasant surprise, found him quite ready to take the place of chief engineer of my works. Of course, I did not tell him why. what else I had in mind. July 11, 1941. My council tells me I should have my business run under a company name, so I have decided to call myself the Anita Company. September 8th, 1941. The first aluminum furnace is completed, and the secret foundations and other underworks for five others are ready. I shall have the more delicate portions of these five completed before anybody suspects what I have in view. It is really amusing how I have mixed up the Herald man. He reports that the

chimney is from the laundry of my proposed hotel. Mawarve is nearly complete, and it is in perfect accord with his theory. September 25, 1941. The aluminum furnace number one is now in successful operation, and turning out a ton of day. So far only Gein and two of his skilled workmen even know what we are making. The ingots are all purified and cast underground, and carried out after dark to be stored in a little brick building near the wharf, into which no outsider is allowed to penetrate. November 20, 1941. Today I shipped out my first installment of aluminum, about 50 tons, to Smithmeyer and Company of New York. Who will dispose of it, according to their judgment, but will, for the time being,

keep its origin secret. March 23, 1942. The inevitable denouement has come at last. The fact is discovered and published that I am turning out aluminum at the rate of six or eight tons a day, by some process unknown to anyone but myself. The first attempt to see the process was only made this morning when three men, with a very suspicious combination of intelligent faces and dirty attire, sought employment. Of course, it would not do them a bit of good to see the whole process,

because no one could carry it out without a furnace like mine, and no one can make such a furnace without a supply of ethering to begin with. This no one knows how to make, and if he did it would take him years to do it, as it has taken me. but I did not want the world to suspect there is anything so very extraordinary in my proceedings or process until the suspicion becomes inevitable. So I simply figure as the possessor of a secret process. April 1, 1942. The newspapers are devoting more and more attention to me in my supposed eccentricities. Among the things that excite their curiosity is the name of my firm. It has been discovered that a young woman named Anita, a daughter of a Yale professor, died some ten years ago,

and the theory is that I have held her in such affectionate remembrance is to take her name for my company. No one has heard of Tiana across the ocean. A friend indulged in a little pleasantry on the subject the other day. I reminded him with all seriousness that A.C. were the initials both of the company and of myself, so that they could be applied to either and refused to assign any other reason for the name. May 3rd, 1942, broke ground on

on Peters Island for the foundation of the Coliseum. It will be, like its old Roman nape-sake, elliptical in form, but will greatly exceed it in size. I have decided in order to have plenty of room to build it a thousand feet in length and six hundred in breadth. How the public, guided by the red-headed man, will wonder when they see this monstrous structure rising. I am going as long as possible to let everybody examine its interior, on the same principle that a juggler asks the audience to examine his sleeves before he begins his work. So far I have not broached the subject of our ultimate object to gien, but must do so on the first occasion. I scarcely know how to begin. May 7, 1942. Tried to sound gine on the ethical principles which should govern the relations

of nations, especially the abstract rightfulness of war. The result was, much as I expected, practical man than he is, he looked upon war as inevitable in the present state of society. it was therefore useless to occupy ourselves with discussions of its rightfulness or wrongfulness. At length I broke out with the plain question, If you had the power to put an end to war, would you do it? Of course, he looked upon this as a pure abstraction and scarcely deemed the question worthy of a serious answer. How shall I make it clear to him that it is a really serious question on my part, and that in spite of this I am sane when I put it?

June 15, 1942. Strongly as I am impelled to the idea of having the great powers, with our own country as their leader, rule the world, two circumstances have happened within a week which may get clearer than ever to me that such a policy will be disastrous to the best interests of mankind. One is the brutal letter of the head of the German Navy to the French ambassador, who had been accused, perhaps wrongfully, of seeking to purchase secrets respecting the German naval armament. Poor France is not in a condition to resent the insult and must therefore put up with it. If this is the spirit which animates a great power, how must we expect such a power to behave

toward Siam or Japan, or the Tartars, or any other of the weaker nations. Such tyranny as will be exercised and such humiliations as will be imposed seemed to me so unendurable that if I cannot make the arrangements for carrying through the enterprise myself, I feel like letting the secret die with me. Now comes the other event, showing how ready France is to do the same to a weaker power that Germany did to her. A party of sailors from a French ship of war in the harbor of Lisbon went ashore and got into a fight with the party of Portuguese.

As might have been expected, the French were victorious. A formal complaint was made to their government by that of Portugal, which, after a careful investigation of the whole matter, claimed that the others were the aggressors. But a court of inquiry on board the French ship, after hearing the story as told by their side, reported that the Portuguese were the aggressors. In view of their difference of opinion,

Portugal asked France to have the affair tried by an impartial joint commission to be chosen by both governments. This France refused to do, replying that she could not go back of the feelings of her own officers, that according to these findings the Portuguese were the aggressors, and that an indemnity must therefore be paid by Portugal without further question. The worst of it is of the attitude of their government is supported by the great body of the Paris Press.

June 20, 1942. Every day I see more plainly that if I am to carry through my main enterprise all by myself, I shall need a great deal more than the same. $7 million of my former estimate. I have therefore decided not to rely on aluminum alone, and have perfected a form of bicycle which can be run with almost any speed, even 40 miles an hour, with a thermic engine supplied with therm by a little petroleum lamp. I have an automobile carriage to run on the same system. To save people's eyes, I shall also make an incandescent burner by which a white globe, surrounding a common gas jet, will glow with a soft light of day and

fill a whole room with its radiance. That every effort was made to penetrate Campbell's secret, goes without saying. The two men described in his diary were simply the pioneers of a multitude. There was a singular frankness in his way of dealing with these curiosity seekers. When a suspicious visitor appeared, evidently bent on learning something of value, he was received either by the secretary of the company or a trusted subordinate, with the greatest affability and seemingly given every encouragement to make inquiries. He was informed that visitors were allowed to see the process of manufacture only on certain days, the reason being that their presence interfered with the workmen.

But if you really wish to see the process, come next Wednesday morning and you shall be allowed to do so. I suppose that it was an impenetrable secret. In one sense it is, and in another it is not. There may be something that Mr. Campbell is not yet prepared to reveal, but if you care to see what the process is, there is no objection. At the appointed time the visitors, perhaps a dozen in number, were taken into the furnace room. They found the base of the tall, large chimney surrounded by a furnace 20 feet in diameter and six feet high. The furnace was pierced through with eight round vertical openings,

each about four feet in diameter, in each of which was a hollow cylinder of some hitherto unknown substance. The remaining space was filled with burning coal. Vertically above the surface at a height of about ten feet, the chimney was surrounded by a circular platform having eight holes, each about six inches in diameter, one over the center of each cylinder in the furnace below. Bars of baked clay, about two inches in diameter and eight or ten feet long, were suspended from this platform by machinery, so that their lower ends could be passed through the heated cylinders. Here they were exposed to a temperature so high that the clay itself rapidly melted or dissolved in a shower of sparks. As fast as the lower portion was thus dissolved, the bar was let down by machinery.

The melted product ran down in a stream, which, being at the bottom of the cylinder, could not be seen by the visitor without endangering his eyes. The substance of the cylinders possessed a physical property never before known to be possible, in virtue of which all the heat was radiated directly toward the center. The result was that the heat was concentrated in the form of an immense burning glass. How such a result could be brought about, the visitor was left to conjecture. Maybe see what is going on below this furnace? Oh, certainly. Come downstairs and we will show you. "'Elo, nothing was to be seen but a small stream of molten aluminum "'mixed with a large quantity of dross, which flowed into refining furnaces.

"'There, gentlemen, you see the whole process. "'What more can we show you?' "'The visitors had to admit that they had seen everything there was to see, "'and left as wise as they came. "'The injunction of secrecy was not a very difficult one to comply with. "'No better off was the man who tried to see how the vital portion of the thermobike was made. "'All they could see were rows of workmen engaged in molding, forging, boring, and performing every other process known in mechanics.

Anyone who chose could take the thermobike to pieces, analyze it, and see how it was made. A careful examination by scientific experts showed how the machine operated. The bike, as it was familiarly called from the beginning, was driven by a petroleum lamp, the chimney of which was lined with aluminum bronze. Outside this lining was a layer half an inch thick of a substance which seemed to defy physical examination. It was unacted on by acids and had no chemical properties. Exposed to intense heat, it was resolved into a few commonplace substances, mostly silicon and carbon. It was a very poor conductor of electricity. Outside this again was a second metal cylinder. When the lamp was lit,

the interior and exterior cylinders at once became the poles of a very powerful electric battery. The current from this battery was passed round the rim of a wheel, which again was coated with a substance having a peculiar relation to electricity. As the current passed in one direction, the wheel turned with great force and any required speed in the other. What was most singular was that scientific examination showed nearly all the energy set free by the petroleum to be turned into effective work in the turning of the wheel. The heat from a very small lamp suffice to run a bike with any required speed. The same principle was soon applied to the manufacture of the new kind of automobile carriage, or Moby, as we now call it. So the mistake

Serious vehicles were rapidly coming into use without anyone being able to penetrate the secret of their operation. This is the end of Chapter 2 of His Wisdom the Defender, a story. Chapter 3 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Libravox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 3. An Italian Romance It goes without saying that the interest in what was going to, on at Campbelltown, for such was the natural name of the new town, soon spread from America to Europe

and thence over the world. Bikes and Moby's were wanted everywhere. Manufacturers of bicycles, carriages, and machinery of every kind would have liked to supply this growing demand. As this was clearly impossible without Campbell's cooperation, the efforts which capitalists and manufacturers had already made in America were now seconded by those of Europe. By expending two or three million dollars in each European country in the necessary manufacturing plant, a prospect of reaping rich profits was opened. Steps were first taken by the Rothschilds. They organized a combination of well-known capitalists on both sides of the Atlantic,

chose a committee of the ablest and most prominent men, including the best of those who had business relations with the Anita Company, and dispatched it to headquarters to see what could be done. Meanwhile, Campbell had assumed an almost regal inaccessibility to visitors. He took good care, however, to have a system by which no person having really serious and important business should be obliged to depart without having an interview either with him or with someone who could determine whether an interview was necessary. The Rolchild Committee had no difficulty in securing an audience.

It set forth its objects in a moderate way, laying great stress on the immense benefits which could be conferred on the people of Europe if Campbell would either place manufacturers in possession of his secret or established branch works in various countries of the same general character as those at Campbelltown. We venture to approach you with this proposition only because you have on various occasions stated that your first object is to promote the welfare of humanity in general, and that you are comparatively indifferent to accumulating wealth for your own use beyond such limit as you may find necessary to carry out your beneficent projects.

We appear before you neither as rivals nor as seekers of your bounty, but as representative men, able and willing to aid in extending the benefits of your discoveries to men the world over who are impatient to share in them. I entirely sympathize with your objects, was the reply. It has all along been my intention to enable mankind to share in the benefits to which you allude as rapidly as possible. The only point of divergence between us is that perhaps you want to go ahead a little faster than seems to me conducive to ultimate success.

If we reflect that the highest form of civilization existed for centuries without the thermic engine, may we not concede it possible for men to wait two or three years longer for its full development. I intend, as soon as possible, to found an establishment in Europe corresponding to this in America. Moreover, when this central branch is set up, I shall proceed to the establishment of local branches in other countries. I shall be quite ready to see companies formed for the establishment and administration of these local branches. But the central branch I must establish as my own. As soon as that is in full operation, I shall, step by step, grant every facility for carrying on the manufacturers in other European countries with all possible.

dispatch. May we ask when and where your European branch will be set up? I must ask to be excused from any statement on the subject at present, beyond the fact that I hope to decide the question within a few months. The fact was that for a year past Campbell had been actively at work in Europe, in a way of which the world was quite ignorant. A young American lawyer had spent an entire summer in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, studying the laws of land tenure in these countries, and their applications to the islands owned by them. maps of Madeira, the Balearic Islands, Elba, and the shores of the Adriatic had been collected. A party of three or four men had personally visited all these islands, made the acquaintance of

some of their leading inhabitants, and begun a general survey of their productions. It was due to the discretion with which they proceeded, but they did not fall into the hands of the police as suspicious characters. Architects in Chicago were preparing plans of palaces, and artists of Paris were negotiating with the employment of Chinese carvers. Men were spying out the arsenals and factories of arms in every part of the continent with the same secrecy and reporting the results of their inquiries to Campbelltown, which was thus rapidly becoming a depot of information, the object of which no outsider could at the time have divined, even had he known of its collection.

Great was the public interest when it became known that the president of the Anita Company would establish a branch of his works in some European country. Every indication of his plan was eagerly watched. There was no way of gratifying public curiosity as to where the branch will be located, except by waiting to see, a necessity under which the newspapers chafed. They were soon electrified by the announcement that he had taken passage from New York to Genoa, but what it meant they could not imagine. His departure was not known until the very day in which the ship sailed when his name was found among the list of passengers. On landing he was at once besieged by reporters who had been sent on in advance to interview him, but he refused to say anything except that he was in Italy on business of his own.

He took rooms at a hotel and secretly engaged a carriage to call for him at four o'clock in the morning. He got into it and drove off. Then for several days nothing certain was heard of him. At the end of a week it was learned that he was inspecting the Isle of Elba. It was soon announced from Rome that his European branch will be located on that island and that its erection would be begun immediately. Before his return, he paid a visit to the President of the Italian Republic, with whom he had a conference which lasted several hours.

Then he returned to Genoa and sailed for home after a stay of less than two weeks. This was all the reporters could find out about the movements of the man they were chasing. With the more ample sources of information at our disposal, we are able to fill the gaps in their history. To do so, we must begin by narrating an almost forgotten incident near the city of Florence, nearly 20 years before. Campbell, newly graduated from Harvard, was spending a year in Italy, and at the time of which we speak was studying in Florence. One morning, while walking near the hill of Arsetri, he saw a runaway Landau drawn by two horses and containing four people coming towards him. As they approached him, he stood squarely in the

middle of the road, until the horses were almost upon him. Then he ran forward a few steps to diminish the force of the shock, sprang upon the tongue of the coach between the two animals, and seized the bridles. He was thus enabled, with the aid of a few gentle words, to bring the team to a standstill just before a turn in the road which might have been fatal was reached. But he suffered much in the encounter. The end of the tongue struck him in the face as he was jumping upon it, tearing and bruising the flesh and knocking out one of his teeth. The occupants of the carriage were the Duke of Berlinetti, with his wife, son, and ten-year-old daughter. As they took their rescuer to their home, the most touching feature of the case was the intense concern of the

little girl. She cried and lamented over his injury, and during the whole drive gave vent to the hope that he would not die. Although his injuries were severe, his recovery was rapid. In a couple of weeks he took leave of the family, and soon after it returned home. In the course of time, the impression of the Duke and his chateau had nearly faded from the mind of the young man, who had soon become a professor. But there was one voice which never ceased to sound in his ears as clearly as if he had heard it but yesterday. It was that of the little child, who forgot the danger she had run in her sympathy for him. Are you much hurt, sir? Does it pain you? You will not die, will you? Oh, Papa, the surgeon will

secure him, will he not? When he next visited Florence, seven years later, he found Tiana budding into womanhood. It seemed to him that the tenderness of feeling she had shown as a child had so permeated her nature that she was now the very embodiment of purity, sweetness, and love. Let us not blame him if, under such an influence, he lost no chance to make himself agreeable to the young lady, and perhaps strained the rigid etiquette of the country a little in his efforts to win her affection. Knowing how hopeless would be a suit prosecuted in the regular Italian way. His only excuse for the cause he took was the hope that he might, by these scientific discoveries, which he saw almost within his grasp, not only become the greatest benefactor of

modern times, but when a position which the proudest Dugal family in Europe would accept as the equivalent of princely birth. It will not surprise our readers to learn that in a few hours after the reporters lost track of him in Genoa, he was once more a guest at the Burlunetti Palace. Will you not accompany me to Elba, said the guest at lunch, and see what I am going to do. We shall drive over the island together while I fix up a point for my establishment. Permit me to assure you that sympathy is, at the present moment, one of my greatest wants. Please give me the honor and the pleasure of your company, if you possibly can. I shall think the matter over in the course of the afternoon, said the Duke.

If you will wait until morning, we shall see whether I can accompany you. On rising from the table he sought a moment to whisper one word to the daughter. Do you remember, said he, my once telling you that I would try to be the best man in the world for your sake? I think I do. He was at the Villa Carlotta, was it not? I am going to keep on trying, all for your sake. But there is no need of your doing it for my sake. You know I'm going to be a sister in the convent. Do not say that. I cannot endure hearing you say that. She hurried from the room, and he saw her no more until dinner-time. Next morning he had only a chance to say one word to her before leaving. Please never forget me, as I shall never forget you. My sister must sometimes forget

what she would gladly remember was the only reply. The two men left were Elba. Campbell had chartered a steamer to carry them from point to point on the coast of the island. They first touched at Port Ferraro. Here, said Campbell, I intend to found a great city, which shall be for Europe what Campbelltown is for America. Next morning they re-embarked, continuing their journey westward, and landed at Brookyo. There a carriage was engaged, and they drove to the base of Mount Campani, where they changed to a small mountain car driven by two mules, and proceeded to make the ascent of the mountain. The Duke noticed that his companion, who had shown a sparkling vivacity and fiery enthusiasm in unfolding his plans for the future,

now became silent, abstracted, and even melancholy. Every now and then he closed his eyes as if in deep thought. He felt some concern at such a change under conditions that might have produced the opposite effect. At every turn of the narrow road there was a new and wider view both of the Mediterranean and of the island, which was to him a source of exhilaration, but seemed to the other a source of depression. He tried to interest him in the view. Is it not beautiful? He said. It is, and I hope it will be still more so when we reached the top. Then, as if exhausted, he again relapsed into a fit of abstraction. After two hours' drive in their rough vehicle, the summit was reached. Now a view was disclosed quite unlike any that either of the spectators had before seen, below their feet,

the east, the island stretched its length beyond the horizon. The port from which they had started seemed almost beneath them. In every other direction, the blue waters of the Mediterranean bound to the horizon. To the west and southwest, the mountains of Corsica were as gray clouds resting on the water. The bright rays of the sun softened everything round them in a way that one only sees in Italy. The elder of the two men wondered why his companion had brought him up. He seemed so meditative that he would have given many a penny for his thoughts. The fact is he was dwelling on the plans, which had for years centered around this place.

Would they ever be realized? Was this to be the seat of future empire? With the most splendid of palaces rear its dome upon the spot where they were standing? He at length ventured a word to his companion. What will our posterity see who shall look upon this place a hundred years from now? If I have my way, we shall see much before many years are over. Seating himself on a rock, he took from his pocket a roll of tracing paper, on which was copied the plan and front elevation of the building. Here is the site which I have chosen for my possible future residence.

Here is the proposed plan. What do you think of it? The old man scanned the drawing. That will be the grandest and most beautiful palace I ever saw, but why erected in so inaccessible a location? How will you ever get even the materials to build it up here? And when your house is done, you must either be a monk in a monastery or build a mountain railway. Or call it a convent, thought the other.

The machinery which I command will transport the materials without difficulty, but this is a detail into which we need not go at present. I have brought you up here, first of all, to give you some idea of the future extent of my European establishment. I also have a favor to ask of you. On the first day of every month, after I begin to build, I shall have a photograph of my rising palace taken, showing its steady progress from foundation upward. I ask permission to have copies of these pictures sent you regularly for the use of your family. It seems to me that that is rather doing me a favor, and it is one which I shall

accept with great pleasure. Perhaps you would like to know the name of the city I shall found here. I shall call it Yerinaberg, the city of heaven. Descending the plane, Campbell spent another day in conference with his chief manager at the station, and then sailed for home. It was fortunate that during the voyage home, the daily papers could not reach his ship. Among all the eccentricities which had marked his conduct, there was none to compare with that of choosing such a place for a great manufacturing establishment. If he could have seen the comments on his doings, the questions raised as to his sanity, the discussions as to what might be done to bring him to his senses, or to deprive him of control over his own works, and the torrents of abuse poured upon him on all sides,

he would have been saved from discomfort only by forming a contemptuous opinion of human nature. He had made arrangements for purchasing or leasing a considerable portion of the island. Within a few months a city began to take form, and an army of laborers was engaged in erecting machinery of the same sort as was in operation at Campbelltown. But there was no Colosseum. Much as the world wondered, no one anticipated that the Little Island in the Laguerian Sea was to be the center from which the son of the golden age has sent its rays. This is the end of Chapter 3 of His Wisdom the Defender, a story. Chapter 4 of His Wisdom the Defender by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin.

Chapter 4. The Angelic Order of Seraphim. Public attention was so concentrated upon the eccentric doings at Campbelltown as certain minor features of the situation were overlooked, even by the red-headed man. One was the number of college athletes that Campbell took into his service. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that every enthusiastic football player who graduated at any college in the land during the years 1942 through 1944, received through some friend or traveling agent a glowing account of the advantages offered to young men of enterprise and ability by the great factory for bikes and mobs. If the young man had some profession in view, he was told that Campbell would

need men of almost every profession, and would give every encouragement and facility in its study, even to supplying money should it be required. If he replied that Campbell could have no rational object in patronizing a young man he never saw or heard of, he was reminded that the ways of the owner of Campbelltown were past finding out, that the youth had better go and see him, that free transportation was ready, and that when he arrived he might find that his reputation for scholarship and enterprise had preceded him. Few could resist the temptation to see the famous establishment. Arriving at the gate of the factory, the doubting and diffident youth had only to state his errand to be immediately shown into the office of the manager by whom he was received

with the greatest urbanity. I am sorry that I cannot introduce you to the president of the company, as he is engaged at this moment, but if you will let me know your feelings on the subject of entering the service of the Anita Company, I shall gladly see what can be done. Well, really, sir, I have had no idea of asking employment here. A few days ago, I met a friend who expressed a strong desire that I should come, and who curiously enough was supplied with a free ticket here, which he gave me to use. My intention always has been to study architecture at New York, and I did not feel like changing that plan. You may therefore consider that I am here out of pure curiosity. Your plans will mean our views exactly. The Anita Company has constant need of architect in extending the

limits of its town and in putting up buildings elsewhere. This need will increase during the next few years rather than diminish. We shall be very glad to have you continue your studies in architecture under our auspices. If money will help, we are ready to advance it. The fact is, our president always takes the greatest interest in able young men studying your profession, and is ready to do all he can to promote them. That is very attractive, but I do not see the slightest reason why the Anita Company should bestow any such position on me. I did not deny that the help you propose will be very welcome, but on the other hand, I have absolutely nothing to offer in return. I cannot, therefore, consent to receive it at this time. There is not the slightest occasion for any diffidence. Only two conditions are attached to our arrangements. One is that, during the course of your study,

you shall come down here once or twice a month to meet other young men like yourself and have a good time together. You can come down on Saturday and return on Sunday so as not to interfere with your work in any way. The other condition is that whenever the proper time comes and you feel that you can do something on your own account, you will give us a chance of accepting your services. I forgot there is a third condition. We do not desire you to say anything about this arrangement. It is to be regarded as a tribute from our company to a few of the best young men of the country, and we do not wish to be overwhelmed with applications from others.

In the large majority of cases, so tempting an offer could not be declined. To some selected youths who were willing to undertake it, immediate employment was offered. He might be clerical or technical. He might be nothing more than overlooking the building of a house, the making of motors, or the running of machinery that the youth knew nothing about. If he objected on the score of ignorance, he was told that he only had to learn. At the time of which we speak, the number of selected young men who were either in the employ of the company, or studying under its auspices, amounted to several hundred.

All who were able to do so visited Campbelltown on the first and third Saturday of every month. Here they dined at a hospitable table, presided over by Gein or the manager, and met their friends employed in the works. Naturally enough, the young men wondered much what possible object the anita company could have in all this. The only explanation that could be offered was that the president was a queer fellow, unlike other men in every point, conducting his business on principles utterly different from any on which business had ever been conducted before. Impenetrable as to his motives and invisible in his ways, the only certain facts were that he was piling up money by the million

and was ready to expend some of it in this odd way. So the best policy was to accept what was offered and ask no questions. One evening at a reunion a special invitation was extended to about a hundred of the company to call in a body on the president after dinner. The guests were first shown into a spacious antebrum. in one corner was a book containing a pledge of absolute secrecy as to the meeting about to be held. Each was asked to sign this pledge. As he did so, a little ticket was handed to him by which he was to gain abitance to the assembly. The men were then shown into a spacious reception room, at one end of which sat the president,

the tickets being taken at the door. They passed him in single file, each being introduced by Yeen, and then sat in several circles around the room, waiting for what was to come next. The president addressed them to the following effect. gentlemen, that you have all stood in a more or less intimate relation to the Anita Company. The end and objects of that relation may seem very mysterious. You must excuse me if I am not able at the present moment to unfold the mystery in its entirety. I may, however, do so in part. You see me here in sole possession of an enormous source of wealth and power. I have none of the ordinary motives for accumulating wealth. I have no family, no children, so far as I am aware, are no near relatives. The whole human race is one to me, and my greatest object in life is to do

what I can towards promoting its happiness. Of course, I must have helpers. No helpers can be more effective than the best and most energetic of our college graduates. This is why I have called you together. You must work together as a unit. The first condition of our success is absolute loyalty on the part of each member of our organization, both to myself, its patron, and the organization as a whole. What I therefore propose is the formation of a secret order, pledged to fealty and and obedience, and ready to act together whenever called upon. It may be that many among you did not feel disposed to form such an order, or to engage yourselves as to the way I've suggested. All such are at perfect liberty to leave, if, after thinking the matter over during the next four weeks,

they choose to do so. They only have to remember that the pledge of secrecy as to what I have here said has been taken and remains absolute. All who feel like entertainers, what I shall call the new order and subscribing to its pledges, are invited to meet again four weeks from today. At that time, as many of you as are willing to form the nucleus of the order, are invited to be here. Until then, goodbye. The question which burdened Campbell's mind during the next four weeks

was whether it was possible that no one of that hundred young men would betray the secret. Every day the newspapers were searched to see if, in the numerous accounts of what was going on in Campbelltown, there was anything about this meeting. It was a real surprise to him to find out that not even the red-headed man had found out anything on the subject. Mystery has its attractions for youth. Our readers will not be surprised to learn that 90 of those present at the first meeting appeared at the second. On entering, each was asked whether he was prepared to sign the pledge of the new order.

Replying in the affirmative, he was asked to sign and read the following, which was printed at the top of each page of a thin blank book. We, the members of the proposed angelic order of seraphim, pledge our sacred honor to keep all the secrets of said order, to be true and loyal under all circumstances both to each other and to the patron of the order, Archibald Campbell, to place ourselves at his service whenever required, and to obey all orders received from him. Under the first of these printed pledges was written the following, of which all were invited to take notice. I, Archibald Campbell, president of the Anita Company, and patron of the angelic order of seraphim,

hereby pledged myself to perform all my duties as patron of that order, and to the best of my ability, to see that none of its members ever suffer want." Archibald Campbell. When all were ready, the patron again briefly addressed them. Gentlemen, I have not much to add to what I said to you at our last meeting. The name of our order has been made known to you. Its appropriateness is not yet apparent. It will not be apparent until we have our initiation ceremonies, which may not occur for several months, perhaps not for a year or more.

They will be extremely interesting. It is not too much to say that they will be as a new revelation to you. You will find ourselves possessed of powers never before given by God to man. Meanwhile, let us pursue our usual vocations. I shall expect you to spend a good deal of your time in these precincts. It is desirable that the order be enlarged to about 300 members. I must ask your assistance in doing this. If any of you know good and true young men who may be willing to come in and whom you feel safe and trusting with your honor,

consult them discreetly on the subject. Give their names and let their records be examined. I shall expect you to meet and talk together every month, and during the interval, to engage in such exercises as will be prepared for you. On the next Saturday's meaning of the Angelic Order, the members were invited to accompany Gein to the Coliseum and see what was there going on. breathless was their curiosity as they approached the mysterious place. An odd scene met their eyes on entering. Near one end of the enclosure were erected two rows of massive iron towers,

about 60 feet apart and 50 feet in height. Stout ropes passed between the tops like the wires of a suspension bridge. At each end they were connected with the towers by a spiral spring, so that if a heavy weight was hung to one of the ropes, it would sink to a considerable distance. Suspended to each rope near its midpoint was an object of singular shape and aspect. Seen externally, it looked like a large hogshead, perhaps six feet in diameter and eight feet high. On top of the hogshead was what might be a little cask about a foot in diameter.

This was pierced round its upper portion with little holes filled with glass, giving the appearance of as many eyes. On each side of the hogs head, two feet below the top, projected two jointed arms, hanging below it and reaching to within ten feet of the ground were a pair of jointed legs. The hole looked like a grotesque caricature of a human form. The sight was greeted by the arriving party with a shout of, Daddy Long Legs, mixed with peals of laughter. No other name has ever been invented for the machine, and this one was so appropriate that it stuck. Very soon, however, the last two syllables were dropped as unnecessary, and the machine was called the Daddy. This is the origin of our name for the useful implement used in lifting heavy weights,

a term the derivation of which would have puzzled the most expert etymologists if its history had not been revealed. If the spectators could have seen inside, they would have found the interior structure to be very complex. Six vertical pipes, each a foot in diameter, were concealed within the hogshead, around its circumference. Levers without number were between them. In the center of all, a man was seated at his ease. His foot pressed one system of levers and hand had hold of another system. These levers were connected by a number of linked rods, which again connected with the arms and legs seen externally. I will so far reveal the secret in advance as to say that the arrangement was such that every motion that the man made with his arms or legs

was communicated by means of etherene to the corresponding limb of the daddy with a force multiplied a hundredfold. Daddy might therefore be described as a being of enormous muscular force wielded by a human intellect. The pairs of towers, supporting the daddies were about 100 feet apart. Across the line between the two central ones was stretched another rope with a netting suspended from it, and touching the ground as if a game of gigantic tennis was to be played. To make the resemblance complete, a huge wooden ball two feet in diameter, bound round with three iron rings, lay on the ground beneath one of the daddies.

It must have weighed several hundred pounds. As a race a giant's been playing tennis? asked the newcomers. Commence the game, cried the leader. The daddy beneath whose feet the ball lay immediately dipped towards the ground, tightening the rope and stretching the springs. He sees the ball between his feet, as lightly and easily as a man would see as a tennis ball, drew it back, and hurled it forward through the air at the other daddy. The latter stooped to catch it with his hands, but missed it at the first trial.

It was caught by a third daddy and returned in tennis fashion to the thrower. The game was played through with entire success. The daddy always threw the ball with his feet, but caught it sometimes with his hands and something. sometimes with his feet. To catch it with his hands, he sometimes had to throw himself in an almost horizontal position. His dexterity in doing this seems supernatural. At one moment he pulled and stretched the string by his weight. At another he sprang upwards as lightly as a ballet dancer. Now, said Guy, your first duty will be to learn this game and to play it well. Only expert players

are eligible for initiation to the angelic order of seraphim. Those of the visitors who had read Alice behind the looking-glass, thought of the world there pictured. The temptation to betray the secret of the order was diminished, rather than increased by the mystery of the proceedings. If they should have told all that they had seen going on, their hearers would have thought that they were being made sport of. During the following weeks, the number of daddies was increased, so that one or more games were always going on, and the new men were gotten into practice as rapidly as possible. At first it was a clumsy proceeding, the exact connection between the movements of the players' limbs and the movements of the daddy in which he was seated being difficult to

to bring about. Improvenants were from time to time made in the machines, was to make the coordination more perfect. Before a month had passed, a new mystery was unveiled. The players with the daddy, entering the Coliseum one morning, saw at the other end of the enclosure a monstrous object, which certainly had not been there the night before. In shape, it was a giant centipede. The body of the insect was a flat-bottomed boat, a hundred feet in length, 30 feet in breadth, and 15 or 20 feet deep. It was suspended by a rope stretched between two pillars,

much like the daddy's, and almost touched the ground. Its numerous limbs were not unlike colossal human arms, 15 feet in length. Each had a joint at the side of the moat to which it was fastened, an elbow near the middle, then a wrist joint,

and instead of a hand, a sort of two-handed claw, which could open out to the extent of 18 inches, and close up when necessary. Inside the vessel, at each point where an arm was attached, was a piece of apparatus too complicated to be described in full without drawings. The visible part consisted of a breastplate with two openings,

through which a man could thrust his hands and seize a lever with each. There were ten arms on each side of the centipede, as it came to be called, making twenty in all. Campbell himself inaugurated the exercise with this machine. He took one of his neophytes with him into the centipede, showed him how to get hold of the levers attached to the arm, and then asked him to notice what could be done with them. On moving his own arms, it was found that the arms of the centipede were mysteriously affected by a corresponding motion. Closing his hands together, the immense claws of the centipede closed up, then opened again when the hands were separated. Raising the lever, the shoulder and elbow joints of the centipede's arms rose in a corresponding way,

and the claws were thrown high in the air. Now, said Campbell, I want you to practice with this until you have all the motions. Then we will see what we can do next. The seraph, having got himself into practice, so that he was able to move the arms in any way he chose, was now told to show his companions of the order how the machine worked. Two days were spent in getting about 50 men into practice. Then a number of large wooden logs, perhaps a foot in diameter, and from six to 12 feet long, were placed on the ground near the centipede, and within reach of his arms.

The men were then practiced in taking hold of these logs with their giant claws, lifting them up and placing them on the deck above, then a platform was erected above where the logs lay, and the logs were picked up and placed upon it. Continued practice naturally suggested a number of improvements in the construction of the centipede's arms and of the levers which moved them. In time, however, the instrument was perfected, and then any number of them could be made on the same model. We who look back at the whole proceeding can scarcely imagine how eccentric the scenes of the Coliseum appeared to all concerned in them. It seemed as if the little professor, as he was familiarly called by all those nearest to him,

must be the most singular compound of genius and insanity that the world had ever seen. So far as immediate results were concerned, all his plans had been made and executed with a success at Evans not only the greatness of his scientific prowess, but the highest order of executive ability. How could a serious man of so much ability spend the time he was spending on so singular a proceeding as this now going on in the Coliseum? Why such secrecy? Well, the answer seemed obvious. The chief actor knew how ridiculous his amusements would look to the world, if they should ever be known. But this was only a part of the truth. And the real object of all these doings been discovered, not a crowned head nor prime minister

in Europe would have slept that night. The time had now come when an understanding whether Gein was to be as active agent in carrying through his plans had to be reached. One morning, when the daddy and the centipede were both perfected, Campbell invited Gein to a conference. I do not want you to do much today. I want to have a very important talk with you at four o'clock this afternoon, and I did not want you to have anything on your mind or to be fatigued by the day's work. So go where you please. If nothing suits you better, take a sail on the Potomac and be back here at the appointed hour. At the appointed hour, the two men sat in Campbell's private office. Gein was all the tension. A crisis in our arrangements is now approaching, said Campbell.

It must soon be decided whether you shall be as close to me in the future as you have been in the past, or whether you shall simply be the chief engineer of the works here, while someone else takes your place in confidential relations with me. My proceedings and the erection and running of these works has been marked by what the business world considers unaccountable eccentricities. The exercises in the Coliseum must have seemed to you and those engage in them even more eccentric than my business management. Is not this the case? I cannot deny that the management of your works, in which I have taken a prominent part from the beginning, has seemed to me very mysterious. They have been so mysterious that I am no longer surprised at anything, not even at what is going on in the Coliseum.

Now I want to unravel to you the whole mystery, but I want you in advance to make me a solemn and unconditional pledge of the most absolute secrecy. This pledge is to be equally binding whether you take part in my future plans or not. If you take the leading part in them which I wish you to, the secrecy will be necessary for your own interests. If you do not, you will be concerned only with the development of the works and need not be concerned in what is going on in the Coliseum. To make the matter sure, I would like you to sign this pledge. Gein read over the paper which was handed to him and affixed his signature. Campbell proceeded. The world at large, which considers the making of money to be one of the chief ends of man,

or at least the ultimate end of those engaged in business, cannot understand how I can have any other end in view than piling up wealth. If, as I have always maintained, my tastes lie in the scientific direction and not in that of money, why have I engaged in a wealth-producing enterprise? Well, I will tell you, I am the possessor of a power which, if made public, would result in disaster to the human race, but which if I wield it myself, so as to carry out my plans with entire success, will revolutionize the world and make those who are instrumental in that revolution the greatest benefactors the world has ever seen. To speak plainly, I propose to put an end to war, now and forever. May I have your cooperation in that work?

Can you go into the work of putting an end to war with an approving conscience? Abstractly, I agree with you that it would be an excellent thing to put an end to war, but I cannot help regarding it as impracticable. From what I know of human nature, I did not see how it is possible to stop nations from engaging in war. What are armies for except to fight? How are you going to stop them from fighting? That is the very secret I wish to unfold to you tonight. It is no use to tell you in advance. Let us meet in the private laboratory at the south end of the Coliseum at 9 o'clock this evening.

You shall enjoy the experience of your life. The laboratory here referred to was a good-sized building and into which Campbell had carefully removed the entire contents of the uncanny workshop described in our first chapter. He had, during the past few months, spent much of his time in this workshop, improving and adding to the singular apparatus which it contained. At the appointed hour, the two men entered the Coliseum. The watchmen in charge had been previously directed to make a thorough examination of the interior

to see that everyone left at the close of the day's work, and to allow no one to enter it during the evening except the owner and the man accompanying him. Curiously enough, Gein himself had never been inside of this place. In fact, none of the employees had ever been allowed in it except Campbell's three workmen, two of whom were the same men that we saw in Cambridge. Campbell called Gein's attention to two singular-looking chairs. In shape, they were much like ordinary armchairs, only much larger. They were nicely cushioned, and each had a step at the bottom on which the cedar could rest his feet.

The uprights were very large, consisting of tubes not less than three inches in diameter. Let us spring these chairs out, said Campbell. Being mounted on rollers, they were pushed out without difficulty. Now, I want to tie these chairs together, he continued. He got a piece of cord and thoroughly bound them, side by side by the arms, backs, and spokes. Then, opening a case in the side of the room, he took out two standing rods, with one of which we are already familiar, and handed them to Gein. Here, I want you to take these rods out and put them down through the two tubes which you see

in the back of each chair. He will find an arrangement for fastening them in. Gim took the rods from Campbell's hands, and as he went out, noticed their singular behavior. He remained in a vertical position, from which they could not be removed by any force he could exert, but as they could be picked up and moved about without any difficulty at all, they were put into the tubes as directed. Now we need only one more piece of apparatus. We must attach these cranks to a little handle which you will see projecting from the arms of each chair. The cranks were attached. Now let us take our seats. Plant your feet on the foot rest, and be careful not to move them. You are tightly fastened, are you? Now put one foot on each lever, but be careful not to press it until you. You are you?

Now put one foot on each lever, but be careful not to press it until you see me do so. The moment I say press, press the lever forward, and I will do the same thing. Let us watch each other's hands so that the pressure shall be simultaneous. Now, I hope you are a man of nerve. Graduates of West Point ought to be. I selected you with that supposition. If you have any doubt about your nerve, just say so, and we will give up the whole job. The fact is, if you go on, you are now to be initiated as the head of the angelic order of seraphim. Are you ready? I'm ready for anything and burning all over with curiosity.

Now, press. Gein's first impression on making the motion was that some kind of a noiseless bomb had burst under his chair. His second was that somebody had given it a push. His third, and more correct impression, was that the two chairs, with himself and Campbell in them, were flying through the air. Before he could collect his thoughts, the Coliseum was far below. A vertical wind was felt blowing downward because of the rapid flight. "'Where are we going?' exclaimed Gee, as soon as he could get his breath.

"'Wherever we please,' was the reply. "'Shall we take a look at Washington?' Campbell pressed the footrest with his left foot, gave his levers a slight motion, and in a few seconds the faces of the two men were directed towards a bright patch on the clouds in the northern horizon, which they knew was caused by the reflection of the electric lights of Washington. In a minute they were flying with the speed of a railway train.

The wind from their rapid motion soon began to chill them through. I did not think we need go to Washington, said Campbell. I only want to show you what we can do. Let us return home. But how shall we ever find our way back? Very easily. I have a number of lamps placed on the ground in the Coliseum which shine directly upward and can only be seen from above. Immediately we see those lambs, we shall drop down upon them. With a slight motion of the levers, the chairs described as semicircle, and the men were on the return journey. The lights of Campbelltown had been in sight all the time, and there was no difficult

and getting vertically over the Coliseum. A slight motion of the levers stopped the forward course, and the two chairs floated in the air, half a mile above their destination. Now we have to be very cautious. Going down, we have no idea how fast we may be going, except so far as we can judge by the wind we make. Draw your lever back as I do mine. Very soon they were falling quite rapidly,

and the lights in the Coliseum were plainly seen below. Then the levers were pushed slightly forward so that the motion should be checked. They slowly approached the ground and landed outside the door of the workshop. Now we must be very careful in getting out of the chairs. They still press upward with our entire weight, and if we should leave them as they are, they would fly away and we should never see or hear of them again. That is what we will do to criminals in the future instead of hanging them.

We shall simply fasten a tube like those in the chairs through the criminal's body, attach a little lever, and up we will go, never to be seen or heard of again. I'm not sure that that would be a good policy with a need. Negroes, said Gein, they would think they were bound straight to heaven and would rather like to go out of the world and so glorious away. Well, we need not cross that bridge until they come to it. Let us get our chairs safely into the workshop. The levers were moved into their original position and taken off. The two men loosened themselves and took the chairs into the shop. The uprights were removed and put into lockers, and the chairs placed in one corner of the room,

looking as innocent as two chairs possibly could. I do not think we need, discuss the matter further tonight. You have got as much as you can think about for the present. I am afraid you will not sleep as it is. I will merely tell you that when I fill the tubes, which you must have noticed in the daddy and centipede with ethering, we can run them through the air as we've brought our chairs tonight. We can go where we please and do what we please. I may add, for your peace of mind, that our centipedes and daddies will all be bulletproof. Two days later, Gein, after thinking the whole matter over, expressed to his chief his willingness to perform the duties of

chief of the angelic order of Xeraphim. This is the end of chapter four of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story. Chapter 5 of His Wisdom the Defender A Story by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain.

Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 5, The First Moats. The factories for the manufacture of aluminum, bikes, and mobees, which I have already described, were all grouped around a single nucleus near the end of the bridge connecting the mainland with Peters Island. They stretched about a quarter of a mile along the riverbank and extended a half mile back. To the northwest and north, that is, up the river and towards Washington, as well as back from

the works, was built the residence part of the new town. The region on the opposite side of the factories remained vacant till after the first year of active operations. Then, I'm a brick wall, ten feet high, began to extend itself from the outer limit of the works, half a mile from the river, first in a southwesternly direction, and then towards the river, so to enclose a space more than half a mile square, bounded on one side by the riverbank. This enclosure gradually became a scene of activity. Buildings, first of wood and then of brick, were erected, chimneys grew up, draftsmen began to work, and pieces of massive machinery were transported from the great ironworks of Pittsburgh and Bethlehem.

Everything betokened the beginning of some new manufacturer, but what it was to be no one but Campbell seemed to know, and he would not tell. The first output comprised the Daddies and the Centipede. Then there was a pause, during which nothing was done but to pile up amidst stores of aluminum and roll it into huge cylinders. The policy of the establishment toward reporters and curiosity seekers was much the same as before. The only purpose of this wall, they were informed,

is to guard against thieves and meddlers. We thought of leaving holes here and there in it, large enough to look through, so that you could peep all you chose, but we thought you might consider that rather undignified, so we have made arrangements for letting you look in upon us at certain hours in each week. Outside of these hours, we do not wish to be disturbed.

So far as possible, all reporters were excluded from any permanent residence in the town, but the New York Herald was not to be checkmated in this way. The red-headed man was soon the occupant of one of the farmhouse, houses which the owner had reserved from sale at the beginning and still legally held. He made it his exclusive business to pry round and find out all he could, which was, however, very little. His dispatches, nevertheless, were not wanting either in length or sensation. The theory on which they were constructed was that the readers would, under any circumstances,

forget all about them the next day, so that even if their falsity were then shown up, no harm would be done to the reputation of the journal. The keels of what looked like four ships were in due time laid along the riverbank. This tended rather to satiate than to excite curiosity. The theory was current that Campbell was going into shipbuilding, it being presumed, of course, that the new motive power which he commanded would be used to propel the ships. As the supposed ships progressed, they became of an unusual shape,

which had been tried about a century before but had failed. It was that of a large but short cigar. The total length varied from 300 to 360 feet, and the breadth from 50 to 60 feet. The sections being circular, the height was as great as the breadth. The theory gained currency that they were to move along the sea by rolling. As fast as the citopies were built, they were brought to the riverbank, ready for launching. Here was something new to interest the curious.

The shops in which the machines were put together were two or three hundred yards from the river, but after the machines were finished, they were found on the riverbank. How did they get there? They looked as if they must weigh a hundred tons, and yet there was no possible means of transportation. It was at length discovered that they were moved during the night, but how it was done, no one could find out. The centipedes, as they were thus exposed, were without their feet. The latter, with all the machinery that worked them, were carefully stored inside the body. When upwards of a hundred centipedes were built, an equal number of vessels of another kind

were constructed, differing from the first in having no openings for legs. They were much like the boats of that time, with only a single deck, surrounded by a bulwark or a high-rail. There was more room in the interior of these vehicles than in that of the centipedes. This was utilized to store articles of the most varied character, condensed food, beverages of various sorts, medicines, portable forges, implements and tools of all kinds, canvas, poles, tents, in fine about every article that could be needed for an expedition to some uninhabited country. And yet there lay the boats on the riverbank, still unlunched, with no apparent means of getting them into the water. As the rolling machinery was improved, the manufacture of a

somewhat different moat was commenced. This was also cigar-shaped, differing from the moats just described only in being much smaller. The lengths varied from 30 to 100 feet, and the breadth from 6 to 20 feet. These vehicles had windows in the side, and the employees of the establishment could hardly suppress their merriment when they were ordered to design, make, and supply the moat with seats like those of the railway cars that in vogue. What can the boss mean? said everybody. Four of these motes excited a special attention from the strength and care with which they were built. They were all alike in size, about 80 feet in length and 20 in breadth.

They were built in cylindrical sections, each about 10 feet long, the cylinders having an arm on the edge so that they could be fastened end to end, like the different lengths of a pipe for conveying water. They were screwed together in the usual way, and then, to give additional strength, were so clamped by use that the junction was as strong as a the cylinders themselves. Each end of the moat terminated in a hemisphere. One of these ends was completely closed, and the other supplied with an opening barely sufficient to allow a man to enter in a stooping posture. Along the side's openings, about six inches in diameter, were pierced at distances

of four feet. These were filled with discs of glass, cemented so as to be quite airtight. Before the ends of the moats were fastened on, the interior was supplied with a number of longitudinal tubes extending along the walls. The three upper tubes could be filled with air or oxygen from the outside by means of stopcocks extending through the wall of the moat. The lower half of each of these was lined with porcelain. Holes closed by tight-fitting covers were pierced here and there along the upper part. The floor was laid along the whole length and seats to accommodate 40 people were firmly screwed down. Each vehicle was tested by pumping air into it until a pressure of two atmospheres above that of the air outside was reached. When subjected to this pressure,

every possible exit for the air was carefully searched out and closed up. Among the numerous committees of scientific men which Campbell had from time to time engaged to examine special points in connection with this work, was one to experiment on the time during which human beings could live inside this airtight enclosure. He entrusted the work of this committee to his former colleague, Professor Banks of Harvard. The latter was charged to employ all the resources of chemistry and physiology to investigate the products of respiration in the air of a confined space and learn how they could be made harmless. From what I have already said of the locality, it will be recalled that the position of the vessels, when launched from the point where they

stood, would not be in the open river, but in the narrow channel between the mainland and Peters Island. This channel, while only 200 yards wide at the upper end, where the bridge was built, widened down to 500 yards near the lower end of the island. The red-headed man was very anxious to witness the launching of the vessels whenever it should take place. He made a daily visit to the factory and was allowed by the watchman to look into the sacred enclosure. The absence of all machinery and all preparation for launching, and the activity in other directions, completely threw him off his guard.

Great, therefore, was his chagrin in arriving one morning and see the centipedes and flat boats some 250 in number all floating in the channel. How they got there was quite beyond his comprehension. He vainly interviewed the workmen and all the employees of his acquaintance. Finally, he had to give up the attempt to solve the mystery. This was all the easier that a yet greater one seemed to be in sight. The queer boats must be intended to sail, and the first effort in this direction was eagerly awaited by the reporters.

The fact that the vessels had no visible means of propulsion heightened their curiosity. But they had seen wonders enough, among which the launching was not the least, to make them feel that this might be no obstacle to their departure at any moment. So a constant watch was kept up day and night. Two days after the launching, there was another development. It was found that hundreds of the employees and workmen slept in the boats every night. The red-headed man bought a rowboat, and every evening went in it as far as the bridge

to watch what might be going on after dark. There was sometimes a great waving of signal lights, but nothing more. The boats were evidently the sleeping rooms for more than a thousand men. But what else? One moonless evening was so cloudy that it was impossible to see what was going on. All was dark. Not even a signal light was in motion. Whether the boats could sail at night under any circumstances was doubtful.

That they should start such a night as this was clearly impossible. So he rode back and went to bed instead of watching. Next morning he was awakened by an unusual hubbub. His office boy ran into telling that the boats at all disappeared. He could not believe it till he went out into the rain to see for himself. The report was true, not a boat in sight. This is the end of Chapter 5 of His Wisdom the Defender, a story. Chapter 6 of His Wisdom, the Defender, a story.

This Lieber Vox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 6. Mystery on Mystery. Notwithstanding the foresight which Campbell had exercised at every step of his enterprise, he was quite unprepared for the outburst of public objurgation that followed the disappearance of the moats. Pept up dissatisfaction with the secrecy in which he enveloped his proceedings had been constantly increasing. That he had the right to keep his secret was admitted, but men do not always like to see a right exercised. Capitalists, investors, and brokers everywhere

were dissatisfied that there was nothing in it for them. Patent attorneys and the patent office were almost scandalized to see the greatest inventions ever made brought into use without their protection. Manufacturers in general, and especially the great trusts of the country, were concerned for their future. The newspapers were dissatisfied because he would not tell them all about what he was doing. From these classes, the leaven of dissatisfaction spread to all the people. It needed only an occasion to burst its bonds, and now that occasion was offered. During the day following the disappearance of the fleet, the reporters, around Campbelltown felt that a march had been stolen upon them, and they were determined to

even things up, or know the reason why. Under the leadership of the red-headed man, they crowded to the gate, determined to see the manager, the secretary, or even the president himself, who was usually inaccessible. Their clamor was such that the manager had to admit them in a body, but he really could not tell them anything as to the whereabouts of the fleet. All he knew was that preparations had been going on for several days to give the boats a trial trip, but whither they were to go, he did not know. Then we must have to be. see the president of the company. I doubt if he knows any better than I do. You ought to know, and he must know, and we are determined to see him. Our papers are all calling upon us for news,

and it must be had. Words of their demands were sent into the office of the president. He directed their admission. He seemed very cool and collective. Well, gentlemen, you seem to be out in force this morning. What can I do for you? I am sure the newspapers ought to be my good friends after all the news I'm making for them. The president's unconcern was like the trickling of ice water on a much excited man. It took a moment for the red-headed man to collect his thoughts. When at length he could command his speech, he felt that, after all, there was very little to inquire about. We have noticed two or three hundred boats moored in the channel for several weeks past. Yes, I noticed them there myself. This morning they are gone. Quite right. When I

looked out of my window this morning, I could see nothing of them. He looked for all the world as if he wanted the reporters to tell him where they had gone. We wish to know where they have gone, where they are now. that's more than I know myself. They were under the command of Captain Gein, and he is the only one who can give the information. Are you sure they are not somewhere behind the island? But if Captain Gein is with the boats, we cannot find him until we find them.

That may be quite true, but it only makes clear the difficulty. Captain Gein has, for several days, had directions to take the boats out on a trial trip as soon as he was ready. If he found anything wrong, he was to come right back. If he did not, he could go as far as he pleased, even to the North Pole if the ice was not in the way.

Have you seen nothing of him or his boats? No, or we would not have been here. We wish to know where you think they are. What did you expect Captain Gein to do, and where did you expect him to go? My thoughts on the subject are worth no more than yours. I have told you where I authorized him to go, until I hear from him I can give you no further information. How long before you expect to hear from him?

I do not know. It may be this very minute, and it may not be for several months. "'What route did you expect him to take? "'The most direct route he could. "'Suppose he should sail to the pole. "'How long would it take him to get there? "'That depends upon how fast the boats are run. "'As this is their first serious trial,

"'I cannot tell you their speed, "'but I expect them to go very fast. "'Can you not tell us how fast? "'If I could tell you how fast, you would not believe it. "'At full speed they will be out of sight and hearing "'long before daylight. "'You speak as if you expected them to go as fast as a railway train.' I would certainly be very much disappointed if they would anything like as slowly as a train.

There was a look of astonishment and a great scratching of pencils. How many people were in the boats? There were a great many, but for the moment I cannot give you exact figures. Neither do I intend to do so. You may have more complete information on the subject at some future time. You must excuse me saying anything further at present. Although their curiosity was whetted by the President's expectations of the speed of the boats, they departed with the feeling if they had been unnecessarily excited by a very slight occurrence.

But the editors saw things in a different light. Thousands of men, many of them youths of respectability, had suddenly disappeared. No one knew how or where. They determined to get information on the subject and to make all the noise about it they could. Here was a chance to have their revenge, and it should not be allowed to pass. The reporters were all ordered to remain in Campbelltown that night, if they had to bivouac on the ground, and to ascertain the names of all the people who had gone on the mysterious expedition.

This work was vigorously begun by the reporters next morning, making a house-to-house canvas, and finding out what occupants have been unaccounted for during their last 24 hours and where they were last seen, and farmers along the shore were interviewed to know if they had seen the boats go down the river, but all to no purpose. The keeper of the lighthouse, about three miles below Camel Town,

reported that he had seen them pass about ten o'clock. This was the last that could be learned of them. Neither of the lighthouse keepers at Cape's Henry or Charles had seen anything of them. Every steamer and vessel which had been known to be on the Chesapeake that night or the following day was asked for information. Telegrams were sent to all points on the coast. The herald even fitted out a steam yacht to meet schooners and ascertain if anything had been seen. Not a scrap of information could be gained concerning the fleet after it had passed the lighthouse.

The evening papers, in describing the results of the search, called upon the public for information as to friends and relatives employed at Campbelltown. The result of all these inquiries was made known in time for publication in the next morning's papers. Between two and three thousand people had disappeared from the face of the earth. In all probability, the whole fleet of boats, chained together as they were, had sunk, either near their mouth of the Potomac or in Chesapeake Bay, and not a soul had been saved. Telegrams poured in upon the president by the hundred. Every newspaper in the country recall for further information, and some parent or near relative of almost every missing man

begged for information as to his fate. The clamor made a public reply absolutely necessary, and the following authoritative statement was telegraphed everywhere. There is no reason for solicitude as to the safety of the party which left Campbelltown on Tuesday night. Every possible precaution has been taken to ensure the safety of its members. Captain Gein was ordered to report immediately in the event of any accident or any failure of the machinery to operate successfully. The boats are practically unsinkable. Even in the heaviest storm, the only way in which one could be sunk would be by suddenly shipping a sea. If this accident did happen to one, she would be kept up by the others. But the accident itself seems practically impossible. Yet the expedition

was successfully started, there was no expectation of hearing from it for several weeks. Its exact destination was left to the judgment of Captain Gein. He was, however, to proceed as far north as he conveniently could. There is no probability that he would be seen by other vessels. Hence, no anxiety need to be felt because he has not been heard from. A. Campbell. This statement seemed to relieve the fears of those who had friends on the expedition, but it did not relieve the newspapers in the slightest.

When the Herald Yacht failed to get news from passing vessels, people would not believe that the expedition had ever got outside the capes. So Tugs were sent to dredge the river in the Chesapeake, in all directions below where the boat was. had last been seen. The absurdity of supposing that 250 good-sized vessels, with 1,500 men on board, could be sunk at so shallow a sea and not a trace be visible, was pointed out by Campbell himself. But the newspapers only denounced him the louder. The whole country resounded with the outcry. Had Congress been in session it would have been called upon to institute a rigid investigation?

It happened that the Maryland legislature was in session, and the pressure upon it for action was such that a committee of inquiry was formally ordered in accordance with the following resolution. Whereas, no less than 250 floating vehicles, having on board more than 2,000 men, many of them citizens of Maryland, have suddenly disappeared from Peter's Channel in the Potomac River, and whereas the fate of the said men is involved in mystery, therefore be it resolved that a committee of nine members, of whom six shall be representatives and three senators, shall be appointed by the presiding officers of the two houses, with power to send for persons and papers, and to investigate whither the said boats have gone, and what has become of the men in them.

This resolution was adopted with practical unanimity in both houses. Without losing a day, the chairman and two members of the committee went to Campbelltown, accompanied by a clerk, to make arrangements for beginning the investigation. They were admitted, shown into the office of the president, and received by the secretary. We represent, as you are probably aware, a committee of the Legislature of Maryland, ordered to investigate the disappearance of a fleet of boats from this place. We should like, first of all, to confer with President Campbell. I'm sorry to say that the President is not at home.

He left town on Thursday evening and is not expected back until Tuesday next. Where is he gone? That I do not know. So far as I am aware, he said nothing to anyone about his intended movements. The chairman looked surprised. We have seen no notice of his departure. Does he often go away for five days without leaving any word as to how he were to reach him in case of an emergency? He never did it before.

I did not know why he has done it now. You know, he does not encourage any inquiry into his affairs on the part of anybody here. What train did he take? I have no idea. He simply left his office a little after the usual hour and went towards the Coliseum. That was the last I saw of him. I never heard of such a man leaving without his movements getting into the papers. and without anyone knowing anything about it.

It seems as if our first task will be to investigate his disappearance. However, this is Saturday, and we can wait until Monday. Monday morning you may expect the entire committee to begin its investigation. We desire to conduct it here, because we can so easily examine the officers and employees of the company. Can you place a room at our disposal at nine in the morning? I would not like to promise you a room within the enclosure, but you can doubtless find one outside with great ease. The newspaper men have a building to themselves, as you probably know.

Perhaps you could get a room there in which to go to work. The new disappearance was, of course, telegraphed to every city and every newspaper office in the United States. In this way, by Saturday evening, every person in the country was inquiring after the president of the Anita Company, with a hope that whoever might know anything of his whereabouts would speak. But not a word was heard about it. When the committee reconvened at Campbelltown on Monday morning, the mystery was as great as

ever. Before noon, the work of the committee had made it yet darker. All the watchmen of the place had been examined to find out what hour and in what direction the missing man had left. The last person who had seen him was the gatekeeper at the Coliseum. At his usual hour about sunset he had left his office and entered the mysterious place. No one had seen him since. Five men were in the enclosure at the time. Neither of them had again been seen. Evidently he must be hiding in the Coliseum, the committee determined to visit the place and conduct their investigations there if they could secure admittance. The manager receded to this course and escorted the committee across the bridge and into the place. They noticed with surprise a number of low but rather large

buildings inside, with machinery of all sorts here and there. Of course they were amazed at the sight of the suspended daddies, but no one can tell what they were for. A few workmen were found in several of the shops, but nothing of the missing men. After two hours' search and examination, they left, as wise as they came. Determined not to leave until the mystery was solved, they passed the night at what was known as Newspaper House. Next morning the committee was convened at the usual hour. The secretary was the first witness to be examined.

I believe you said the President was to be back today. Yes, he is now in his office. How did he get there? We heard nothing of his return. I know nothing about it, sir. All I know is he came in as usual this morning. He said he came from the Coliseum. but it looks as if he had been hiding there all this time.

Did you ever know him to do such a thing before? I cannot say that I did. We must subpoena him immediately. While the subpoena was being made out, the crowd of reporters was more clamorous than ever. They are determined to know where you have been and what you've been doing, said the secretary. Unless we tell them something, I did not know what is to happen.

Very well, tell them a rest of a few days from time to time is necessary to keep me from being worn out, so I have been vegetating as far from my usual surroundings as I can well get. I will only excite their curiosity to more to know where you were. Very well, tell them I entered the Coliseum Thursday night and came out again Tuesday morning, and that is all I will tell them. When he appeared in response to the summons, he was so cool and unconcerned that the chairman hardly knew how to begin his questions.

Had he followed the impulse of the moment, he would have asked him where he had been during the last five days. But a little reflection showed him that this would be impertinence. So he briefly but formally set forth the object of the committee. We were ready to commence our investigation Saturday, but owing to your absence we were obliged to postpone it until yesterday. He looked for an answer, but none came. The committee will now be glad to hear any statement you have to make on the subject before it. I did not see that I can add anything to what I have already publicly said to correspondents and others. Indeed, the case is so

simple that I fail to understand what the committee can expect of me. I have a authorized Captain Gein, in charge of the fleet, to make a trial trip whatever he was ready. From his absence, I suppose, that he has gone on that trip. Until he returns, I cannot give you more definite information. Why did the fleet leave in the night? Council whom the witness brought with him objected to this question as irrelevant. The committee was only empowered to inquire where the boats had gone, and what had become of the men in them. No authority was given to inquire into reasons. The correctness of this contention had to be admitted, but it made questioning rather tame. After some consideration, the chairman continued,

These boats were not propelled by steam power, we believe. No, sir, they were not. By what power were they propelled? Council objected. The committee was not authorized by the resolution to inquire into the methods of propulsion. This was undeniable, and the question was withdrawn. The only objection I have to the question, said Campbell, is that it is impossible to answer it in an intelligible way. I am free to say that the boats are not propelled by steam power, but by etherene through the action of therm? Etherine?

What is etherene, and what is therm? These are terms which I have applied to certain new agencies discovered by me. I mean by etherene a new form of matter, having relations to the luminous ether, not possessed by any other matter formerly known to man. Thurm is an agent somewhat akin to electricity, also discovered by me, and still unknown to the scientific world. By these two agencies, I can exercise force and force. and produce motion in ways never before no.

The Committee admits that it has no right under the powers given by the resolution to inquire into the conduct of your business. Permit us to say, however, that both the Committee and the Country would be much gratified if you would explain the reasons for the secrecy in which you have enveloped all your operations, including so important a one, is sending several thousand men out on a perilous expedition. Council. My client, of course, understands that this question is quite outside the limits of the investigation. if he chooses to answer it, I am not responsible.

I can only answer in a general way by saying that when my reasons are once fully understood, I expect them to meet with universal approval. I have no interest in view, but those of the world at large. These can best be secured by the policy I have adopted. When the proper time comes, I shall have no further secrets, but shall gladly make everything known. When will that proper time be? It will be as soon as I can guard against any misuse of the power I wield.

Just when that may be I cannot say, but I hope we should all live to see the day. We understand, then, that in sending Captain Gean out on this expedition, you gave him no precise instructions as to his destination. I did not absolutely fix any destination for him. He was authorized to go to the North Pole if he could. What was the object of the expedition? Counsel. Again, I must make the point that the committee is not empowered to inquire into objects, but only into facts. The question was changed. What provision had the party for their comfortable subsistence during their absence? They were provisioned for three months. It is the utmost limit of absence I expect.

If they are not here before the expiration of that time, I shall have everything ready to send another expedition and search for them. But if their whereabouts is unknown, how can a search be affected? All coasts and bays where the expedition is likely to have landed can be inspected and examined in a very short time. If you yourself had a sun on this expedition, would you not feel a deep solicitude for his safety? I should feel no other solicitude than that arising from his having gone out on an expedition of a very extraordinary kind, possibly involving unknown perils. So far as any foreseeable accident is concerned, I should feel no great fear. Of course, we are all liable to accident and death at any moment, but I do not think the liability materially greater than it would have been

had they stayed at home. This terminated Campbell's examination. He felt greatly relieved by the contrast between the courtesy and consideration with which it was conducted and the noise which the newspapers were making. The committee left no stone unturned to gain the information expected of it. Lighthousekeepers, residents along the coast, captains of vessels, employees of the Anita Company, and reporters were all sent for and examined at length. It was ascertained without doubt that the boats were floating in Peter's Channel on the evening of Tuesday of the 11th, that several thousand men have been sleeping on board them for several nights previous, that on Tuesdays, that on Tuesday night, about 9 p.m., they had cast off the ropes which bound them to the shore and moved down the river,

that they had been seen to pass the lighthouse. From the time occupied in going down the river and the rate of speed in passing the lighthouse, it had been inferred that they were traveling as fast as an ocean steamer. Nothing had happened to the boats within Chesapeake Bay, else the bodies of the men or the wrecks of the boats would have been discovered. It was understood that under their orders they had gone to sea and proceeded to the northeast. Nothing more could be learned. A report to this effect was made on the 22nd. Next day, the following dispatch from St. John's Newfoundland appeared in all the newspapers. At five o'clock this evening, a small boat was seen oceanward approaching this port at an extraordinary rate of speed. It entered the harbor as fast

as a railroad train, dashing the water into a foam on both sides. It landed a man at the wharf, who went to the telegraph office to send a dispatch, and immediately returned to the boat. The man gave the names of himself and his companion, as William H. Robinson and James R. Clay, both being members of the Anita Company's expedition, which left Campbelltown for the north nearly two weeks ago. He reported the expedition as having safely affected a landing on the coast of Baffin's Bay, and that all were well on board. A number of letters were brought from members of the expedition for their friends, which were duly posted and will be sent by the next mail. To the great disappointment of the inhabitants, the two men

resisted all entreaties to remain, sailing away as soon as they had finished their errand, and before the reporters had time to interview. them. Great curiosity was excited by the movements of their boat, which seemed to float on the water as lightly as a feather. Rapid as were its movements, no mode of propulsion was visible. When at full speed it seemed even lighter than when at rest, merely skimming the water and throwing it up into foam as it went along. It passed the lighthouse on its way out at six o'clock, and twenty minutes later was lost in the distance. Any attempt to follow it would have been useless. This dispatch served to calm the public, but it may be feared that the relief it afforded of the newspapers was tinged with a feeling of

disappointment that nothing so sensational as the destruction of several thousand men can be reported. They continued their attacks on Campbell with undiminished vigor. Nothing less would satisfy them than the immediate fitting out of a fast steamer which should be sent off in search for the party and report its movements. They knew well that nothing of the sort would be done unless they did it themselves, and they concluded not to try. For the new mystery of Campbell's five days' disappearance, gave them ample material for discussion. This is the end of Chapter 6 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story. Chapter 8 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story, by Simon Newcomb.

This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 7. And another for the Duke. The disappearance at Campbelltown was followed next evening by an equally mysterious appearance at Leghorn in Italy. About nine o'clock, a small steamer entered the harbor of that town

and landed a slender, dark-bearded gentleman. Being recognized as belonging to the works on Elba, the customs officers allowed the boat to come in without question. The passenger went rapidly to the railway station and chartered a special train for Pisa, paying a good price in advance. There he passed the night, took the first train in the morning for Florence,

and was driven to the Villa Bernaletti. There seems to be some comedy of errors about or movements, said the Duke. I received a telegram from Elba a couple of days ago, telling me that you would be here this morning, but yesterday I read in the Gazette a long account of the sudden disappearance of a fleet of your boats from the place which bears your name, in which you were repeatedly mentioned as present on the spot. I therefore supposed that the dispatch must have been sent me by error. Will you pardon my curiosity if I ask how these contradictory statements are to be reconciled? I am really afraid to reconcile them,

else I should do so with the greatest pleasure. You see me before you, ready to take you and such of your families will accompany me, on the visit of inspection which I proposed to you last month. Doubtless that object was duly mentioned in the dispatch. We may talk about news blunders some other time. We had made all the arrangements for accepting your invitation, but yesterday's news made me suppose that, as a matter of course, you would not be here. Still, I do not think we have made any incompatible engagements.

We shall be ready after lunch. "'Your daughter will be of the party, I hope. I think something new to see will be for her benefit.' After much difficulty I got her consent to accompany us. But how are we to reach your mountain? Very easily I came in my dispatch boat. We just kept for use between the ports of Elba, and is now waiting for us in the harbor of Leghorn. The party, consisting of the black-bearded man, the Duke, and his son and daughter took a special train immediately after lunch, and passing through Pisa, reached Leghorn before dark, and embarked on the boat. They passed the night at Ferraro, and the following morning found them on their way up Mount Campane,

or as it is now called Yermaneburg, where the two men had driven 18 months before. The building of the so-called convent was making rapid progress. The lady superior of this convent will be a sister of mercy to the whole world, said the conductor of the party. The early evening found them back at Ferraro, where the great factories were in full operation, doing for Europe what Campbelltown was doing for America. Great was the astonishment of the Dugal family when told that their host could not even stop to show them the factories, but must leave immediately. The boat would be at their orders in the morning to take them wherever they wished. Will you excuse me if I come and go like a ghost?

Be my guests here as long as you choose, but excuse the necessity which I am under of departing this evening. He took the tug at dusk and disappeared, while his guests wondered what manner of man this was. When the Duke arrived home with his family the evening following, he had once asked for the numbers of the Gazette which had arrived during his absence, the first thing that struck his eye was a headline announcing the mysterious disappearance of the president of the Anita Company. Whether he had wandered away or had concealed himself in his own town to evade the committee of investigation, no one could tell. To the outcry consequent upon the disappearance of more than two thousand men was added another about this new mystery.

The paper for the next morning announced no really new event. It only described the continuance of the uproar which increased with every hour of the president's absence. Then followed a special evening edition, announcing the equally mysterious reappearance. The missing man had quietly walked out of the Coliseum early in the morning, as collected as though nothing had happened. He refused to explain his absence to anyone. As we grew old, the light in which recent events are seen is not quite so clear as during the prime of life. When the Duke thought of the sudden way in which, if his memory served him right, he and his family had been whisked away from his home, carried to the top of a mountain,

shone through an almost limitless manufacturing establishment, returned to his villa by sea and land, and now found himself reclining on his comfortable sofa as if nothing had happened. It needed some assurance from his family and some examination of his own memory to be sure he had not been dreaming. "'Is it really you who stand before me?' he said to his wife. "'I'm not dreaming.' "'What a question. You and I and all of us have been on a voyage to Elba, have we not?' "'Of course we have. Why do you ask such a question?' She looked alarmed.

"'Who took us to Elba?' "'My dear husband, what is the matter with you? "'If you ask such a question as that, I must telephone immediately for our medical man.' "'Oh, there is not the slightest need of that. "'I just want to hear you repeat the name of our leader and tell me all about it.' "'Why, you must know it was Professor Campbell.' "'The president of the Anita Company.' "'Of course, who else could it be?'

"'Now look at the gazetta, and you will see why I ask you. President Campbell was reported as at his post in America only last Wednesday morning, and he was there again this morning. Did you not notice something very odd about him while he was traveling with us, as if he were made up of some ethereal substance which might vanish into thin air at any moment? It is true that he made no such impression upon me at the time, but now when I recall his visit, I cannot help thinking of him as a sort of ghost that it never existed until he reached our house that morning.

I certainly formed no such impression. You recall the sudden and mysterious way in which he took his departure? Yes, very well. It was sudden and mysterious, as you say, but that was all. I cannot help feeling that no human being made of ordinary flesh and blood could have departed in such a way. I cannot altogether get rid of the idea that he dissolved into thin air the moment he was out of sight.

How else could he have been in America thirty-six hours later? I shall really be alarmed if you entertain such a notion. Another question presented itself to the Duke's mind. The student whom he had entertained at his house long ago, the professor who had visited them, the owner of one half of Elba, the mysterious president of the Anita Company, and his guide over the past three days,

were they all one and the same person? If the telegraph was to be believed, they certainly could not be. But who was who? The deference shown his guide at Ferraro during the whole visit to the works was such that he could not be less than Lord and Master. So there was nothing to do but wait for light.

Let us now return to the Potomac. During the next weeks, the building of the queer boats went on as if nothing had happened. No explanation of the mystery was vouchsafed. The president of the Anita Company answered all inquiries as if he saw nothing unusual to inquire about. Reporters searched in vain. Editors exhausted themselves in declamation and discussion without reaching any conclusion. Reporters were now freely admitted nearly every day. Occasionally, when some public man or a well-known editor paid a visit to the works,

Campbell himself would accompany him to show him what was going on and explain the luxury of the future traveler in these new vessels. Entering a moat and climbing to the upper deck, Campbell would show his visitor how beautifully the light would come through the magnificent arch formed by the upper part of the ship, and how luxurious all the arrangements for passengers were to be. While this was being set forth at such length, the visitor's thoughts were elsewhere. But how are you going to propel this vessel through the water? By etherene. Then the visitor would smile in silence. If he had had not known that the boats were actually going in a very mysterious way, he would not have believed. Knowing what he did, he wandered in silence and left no wiser than he came. A month had elapsed since the disappearance of the fleet. The press had continued to pour vials of wrath on the report of the Maryland Committee as hot

as those with which they had been visiting the Anita Company. During this interval, the letters which had been mailed at St. John's reached their destination. To the great embarrassment of the reporters, there was no indication as to the friends to whom they might be directed. To get hold of them, their only recourse was to learn the names of those persons whose relatives at the works were supposed to have gone on the expedition, and to ask them for the letters when they arrived. Several were thus obtained, and of course immediately published. They were, however, so tame as to lead to a very strong suspicion of having passed a censorship, a suspicion which our readers will not be slow in believing well-founded. There were glowing accounts

of the rapidity with which the voyage had been made and pleasure attending it, but no events were related. There was nothing about wind or weather. The coast where they landed and the country in the neighborhood were described, but nothing was stated by which the location could be determined. A very interesting experience had gained, but no one told what that experience was. The really good news, though bad for the newspapers, was that all were well, barring a few accidents to the men arising from the unusual character of the boats in which they sailed, but did not know when they should get back to their friends. The daily visits of the reporters to Campbelltown, were almost futile so far as any new results were concerned.

Every day the same story. Nothing more has been heard from the northern expedition, and nothing is expected to be heard for several weeks to come. If anything is heard, you will be duly informed. These queer cigar-shaped boats are being completed as usual. When they are finished and ready to proceed on a voyage, you will be notified. The veil of secrecy will then be lifted, and you shall see how the boats are propelled. The next development was the issue of a large, beautifully engraved invitation to the

following effect. The owner of the moats request the pleasure of Blank's company on Tuesday, May 29th, to witness the first public attempt to run the moats. The invitation was sent to the president and the heads of departments, the diplomatic corps, both houses of Congress, the leading officials at Washington, including the judges of the Supreme Court, and a few officers of high rank in the Army and Navy. The press came in for a liberal supply, each addressed to the editor of the journal in his official capacity. Presidents and professors in the universities and colleges were remembered. With each invitation was a card stating that a train would leave Washington for

Campbelltown at 2.30 p.m. on the appointed day and start on its return about seven. In addition to these general invitations, a select number received invitations to dinner at 6.30, with the information that the owner of the moats would take advantage of the occasion to make a statement respecting his policy. There were some half-dozen people whose presence for various reasons Campbell especially desired. Among them were Winthrop, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the French ambassador. Fearing that the latter might have some previous engagement, a private note of explanation was sent him in advance, to the effect that the exercises would be of the highest order of interest. The ambassador took the hint and accepted both invitations.

The British and German ambassadors both sent regrets. It happened that the former had a ball, and the latter at dinner on that very evening. Campbell was not in the least disavis. satisfied at this, as the presence of the Frenchman in the absence of the other two would serve a purpose in the intricate game he expected to play. Outside the press, the amount of public curiosity excited was less than would have been expected. The word moat had never been publicly used until it was printed in the invitation. People could only guess that it meant the queer, cigar-shaped boats. Who wants to see a mere attempt? We may as well wait until they run, then we shall see them without doubt. influenced by such considerations as these, about one-third of the invitees either declined or failed to appear.

The great body of the angelic order had gone with the expedition. Some twenty neophytes have been kept at home to take part in the unveiling. This is the end of Chapter 7 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story. Chapter 8 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story by Simon Newcomb. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin Chapter 8 The Great Unveiling

On the morning of the great day all was bustle and activity in the works of the Anita Company. A few remaining daddies and centipedes were taken down, supporting ropes were removed, and they were allowed to rest upon the ground. Then, instead of being tied as before to the top of the tower, they were fastened to the ground,

as if to prevent them from flying away. away. When the seraphim commenced their practice, they were astonished to find that the moats ran just as well without the supporting cords as they had done with them. The difficulty now was to prevent their flying away altogether. When the proper lever was removed, they rose in the air and could be directed at pleasure so far as the tethers by which they were bound would permit. It was a repetition, on a larger scale, of the scene in the uncanny workshop. Three of the best trained seraphs were then taken on board the loomotes, where they were shown how the moat was to be managed and run. Thus, everything was ready for the exhibition before the appointed hour.

Trains were kept running all day, and a large body of visitors, besides those who had been specially invited, availed themselves of the occasion to see the town and, if possible, witnessed the unveiling of the mystery. When the two trains bearing the invitees arrived, they were shown into the enclosure, where the moats, now two hundred in number, lay. The regular guests were followed by the crowd of sightseers, who were freely admitted. all were requested to arrange themselves round the borders of the enclosure. The gate by which the guests entered was near the middle of the northern wall. About a hundred yards in front of the entrance was a grandstand,

erected for the accommodation of the specially invited guests, the crowd being kept in the rear. As the stand was filled, the scene presented to the eyes of the occupants excited their curiosity to the highest pitch. Immediately in front of them was one of the huge structures we have already described. A cylindrically formed ship built of aluminum, 300 feet long in the body and towering 60 feet above the ground. One end terminated in a hemisphere,

the other in a round, blunt projection in the shape of a rifle cannon shot or the end of a cigar. The hole was painted light green. On this background was painted in immense words, the letters, To the ocean now I fly, and the happy climbs that lie where day never shuts his eye, up in the broad fields of the sky. This inscription extended along two-thirds the length of the moat, and might have been read half a mile away.

Above everything towered what was evidently the pilot-house, in which could be seen several men looking for all the world as if they were on shipboard, waiting for the engines to start. And yet, not only was the ship not launched, but there was no visible means of propulsion if she had been. On each side of the pilot house was painted the name Hesperus. Beyond the Hesperus was a sister-mote of the same size, the Cynthia. She also had her poetic inscription.

nature that heard such sound beneath the hollow round of Cynthia's seat the airy region thrilling now was almost wont to think her part was done, and that her reign had here its last fulfilling. To the left of the Hesperus, and yet farther down from the river, were two moats of somewhat smaller size, which were being fitted up most sumptuously. The nearer bore the name Concordia, and the inscription, Hok Uberm needern Erdin-Leven, Solisheim Belawin Himmelselt, the knock barren as donner-sweben and grenzen on the Sternveld. The other bore the name Frida. As the guests faced the hesperus, the river was on their right.

The space between the huge moat and the river had been cleared away, as if to make room for the expected launching. But every appliance for such an operation was wanting. The only noticeable object was a small cannon pointing towards the river. What could be coming? To the left, on each of the great moats, were the two hundred or more smaller ones we have described. Individually, they looked insignificant alongside their huge neighbors,

but collectively excited as much curiosity as the others. What possible object could there be in building so many of these vessels in advance? The name of the nearest one excited special attention. This was the airtight one we have already described, which now bore on its side the words, The Golden Age. It seemed to the guests that of any of the boats, as they called them, were worthy of this appellation, it ought to be the largest ones. They changed their minds in

less than 48 hours. The attention of Campbell was principally occupied with the Hesperus. He stood outside of her, giving directions to and hearing reports from a number of assistants who were continually running in and out of her and talking with the men in the pilot house. It was at length noted that this bustle ceased. The spectators held their breath as they saw the central figure of the whole scene, walk slowly to the stand, ascend the steps, and take one of the seats which had been reserved for his party in front. On his right set the French ambassador. On his left, President Winthrop and Mr. Justice Geary of the Supreme Court.

He first looked intently at the men in the pilot house, then, rising from his seat, he leaned forwards towards the right and made his signal to the man at the gun. The report of the latter was echoed from the sides of the moats. Immediately a scene was presented to the spectators which made each feel that he must either be dreaming or was being treated to a theatrical exhibition, the mighty Hesperus, with its thousand tons of weight,

began to move, then rose slowly and majestically in the air to a height of several thousand feet, swung in a vast circle, including half the breadth of the river in its radius, returned to its starting point, and slowly settled down in its place. Then one after the other, three or four of the lesser moats rose in the same way,

described a yet wider circle, and returned in like manner. A herald cried out a request to all the guests who wished to take a sail to enter the Hesperus and climb to her upper deck. Campbell entered first, followed by some fifty of the boldest of his visitors. Among the latter was President Winthrop. The opening in the bottom, through which they had entered, was closed,

and the word of command was given. In a moment, all on board felt themselves in motion, and looking through the glass sides which enclosed them, could see the ground about them, and the thousands of upturned faces, sinking rapidly downward. In three minutes the broad Potomac was below their feet and a rushing whizzing sound gradually increased. This was caused by the rapid motion of the moat through the air. Five minutes later, the whole breadth of the Chesapeake was spread out to view as the vessel rushed

forward in her swift course of more than 200 miles an hour. A great swing was made which brought Fortress Monroe in sight. A broad curve was then taken towards the north and in less than an hour with the increasing height, Baltimore and Washington were seen through the air. The emotion felt on board was such that scarcely a word was uttered, the passengers looked on in almost breathless expectancy, not unmingled with apprehension. When the moat returned and was safely landed, Campbell and Winthrop approached each other. Both recalled a conversation they had held four years before. Campbell spoke first.

Do you remember what I said to you at that interview when I asked leave of absence from my professional duties? Yes, I've never forgotten it. I have often been curious to know what you thought of my remark at the time. I was simply perplexed beyond measure, and had serious fears for your mental condition. Not before you began to astonish the world by your inventions was my uneasiness removed. Now what looks to me as if you might very well claim that this is the greatest day in the history of the world.

Perhaps it is the greatest day the world has yet seen, but I hope for a yet greater one hereafter. A crowd had gathered round, listening with intense interest at the conversation. "'Excuse us a moment,' said Campbell. "'I wish to say a word in private to Winthrop. Come with me.' Then when they had retired into a corner,

"'This is only the beginning, and it is not the day I had in mind when I spoke. The greatest day of the history of the world, if I can bring it about, will be that when war shall have ceased forever, armies and navies exist no longer, and universal peace reign over all the nations. Not till then will all my hopes be fulfilled.' that looks hopeless, and yet I must admit that if any man can bring it about, it's you.

Be sure you do not drop a whisper about it to anyone, but I mean to bring it about. The dining table was spread in the Coliseum, in the northern end of which had been erected a large banqueting hall. After the table was cleared, Campbell made an address, which is of such historic importance that we shall reproduce its main features. Friends and fellow citizens. I do not think you would look for any apology for me, for making some remarks on what you have today seen. Many questions must be presenting themselves to your minds. I fancy that one of the foremost of these questions is why I have proceeded so secretly

in the work of perfecting the application of certain forces of nature, the result of which you have seen before you today. This question will be answered when I set forth to you the state of things as it has presented itself to my mind. It is now a little more than four years, since I found myself in possession of a natural agent of which man had never before suspected the existence, an agent by using which, instead of being confined to the earth, as heretofore, he could fly from continent to continent with a speed which the wildest imagination of the poet never conceived. The inauguration of the golden age seemed quite within

my power. No part of the earth would hereafter be difficult to access. Man could fly above the air and, in the pure ether, make the circuit of the earth with almost astronomical speed. As a scientific investigator, the main object of whose life had been to benefit his fellows, my first impulse was to make known my discovery to the world and invite all men to share in its beneficent results. But a little consideration showed that this course would be productive for a long time to come of irreparable disaster. A situation would at once be created with which the laws and customs of men would not enable them to cope. Universal confusion would have followed the demonstration of my discovery.

I can hardly describe to you in detail what would have happened. First of all, it is clear enough that the stocks and bonds of all existing railway and transportation companies would, at a single stroke, have become nearly worthless, where the building of the new vehicles allowed to go on as rapidly as enterprise could produce them. A year or two only would be necessary to do away with railways, unless for local transportation. And steamships would have ceased to run within another year. The fall in railway stocks would have produced a universal,

panic and a corresponding fall in almost every other form of investment securities. Universal bankruptcy, with all the calamities attending upon it, would have been the immediate result. Almost every form of industry would have been stricken as by a paralysis. Widespread starvation among the masses, now deprived of employment, could have been averted only by an almost universal system of gratuitous distribution of food and other supplies. The work of recovering from the cataclysm would have been that of making our new world. Must I then abandon the project of doing to my fellow men a great good because they would convert it to a great evil? Must the secret be allowed to die with me, perhaps to be revived

in some future generation? After a long and careful reflection, it became evident to me that if I could retain in my own hands the power to guide the revolution, I could bring about all its benefits without its attendant evils. To do this, my power must be absolute. To gain absolute power, I must acquire the means of carrying on my enterprise before the public should be made acquainted with its nature. Had it been known when I founded this town four years ago that I was building vehicles which would do away with railways and steamships, the whole country would have been thrown into a panic. The pressure on me and the crowd around me would have been such that it would have been impossible for me to go on with the work in the quiet and systematic way which was

necessary to success. I must, therefore, whenever my object became public, be able to say to my fellow men, see what I can do for you, but do not crowd upon me to seize what I have got, and thus bring disaster upon your fellows. The keystone of my policy is that the power of the flying moats, which has been exhibited to you today, shall be used solely for the benefit of the entire human race. From this day forward, no person, not even myself, shall derive any emoluments from it, except those to which they shall be entitled as compensation for services rendered. I propose to call the vehicles which you have today seen running through the air by the general name of moats. It is brief and significant and will not fail to strike you favorably.

The moats so far as I have yet built and projected them are of three kinds. I propose to call them loomotes, wee moats, and hymotes. These little syllables are short and easily distinguished. The loomotes are the largest of the kind. The Cynthia and the Hesperus, on the last named of which, many of you today have made a wide circuit are examples. They are several hundred feet in length, and so fitted up that passengers may easily eat and sleep during their journey as they do on steamships. We spare our readers the description of the we-motes and high-moats with which they are so familiar.

The radical change which the running of the moats will make in the relations of nations cannot avoid having its political side, which must be taken account of and framing all plans. I propose as soon as possible to send a mission in one of the smaller loomotes to each of the principal European capitals. I desire that this mission shall invite one or more leading publicists in each country to a general conference with me at the earliest possible date. Perhaps this conference may assume a certain permanence in its deliberations. Its main purpose will be to advise me as to the political effects of the Moat Service. I cannot at the present time go far in anticipating the conclusions of these deliberations. One conclusion, however, seems clear. The Moat Service should be

able to assume a position of political independence, so far at least as the International Service is concerned. This end must be kept in view from the beginning. Whether this end be gained or not, it seems desirable that the supreme authority in directing the policy of the moats should have a special title. I propose that owner of the moats shall be that title until a better one is devised. I now wish to read one general regulation which I have established for the special benefit of the gentlemen of the press, with whom I desire to hold the most friendly relations. The profession of journalism is a trying one, in that it is necessary to publish every piece of news as soon as possible, which frequently makes errors unavoidable. It is embarrassing to have

such errors speedily pointed out by those in authority. To guard against this, the rule I have made is as follows. Neither the owner of the moats, nor anyone connected with their management, shall contradict any false report that may be published respecting the views or proceedings of those in charge of the moat service. After reading this, he hesitated a moment, and for the first time in the course of the day, a humorous smile began to spread over his features. I notice, he said, that there is a curious feature about this order. It forbids the contradiction of a false report, but does not forbid the contradiction of a true one. The inevitable conclusion is that, in case any report is contradicted, that very fact will give evidence of its truth. It is no doubt a pity that the order is so worded as to

make this possible, but the difficulty may be avoided by simply not contradicting any report whatever. I am sure such a policy will relieve our journals of all embarrassment. It is questionable whether even the red-headed man saw how astutely this order was contrived. The pleasure of publishing authoritative confirmations and contradictions could never be enjoyed so long as the order was enforced. The public would have to take what the newspaper said with just as many grains of salt as his thought proper. Our readers will not fail to note that in all this addressed the uppermost thought in Campbell's mind was evaded. This was the relation of the moats to warfare. He judged at best not to let the public know that he had this aspect of the case in

mind, until he had at least seen the importance of the problem by itself. His solution, as our readers have already seen, was completely worked out, but he wanted to see what conclusions the world would reach on the subject by its own emotion. After thanking the guests for their attention, Campbell invited them to follow him to a scene very different in his character to that which they had witnessed, but which he hoped they would not consider inappropriate. As they left the structure in which the banquet had been held, they saw in this starlight, an immense curtain spread before them, through the folds of which glimmered what looked like moonlight, though there was no moon in the sky. As their leader approach, the curtain opened

and exposed what seemed to be a Grecian temple. Its end was turned towards them, and its pediment was supported by a row of Corinthian columns. It was built entirely a phosphorescent wear, and was seen only by its own glow, which gave it the appearance of masses of transparent alabaster illuminated through their whole interior. Its walls seemed higher than the Coliseum in which it was built, and the surrounding gloom was made impressive by the soft light which it shed. The steps and the floor were of wood, and therefore dark, else the guests would have hardly dared to mount them. Entering the shining walls on each side, strengthened by roe, of palasters, seemed to extend more than a hundred yards and to be a hundred feet in height.

These dimensions were partly the result of a cunningly devised illusion in perspective. The light shed from all sides illuminated the whole interior without casting a shadow. Looking up, it was seen that there was no roof, and the sky, with a few stars whose light was not extinguished by that of the walls, added to the impressiveness of the scene. On each side were rows of seats, which the company were invited to occupy. presently strains of sacred music were heard, though no organ was in sight. Commencing as if at a great distance, its tones grew louder and louder. Then, above the farther end of the temple, was seen approaching in the air a crowd of beings

attired as angels and robes, which seemed to shine even brighter than the walls of the temple. Soon the great song of praise was heard, sung by the whole chorus of seraphim and their companions, and the language in which the largest part of the Christian church has listened to it for centuries. Today I'm Loudamouse, Tidominum, confitamour, Te Eternum, Patrum, Omnis, Terra, venerator. The song of Thanksgiving concluded, Campbell took leave of his guests, after inviting four of them to accompany him to his private office.

Never in my life have I seen anything so impressive, said Winthrop. It makes me feel as if all things sublunary were, for the time, at least, unworthy to occupy our thoughts. In it you have given us more to think about than the world ever gave before. That is, if I am not dreaming. I cannot feel quite sure that I am not, for the dreamer is often sure that he is awake. Let us dream on, then. I would feel as you do if I had not had this picture before my mind for years. Now let me tell you something. I want you to be nearest to me for some time to come, perhaps for good. And yet I do not dare to tell you all

that I have in mind. You perceive what a terrible responsibility rests upon me, and so conducting this enterprise that the ends I have in view shall. be reached. Then, turning to the others, I desire to have your frank opinions from time to time, either individually or collectively. I desire your help in getting the best men for each high and responsible station that has to be filled. In the case of the highest positions, the responsibility will be too great for the place to be sought after, and the honor too great for it to be declined. I'm not sure that you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation which has been created. In my speech, I have purposely omitted the main point, because I considered it best to say nothing

about it until the public should see and inquire for itself. It is evident enough that the first power which can get possession of a fleet of moats can land an army in its neighbor's capital, take possession of its government, devastate its cities with dynamite, blow up its fortifications, and do anything it pleases. It can make itself master of the world. The turmoil which the mad rush for money will make will be of small importance alongside the public danger from the use of the moats as instruments of conquest. What is my duty in this conjuncture? I feel myself responsible to God and man for taking such measures that the power I have created

shall be used for good and not for evil. What must I do to secure this end? On this matter, I want the advice both of yourselves and of the wisest men of the world. My own opinion I will state only in a general way. Every consideration forces me to the conclusion that the more aggressive my policy and the more fearless my determination, so long as I keep within the bounds of law, the better it will be for humanity. And when I say the bounds of law, I do not mean the law of the past, but the law that must govern the future. I have spoken of the mission which I propose to send immediately to the leading capitals of the world. I wish President Winthrop to be the leader in this mission.

I regard this duty as coming into the category of those I have described, which are neither to be sought nor declined. President Winthrop, do you accept this view? Winthrop asked for a time to think over the matter. No one knew what a day might bring forth. Campbell resumed. My policy, whatever it may be, must be pursued unflinchingly to the end. I want you to sustain me in this, and not to let me give way at a critical moment. One last word. It is necessary that the dignity of my position as the leader in this enterprise shall be sustained.

I trust that you will do what you can to assert it. Please keep within call. Perhaps you did not notice out there in the field a few moats smaller than the others and shaped quite differently. These I call messenger moats. They are intended for the rapid conveyance of envoys or of dispatches from one point to another, hence their name. One of these will be at the service of each of you, from and after tomorrow.

Either aid you can go where you please and confer with whom you think proper. I ask you to be my guests for tonight. In the morning, after breakfast, your moats will be at your disposal. This is the end of Chapter 8 of His Wisdom the Defender, a story. Chapter 9 of His Wisdom the Defender by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 9 A Voyage Through Space

Among the seraphim, one who had especially attracted Campbell's attention by his coolness, nerve, and silence, was the since-famous Captain Rogers. He had therefore been selected to run the Hesperus on the day of the unveiling, and was to take the Golden Age, the first of the first of the first of the first, worst of the hymotes on her trial trip next morning. This venture gave Campbell more real anxiety than the short trips of the Hesperus, because his experiments had already demonstrated what the latter could do, while the possibilities of the hymote were still untried.

Nothing less was projected than sending the golden age round the world above the atmosphere. So daring a conception, and one fraught with such possibilities, might well appall even the courageous author. No human being had been. ever mounted more than four or five miles above the earth's surface, not only from the possibility of the ascent, but because the air got too rare to breathe. How good men ascend entirely above the air into the celestial spaces, in fact, by the newly discovered force? Only one way was possible. They must hermetically seal inside an airtight tube and carry the air to

breathe with them. The contrivances for enabling them to determine their height and position, guide and direct the moat, purify the small supply of air at their air. disposal, and guard against the dangers they might incur during their flight through the celestial spaces had long occupied an important part of Campbell's attention. It was a prime condition with him that the first experiments in so perilous an enterprise must be made by men who had no near relatives. Another was that no one should be allowed to go, who did not volunteer to do so, after fully understanding the possibilities of the case. Rogers, having, in his own words, neither parents, wife, chick, nor child, was quite ready to be one of a party who could always thereafter say,

We were the first that ever burst into that silent sea of the celestial spaces. With the knowledge only of his chief, he had on several previous nights, risen from the Coliseum in the Golden Age to a height first of 50 and then of a hundred miles, in order to ensure that all the contrivances were in proper working order. Being satisfied on this point, he was eager to make the trip. With no resistance from the air, there was no resistance from the air, no limit to the possible speed of travel except that set by the limit to which the etherene within the tubes of the moat might be thermalized. The energy from 500 tons of coal had been

infused into the etherene, and this Campbell had calculated, would suffice not only to carry the moat to a height of a hundred miles or more, but to set it flying with a speed of at least two miles a second. But he warned his captain against attempting any such speed at first. You must find, by careful watching, what effects might be produced by the speed. Even the thinnest air, would speedily burn the hardest body passing through it at such a rate. Rogers had two companions to go with him. The duties of all three men were strictly defined. The captain was to occupy himself principally with the levers

by which the vibrations of the etherene were directed and controlled, and thus guide the moat and fixer speed. A second, called the sounder, was to occupy himself with the optical instrument by which the height of the moat above the earth's surface at any moment could be ascertained. This consisted mainly of a slender telescope which passed through, a vertical tube and through a small round opening in the bottom of the moat. At the bottom of the telescope were two reflectors so arranged

that when the moat was high above the earth, the man at the telescope could see a portion of the horizon on each side in his field of vision, and by the angle between them determined the height. All the fittings of the telescope and of the tube in which it slid had to be airtight, so that no air could escape from the moat through them. The upper parts of the tube and telescope were contained in a vertical case, about six inches square, which rose from the floor to which it was fastened. In front of it was a seat for the observer, who sat with a case between his knees and his body

bent forward, so that he could look vertically downward into the telescope. He was not to leave his seat while the moat was in rapid motion, except in an emergency, but was continually to report to the captain the varying height. The third man was to keep a lookout generally, especially at and through the glasses which closed the portholes, and at the barometers which indicated the internal and external air pressure. He was to watch the air blowers, to see that they kept the air passing through the sulfuric acid tubes and regulate the flow from the tubes of compressed oxygen, by which that element was added to the air so as to keep pace with its exhaustion by the breathing of the party.

In case of the fracture of a window, or any leak of the air, he was instantly to spring at the point and cover the leak with the nearest cushion. A bundle of New York Papers was taken on board to be thrown out when over some of the great cities, especially London. Rogers was a prize that it would be of no use, even were it practicable, to do this at the greatest heights, because the velocity acquired by the papers in falling through the vacuum would be such that they would take fire on reaching the thinnest air and never reached the ground.

Next morning it was after sunrise when Campbell, two laborers, and the three ambitious voyagers met at the entrance of the Golden Age. There was a warm shaking of hands. The chief was so affected by his emotions that he embraced the camp, captain before parting with him. Then, one after the other, the three men lay themselves inside the entering tubes and were pushed into the moat by the two workmen. The door closed after them, shutting them out of all communication with the world of men. A few moments of breathful suspense, and the moat rose from its supports. Then when all was clear, darted forward and upward.

In five minutes, it was a black speck, high up in the blue sky to the southeast. This speck grew smaller and grayer every moment till it vanished from sight. Then Campbell slowly walked to his home to hear what the world had to say. The sailing orders of the golden age were that if everything went right, she should first make for the Cape of Good Hope and land there in order to make a careful examination to see if she had suffered from the effect of her voyage. What to be done next was mostly left to the judgment of the captain. He could go around the world if he chose, but was warned not to go far into the shadow of the earth, but keep within sunshine, lest the intense cold of the celestial spaces might injuriously affect the walls of the moat. Let us accompany the party, and share

its experiences. For nearly twenty minutes, hardly a word was spoken. Then the sounder, looking up from his instrument, made his first announcement, fifteen miles high. How dark the sky is getting, said the lookout. In fact, the windows on the right-hand side were rapidly growing darker, as if night were coming on. On the left, the sun shone through the openings with a strange tins. Its rays seeming hardly to illuminate anything on their passage, but falling on the walls of the other side made a long row of bright bluish circles. In front of the captain was a white circular disk about a foot in diameter,

something like a large aneroid barometer. Figures went round its circumference, zero, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, etc., up to 150. Through the center passed a pointer, which, at the start, marked zero. This was part of the contrivance so connected with the etherene as to show the speed of the moat in miles a minute. When the sounder called out 15 miles high, the pointer had got more than halfway from zero to five, and was making a visible progress toward the latter figure every minute. The rush of the moat through the air could be heard.

The sound increased to that of a strong gale, then slowly changed to the roar of Niagara. Twenty miles, said the sounder. The pointer was nearly at five. The roar was diminished in volume, but taking a higher keynote. Twenty-five miles. I see the stars, said the lookout. The sky is as black as night. But the row of circles made by the shining sun still illuminated the interior,

so that they could see as if by a row of electric lights. The roar of the cataract was rapidly changing to the base note of an organ pipe. Soon the pointer had passed five, and was hopefully on its way towards ten. up to the present time the moat kept the same inclination with which it was started. That is, its prow was so much higher than the stern that to go forwards it was like climbing a steep hill. One had to hold on to the seats on each side. The object of this inclination was that her motion through the air might be end on, so that the resistance should be the least possible.

Now the air had got so thin that its resistance was of little account. So Rogers called on the lookout to come and help him operate the machinery by which the moat was to be brought to a horizontal position. This was worked by a double crank of which both men took hold. Two minutes pretty hard turning of the crank brought the moat into the required position so that one could walk on a level from end to end. Thirty miles! The voice of the sounder had a metallic sound as though coming from a throat of brass.

The tone of the organ was changing to a musical note of a high pitch, growing higher and yet feebler every moment. Rogers went to the nearest window, put his face close to the glass, and peered out. The sky was blacker than night, and though the sun was shone, shining brighter than ever, the constellations all sparkled as he had never seen them sparkle before. The number of the stars seemed countless. The horizon was not that of a sea. It was a foggy white border to a sky below. For now, there did seem to be a sky below. It was of a dark blue, almost black tint, over which, scattered here and there were bright clouds 30 or 40 miles below

and increasing their distance every moment. This blue-black sky was the Atlantic Ocean. Some bright patches near the horizon, less bright, however, than the clouds, were the Bermuda Islands. Forty miles! Notwithstanding that the pointer was now well past ten and still advancing, the sound of passing through the air had completely died away, and a silence the like of which man had never before known took its place. By each of the voyagers, not only the beating of his heart, but the pulsations of the blood through his arteries, it's coursing through the veins of his head, the contraction and expansion of his chest, the inspiration and expiration of air from his lungs, were all heard with startling distinctness. They dared not speak much above whispers,

for when they did, the brazen ring of their throats was frightful. The sky was black as ink, and the illuminated circles of the sunshine filled the interior of the moat with a light so blue that their faces looked to one another like those of corpses. A superstitious dread nearly overcame the sounder in the lookout, and the captain, to whom, and a trained physicist, the reason for the singular phenomena was clear, required all his nerve to keep up. They were now, to all appearances, above the atmosphere, with nothing about them but the pure ether of infinite space. Fifty miles! We must be completely above the upper limit of the atmosphere, said Rogers. I think it will be safe to put on speed. And they were already going fifteen miles a

minute, leaving a mile behind them every four beats of the clock. There seemed to be two men within the captain of very different sentiments. One was filled with speechless dread of the awful situation in which they were placed, and the yet more awful one into which they were running. The other was cool, collected, and fearless, so much the stronger of the two that he had his frightened companion completely at his mercy. The strong man reached for a lever which had been set and clamped when first they started and had remained untouched. He unclamped it, slowly turned it, and again clamped it. All felt the moat spring forward like a fiery, whole. when his driver has touched him with a whip.

Then a singular change was felt. The prow seemed to have risen up into that same position as when they started. All had to hold on to keep from falling down into the stern. Rogers looked through the window. The horizon, now nearly a thousand miles away, had in appearance the same inclination as the moat. The earth and the ocean far below were tipped up as if by some cosmic convulsion. The explanation was evident to his trained mind in a moment.

The speed of the moat was being constantly accelerated, and this had a tendency to force everything towards the stern, and thus changed the apparent direction of gravity. He called to the lookout to come again to the crank. A few more turns brought the moat once more into what seemed a horizontal position, though in reality the stern was now higher than the prow. Seventy miles. I shall keep her at about that height, said the captain. Let me know when she deviates. He took hold of a lever which regulated the height and set it at zero. Now for 15 minutes, they seemed immovable. Not a quiver was felt. And yet the magic pointer was seen slowly creeping around. It passed twenty, then thirty, more than keeping pace with the passing minutes.

Ninety was at length past. One hundred would soon be reached. The captain felt that the speed had reached, if not passed, the prudent limit, so he again unclamped the speed lever and set it at zero. There was again a shock, but this time in the reverse direction. The moat seemed to jump backwards, and are proud to fall with a suddenness that alarmed them all. all. In fact, the prow had really been down all the time, but they only felt it when the elevation ceased to increase, and the speed became uniform. The two men again turned the crank, now in the reverse direction, and the moat was again brought into a horizontal position. So complete became the stillness that all motions seemed to have ceased. The men felt as if a float in the ether.

But when they watched the clouds and oceans 70 miles below, the latter seemed to be slowly moving under them, passing behind, and disappearing one by one at the horizon. More than an hour passed thus. The gray streak was seen coming out of the horizon ahead. It was the island of St. Helena. "'65 miles,' said the sounder. "'We seem to be getting lower.' A squad of soldiers at St. Helena noticed one of their number looking up at the sky.

"'What are you gazing at? "'The name of all that's holy, what's that up there?' The sergeant, more intelligent than the rest, saw the men gazing and looked up also. "'Why, I'm blessed if that's not a comet. "'In broad daylight, too. Did you ever hear such a thing?' "'Soon the whole garrison, commissioned officers included, "'were gazing at the strange sight. "'Must be moving,' said the sergeant.

"'When I first saw it, it was right over Simmons Rock. "'Now it's over the guard-house.' "'He was right. "'It seemed to keep slowly on, then grow smaller, "'and finally disappeared from view entirely. "'One of the officers proceeded immediately "'to write an account of this strange comet, or meteorore, "'he could not tell which,

it to a scientific journal. But he did not know that there were three human beings inside the comet. He could only tell that it was first seen in the southwest, almost 45 degrees above the horizon, and had a tail half a degree long. Indeed, this tail was all that was visible. It moved slowly towards the south, increasing its altitude, and in five or ten minutes faded away from view. Let us return to the main inside. When the captain heard the announcement 65 miles, he gently he drew down the elevating lever to check the fall. The lookout happened while this was being done to be gazing out of the stern window. We were getting down towards sixty, said the sounder. The captain drew the lever yet farther down and clamped it. As he did so, the lookout exclaimed,

Do come here. What does this mean? What is it? said the captain, as he hurried aft. A big ball of light as big round as the moat itself. The captain peered anxiously through the window. Sure enough, there was a round sheet of yellow light quite bright of the center. The cause was evident in a moment. The atmosphere, which he had been taught, extended only to a height of 45 miles, must really be much higher, over 60 miles. Darting through it at the rate of a hundred miles a minute, rare though it was, it was burning off the material of the moat, which was being left behind in the form of a long flame. This flame he saw end on so that it looked like a round sheet of light. It was bright in the central park, because there he saw the light through its whole

length, which might be several furlongs. In a word, the frail vehicle which can contained them was a shooting star. Such consciousness, in connection with the general situation, might have paralyzed the faculties of an ordinary man. But fortunately, Rogers was not an ordinary man. He jumped like a tiger over the space that separated him from his station and pulled the elevating lever to its lowest limit. They felt the moat taken upward bound. In two or three minutes, the sound here called 65 miles, then 70 and 75. Before this, the flame had disappeared, and probably the danger was past, but there was still room for anxiety. How much of the walls of the moat had been burned away, it was impossible to conjecture until a landing should be affected. Whereas yet, who knew but the burning

might still be going on, but too slowly to be perceived? Not till one hundred miles was announced did he dare to stop the upward flight. After a half hour of suspense, the coast of South Africa was seen rising out of the horizon. The speed was gently slacken, and the moat at length brought to rest at a point as near could be judged, above Cape Town. Now came the greatest trial of the nerves, the fall through the 80 miles which separated them from the earth. True, the arrangements for commanding the motion were so carefully devised that there was no real danger,

but who could feel safe when falling, falling, mile after a mile, whatever the feeling it had to be done. The elevating lever was raised, and all felt the floor falling from under them. The sensation of falling continued, whereas in the previous experiences, there was no sensation of motion, except for a few moments at a time after a sudden adjustment of some lever. Now, however, the continuance of the sensation produced an attack of nausea,

quite like that which our ancestors had to suffer in crossing the ocean, and which they therefore called sea sickness. Rodgers returned the lever to the zero point when a minute had elapsed, but the stomach of the lookout went through a gymnastic performance of a very disagreeable kind. Although the falling sensation now disappeared, they were really approaching the earth at a rate of a thousand feet a second, and the sounder went through his calls, 65 miles, 60 miles, and so on, in regular succession. Forty miles, said the sounder. Now a gentle wind began to be heard.

It was caused by the rush through the air. The lever was depressed in order to diminish the speed of the drop. The effect was to make them feel as if a sudden addition of 30 pounds had been made to their weight and to bring on a return of the nausea. But the lever was turned back a little by the watchful captain as he saw that the speed of the drop had been brought within a safe limit. But how was he to know how heavily he might strike the earth, so long as he was hermetically sealed in the moat?

On each side of the ladder, below one of the windows, a small tube projected, through which a little air vein could be pushed. A simple contrivance enabled the speed of the fall to be seen at any moment by the motion of this vein. In due time, the moat touched ground at a point just east of the limits of Cape Town. Then, for the first time since he started,

it occurred to the captain to note the time by the chronometer that had been ticking alongside of his station during the entire journey. It read 9.50. He had arisen from the ground at 6.45. The entire journey had therefore occupied little over three hours. The uppermost question now in his minds how much the motive suffered during the few minutes that had been playing the part of a meteor. The exit was opened. He got into the sliding tube, was pushed out, and springing into his feet, began inspecting the moat, heedless of the crowd that was gathering around. At the first glance, heathed at the first glance, he was thunderstruck. She was white when they started. Now she was black as coal from end to end,

except on the hemispherical stern. Not only had the paint been completely swept or burned away, but the wooden casing beneath it was charred over its whole surface. On scraping the surface, it was found that the charring was less than an eighth of an inch deep, even around the bow, which must have suffered most. Below this, the oak casing, an inch thick, was quite intact, and as hard as ever. Relieved by this discovery, the captain consulted with his two assistance as to what had better be done. "'Cow me out, whatever you do,' said the sounder. Who had borne what was really the most trying duty of the three,

that of sitting constantly at his post while the most exciting experiences were going on, the moat may rest here and rot so far as I am concerned. I'm going back by the ocean, even if it takes a month. The captain proposed that before reaching a decision, they should lunch. They had only taken abides since starting, and their minds had been so much occupied during the passage that the wants of their stomachs had been unfelt. There was a supply of food and drink in the moat, but it seemed best to leave this intact, and go to the nearest restaurant for breakfast.

His two assistants went first, guided by the crowd, while he kept guard over the Golden Age, now minus its name, during their absence. They were asked to send him a pot of coffee and lunch from the restaurant. I need not describe the scenes around him while he was waiting. He had, of course, to talk with reporters the whole time. He had humor enough in his composition to talk of his journey as if it were a very commonplace affair, and to affect wonder at their interest in it. He talked of 60, 70, or 90 miles a minute, much as a railway engineer of the time would have talked of 60, 70, or 90 miles an hour. Only one little word was changed. Why wonder so? As he was taking his coffee, which he did a stride of the entering tube, with a plank thrown across it as a table, his humor and his ability to see why his arrival caused so much interest and commotion, both increased. To questions what he would do and where he would go next, he replied that he must get home to dinner.

My wife, an imaginary quantity, as our readers know, is very precise in her household arrangements and always complains if I am late to meals. However, looking at his watch, it is hardly 11 o'clock by our time, and I intend to take a spin round the South Pole on my way home. If I then find that I have time, I shall also take a look at the Pacific Ocean and make a little run over to the North Pole during the afternoon. I would return by way of Australia and China, but just now it is night in China and we should suffer from the cold. But you don't mean that you can visit both poles the same day or reach China before the sun rises there. Why not? I can go where I please as long as I'm back to dinner. You'll learn geography and know that it is only 25,000 miles round the world. Running 125 miles a minute,

you can soon cipher out that I have plenty of time to get round the world and wash and dress before six o'clock. All this talk was recorded by nimble pencils as it advanced, and immediately cable to the leading journals of the world, with results that we shall see in the next chapter. A good breakfast and a sight of the wandering crowd, which now included almost every inhabitant of Cape Town old enough to walk and well enough to leave his bed, had a wonderful effect on the sounder. He had heard some of the captain's talk and felt a shame that he should have to say, we cannot move after all because one of my assistants is afraid to return. So he agreed to try again, if only he could be relieved by the lookout during a

part of the run, changed places with him, in fact, from time to time. As Campbell had taken the precaution to have each of the three men trained in the duties of the two others, so that the moat would not be crippled by any disability of either during the run. The proposed arrangement was readily acceded to by the captain. The latter had telegraphed his arrival to the owner as soon as possible after landing, and now made preparations for continuing his journey. We spare our readers the details of the start. The curiosity with which the crowd watched the three men as they lay down one by one in the entering tube, and were pushed or drawn in by the others, their amazement when they saw the forward end of the huge vehicle raise itself up as if alive, and turn round so as to point toward

the south, and their bewilderment when it darted away all go without saying. It was now by the local time 4 p.m., though the chronometer in the moat only marked 11. The experiences of the voyagers were, for the most part, so like those of the outward journey that we need not detail them. Extracts from the captain's log, which he now kept and embodied in his report, will show the alien features of the trip. 1130, height 20 miles, speed, moderate. 1140, height 40 miles, begin to put on speed. 12. height, 100 miles, have driven speed nearly up to its limit, 125 miles a minute. Deem this quite safe so long as the height is maintained. Keep up a good lookout for any sign of meteoric combustion. 12.5. A bright line of white on the south horizon,

the Antarctic ice. 1215. All below is dark. The sun is shining on the horizon only. Curving course as fast as possible for speedy return to sunlight after passing pole. Continuous observations of zenith troub kept up. 1218. Passing South Pole. Height 110 miles. Speed, 1222. All is now darkness, except an illumination of the horizon in the direction where the sun is set. Direction of passage from meridian 10 degrees east of Greenwich to 170 degrees west. Core still curving so as to reach 160th meridian where sunlight will be reached. 1222. Sun rising, but all is darkness above and below. Now curving course towards the west, so as to run as nearly as possible on the 160th meridian. 1240, a curious spectacle.

On the left, all is darkness. On the right, the clouds below are brightly illuminated by the sun. They almost cover the ocean, which can be seen only in black patches. The sidelis. The sidel is complete and awful. The moat runs itself, except as the elevating lever has to be touched from time to time to regulate her height. Do not deem it safe to fall below 100 miles. 12.50. Clouds below getting thinner, so that the dark ocean is seen between them. 1.30. The sandwich islands are sighted by their lookout. Must curve towards west, so as to take an S-shaped course to the North Pole and not get into darkness after passing it. 150 past the Aleutian Islands and bearing straight.

2.7. Passed over the North Pole, now running on a meridian 15 degrees east. 225. Over the Baltic Sea, slowing down and making a sharp curve to west to pass over London. 236, speed 80, height 105. 245, speed 30, height 70. 250, speed 20, height 40. 3. Speed 12, height 30. Getting dark. Twilight below. England in sight. Preparing to throw out papers.

3.10. During the last five minutes, supposed to be passing over London, throwing out papers, cost some air. Barometer reduced two inches, one inch of which will be made up by oxygen from tubes. Shall now start on the home stretch. 325, height, 35, speed 20. 3.50. High. 95. Speed 90. Ireland seen far behind in the light of the setting sun. 3.53. Losing sight of Ireland. 4.10. Lookout reports patch of land ahead. Newfoundland.

4.30. Over the Nova Scotia coast, Massachusetts Bay, coming into sight. Put on the speed break with as great force as is prudent, can hear the joints squeak under the pressure. At this point, the log suddenly ceases. The report of the captain tells us why. A few minutes, not more than three or four, after putting on the brake lever to stop the moat, we were startled at what we all supposed to be a flash of lightning, accompanied by a single crack of thunder so sharp that I felt it as a slap in the face, and for a moment thought I was deafened.

At first, none of us supposed it to be anything else in an electric discharge, probably caused by the rapid thermalization of the etherene, which was now going on through the loss of kinetic energy by the moat. Soon a faint whistling sound was heard, the origin of which was obscure. After some examination to learn once it proceeded, I found that it had come from a minute hole in the wall of the moat, about two or three millimeters, one-eighth to one-twelfth of an inch, in diameter. As this hole seemed quite dark on looking into it, I suppose at first that it was a shallow one, which some workman had bored by mistake.

Yet when I put my finger over it, the whistling ceased, showing that air was escaping through it. Further examination showed that it passed in a straight line quite through the metallic wall of the moat and the wooden sheathing. looking dark only because of the blackness of the sky outside. Putting my eye near it, I can see a star through it. I whittled a piece from a stick of wood and plugged up the hole. Then we noticed that the sound had not quite ceased, and soon found a similar hole on the opposite side of the moat, which was also plugged up.

The holes were so small that the escape of air was too slight to cause trouble. The report then goes on to explain how, forgetting that a high moat at full speed, would run a thousand miles before she could be brought to a standstill, the captain had omitted to put on the break till he was over the coast of Nova Scotia. In consequence, they were carried to the southwestern part of Virginia before they could stop.

After hearing of the departure of the Golden Age from Cape Town for home, Campbell looked for her return with the greatest solicitude. The mishap by which her name had been swept away, and her color changed from white to black, which had been telegraphed to all the world, made him feel that Rogers had been imprudent in venturing to return after so slight an examination of the damages he could make. Great, therefore, was his own.

relief when, a little after five o'clock, an object was sighted in the sky which could be no other than the moat so anxiously awaited. She landed, without further incident, and all was safe. Campbell's Scientific Commission had no difficulty in demonstrating the cause of the strange stroke which the Golden Age had received. It is well known that shooting stars are caused by minute bodies flying through space at the rate of 20, 30, or even 40 miles a second. Though no larger than a pebble, one of these bodies, striking a plate of metal, would bore a hole through as a bullet would go through a plank. As they actually strike our air, they first pass through many miles of the rarest air of the upper regions, and are thus dissipated before reaching the

dense air below. But on passing through the side of the moat, the meteor instantly encountered the dense air within, where its high speed cleave the air like a stroke of lightning. We find that the two holes are exactly in the same line, so that an eye outside the moat, looking into one, can see quite through the other also. This is the end of chapter nine of His Wisdom, The Defender. Chapter 10 of His Wisdom the Defender, a story by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 10. How the World Received the News To narrate the events following this memorable 20th of May would require volumes. In fact,

so many volumes have been written on the subject that our readers would not be interested in the repetition of the details, even if we had room for them. We shall confine our narrative to a few leading features of the case, personal to the great actor, to which publicity has not yet been given. The first sentiment, especially in Europe, was one of combined amazement and incredulity. It was late in the evening in London before the American correspondence of the leading journals could cable the final event. The newspapers were nearly ready to go to press, and there was little time for comment. The general feeling was accurately expressed by the London Times, which commenced a leader on the subject in the following way.

As the order of nature changed? Or is some demon playing with the Atlantic cables, sending messages in both directions at its own pleasure without regard to the signals which the operators are making? The readers who peruse our columns this morning will be forced to the conclusion that one of these questions must be answered in the affirmative. A succession of dispatches which have the self-consistence and every other external appearance of truth poured in with the signature of our Washington correspondent during the afternoon and evening. The general press dispatches were equally explicit and consistent, all told the same story. A thousand people assembled to witness a long-expected event, the exact nature of which was

left in doubt. They gazed on immense structures of steel, 60 feet in height, hundreds of feet in length, weighing thousands of tons. These structures were visited from end to end and examined inside and out, without the discovery of any source of power or any possible means of setting them in motion. Suddenly, one of them rises in the air, ascends to the height of a mile, and sweeps in a vast circuit over land and water, hill and dale, carrying hundreds of people with it. A circle nearly 200 miles in circumference is described with a speed far exceeding that of the swiftest railway train, and the structure then returns and settles down into its former place without the slightest evidence that it had ever been moved.

If the cable is conveying real intelligence, our correspondent was himself on the structure and was carried round with it in its aerial course. That such a story could be anything else in the outcome of some widespread hallucination or diseased imagination, few will be disposed to believe. Are all the cables then operated by demons? Several dispatches of inquiries sent by us

over two different cables to our correspondence were promptly answered in such a way as to show that they must have been correctly understood by the agency answering them. All our expressions of surprise and incredulity found an answering response from the other end of the wire. These words well expressed the feeling of the small portion of the people who were up till midnight and in receipt of the news. The great majority had retired to bed after hearing vague rumors that something of a very unusual nature was transpiring on the banks of the Potomac. It would naturally wait for their morning papers to see what it was all about. But before,

people had finished breakfast, the morning papers were behind the age. About one half the directors of the Atlantic cable companies had spent the last hours of the night in the telegraph offices or in the cable landings where they could be reached to see if any signs of the cables being bewitched, other than the extraordinary statements that they were carrying, could be discovered. By morning they received messages in such number and of such consistency that further doubt seemed scarcely possible. All day the newspapers kept issuing an unbroken stream of extras without being able to supply the great demand. Of course, when Parliament met in the afternoon, his Majesty's government was overwhelmed with inquiries as to what had happened. Much chagrin was

expressed when members had to be informed if the government was without any important information not already found in the public prints, owing to the fact that his Majesty's Ambassador in Washington had been otherwise engaged during the reported event. The Ambassador had been constantly telegraphing all the morning, but his dispatches were based entirely on the reports of the news gatherers. without adding anything new. They only confirm the truth of these reports by showing that he saw no reason to doubt them. Scarcely had this been said when Newfield was added to the flame by the reported arrival of the Golden Age at the Cape of Good Hope, with the story of its captain and crude that they had left Campbelltown that morning, and had made the passage in three hours. The first effect of

this news was to renew the suspicions of some demoniac illusion, because it seemed to involve, if possible, something yet further beyond the bounds of credibility than the sweeping of the hesperus through the air. Among the scores of scientific experts interviewed was Professor Gale of the University of London, the leading physicist of England. He said, accepting the laws of nature as they have always operated from the beginning of time, what is reported is a simple impossibility. From the Potomac to the Cape of Good Hope is some 7,000 miles. A very simple calculation will show that to make this distance in three hours, a speed of more than 3,300 feet per second would have to be maintained.

An object like that described going through the air at such a speed would be heated red-hot during the first half-hour, and would be completely dissipated, burned up, so to say, by the friction of the air during the next half-hour. The report says that moat was completely blackened and had all her paint swept away, said the reporter. I can hardly regard that statement in any other light than as a concession to plausibility, continued the professor.

Just think of the absurdity. the mere air pressure would have been a thousand tons or more, enough to sweep away any possible wooden casing and burst in the end of the moat. And where is such a power to come from? Either, as the Times said this morning, the order of nature has changed, or some singular deception is being practiced. We do not wish to harrow the reader's feelings,

and therefore draw a veil over those of Professor Gale, when it dawned upon his intellect that a moat flying above the air would evade his seemingly insuperable objections, and that one which could rise afoot, might as well rise a hundred miles. In fact, when he learned the truth, he could not help making a disadvantageous comparison of his own wit with that of the French lady

who, when told that some decapitated martyr, I forget who, had picked up his own head and carried it half a mile, promptly replied, See la Prémerer Pachique-Té. It happened that Professor Gale had a colleague whose intellect bore a remarkable resemblance to that of Campbell. He was not only one of the most eminent mathematicians of England, but in his writings were found the profoundest researchers

that had ever been published in the hidden realms of philosophy. When he first heard the news, his brain was racked to imagine how such a thing could be. The theory which he thought out was only confused instead of being shattered by the news from the Cape. It was set forth in the following letter. To the editor of the Times. The event said to have occurred yesterday on the banks of the Potomac is not so incredible to me as it appears to you. It is only its suddenness that makes it appear so. How would it have been if neither telegrams,

nor telephone had ever been known to us until some enterprising expert had secretly stretched wires and cables under land and sea around the globe, perfected his apparatus, trained his operators, and then asked us to come see the result. The leading men of the empire are invited to the newly founded telegraph and telephone office, and the king himself is invited to step to the phone and address his cousin in Berlin. The latter answers in a clear voice, which the king at once recognizes. He carries on a conversation. Presently a ticking is heard. and a printing machine begins to operate. The distinguished assembly is told that the machine is worked by an operator in Australia.

Would one of those present cease to believe that the whole affair was a delusion until a mechanism was explained to him? I trot. Now let us see if we cannot conceive a way in which the results reported the last two days might be brought about. It has long been well understood by physicists that the luminiferous ether, which so far as we know fills all space, has the properties of an elastic solid,

clear and invisible, like an absolutely transparent crystal. Why matter should move through this solid as it does without encountering the slightest resistance is a mystery which fails to strike us in its true character because of the familiarity of the fact. Professor Campbell announces that he has succeeded in producing a kind of matter which exerts a new reaction upon the ether when made to vibrate in a certain way. If he has done this, then nothing is simpler than to produce the result described. A mass of matter of this kind might be made to fly through space, carrying any bird in whatever as lightly and easily as a bird flies through the air.

The motion may be swifter than that of a bird, as the propagation of light through the ether is swifter than any motions we see on the earth. These considerations lead me to look for a complete confirmation of everything reported by your correspondent. WK. Constant. The excitement in the business world on both sides of the Atlantic beggar description. The exchanges and brokers boards were everywhere in a state of such wild uproar that business had to be suspended as a measure of public safety. safety. But for the assurance given by Campbell that the interests of all holders of stock and railways

and other transportation companies should be carefully guarded, a vast amount of these properties would have been sacrificed by their owners in a moment. The form of the announcement tended to discourage sales because he had stated that only original holders on the dating question could look to him for aid. Campbell had been planning everything for years, with such minute attention to details that he had little to do but select the men who were to act and send them on their several errands. sites for moat stations had already been purchased in the principal cities, and two weeks had not elapsed before moats began to run between New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco. The Hesperus and the Cynthia were designed to ply between New York as one terminus and Paris and London as the others.

But foreseeing the temptation to which governments might be exposed, they were not sent on their first voyage until arrangements could be made with the respective governments in France and England to guarantee their neutrality. The mission to the principal stations of the world foreshadowed in his speech at the banquet was organized in the course of two weeks. The principal capitals of Europe, as well as those of China and Japan, were to be visited. In each country, one or more citizens learned it in international law were to be invited to take part in a general council as to the policy to be pursued by the owner of the moats in order that the beneficent end he had in sight might best be carried out. These gentlemen were expected to deliberate during the voyage from place to place, and a

their conclusions would depend to a certain extent the future policy of the owner. At each capital, a personal representative of the owner was stationed, whose business it was to establish the closest relations both with the government and with commercial bodies of every kind, with a view to reporting on public feeling as to the policy best adapted to each country. The head of the whole expedition was President Winthrop, who had been selected by Campbell for the duty, not so much on the score of friendship as of confidence in his general fitness for the work.

A somewhat embarrassing question was to devise a method of procedure which would not sacrifice Campbell's independence, and would at the same time not ignore the functions which the government of the United States might legitimately expect to assume in the affair. To secure the latter object, a formal letter was written by the owner to the Secretary of State, informing him of the purpose and objects of the expedition, and asking that special arrangements for its visit to each capital should be made by the representative of the United States their resident. In this way, Mr. Winthrop was placed in direct communication with each American ambassador, whom he apprised of his intended movements. The moat Frida was chosen to carry the party, doubtless on account of the significance of its name. It left on the morning of May 31st.

Its arrival at London next day was looked for with breathless interest, not unmixed with incredulity and fear. A point in Hyde Park had been offered the American ambassador by the British government as a place for its landing. At ten o'clock in the morning a black-looking speck was sighted in the clouds. It speedily grew larger. When no doubt could remain, the police cleared the crowd from the chosen spot, and the large object slowly and majestically descended towards the ground.

The American ambassador was on the spot and was received by Winthrop at the door of the moat. Arrangements were soon made for a visit of the king, pending which no other visitors would be received. His majesty was duly advised and fixed on the hour of five o'clock that afternoon. Campbell would have been impatient of the delay, but Winthrop was well enough trained to make due allowance for the dignity that must hedge the person and movements of a monarch. At the appointed hour, the king and his suite arrived, escorted by the American ambassador. The royal party was welcomed by Winthrop at the door of the moat and taken to the upper deck. Here the following address was made to the king. May it please your majesty.

I am directed by the owner of the moats to assure your majesty of his high appreciation of the honor done him by this visit. He trusts that the determination he has expressed to administer his extraordinary powers in promoting the welfare of the entire human race will be favored with Your Majesty's approval. Animated by this motive, he has deputed an able and distinguished citizen of the United States to reside in London as his personal representative. The functions of this representative will be to invite the closest relations with representatives of British interests and acquaint himself with the needs of commercial bodies and other organizations in order that he may report from time to time what policy and what measures on the part of the owner of the moats

will be most conducive to their usefulness as an agency for promoting the welfare of Your Majesty's subjects. The King was quite unprepared for so formal an address, but was well enough trained to make a very brief but quite proper reply, expressing his appreciation of the sentiments and intentions of the owner of the moats. There was then a somewhat embarrassing pause. The King was naturally interested to see the distinguished representative alluded to, who was to fulfill so important a part in acquainting himself with the views and wishes of the British people. Mr. Winthrop and the citizen himself were quite desirous that the latter should be presented to the king. The privilege was then asked of presenting him, which was accordingly done.

We mentioned this proceeding because it looked so much like the presentation of an ambassador from a foreign power to the Court of St. James. It looked a little that way to the American ambassador himself, while the procedure was so adroitly managed that an escape from the conclusion was very easy. One great and indisputable fact had begun to dawn on the minds of men. The moats might be new and terrible engines in future warfare. As this fact became more and more evident, it caused universal alarm. The impossibility of defense from an attack of a fleet of moats was felt on all sides. It was clear to everyone that something must be done to guard against the danger, but what to do no one knew.

On the problem thus presented, Americans, as representative by Mr. Secretary Bain, looked with less concern than others because they felt that the moats belonged to their country and would therefore be used for no purpose antagonistic to its own interests. True, this view of the case was a little weakened by the knowledge that several hundred of these vehicles were in the course of construction on the island of Elba, but although this island was still under the jurisdiction of Italy, the danger was minimized by the fact that the moats still belonged to one of their own citizens, who alone would be likely to control them.

On the other hand, the citizen repeatedly speaks of himself, rather as a citizen of the world than of the United States, what will be his policy as regards the great political power which he wields. The second morning following the arrival of the moat in London and the ceremonies we have described, a messenger arrived at Campbelltown from the Secretary of State, bearing the following note. State Department, June 11, 1945. Dear sir, I am directed by the Secretary of State to say that he will esteem it a very great favor to have you call on him at your earliest convenience, this afternoon, if possible. He wishes to consult with you on a matter of the highest importance both to yourself and to our government. If not convenient to come this afternoon,

please state the time of your arrival in order that the Secretary may arrange his engagements to suit your convenience. Very respectfully, James B. Smith, private secretary. An answer was immediately dispatched that the owner of the Motes would call on the Secretary at three o'clock that afternoon. He arrived promptly on the hour, and was at once ushered into the private office of the Secretary, whom he found awaiting him. Mr. Campbell, I have a request of this interview because it must be quite evident to you that the enterprise you are inaugurating has an interest not attached to any ordinary affair, since it concerns not only the welfare of every citizen of our country,

but must be intimately associated with the international relations of nations, our own included. You will therefore see that it is a part of the duty of our government to assure itself that your proceeding shall not either imperil its relations with other governments, compromise this government, or prove in any way detrimental to the interests of our country. Acting on these considerations, the President and his advisors have been deliberating on the measures to provide against any evil of the kind to which I have alluded. Naturally, you are yourself a very important factor in any arrangement that may be made.

The responsibility which you have assumed is fully recognized by all. It is therefore the desire of the President that you be consulted as to every measure taken and duly informed of all that may be done. On the other hand, it is expected by this government that you will, with equal frankness, recognize its superior responsibility in the case, especially its responsibility to foreign nations for your own acts. I must therefore ask your permission to make some inquiries, which I should have no right to make of an ordinary citizen, as to your future policy in organizing a moat service. Mr. Secretary, I fully recognize the propriety of all you say. I should be glad to answer

any questions you ask so far as I am able to do. At the same time, you will have observe that it would not be a mark of the highest wisdom on my part to reach any absolute conclusion as to what I shall or shall not do in advance of the contingencies that may arise. I have certain great things in view. I mentioned these in a speech at a banquet which I regret that you were unable to attend, but which you have perhaps done me the honor to read. I have done so, and there are a few points in it about which I wish first to inquire. You spoke of the desirableness that the organization for running the moats should enjoy a position of political independence.

Will you kindly explain the exact meaning which you attach to that phrase? The meaning attached to the phrase seems to be as clear as circumstances permitted to be. It must be evident to you, Mr. Secretary, that the control of the moats carries with it enormous power, the power of doing not only a good heretofore unknown, but of bringing about untold miseries. In a word, the power which controls a fleet of moats can land armies where it chooses and conquer whom it chooses. Moreover, the commercial relations of nations will be made much closer when intercourse is carried

down in so easy and rapid a way, as it soon will be. Under these circumstances, it seems very desirable that the moats be controlled by no one nation, because that nation would practically command the world. My view, therefore, is that the control should be exercised by some neutral and independent power, obliged to provide positively against the use of the moats for the purpose of conquest of any people whatever, or in the special interest of any nation, at the expense of other nations. You have partly explained the other question I was going to ask you as to your intended use of the moats for the benefit of the entire human race. Your own country,

apparently, having no higher claim on you than any other? If I understand correctly, this is your view? I tried to make that view perfectly clear in my address, and I do not see how anything can be added to what I have stated. Please remember that this country will necessarily have an enormous advantages at the start, which may well become permanent. Such being the case, I cannot feel under any obligation to favor it at the expense of other nations. Now a third point. The attention of the department has been called to the proceedings at the presentation of your personal representative to the King of England, which are said to have been conducted in such a way as to imply that you were yourself, an independent sovereign,

sending an ambassador to a foreign court. I trust you will deny any such intention. I certainly had no such intention. I suppose my right to have a personal representative at the capital of any country is unquestioned. The presentation of Mr. Mr. I certainly has been in question. The presentation of Mr. Robinson to the King had no more significance than the presentation of any other citizen of the United States. It was done simply because he and the King were both on board the moat, and the King was willing to make his acquaintance on account of the very important position which he occupied. That is quite satisfactory. But I am not satisfied with the sentiments you express as to your duties toward your own government.

You must be perfectly aware that this government cannot for a moment tolerate any act of one of its own citizens, looking to the formation, by his own will, of an organization independent of it. It is responsible to foreign nations for your acts. It is therefore imperative that you act only as authorized by it. So far as I am aware, you have not yet done any overt thing calling for repression. At the same time, you must be quite conscious that one of your proceedings has caused and is causing great anxiety throughout this country, that is, the sending of an expedition, several thousand strong,

to some unknown point in the northern regions, and refusing to give any information as to its' purpose or object. The reasons for sending the expedition out were implied in my address. It was necessary to train a large body of men in the use of the moats, and who had their training carried on without the public knowing anything about it. Otherwise, the calamities which I described would have at once been brought on, an unending confusion would have been the result. At the present time, there is no object in bringing the expedition away from where it is now, until I shall need the services of its members. You will, I trust, deem it right, that I should

speak with perfect frankness. I must say that your explanation for still keeping the force out of sight seems to be unsatisfactory. But it is useless to go into details. I can only caution you once more against taking any measures which will call for repressive action on the part of the government. Meanwhile, there is another point which I have to mention. The President contemplates calling an international conference to negotiate and deliberate on the measures to be taken by the various governments of the world, to protect them against the dangers you have pointed out. It seems to me eminently proper that you should be named as one of the conferees. I apprise you of this because the president has expressed a special desire to hear your views on the subject. Will the specific

purpose and end of the conference be named in the call? I cannot say, that matter has not yet been decided upon. At present the idea is only assuming shape. I do not think I ought under any circumstances to take part in such a conference. For me to do so as a representative of this government, with all due deference to your views, would not be wholly compatible. with the responsibilities which you have in part recognized in my position. What interest I shall take in the conference will depend upon its objects. If you will allow me a moment to put my views of the manner in writing, I will do so. A tablet was handed to him, and he wrote as follows.

Call a conference to agree upon the immediate and complete abolition of the military and naval establishments of all the powers taking part in it, and the disbandment of all troops, were ever employed, not absolutely necessary to the protection of life and property against unlawful violence. He handed the paper to the secretary, you read it, and re-read it, slowly and carefully. This is going altogether too far. It cannot be thought that any of the great powers would consent to enter into a conference on such terms.

This government would not do so itself. It must keep the influence do it as one of the leading military powers of the world. All it can agree to is that this power shall not be used as to imperil the interest of any other independent nation. If all nations shall agree, the power shall be restricted so far as the consent, of opinion may deem proper. I fully concede, replied Campbell, that the leading nations of the world

would not be likely to agree to any such proposal. For that reason I shall feel little interest in the proposed conference. My own private opinion is that the interests of humanity cannot be guarded by any measure less drastic than the one I have suggested. Meanwhile, all I can do is to prevent, to the best of my ability, the power which I wield, being used in an attack on the rights and liberties of any people, whatever. more than that I cannot say. Is there anything to be added? If not, I have only to thank you for your

kind consideration in all that you have stated. The two men shook hands and took leave of each other. The interview had greatly increased the solicitude of each as to the intentions of the other. The fears of the secretary that Campbell contemplated some move incompatible with the duty of a citizen to his own country, and likely to complicate international relations, were not allayed. Campbell saw that the policy he had in contemplation would meet with no sympathy in the Department of State. Thought a voice sounded in his ears. He who would wield the power of a God must bear the responsibility of a God. Besides the personal representative would have been presented to the King, and who was not expected to take any active part in business negotiations, Campbell had sent out in the mode a skilled attorney and a man of business,

with a view to making arrangements with the British and French governments to run the two great loomotes between New York. York and their respective capitals. The great point aimed at was that each government should agree to respect the neutrality of the moats under all circumstances. In the course of a week, a contract was made with a duly authorized representative of His Majesty's government, in which occurred the following clause. It is agreed by the party of the first part that the moat to be run under the present contract is guaranteed against detention or seizure by any power or whatever, while within the jurisdiction of His Majesty's government, except as provided in the following clause. If it should appear that any persons or parties in an arriving moat designed to inflict unlawful

injuries upon His Majesty's subjects, or upon their property, or to make war upon the forces of his said majesty, then his Majesty's forces shall have the right to enter said moat and seize and remove all such persons. The moat shall then be released and restored to the owner. Under these arrangements, the Lou Moat Hesperus started on his first voyage to London, and the Cynthia left for Paris on the day following. In the meantime, the expedition under Mr. Winthrop had nearly completed the tour of the capitals of Europe, and was about to start for Peking when an unforeseen event disturbed the current of the owner's plans. This is the end of Chapter 10 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story.

Chapter 11 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story by Simon Newcomb. This Lieberbox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 11. the red-headed man scores the greatest beat in the history of journalism. If telegraph wires could feel the weight of the messages they were conveying, the whole line from Washington to Campbelltown would, within a week after the interview with the Secretary of State, have bowed beneath its burden.

Long before Campbell was up, dispatches came in so rapidly that the operators found it almost impossible to take them. The messengers carried them to headquarters in handfuls. The purport of all was a good deal the same. Please deny report in New York Herald this morning. Please allow our representative an interview on the subject of your intentions, as stated in the Herald. Please explain situation. What authority has the Herald for his statement?

The Bung Town Banner will gladly publish anything you have to say on the subject, and so on, in an endless chain. During breakfast, it was Campbell's habit to read, before their classification by his secretary, both the newspapers and such dispatches as might have arrived. The moment he entered the room and took his seat at the table, he saw that something extraordinary had happened. There was such a stack of dispatches that it seemed hopeless to attack them. They were still falling, like snowflakes.

A glance at two or three was sufficient to show that the issue of the New York Herald that morning must contain something of a very striking character. As soon as the paper arrived, he called for it and examined it with eagerness. The very first page, usually does. devoted to advertisements, was taken up with a blazing article in double-edded type, with the most striking phrases printed here and there in red and blue colors. The heading took up about half the page, and the first line was printed in red letters

an inch high, the secret out. What Archibald the Great has been doing and thinking. What he is going to do? The armies of the world to be swept from the earth. The navies to be sunk. The United States of the world to be organized. King Archibald I, the first, to assume the reins of universal government, full account of his plans from our special correspondent.

This was the prelude to a dispatch from our correspondent at Campbelltown. It was a paper such as no one but a herald reporter could write. The phrases in red or blue were in type twice as large as the pica of the rest of the article, glancing down the page at them, such expressions as these caught the eye, machine guns, dynamite earthquake makers, hail storm of bullets, his most gracious majesty Archibald the great ruler of the world. The dispatch extended over to the second page. Each of the six columns on this page was headed with the words

The Secret Out in red letters. Campbell read the first two columns and threw the paper down in dismay and disgust. The words which he read were these. The whole human race may well tear its hair when it sees its stupidity in failing to divine the objects of the man who, during the past four years, has filled so prominent a place in its eyes, that no one should ever have guessed his motives and seen through his purposes, will hereafter seem incredible. All that was dark is now light, all the eccentricities of his conduct,

his singular ways of doing business, his constant refusals to accept even the most advantageous offers of cooperation, the mystery which enshrouded all his movements, his regal inaccessibility to the public, all are now explained. When he invented his thermic engine, people wondered why he did not patent it, and proceed with the manufacture on the largest scale. For a long time they did not even guess that he had anything in view. Then his secrecy was explained by showing that he had something else in view, no less than the building and running of the moats. Even these were enveloped in mystery until it was absolutely necessary to his plans that they should be shown to the world. No one could for a moment believe that the excuses he made were his sole reasons for secrecy. No one has given any credence

to his explanation why, up this day, thousands of his men and hundreds of his moats are still practicing at some unknown, uninhabited point in or near the Arctic zone. Now all is clear, as it should have been from the very beginning. He has intended all along to become the ruler of the world. In a few weeks, everything will be ready for the final move. Is it not singular that among the few people who managed to see the strange portholes pierced in the sides of more than a hundred of the moats, no one suspected what they were for?

Out of each of these holes now pierce a machine gun, flying through the air, taking up any position they please, dodging every weapon that can be aimed at them, taking every hiding place within their range of vision, these phantom ships are invincible. Under the hailstorm of bullets from their artillery, every army in the world will melt away like snowflakes under a tropical sun. Helpless as sheep, soldiers can escape their fate only by hiding in casemates or hurrying themselves out of sight in caverns and cellars. Any city that refuses to submit can be brought to terms by dynamite shells. Any ruler who objects to the new

order of things can be carried in chains before the higher than imperial throne of the modern Jehovah. The great problem before him has been to keep his plans secret until he was ready to act, and thus prevent not only the seizure of his person and his establishment, by the government and self-defense, but the danger of any combination among the nations to defeat his plans. This is the reason for the great Arctic encampment being still kept out of sight. That he really has communication with it every night no well-informed person can seriously doubt. He awaits the report that all is ready. There was also an editorial in double-leaded type, calling attention to the discovery made by the correspondent and to the achievement

of the herald and being the only journal to make known the secret. It was written in his light of vein as if it had commented on an everyday subject. He spoke rather breezily of King Archibald the first. He will be a fairly good monarch, after all, and the world may not have much occasion to object to his rule. It may be believed that Campbell did not eat much breakfast, especially when he was informed that a crowd of reporters were besieging the gate, determined to see him immediately and would not take no for an answer. The situation was a critical one, and it was necessary to appear as cool and placid as possible.

He went into his reception hall and directed their admission. The red-headed man was in the front rank, but resigned his usual functions of spokesman to the Timesman. Campbell noticed him with some surprise. He had expected to see a look of triumph on his Rubicon visage as much as to say, now haven't I got you? But the only change in his usual smile was that it was tinged with a serious look, as if he had important business at hand.

He had his notebook in hand and seemed to have no other idea than that of reporting the proceedings of a meeting. Mr. Campbell, we have called to inquire about the article in the herald this morning, which I suppose you have seen. Yes, I have seen the article, but I have not read it and have not time to read it. So I don't know that I can tell you much about it. You know what it is, and I do not see why you come to me for information. We wish to know whether it is true.

Everybody wants to know what you have to say on the subject. If it is not true, it is necessary for you to deny it. Here you place me in an embarrassing position. You know, I have already announced, as one of the rules of my organization, that no person in it is to deny any false report that may be said in circulation. Of course, I must obey my own rules. But this is one of those extraordinary cases for which rules were never made. But let me remind you further.

That the rule does not prohibit the denial of a true report. Hence, as I have already told you, if I deny the report, it will imply that it is true. I am not prepared to admit the truth of the report. You must therefore excuse me from denying it. But it must be denied. The whole country is in a turmoil, greater than it was even on the morning after your moats were launched. But will it lessen the turmoil for me to say something leading to the inference that the report is true? You surely can say something that people will believe in which will thus relieve the public tension." Campbell pondered a moment. Well, I will tell you one thing, which I trust you will all believe.

If the report does prove to be true, I shall undoubtedly be an absolute monarch, shall I not? That will depend on yourself. You will be what you choose. On the theory which you say was set forth in the herald this morning, I could not be anything else. Then let me categorically inform you that if I do assume the position of ruling monarch of the world, my first official act will be to order the execution by hanging of the man who was guilty of the treasonable conduct of betraying my secret. As he said this, he darted at the red-headed man a look which he intended to be very fierce. The victim winced for a moment.

Then a smile spread over the faces of the assemblage in which the red-headed man soon joined. It could not help smiling at the idea of the gentle little man before them ordering anybody to execution. His affected wrath was comical, and his threat seemed too ludicrous to be feared. Surely you can tell us something. Are the moats now practicing in polar Regents armed with machine guns? I don't see that anything I can say would have been of the slightest use. If the theory set forth in the Herald's article is a correct one, of course I'm not going to give my plans away by telling you about them. If it is false, no harm is done by my saying nothing, for the simple reason that no denial that I might make would be of any use.

Of course, it might be necessary for me to deny it if it were true. When the proper time comes, I shall speak. Meanwhile, I propose to give you newspapers full swing to invent what you please. When will that proper time come? I do not know exactly, possibly in a day or two, possibly not for a week. I had not intended to speak for a month to come. I must ask you to excuse me from any further statement at present. He left the room only did be confronted by a messenger bearing a dispatch of special importance. It came from the British Ambassador at Washington and was couched in the following terms.

His Britannic Majesty's ambassador at Washington desires the honor of an immediate interview with the owner of the Motes. He is about to take a special train for Campbelltown with this end in view. Campbell called his secretary and dictated the following reply. The owner of the moats will be very glad to receive the British ambassador. To facilitate his coming, a moat will be at once dispatched to Washington to bring him hither. He gave orders to have one of the smallest moats made ready immediately and sent to Washington. Before it had time to leave, similar dispatches came from the Russian, German, French, and Italian ambassadors. Answers were sent to them that a moat would arrive at the state deputies.

apartment in about an hour to bring them to Campbelltown. But before the answers were received, all were on the way to the railway station. The British ambassador arrived there first, in order to special car drawn by the best engine available, regardless of the wants of traffic. The other ambassadors arrived, one by one, before the engine was ready, and easily guessing each other's errand, all came in the same car. It took two hours for the train to reach Campbelltown, and this gave Campbell time to think over what he was to say. It was the most embarrassing situation in which he had ever been placed. The ambassadors, representing a good part of the civilized world, were not to be put off with any such light-hearted logic as that with which he had dismissed

the reporters. Every direct refusal to answer their questions and every obvious evasion would increase the suspicion which the world now entertained as to his intentions. To say anything false, or even misleading, was not only too despicable to be thought of, but would seriously impair the universal confidence and respect which he hoped that his future course would command. Strictly construed, and considered as separate statements, the Herald article was a tissue of falsehoods which he could easily deny. He had no machine guns. He did not intend to attack any army with deadly weapons, because he had no such weapons at command. He did not want to be a ruler of any sort. There was, therefore, no difficulty in denying in detail the assertions of the article.

The real cause of embarrassment was that the statements were untrue only when taken singly and verbally, and that the mind of the correspondent was cast in too small a mold to grasp the extent of his plans. The world, at first, would see little essential difference between his actual plans, if he announced them, and those attributed to him. If he did not intend to become a ruler in name, he was determined, if possible, to perform the most important, we might almost say the sole function of a ruler of the world, that of enforcing law and order in the intercourse of nations. If he was not going to sweep armies from the face of the earth, it was a part of the of his plan to abolish them. If he was not going to sink navies, he might haul them ashore.

Of two plans so near alike, how was he to deny the one and not the other? The world in its present frame of mind would refuse to recognize any difference between the two. Persuasion or force was the only question the world had in mind, and this question he must evade. The five ambassadors arrived in a body, and were, of course, immediately shown in. Their approach was marked with most perfect courtesy, and Campbell had collected his faculties sufficiently to receive them in a corresponding way. He invited them to be seated, expressed his pleasure at meeting them, and his readiness to know to what he owed the distinguished honor of such a visit. Mr. Campbell, you have doubtless seen an article published in the New York Herald of this morning,

purporting to give an exposition of your policy and your intentions. I have seen the article, and from the headings and some expressions scattered here and there, I have a general idea of its contents. But I really have little time to read the newspapers, and have not attributed sufficient importance to the article to occupy my time in giving it serious attention. If you will state any points to which you wish particularly to refer, I will be glad to discuss them. This indifference to so serious a subject disconcerted the visitors for a moment, but for a moment only. You will readily understand that the article in question is causing the greatest alarm to the people of every civilized country. We hope that you can make such a disavow of the

intentions accredited to you, as will allay their anxiety. Do your excellencies think that any statement I could now make would really have that effect? Either the assertions of the herald are true, or they are false. If they are false, then there is no occasion for alarm. If they are true, will any advantage be gained by my either admitting them or denying them? If I admit them, then the alarm will be well-founded. But if I deny them, may it not be attributed to a desire to conceal my intentions? In a word, would a person speaking under such a pressure command credence in any quarter. Might he not be expected to consider that prevarication would be excusable under circumstances

so extraordinary? This frank presentation of the case, so different from what they had expected, puzzled the visitors, and it took them some time to frame a reply. However that may be, it is certain that a declination on your part to make a statement on the subject will be looked upon the world over as conceding the truth of the article to which we allude. The result will be an immediate decision by the authorities of the leading nations as to the course to be pursued under the circumstances. What this course will be, it is not advisable, even where it possible, for us to say, a careful consideration of the emergency on your part will make

the case as clear to you as it is possible for us to present it. Campbell was annoyed that they were not more specific, that they did not ask questions instead of calling for statements. Granting the correctness of all that your excellency say, I do not see that the inutility of my making a specific answer to the allegations in question is thereby disproved. But I make no secret of the general objects and purposes which I have in view. Allow me to set them forth in an authoritative way. I am by nature and constitution an individualist. In my judgment, the whole history of modern progress shows that the highest development of men is reached when the individual has the largest liberty. Moreover, the sovereignty and independence of nations are of equal importance with

individual liberty. It is this sovereignty and independence which will be in danger, unless it is guaranteed that moats shall never be used by one nation in making war upon another. I desire so to strengthen my enterprise and my power that any such use of the moats shall be impossible. Whether I am able to do this, and if I am able the best way of bringing it about, are subjects in which I desire the wisest counsel that the world has to offer. At the same time, I have reached certain conclusions on the subject which seem to me indisputable. These conclusions, and a more complete statement of the principles governing my policy, I desire to set forth at the earliest day which I can prepare a statement.

If yourselves and other leading representatives of the government and people of the world will do me the honor to listen, I shall gladly have you hear what I shall say on the subject. Are we then to understand that you decline to state, specifically whether any of the assertions contained in the Herald's article are true or false? Campbell secretly rejoiced at this question. It gave him the opportunity to turn the inquiries of his visitors in the direction he wished them to take. You must, however, tempt them forward so gently as to make them feel they were advancing solely on their own volition. By no means, so far as any specific points are concerned, Your Excellencies have asked me to disavow intentions

attributed to me by an irresponsible writer in an article, filling nearly two-page of a newspaper, which I have not even had time to read. I am sure the impossibility of my doing so will be evident on mature consideration, especially in view of the difficulty of my foreseeing what policy it is best for me to pursue. But if you desire information as to the truth or falsity of any specific points mentioned in the article, I shall be glad to give it. I have nothing to conceal. After a few whispers of consultation, the British representative, who was acting a spokesman, continued. We thank you, and ask that you will allow us to be as poor. pointed in our questions as a situation calls for.

First of all, we assume it to be true that you have at some unknown point in the Arctic regions a camp of instruction where several thousand men are practicing aerial evolutions with several hundred moats. That, I suppose, to be true, it is certainly my intention. Now we are getting on the right track. If only they don't touch the wrong thing while they are groping round in the dark. We put in brackets, camels, unexpressed thoughts. It is stated in the article that this expedition is an armed one, that it is armed with machine guns and perhaps other instruments of warfare. Have you any objections in telling us what truth, if any, there is in this statement?

Good. None whatever. The expedition has no machine guns, no arms, or weapons of any sort. It came very near saying nothing that can properly be called arms or weapons. What a lucky escape. Unless they have been taken without either my orders or my knowledge. That's a stunner. Stop.

They have got 50 or a lot. a hundred rifles to shoot game and defend themselves against wild animals. I think that is all, unless some of the men carried knives or revolvers in their pockets. This statement of yours will we are sure be received with pleasure. With your permission, and without any intention of doubting your word, we shall make another inquiry. It is stated elsewhere in the same issue of the Herald, that he purchased eight machine guns from the American Arms Company. Is that true? Lucky that I didn't let Gein take those guns with him. I mustn't seem to remember them. I think, think we did buy guns of some kind, including a cannon about two years ago.

We shall soon see,' taps a bell. James, tell the property clerk to come here and bring his book of purchases with him. I do not remember even opening the boxes containing the guns. If they have gone with the expedition, it is through some mistake. A great amount of material had to be packed up and sent off, and there is always a chance of things being taken by mistake. The clerk entered with a big record book. Mr. Black, didn't we buy some guns a couple of years ago or so?

If so, have you still got them, and where are they? The clerk laid the book on his desk and examined the index. If your excellencies would like to see how my records off property are kept, I would be glad to have you look at the book. The party went to the desk and looked over the clerk's shoulder. He found guns indexed as on pages 247 and 350. Page 247 was found at the following entry shown. Eight gaddling guns.

42, September 7th, Celeret. 43, November 13th, column 41. Yes, sir, they were first stored in cellar A of the old building, and are now in room 41 of the Coliseum, said the clerk. Now, what's on page 350? One three-inch cannon in shed M. That's the signal gun that was fired for the launching. You are quite sure that Gein did not take those things with the expedition. If he did, it was without my knowledge, said the clerk, but I can soon see if they are in their place.

"'Do so, please, and let us know. "'If your excellencies wish we can go with the clerk "'and satisfy ourselves that the guns are here. "'That is hardly necessary. "'We will take his word on the subject. "'But can you give the date of the purchase?' "'By the property book, they were received September 7, 1942. "'That is pretty close.

"'The herald gives the date of the bill a September 10th, 1942. "'No need telling them that with those guns "'I intend to defend my works on the island of Elba, "'a la Trance.' "'Then we are to understand, you that the organization under Captain Gein's command is in no sense a military one. Bad, but I must take the bull by the horns and that boldly. I failed to see how a body of unarmed men can in any proper sense be called military.

At the same time I should be wanting in frankness did I not point out that the organization might as well be military. It must be quite evident to you that a body of men moving through the air in moats need only be supplied with arms to become a military force, of the most formidable kind. These arms, they can seize in almost any quarter and at any moment. The possibility of this is the great feature of the situation. The gravity of which I fear the world still fails to grasp, else your questions would today have taken a different turn. The property clerk. The guns are all there, sir, they are still boxed up. I do not think the boxes have been unscrewed since the inspection on arrival. The ambassadors received this announcement with evident satisfaction.

The frankness with which you have responded to our inquiries prompts us to offer a suggestion. It must be quite evident to you that the Herald article and the universal apprehension which it excites are due to your unexplained course in keeping this expedition, a force which, as you say, may in a moment be transformed into a military one, out of sight of the world, making its doings and objects an impenetrable secret, and not allowing a word of intelligence to escape from it. If you should deem it proper to tell us why the expedition is kept where it is, and what it is doing, we are sure it would go far to relieve the apprehension which now prevailed. Campbell sprang to his feet.

Gentlemen, I fear what you say is too true, so far as the apprehension and the method of relieving it are concerned. But this only shows, all the drift of your questioning shows, how lamentably men fail to grasp the situation. The great question between us this morning has been whether there was any danger of my using the moats in warfare. The question you should have asked me is, how am I going to prevent the moats being used in warfare?

As long as the moats are controlled by one man, unless that man is lost to all sense of his responsibility, the world has nothing to fear. One man can have no object in ruling the world, and if he did want to rule it, what harm could he do so long as his rule was reasonably impartial? The real danger is from the love of conquest and dominion on the part of nations. International law still permits any nation to make war when it chooses, for any purpose it deems appropriate, and with the most effective appliances it can control. As long as that liberty is recognized, so long will the very existence of moats afford a just ground of dread to mankind at large. I have said more than I intended to say at present.

Allow me to repeat that, in my next address, I expect to have the honor to make such further statements as may seem called for by the situation. The ambassadors made no reply, and soon took their leave. Let us see what Campbell had to say on the subject in his journal. May 1942. This world of humanity is a queer compound of folly and wisdom. It worships most what it most abhors, force. If it sees a young man struggling in against difficulties to carry on some great and useful work, it looks on with apathy or something worse, as long as he keeps strictly within the law. If he shows too much energy, it will enact laws to impede him. When he violates the law, every effort is made to crush him with its machinery.

If he proves stronger than the law, more especially if his course is marked by such violence as to attract universal attention to his energy, if every effort to crush him proves futile, then the world proceeds to worship him and erects monuments to his memory. when, if he had done his work in a law-abiding way, he would have excited no notice from his contemporaries and been forgotten as soon as he was dead. Each of the six great manufacturing corporations of the country, which have proved instruments of such beneficence in making the necessaries of life cheap and plenty, were fought so bitterly at every step that its managers had to get the upper hand of the public and rule it with a rod of iron. I accept the seventh, my own, because I went about in such a way

that men could find nothing to legislate about, so they could do nothing but spit gall and bitterness at me. Possibly my scruples against killing may be criminal weakness on my part. I cannot deny that the most certain and speedy way of inaugurating the golden age of universal peace in plenty would be to carry out the Herald program, sweep armies off the face of the earth with murderous artillery, or drive their men into caves of refuge, inspire universal terror by my power, and say to the world, behold your master, submit to his sway or see your cities destroyed and your works brought to naught. There might be a few weeks of raging and gnashing of teeth. After that I should be worshipped by all but those mouth-contents

whose principal trait is a state of congenital dissatisfaction with all that exists. It is hardly necessary to say that the interview did not satisfy the Herald. It claimed that none of the really serious allegations made by his correspondent were denied, and that the most essential among them were admitted. Meantime, guns could be put into the moats at any moment, no matter by what term he might call himself, king or universal judge, it was clear the intention of the owner of the moats to exercise supreme authority over the nations of the world. The question whether they should submit to that authority was one for the nations themselves to decide.

Three days later, an invitation to the following effect was addressed to the highest officers of the government and to all the foreign ambassadors and ministers. The owner of the moats requests the honor of your company on board the Concordia in the city of Washington on Tuesday next, the 12th instant. He will avail himself of the opportunity to make a public utterance. on the subject of the political effects of the moats as bearing upon international law and the mutual relations of the governments of the world. The invited party was more select than that which came together to witness the first running of the moats. It included only the president and his cabinet, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committees in the House and Senate, and the representatives of foreign nations. No invitations were extended to the press,

except that the three press associations were each allowed to have a reporter present. This is the end of Chapter 11 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story. Chapter 12 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 12, Our Hero Makes a Clean Rest. The position in which Campbell was placed by the Herald article was one of the greatest perplexity.

Had it appeared a month later, when his preparations for action were complete, He would have cared but little. The real trouble was not that the article had revealed his plans. His interview with the ambassadors had gone far to relieve the public mind on that score, but that public attention had been pointedly called to what it was in his power to do if he chose. History tells us that when horses were in use, it was necessary to cover their eyes with pieces of leather known as blinders, which kept them from seeing in any direction except straight ahead.

The reason was that these animals were extremely timid and liable to be frightened out of their senses by any unusual object in motion around them, and thus jump about in such a manner as to endanger both carriage and occupants. But if the driver could merely turn the horse's heads so that the blinders would prevent his seeing the object and could forcibly keep him from looking at it, then the horse, although if he could be said to know anything, must have known that the dreadful thing was still there,

was immediately reassured. In fact, he feared only what he could see, not what he knew to exist out of his sight. It was a good deal the same way with the world of this most critical moment in its history. What it could see was one man in possession of the power of doing almost anything he pleased to or with his fellow men. This caused it universal concern, and so it wanted him deprived of his power. The world knew well that if his power was taken from him and placed in the hands of any nation or of any combination of nations, the case would be yet worse, because while an individual

might lead a nation to conquest, he could not well engage in conquest himself without having a nation behind him. But this greater danger was not existent at the moment, and so was relegated to the background. The newspapers, with the Herald at their head, living on excitement, poured forth an unceasing stream of rumors, reports, and suggestions as to what Campbell intended to do, or might do, or had done, and added to the turmoil and uncertainty by contradicting each other, not to say themselves, as often as possible. Under these circumstances, the Herald article had much the effect of the appearance of a wolf in the midst of a flock of sheep. But what was to be done? At first, nothing definite was proposed, but in a couple of days the scattered thoughts of the

frightened public began to take a common direction, and loud calls were made on the president to send a regiment of soldiers to Campbelltown and take possession of the entire place, its owner included. What good this would do when the owner could escape through the air with as many moats as he might choose to take, and if his intentions were really those attributed to him, could do what pleased to his assailants, no one stopped to inquire. Curiously enough, for some 24 hours a number of European journals joined in this cry. But it only took them one day to see that such a proceeding, if it were successful, would only result in placing the destiny of Europe in the hands of the most powerful and united country in the world, which, though noted for its justice and respect for

international law, had for half a century been ambitious to rule. And the cry changed one for a union of European nations to offer an unbroken front to any invasion or attack that might hereafter be attempted either by the owner of the Motes or the American government. What increased Campbell's depression was that he stood alone, without so far as he knew, either support or sympathy from any quarter whatsoever. Gein was the only man completely acquainted with his plans, and he was only a trusted assistant, in no way a representative man. Winthrop, on whom he expected most to rely, was absent on his European mission. He had visited London, paris. He had visited London, paris. Madrid, Rome, and Vienna, and was now in Berlin conferring with German publicists.

In each capital visited, he had selected a few of the most sagacious and enlightened professors of international law, one or two of whom were to be invited to the conference which Campbell had planned to hold. Four of these men, from England, France, and Italy, were with him as the nucleus of the proposed assemblage. His plan was to go from Berlin to St. Petersburg, and then to China and Japan. Campbell's idea was that, as the whole subject was thought over and talked over, by these men, the absolute necessity of a universal disarmament and abandonment of war would be evident. And the way in which this could be brought about would be discussed from day to day. The international rules, which he had long been thinking over, would be laid before them.

And he was sure that the more these rules were examined and discussed, the more apparent would be their wisdom, feasibility, and justice. If only nations could be brought to accept them. A distinct goal being thus brought plainly in sight, the method of reaching it would be the next subject of study. When all other means have been shown impracticable or doubtful, then would Campbell, for the first time, propose his drastic plan of using force. Severe, though this measure might be, it would only be directed toward the enforcement of written law. Such being the case, he had not fully unfolded his plans even to Winthrop, and now the latter was away on his mission when his counsel was most wanted. A change of program was necessary. The Herald article that precipitated a crisis

in which the well-considered and leisurely proceedings he had intended were impossible. You must either retire or go on as rapidly as possible at all hazards. The day after the visit of the ambassadors, he telegraphed Winthrop to return immediately, bringing with him for consultation such of the publicists as were willing to come. The message was not unexpected by the recipient, and the second morning after the Frida was at Campbelltown, with Winthrop and the five European professors. The two leaders met in Campbell's private office.

The first greetings were exchanged. "'Well, you have set the world in an uproar. "'I cannot deny the impeachment. "'The question is, what am I to do? "'The situation seems to me a very difficult and perplexing one. "'I hope you have some way of getting out of it. "'My reason and my feelings are so much at variance "'that I find my resolution trembling in the balance.

"'I have sent for you because I need sympathy "'as no man before ever needed it. "'I hope I may add support also, "'but I am not yet sure whether you are ready to support all my plans. "'I can speak better when I know them. Let me repeat what I said to you the day of the launching. I told you my conviction that the more firm and aggressive my policy, so long as I keep within the bounds of law, the better for humanity.

Under our system of international law, the first nation that can get possession of a fleet of moats will have power to make all other nations its vassals. Its right to do this, if it can, is recognized. To clarify our ideas, and not mislead you, let me say that this law was not altogether bad in the past, because the nation that could overcome in battle was the one that that possessed in the highest degree those qualities of intellect, enterprise, courage, and patriotism, which fitted it to rule weaker peoples for their good. But this is no longer the case when the conqueror is merely the first nation that chances to get a fleet of moats. We must, therefore,

secure the independence of nations and peoples by law. Now, we cannot discuss the situation profitably unless we have some previously defined basis to start from. Allow me, therefore, to say that I have for years past, in fact, ever since I discovered that moats were possible, been perfecting a system of laws to govern the relations of nations. I want you to study them and tell me what you think of them. I also want you to submit them to the counselors you have brought from Europe to be discussed and amended by them. Here they are. Read them.

In Winthrop read aloud, Article 1, there shall be no more war. An excellent provision if you could enforce it, but how are you going to prevent nations from going to war? What are armies and navies for except a fight? I'm glad you put the question in that form, because that is just what I'm asking. myself. Now read on and see my answer. Article 2, there shall hereafter be no armies or navies, except such as shall be necessary to the protection of life and property within the state to which they belong. That is also very good, but how are you ever going to induce nations to give up armies and

navies? One will always be waiting for another to disband first, even after they all agree to disband. Perhaps in a few hundred years they will do it, little by little, but in our time, never. First, let me ask, will it be a good thing, under present circumstances, if war, armies, and navies be all abolished, and the relations of nations governed by law? Well, to that question, there can be no two answers. My objection is not in the desirability, but to the possibility of the end. Very well. Suppose I abolish the armies and navies of Europe by force. Winthrop looked at his companion in astonishment. Why, my dear friend, you nearly take my breath away. Is this really the object of keeping Gein's expedition out of sight and hearing? It is.

But you told the ambassadors who was not armed. It is not. I do not propose to use a weapon of any sort except in self-defense. I have for a year been perfecting my plan in the minutest details. Nothing remains but to put it into execution, if I can. But what right have you, a private individual to make war, for war it will be, on your own account? So far as existing law goes, none whatever. No more than I have to batter down the door of a man's house and enter it by force to keep it from burning down.

I hold that the might which God is placed in my hands makes right in such an emergency as the present one. But do you seriously believe that you have the physical force to disarm all Europe? I cannot speak with entire confidence, but I think I have. If I cannot do more, I can at least demonstrate the uselessness of the existing armies and thus pave the way for voluntary disbandment. I feel confident I can bring the nations of Europe to terms of some kind. The speaker rose to his feet and continued his discourse with the energy that took his interlocutor quite by surprise. Let us rise above our petty surroundings and look into the future.

If I succeed in my efforts, if I induce or force the nations to accept the principle that all international differences are to be settled by impartial tribunals of statesmen and publicists, if I thus introduce an era of universal peace, what will the world of the future say? What will you say? Winthrop also arose and paced the floor and meditation. Then he began to be imbued with some of the feelings of his companion. You will be the greatest benefactor of a human race that the modern world has seen. That is enough. Now let me tell you what I want of you.

I have long felt that if I should succeed in having my plans accepted by the world, I would want you as my leading official advisor, for a time at least, perhaps for good. Will you accept a position that I hope will be among the most brilliant the world can offer, if the time should come? Is it necessary to decide in advance? No, not absolutely. I only want to know your sentiments because I want your help in the meantime. Well, let me explain. You know that tomorrow I am to meet the foreign representatives and the leading dignitaries of this country. I shall make what will be as good as a clean rest of my plans,

omitting details. I want you to be present and receive as my representative. Immediately after my address, I shall disappear. Remember, above all, that I do not want to involve you in any way. I shall trade the wine press alone, and you can proclaim yourself as in no way of responsible for me or my doings. I want you to stay here, or at Washington, as you deem best, and see people. But first of all, I shall leave with you a number of printed copies of the proposed laws. I want you to lay them before our counselors, and invite them to study and perfect them by amendments. Very likely they will decline, lest their own governments hold them guilty of high treason. If so, let them return to their homes, and you can make the laws public as soon as you please.

Before our own authorities, you can disclaim all responsibility for my acts. You have not either aided nor abetted them in any way. You are simply one of my acquaintances, perhaps the one who has most influence with me. I do not know whether you can reach me by telegraph. When you can, you may send me news, but I am not desirous of any word of discouragement. Allow me one word before we part, said Winthrop. You are not sure of success. Is there not something desperate in your resolve to risk everything in a single, bold venture? What will become of you? What will become of your moats? What will become of all of us if you are driven to succumb? Is it not better, better after all to wait, watch the course of events, and make some arrangement with the world?

Here and again you fail to grasp the logic of a situation. The world will come to no conclusion until it knows by actual experience what the moats can do. If I fail, if I am forced to desist from my attempt, I can still say, behold, what a terrible power you see before you, what will you do to regulate it and ensure that it shall only be used for the benefit of humanity? Then, especially with my solution of the problem before it, the world will certainly be in a better position to reach a conclusion than it is now. I will explain this view in my address tomorrow. I do not see that we can profitably discuss the subject any further at present.

Please return to the Concordia tomorrow at one o'clock and go with me to Washington. I shall see that our publicists are included in the invitation. Till then, I do. Just before the appointed hour, the Concordia was seen hovering over the State Department, her motto, freshly gilt, shining in the sun. She came slowly and majestically to the ground in front of the building. and then threw out sumptuous steps covered with velvet on which the guests could mount into her. A crowd of policemen kept order in the precincts, and the attendance of the Concordia, in the white livery of the owner's messengers, challenged all who came to the steps, admitting only the invitees.

Arriving on the main deck, the guests were ushered into a spacious room, fitted up with a splendor which must have required many months of work. Here they were received by Mr. Winthrop, who for the moment represented the owner of the moats, with a ceremonious formality quite unlooked for. An usher inquired the official rank of each guest and introduced him by his proper title. First came his excellency, the President of the United States, then the Honorable Secretary of State of the United States. He was followed by the senior member of the Diplomatic Corps,

His Excellency of the Ambassador Plenipotentiary, of His Majesty the Tsar of all the rushes, and so on to the end. The formality and the temporary absence of the principal figure caused some uneasiness among the foreign guests. If a coup d'etat, the sudden assumption of a more than impartial authority over the affairs of the world, was really intended, a better opportunity could not have been found. All governments important enough to be in diplomatic communication with the leading country

were represented here in the persons of their ambassadors. Could it be that the latter were entrapped into something in the nature of a coronation? Would they find the owner of the moats in the gorgeous robes of his self-assumed office? All that Winthrop could do to allay their apprehensions was to excuse the momentary absence of the owner who was in the adjoining saloon preparing his address. Great, therefore, was the relief of all when the man they were looking for stepped in as plainly clad as the rest. Even the red button of the Legion of France, which he habitually wore on ceremonial occasions, was with obvious propriety replaced by a rose. Each guest was presented, then the whole party followed Campbell into the saloon. At the father-end,

stood a table at which two secretaries were seated, one of whom had a pile of papers before him. Beyond the table was seen in artistically illuminated letters, the lines, when the war-drum throbs no longer, and the battle flag is furled, in the Parliament of Man, the Federation of the World. Campbell took his seat at the table, while the guests were being seated around the saloon. When all was still, he arose, made breathless silence, and began to read his address from the printed sheets, handed him by one of the secretaries, while the other took each sheet as its reading was completed. He began with picturing the extraordinary crisis

which the building of the moats was to make in the history of the world and the revolution which they would necessarily create in the relations of nations. The whole picture was drawn from the point of view of an impartial looker-on belonging to no one country, and not even bound to any one stage of civilization. Jew and Gentile, bond and free, European, African, and Asiatic, were all considered as having equal rights. Then the results of using moats in warfare were touched upon.

The world at large had already seen these results so clearly that there was no need of depicting them. One thing was evident. There could logically be only one more war. The outcome of the first war would be to make the conquering nation, whichever it might be, the master of the world. That nation would not be the strongest or the most civilized, but simply the one that should first get possession of a fleet of moats. The reasons why such a result were not to be tolerated were fully set forth.

Was it then possible to make any arrangements by which the practice of war should be continued and yet the moats be neutralized by an international agreement that they should never be used in warfare? If such an agreement was made would all implicitly rely on its performance? Who could decide what use in warfare might mean? It would doubtless be easy to say that no troops will be transported in the moats under any circumstances, but how would it be with military supplies? How would it be with supplies necessary for defending a port? Would there not be something illogical in a people submitting to seeing its territory invaded,

its fortifications bombarded, and its cities occupied by a foreign power, when it had a most efficient and certain means of defense within its reach, which, however, it had agreed not to use? Self-preservation is the first law of nature, for a nation as for an individual. I ask you on your consciences, excellencies and gentlemen, whether any one of the nations which you represent would wage war upon another, having in its hands the means to represent, Pell-attack, with entire confidence that such means would not be called into requisition? I am sure your answer would be in the negative, and this would be equivalent to admitting that war is no longer to be waged. If then we are to have no more war, are we still to have armies?

These have no purpose except to fight. If a nation is resolved to fight no more, it has no use for an army. To maintain one, we'll be making known to all other nations that it still had war in view. No obvious corps seems open short of all nations coming together. and agreeing each and all to absolutely abolish their military establishments. Such a course cannot for a moment be expected of them. No matter what agreement may be made, everyone will wait for the others. It is impossible that all should keep step in full confidence that every other would accept the situation without reserve.

No government would feel justified in going before its people with a proposition to disband all its armies unconditionally, until it had satisfied itself as to the means of defense it might then have against encroachments. What then is the situation? The world stands on a slumbering volcano whose fires it has no means to quench, and from which it has no avenue of escape by its own act. Who brought it there? The man who has the honor to address you. What is the duty of one that has brought on such a crisis? To carry the safely through it if he can. What can he do? The answer is uncertain until he makes the attempt. It is still uncertain whether I possess the power to disarm and disband the armies of the world and to haul

as navies ashore. These words produced among those who heard them what might be described as a shock of silence. Everyone started as if by an electric stroke, but uttered no word. The speaker continued. But if I should possess this power, then the question will arise whether the best interests of humanity do not demand its immediate exercise. If I should now proceed, without bloodshed, to disarm and disband the armies of the world, to haul its navies ashore, to assure for myself and my successors in office the title and functions of Defender of the Peace of the World, as such defender, to move all nations to the establishment of a central tribunal for the arbitration of all international questions, and for the exercise of supreme power over the system of international

communication which I am now organizing, if I should thus put an end to war and assure to all nations and peoples the blessings of security and peace forever, then whatever my contemporaries might think of my acts, would not all future generations call me blessed? Gentlemen, I am not here to conceal any thought from you. If you should ask me how I think and feel on this question, I would answer thus. When I reflect, on the one hand, how great the labor and how heavy the responsibility which I should assume by the policy I have indicated, and on the other how easy it is to let events take their course and leave humanity to guard its own interests, I shrink from the task.

But when I reflect that perhaps it is within my power. so to guide the course of events, that never again in human history shall father, son, or brother take leave of his loved ones to expose his person in battle, that never again shall a seaport fear the bombardment of a navy, that never again shall a city fear of the attack of an army, that never again shall a people groan under a war tax, that never again shall the nation tremble for its independence. I feel moved to action by a power which I doubt my ability to resist. These concluding words were spoken with a pathos which added to their force. and at the same time, if it were possible, calm the feelings which they were fitted to excite.

Printed copies of the address were circulated among the guests. The latter were so moved that they scarcely knew what to do first. As a matter of official duty, it was necessary for the ambassadors to telegraph the address immediately to their respective governments, but they also wanted to confer together. To some it seemed necessary to give a word of warning to the owner of the moats as to the grave consequences of entering upon such a policy as he had indicated. A few hurried words were exchanged with the President and the Secretary of State. All the ambassadors had time to say was, you had better not attempt it, count the cost.

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, the moats surrendered the control of a citizen of your country. Give him due warning. The President simply remarked, I trust you will listen to what will be said on the subject. Let the Secretary of State speak. Mr. Campbell, said the Secretary, when you were in my office a few days since, I asked you as to your reason for maintaining in such secrecy at some distant and unknown point, the expedition which you had sent out. Your answer to my question

was evasive. Now an answer is no longer necessary. We conclude, and the world will conclude, that the expedition is an armed one, intending to attack countries with which the United States is at peace. You are a man of intelligence and learning, and you are doubtless acquainted with the neutrality laws of your country? I feel it my duty to go outside the usual limits of my official position and ask you to reflect upon the consequences of such an act as you propose. You know what my painful duty will be should you enter upon it, and you cannot need any assurance from me that it will be performed, come what may. We must now leave you to your own reflections. Again to Campbell's ear, the voice, audible to none but him, repeated its maxim, he who would wield the power of a God,

must bear the responsibility of a God. In the excitement of the moment the visitors had overlooked a feature of their reception in which they might have seen some significance. Among the two or three people who were in the room when they were presented to the owner of the Motes was one of the leading artists of New York, who quietly remained in the background during the entire course of the proceedings. He was behind a screen at Campbell's right in the farthest corner of the room. His head could be seen over the screen, behind which he was sketching the outlines of a picture. This was the origin of what is now one of the historic pictures of the world. The original is well known to every visitor who has called at the

Defender's Palace in Erenaberg. A replica is one of the great attractions at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. As soon as the last visitor had departed, the Concordia sailed away for Campbelltown. There Campbell had everything ready for the instant departure of a second expedition under his personal command. No one was surprised when, shortly after dark, a hundred moats, most of which had been fitting out for several days, rose in the air, and disappeared towards the north. The departure was, of course, telegraphed immediately to all the journals of the world. The urgent inquiries made by correspondence and others of the superintendent left at charge at Campbelltown failed to reveal anything further as the intentions or projected movements of the owner.

Winthrop alone was in possession of the essential part of the secret, and he refused to say anything. This is the end of Chapter 12 of His Wisdom the Defender, a story. Chapter 13 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 13, The Mysterious Expedition We now return to the fleet of Motes, numbering more than 200, which so mysteriously disappeared from the channel in which they were moored

more than a month before the date of the events recorded in the last chapter. The boats, as they were naturally called, were a mystery to all concerned, except their owner, Captain Gein, and perhaps two or three of the leading seraphs. As they floated, they were arranged in rank and file. Each was chained to the one in front, the one behind, and the one on each side of it, so that it was impossible for anyone to escape from the serried mass. For several days the work of loading them had been going on. Not only every article which one could imagine to be required on any sort of an expedition, but countless mysterious boxes, some large, some small, some light, some heavy, were put aboard. That after being thus loaded, all the moats seemed to float as

lightly as swans, was only one of the many mysteries connected with this singular affair. For several nights the seraphs and workmen selected for the expedition had been required to sleep on board in their respective stations, even when employed at their regular duties during the day. And yet, in the absence of any visible mode of propulsion, it could scarcely be believed that the expedition was really going to start soon. Each boat had a captain, a lieutenant, and ten or twelve men. In each was a system of levers worked by an electric current, starting from the captain's moat in the center of the fleet. To guard against any possible failure of the current to move these levers, it was explained to each captain that on a signal being given he was to see that the

levers took their proper position. This was done so often without any effect occurring that captain and men looked upon the process with entire indifference. The sharp edge of curiosity had been worn away by custom, until everybody went through his part with an approach to stolidity. On the eventful night, the men had nearly all retired to their respective bunks, while the captains, as usual, were watching the levers. A slight motion was given, when, to the surprise of the few who were awake and looking out, the whole fleet started down the sea. stream, with about the swiftness of an average steamer. In an hour the mouth of the Potomac was reached, and the fleet was making its way into the

Chesapeake. Gein stood on the deck of his moat, peering round to see if any stray boat might be in sight to watch his movements. Seeing none, he gave the signal for setting the levers, and then touched the electric button which moved them. Those who were still awake felt so singular emotion that many jumped out of their bunks and mounted to the deck to ascertain the cause, To the astonishment of all the water was no longer to be seen. The whole fleet seemed to be in a dark cloud. The astonishment among the lookers out was such that they could not cry to their companions. Such exclamations and a low voice as, "'Edad were witched. Holy Mither, where are we? Virgin Mary have mercy on us.

We're all that one could have heard uttered. One poor man jumped overboard in his fright, and of course was not again heard of. Very soon, however, the motion was so smooth that swift though it was, the sleepers were not disturbed by it. Shortly the whole fleet was above the clouds, making its swift way to the north. It was extremely desirable that the journey should be made unseen from the earth. The starting hour had been so arranged that it was hoped the northern limit of the Canadian border will be passed before sunrise. Fortunately, the morning was cloudy in the region, through which the moats ran, so that being above the clouds, they passed on from below, unperceived. In the afternoon the fleet was over Hudson's Bay and proceeded to follow the northern

coast of Smith Strait, keeping a sharp lookout to avoid the possible eyes of men on board passing vessels. The problem was to get as far north as possible, so as to run the least danger of being discovered for at least a month, and to find a place which was not covered with snow. A map had been carefully prepared long before, showing the location of all the trading and fur posts in the region. A point was at length fixed upon which seemed to fulfill the necessary conditions as well as could be expected. The fleet, its motion guided by the adjusting levers, slowly and carefully came to the ground. Gein called his captains together, and all joined in a prayer offering of heartfelt thanks for having made their wonderful journey in safety.

What does this mean, was demanded of Gein on all sides. It means, said he, that we are the pioneers of a new dispensation, that we are to inaugurate a golden an age. That if we are true to each other, we shall soon be among the greatest men of the world. More than that, I cannot now tell you. Unload the moats and pitch the tents. On unloading, wood and iron for huts were brought forth, machinery of all sorts was taken out and put together, and comfortable beds were found and put into the huts. By nightfall, which at that season and in that latitude did not occur until ten o'clock, the encampment looked as if much of the wealth of a populous city had been suddenly poured down into the uninhabited place.

As soon as possible, all try to sleep as best they could, either in the tents or in the moats. The men, nine-tenths of whom were natives of the Emerald Isle, had been so much fatigued that they slept soundly, regardless of the morrow. We doubt very much whether the same was true with the 300 seraphs. To them, it was as if they had been suddenly transferred to some new world, where everything went by contraries. They puzzled their brains in vain to divine the object. of their expedition, but all had pledged their honor to obey orders and ask no questions, so nothing could be done but await developments.

Next morning they had got sufficiently anewer to their situation to at least recover their tranquility. How long they were to remain, only Gein and perhaps two or three others knew, but the pitching of the tens had shown that an immediate departure was not intended. After breakfast, the work of unloading the moats was resumed. Within them were found the dissected parts of not less than two hundred daddies. All had been practiced in putting these together, and in the course of a day the party had the satisfaction of seeing many of them ready for use so far as externals went. But to all appearance, they compared with those in the Coliseum only as dead men would compare with live ones. They lay prone on the ground with no apparent

faculty of life or motion. The general idea was that they needed cords with which to be suspended, though of what use they could be even then no one could divine. Of the most, about one half were pierced with openings through which were to pass the linked arms, which, when in place, would turn each of them into the centipedes already described. Each centipede had its arms inside the moat which was to form its body. Taking them out and fitting them into place occupied the rest of the day. The party went to bed that night without seeing any more light on the problem what they were to do. On the second morning a number of articles were unloaded,

which, if possible, were even more puzzling than those already brought out. They consisted of soft guinea bags, about a foot in diameter and five feet long, each of which was stuffed with thin, empty bottles. Notwithstanding the delicacy of these bottles, they were made a very ordinary glass, like that of wine bottles. Each was about four inches in diameter and a foot high, so that it would hold almost a gallon. A number of the men were employed in taking them out of the bags and filling them with water, corking them up, and putting them back again in place. When properly arranged and tied up, each bag, stuffed as it was with bottles, could be stood erect.

While this was going on, Gein informed the seraphs that their principal work while they remained of the station would be the practice of certain evolutions. The chains by which the moats have been fastened together had been removed in order to facilitate the unloading. Now, the captains were told, each moat would have to move on its own account, in obedience to orders from headquarters. They were warned in no case to go more than a mile from the central station, because the firm with which they were charged had been so nearly consumed by the journey that it might give out at any moment. When it did give out, it could be renewed by heat generated by the combustion of coal

which had been brought along. Until this was done, it would be impossible for the moats to go any great distance. Before operations could begin, it was necessary to charge the daddies so that they could be used. For this purpose, a large supply of levers of the kind we saw in the workshop at Cambridge four years before were brought into requisition. Two pairs of these levers were placed in each daddy. A seraph crawled into the hollowed. through the head and soon saw what was to be done from having practiced in the Coliseum.

As a precaution, each daddy was first tied down by a long rope to prevent the possibility of its flying off into space and never being seen again through some blunder in the part of the man inside of it. The daddy first stood erect and then rose into the air, its long legs dangling below it. It was maneuvered by the man inside of it until it was certain that the method of managing it was fully understood. Then it came to the ground, the tether which fastened it was cast off, and in its place an electric wire was connected with a system of keys inside of it. The other end of this wire was carried to a centipede and then connected with the signal board within it. In this way, the man and the daddy could send such signals as he desired to the captain of the centipede

who was to stand at the switchboard. Inside the daddy, the electric wire was wound round a roll so that it could be drawn in or pulled out at pleasure, thus permitting of the daddy being either close down to the moat or at a height of several hundred yards in the air. To communicate orders from headquarters, a number of electric sirens had been provided. The largest of these were on board of Geensmote. They emitted a musical note, the tone of which could be changed at pleasure, so as to play any required tune. The volume of sound emitted by them was such that they could be heard at a distance of from one to two miles. Twenty of the datties were supplied with smaller sirens, by which any signals received from the great ones could be repeated. A system of numbers was

devised, so that every man in charge of a daddy or a moat would know for whom an order was intended. When everything was ready, evolutions were begun. The commanding moat took its position half a mile in the air. Practice was first begun with a single centipede. When the latter was in operation, each of its dozen legs was worked by a man inside the body of the moat and therefore invisible. The twelve men sat in two rows, six on each side. Alongside of each opening through which an arm went was a small round hole, about an inch in diameter, in which was fitted a peculiar binocular telescope, especially designed for the purpose in view. By putting his eye to this telescope,

the man who was managing the arm could see round and below him on the outside. At the word of command, the moat rose and fell, described a circle in one direction or another, or rested on the ground while the arms worked in the air. Everything being understood, the gunny bags, with their strange contents, were stood up in a row about four feet apart. Everyone was then informed that a centipede was to approach these bags,

seize them gently in its tentacles, lift them into the air, and stand them on the deck of the moat without breaking any of the bottles. This took a good deal of practice, and so many bottles were broken in the beginning that new bags had to be several times filled. Then similar practice was had in putting the bags not on the deck of the centipede itself, but on the deck of another moat. The first attempts of this sort were so destructive to the bottles that, instead of practicing the remaining centipedes on them, a dozen wooden logs, which had been brought along for the purpose, were stood up to take the place of the gunny-bags. The first practice of this sort was witnessed by the assembled crowd in order

to familiarize it with what was to be done. Then one moat after another was gradually landed and put through the motions until the whole fleet was maneuvering simultaneously over a space extending a quarter of a mile on all sides of the camp. Sometimes orders were given directly to the moat and sometimes to the daddy. As a general rule, the captain of the moat kept his position in the daddy that he might see what was going on. It would take too much time to enumerate all the evolutions that were performed. Besides those already mentioned, practice was had in the management of powerful hooks attached to about a dozen of the datties, much larger and more powerful than the others. There was nothing in the region that we should call trees, only some low shrubbery showing itself here and there above

the moss-covered ground. The hooks in question were employed in tearing these up by the roots, in digging in the ground for stones, in rolling logs, and in pulling things to pieces generally. The other daddies were practiced in the use of their hands and feet, so that they could pick up almost anything, large or small, and handle it at pleasure. To give interest to the exercises, games were devised which could be played sometimes by the centipedes or the daddies by themselves, and sometimes by both combined. In one game the centipedes were on one side and the daddies on the other. When great facility and maneuvering the tentacles of the centipedes and the hands of the daddies was attained, a different kind of practice was begun. Several hundred of the men would be arranged and

like a company of soldiers, with sticks in their hands to serve as arms. The daddies and the centipedes were to go up to them, pull these sticks out of their hands, and deposit them in the moats without endangering the men. The latter were to fight against this by brandishing their sticks and pushing off the daddies, if possible. Very soon the metallic finger of the crooked beings acquired such dexterity that the stick could be instantly seized in spite of everything which the holder could do to prevent it. This exercise seemed to throw light on a possible object of the whole affair. What that light was, our readers can judge as well as we can tell them. When an army used to suffer for a period of several weeks, the Anhui of camp life,

the soldiers felt ready for any adventure, regardless of consequences. It was not at all wonderful that the members of this isolated community, after a month of labor in a position where they were completely cut off from all contact with the rest of the world, got into a state of mind not altogether different. They were not exactly desirous of a fight, for so far as had yet appeared, no fight was in view, but they did get very anxious to try their newly acquired skill in a large scale, and a feeling of recklessness as to the way in which their skill could be used gradually took possession of them. The directions given to Gein were that, after his men had gotten into thorough practice, the whole expedition was to move over to Iceland and camp

on the peninsula in its northern portion. There the exercises were to be renewed, and thither supplies of everything necessary would be sent him. At the end of a month, Gine received the message we have already mentioned, directing him to be in readiness as soon as possible. He lost no time in packing up and moving the whole encampment over to Iceland. Here everything was again unpacked and put into working order. Evolutions recommenced, and further orders were awaited. Before a week had passed at the news station, one of the men caught sight of an approaching fleet of moats in the air. It was the supplementary fleet with which the owner himself had

started from Campbelltown on the evening before. The newcomers were welcomed with their supply of several weeks' news from the Outer world, besides fresh provisions and a number of miscellaneous articles conducive to human comfort. They learned for the first time of the great unveiling and the universal excitement thereby caused. As a matter of prudence, Campbell had not allowed any papers containing the discussions of the past weeks as to his objects and purposes to be brought along. But letters from families and friends were brought in sufficient number to compensate for the absence of the latest general intelligence.

As every hour's delay in commencing active operations would enable the authorities of Europe to prepare against possible attack, he took Gein's word that everything was in readiness, and ordered the expedition to start. He waited only to call the seraphs together and make a short speech on the importance of their enterprise. If you are true to one another, he said, and if you fault or not, you will make more and better history during the next six months than all that kings and rulers of the world have made in a thousand years. You will be among the greatest benefactors of the human race that have ever appeared on the earth. Your children's children will remember your title, with pride, the insignia of your order will be a source of greater honor than the stars of any

order in Europe. Campbell and Gein had long before decided that their first attempt should be made on the German armies, minute information respecting encampments, arsenals, factories, stores, and everything else pertaining to the German military organization had been collected. So towards Berlin, the fleet took its way, arriving just before sunset. After making a survey of the city and the surrounding country, a point in an unfrequented locality about twenty miles north of Berlin, was selected in which to pass the night. In order to relieve the captains of the necessity of keeping the moats afloat, the repose of night was sought with the moats resting on the ground. Of course, the point was chosen as far as possible from railways and telegraphs,

so that there should be no danger of an attack before morning. Meanwhile, a messenger was sent with a letter to the German Emperor, to the following effect. To his majesty, the German Emperor, may it please your majesty, deeming it of the greatest importance to the human race, the question whether I possess the power to disarm and disband the armies of Europe should be decisively settled at the earliest possible moment, I beg leave to inform your majesty that I propose to learn by actual experiment whether I possess the power to disarm and disband your majesty's armies. Should the result be in the affirmative, I shall consider myself bound to protect the German territory from any attack by another power, if only your majesty's government shall enter into some

arrangement for abolishing the practice of war. It is also my intention to compensate the treasury of our majesty for all property that may be destroyed by my operations. Your Majesty's obedient servant, Archibald Campbell. The problem how to get this letter into the hands of the emperor was no easy one. It was first sent directly to the royal palace, but the messenger returned with the statement that the sentry stationed at the door had refused to receive it. The plan was therefore adopted of sending it to the nearest post office. The messenger who carried it was conveyed to a small but swift moat, from which he

descended out of the sky almost in a moment, as it were. The rules did not permit the postmaster to transmit the letter unless assured of its legitimate character. But in the present case, telegraphic communication with the central postal authorities resulted in the letter being speedily forwarded. What its result was, Campbell could only guess. This is the end of Chapter 13 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story. Chapter 14 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin.

Chapter 14. The Attack on the German Armies We now return to the world at large and review its history during the days following the address of Campbell to the assembled dignitaries. The excitement caused by this message exceeded even that which had followed the previous developments of these inventful weeks. The columnist view of the case was taken by the New York Evening Post in the following terms. Never in history have words been spoken of such import to mankind as those which are are found in our present issue. Almost before the end of the address was reached, every telegraph line in the world was carrying the message under the ocean and through the air to all the nations and peoples

of the globe. In the most distant parts of China, men are telling the news to their neighbors. On the plains of Tibet, the assembled tribes are hearing it from their leaders. In Australia, men are running to and fro asking each other what is to be done. Around every campfire in Africa, sable crowds are gathered, listening to the reading. Every crowned head and every prime minister in Europe is absorbed by the questions which it raises. Men everywhere have abandoned their usual occupations and are eagerly awaiting the blow that is to be struck. For the first time in the history of the world, only one subject is being discussed by the learned and the ignorant, by savage and sage, by the rulers and the masses.

By some telepathic process, perhaps, a general impression was spread abroad that if Campbell really entered upon his daring attempt, the German armies would be his first object of attack. How the attack will be made, by what means he could possibly expect to disarm a hundred thousand men, and that without bloodshed, even with the advantages offered by the moats, no one could anticipate. The German emperor spent most of the day in council with his generals as to the proper disposition of the troops in order that they might defend themselves to the best advantage. Two views were held by members of the council, the one prudent, the other bold. The council of the more prudent leaders was to order all the troops into their barracks,

or quarter them everywhere in houses, so that it would be as difficult as possible to get at them, and to keep them there until the plan of attack was discovered. This party urged the imprudence of massing men in the open field against an aerial enemy that might be armed with machine guns. Who knew but that, after all, the statements of the New York Herald might not be literally true? Granting that Campbell had no purchased machine guns with him, he might have made any number in the secret recesses of his vast establishment, which no visitor had ever been allowed to see. His denial that his force was not armed with these or any other weapons could not be trusted.

If he lied outright, what resource was left against him? He could claim that the end justified the means, and all ethical argument with him would be useless. If he had sent guns, an army in the field would, as the Harold had said, melt away like snow under a tropical sun, unless the lives of its soldiers were saved by an unconditional surrender. It was urged on the other side that soldiers hidden away in barracks and houses would be like chickens in a coop, He might be captured or killed but could not fight. For all practical purposes, an army of such soldiers was already disbanded. The whole country would be at the mercy of the enemy, who, if he had guns and ammunition,

could riddle the barracks with shot and burn down the houses in which the men were quartered. An enemy which would attack a body of helpless men with murderous weapons would devastate the country and burn and destroy property without limit. The Emperor spoke, I am in favor of the more active course. Armies are organized to fight. the day their men are scattered in houses where they cannot fight, they cease to be armies. A middle course was at length decided on. Of the army practicing the autumn maneuvers,

100,000 should be massed in the field where they now were, and the remainder should be sent to their barracks until it was seen how the others fared, or at least how they were to be attacked. A system of defense must next be devised, said the emperor. To do this, we must have some idea of the probable mode of attack. Can any one of the generals make a suggestion on this subject? "'Eamatta presents itself to me in this way,' said General Steinitz. Notwithstanding all that has been said as to what schemes or enemy we have in mind, I am disposed to attach credence to his utterances. He has absolutely denied having deadly weapons in the possession of his forces.

Both in his address and in his letter to your majesty, he has spoken only of disarming, not of fighting. To attack with missiles of any sort would not be to disarm. He cannot disarm without sending his forces to grapple hand to hand with our troops. Now let us take this point of view as to the possibility of doing this. He knows, or at least may well think, that if he can once get into the midst of a regiment with his moats, he can act with impunity, because he cannot be attacked by guns of any kind without our own men being killed. While he is in the air he can bid defiance to artillery,

it is impossible to point a gun at a flying object. As for musketry, we may assume that all the moats he intends to attack us in are built with the toughened alloy and are therefore bulletproof, as we have already found by experiment. At any rate, if they are not proof, our task will be a very simple one. Troops firing in the air could all fire at once, and incessantly, without breaking their ranks or moving from their places. Mouts not bulletproof would therefore be riddled before one of them could reach our army. The enemy must know this and have guarded against it.

Thus the problem is how our troops can defend themselves from an enemy in their midst without danger to themselves. How heavy a shot is required to pierce the tough undalloy, asked the Emperor. I have not the results of the trials in detail in my mind. We found that to really pierce a plate of the metal one centimeter thick required a steel shot of the weight of three ounces. A lighter steel shot, or a leaden shot of that weight,

would indent the plate but would not pierce it. The weight of metal required was proportioned to the thickness of the plate. In all likelihood, the sides of the moats are at least a centimeter thick, said the emperor. It is clearly useless to attack with anything lighter than the Nordhoff repeating guns. "'If our men should throw themselves flat on the ground, "'could not the Nordhoffs be fired at the moats over their heads? "'We should hit more of our own men than of the enemy,' replied the emperor,

"'and I do not want it said that our men merely killed each other. "'Suppose we instructed our troops to break ranks "'and run from the moat in each direction "'in the moment one landed in their midst. "'This will leave the enemy alone for at least a few seconds, "'and then the gun could be put to its work. "'Well, talking as if the enemy had no eyes,' said General Muller. "'If we had Nordov guns,

or any artillery in the field, he would make for them first and carry them off in a jiffy. We can conceal them, replied the other, after a pause. We can put them under small tents, or even sheets of canvas, leaving a hole to fire through. Let them be trained so as to enfilade our ranks. Then when our ranks scatter, they can be trained on any moat near the line of fire in an instant. This plan soon received unanimous approval, though the emperor was somewhat fearful that the gunners might lose their heads in the turmoil and fire while their own men were in line. Select the coolest gunners in the army for this work, he said to the chief of artillery.

I leave the details to the several generals. The chief of cavalry is to have all the cavalry within reach, drawn up to help the infantry, if possible. The question of this arm had not even been considered in counsel, and the generals doubted the wisdom of calling on it. But the case was not clear enough to warrant the raising of any objection to the imperial will. Now, said the emperor, I want the result to be decisive, if possible.

"'The men who shall attack us tomorrow have no standing in the eye of the law. "'They will be outlaws, pure and simple, from the moment that they strike a blow. "'The adjutant general will therefore issue a general order to the army "'in the terms which I am now going to dictate. "'It is expected that you will be attacked by bandits from the air, "'either tomorrow morning or at some very early day. "'Defend yourselves to the utmost. "'Fire at the armies in the air as you would fire upon armies on the ground.

"'Capture the enemy in his ships, if possible. Show no quarter to any, but put every man you find in the moats immediately to death with bullet and bayonet. There were no late sleepers next morning in northern Germany. Everyone well enough to move was up at daylight, and if near enough to Potsdam, was on his way to see what should happen. The troops were marshaled on the proposed place at break of day. Now let us return to the attacking party. The leaders were as much in the dark trying to guess the policy of the Germans as the latter were to guess the mode of attack. Would the Emperor show fight, or would he surrender to superior force with all the protestations

necessary to save his honor? Could an army be induced to fight vigorously against a foe in the clouds, or would hereditary superstition so demoralize them that they would lay down their arms at the first blow? If determined to defend themselves to the bitter end, what would be their tactics? These questions could be answered only by trial. The whole plan of attack was in Gein's hands. He had been somewhat uneasy as to this, but his solicitude on this point was set at rest by the declaration of his chief. Herefore, we have consulted at every step. We have now reached a stage which, for the time being, vigorous and united action is the watchword. From this moment you are sole commander of our forces, and I am only a spectator, except when some question of policy arises which I am to decide.

So give your orders, and change your plan of battle from moment to moment as you deem best, consulting me only in case you are in such trouble that I must decide upon the course to be pursued. We both need to sound night's sleep to prepare us for the morrow. So try to sleep as if you had nothing on your mind. They say that a condemned man always sleeps well the night before he is to be hanged, and that an army does the same when it expects to be awakened by the rattling of musketry. Perhaps the rule will apply to our case. It did.

Both men were surprised when informed by the centuries that it was nearly sunrise. Gine wanted to start early because he did not know where or in what condition he might find the enemy. As he was getting ready, he was surprised by one of the captains of the centipedes, asking to have a confidential interview with him. The captain reported that suspicions existed among several of the seraphim as to the loyalty of one of their number. The suspected person was in charge of Daddy 79. He had made several remarks to his fellow men expressing deep concern as to the legality of the undertaking in which they were engaged, and a keen appreciation of the advantages that would accrue to anyone who should succeed in putting his instrument into the possession of the Germans. Keen thought it best to take no action in the matter but simply to keep a lookout on the suspected daddy.

Naturally, the first place to look for the army was on the field of maneuvers, where he hoped it might be bivouacked. He was therefore agreeably surprised to see the enemy drawn up in the very array he would have chosen had he been allowed to direct its formation. What he had most feared was being under the necessity of chasing scattered squads here and there over the country, the proceeding which might have worn him out, enticed him into ambushes, and led to the capture of some of his moats. In serried ranks, the enemy had no chance of escape, unless by some device he had not foreseen. At six o'clock, the fleet of 350 moats was over the field, a mile high, looking like so many huge vultures about to pounce upon their prey. lowest of all were the plane moats, about 200 in number. They were followed by 150 centipedes.

Above and around them was a cloud of datties. Still higher up were Gein's headquarters on board the captain's moat. Above all, looking on but taking no active part in the struggle, was the Concordia with the owner on board. As the moats approached, a perfect hailstorm of bullets was poured upon them from the army, but the aim was mostly too low, and the few that struck did no harm, because, as our readers know, the material of which they were made was bulletproof, even it vulnerable to heavy shot.

It was different with the centipedes, for although they were made of the same material, there were joints and openings through which the bullets might enter and disable either the men or the delicate machinery. They were therefore ordered to stop and rise above the moats, out of the range of musketry. While this was going on, Gien surveyed the field. No heavy artillery, machine guns, or ammunition wagons were in sight. Evidently the soldiers had no ammunition except what was in their pouches, and it would not take long to exhaust the supply of such a fire were kept up. He therefore directed the moats to sweep back and forth, up and down, approaching the army

and receding again, so as to tempt it to keep up the fire. He thought the arrangement of the tents on each flank looked unusual, and, fearing a trap, ordered some daddies to pull a few of them up. Nothing unusual being found under any of those removed, his suspicions were allayed. Still, he thought it prudent to begin his attack with a small force. The work began without apparent loss of life or even serious, injury to the infantry, as Campbell had hoped. But there was one tragic, if rather ludicrous, incident. We have said that the Emperor, determined to use all his forces, had called out the cavalry

as well as the other arms of the service, though it was difficult to see of what use it could have been. The unaccustomed sight of an armed force approaching in the air so frightened the horses that they became unmanageable, and ran away in a compact body, falling down and rolling over each other in their veins struggles with the bits of their riders. The result, which proved faithily not a few cases. The destruction among the horses was, of course, yet greater. That squadron of cavalry was most effectually disbanded. When the fire began to slacken, three or four centipedes came down side by side, swayed almost upon the ground alongside the front rank of the soldiers, and proceeded to seize the arms from their hands and throw them on board, with a dexterity gained

by long practice. The soldiers retreated slowly at first, closely followed by the centipedes. Then they suddenly turned and ran. At the same time, at the same time, the same thing, and they retreated, and they were, instant a machine gun, concealed in a tent, opened fire. The shot was so heavy that the few which took effect completely pierced the nearest moat. Not only were two men seriously wounded by the flying missiles, but the great tube containing the etherene, which gave buoyancy to the vehicle, was pierced. The daddy immediately above the moat, grasping the situation, pounced upon the tent before more than three or four rounds could be fired, and carry the gun off with the greatest ease, throwing it after the retreating men as it had formerly thrown the gigantic tennis balls in the Coliseum.

The injured moat undertook to rise, but soon fell to the ground, fluttering like a wounded bird. It was first blood for the Germans. The device was now obvious, and no difficulty was found in discovering the other guns concealed in the same way. All the tents along the flanks were demolished, and whatever guns were found in them were thrown to the ground in a moment. Then the great mass of moats came down upon the ranks of the army. In the main, the method of attack was to have a centipede settle on one side of a rank of soldiers and a plain moat on the other. As neither touched the ground, it was very easy in this way to follow the men as they tried to retreat. The centipede took the arms out of the men's

hands and put them on top of its own deck. And then took the men up and put them on the upper deck of the moat. Here, unarmed as they were, they were quite helpless, and obeyed the order to go below till the two lower decks were crowded. When a moat had as many of the disarmed men as could find a place on the decks. The men were asked to what part of the country they belonged. Usually all, or nearly all, on any one moat were from the same town or region. The moat was dispatched to take them home, and on reaching their destination, they returned loose in the streets. Campbell and Gein had planned a scheme for requiring the men to put off their uniforms and dress in plain clothes to be supplied them, but this was one of the arrangements which

had fallen through in consequence of the necessity for a premature execution of the plan. The soldiers were therefore allowed to go home in their union. uniforms, thus leaving it possible to identify them as soldiers and collect them again if the opportunity offered. But it was hoped that the opportunity would not be offered. The few mounted officers who had brought their horses into the field suffered as the cavalry had done, and were glad to dismount and let their horses run away. The men were in such good discipline that the confusion thus caused in the ranks was soon repaired, but the officers were on foot, like the men, and were sent off with them, a course quite different from that which had been intended. What does that mean, said Gaines,

signal officer, just at the height of the turmoil. Both men looked at a maneuver not in the day's program. Daddy 79 was flying high above the main body of the force and making its way with all speed towards Berlin. Tell centipede's King and Paul to follow it and bring it back, said Gein. The centipedes were, of course, much swifter than a daddy, but the latter was lighter and could be moved about more readily. When the centipede overtook and sought to seize it, he'd had no difficulty in evading them by an upward, downward, downward, or lateral movement without slackening its onward course. It kept on in this way, reaching Berlin and landing on the Unter de Linden, immediately in front of the royal palace, before which a company of the imperial guards was stationed.

The seraph in charge of it opened its port and sprang to the ground. He was immediately pierced by a volley of balls from the soldiers, who naturally supposed that an attack on the palace or on the person of the emperor was intended. A moment later the two centipedes followed. A volley was discharged against them, but being shot-proof, no harm was done them. The foremost had no difficulty in seizing the daddy when the ladder was on the ground and in carrying it off. The only result of the incident was the death of the traitor by the hands of the enemy. It is needless to say that a deep impression was made on the attacking army by this tragic result. It showed that as a mere matter of safety, loyalty was the best policy.

When it became evident that the success of the plan was possible, a new and strange sight greeted the eyes of both armies. He was an immense banner, a hundred feet long and sixty feet in breadth, floating in the air between two moats, and bearing the words, Stricot-Gaver, Donfrida and Freuda, like kindred and Watterlanda. Lay down your arms, then peace and joy for yourselves, children, and fatherland. Many of the troops were quite ready to obey this request, but it was seen that resistance was no longer possible. By nightfall, three-quarters of the army assembled on the field were disarmed and sent to their homes, while the remainder, in a dazed and frightened condition, had thrown away their weapons and taken refuge in the barracks, thereby demoralizing their companions, or were wandering

aimlessly over the country. Desirable, though it was, to lose no time in the pursuit, nothing could be done in the darkness, besides which the men of the attacking party, though mostly working in two relays, were thoroughly exhausted. The fleet was therefore recalled at sunset, and a camping place for the night was selected. Up to this moment, Campbell and Gein had heard nothing from the world, since the had made his address and left his home to join forces with Gein. Although he had deliberately reached the conclusion that the less he knew of what men thought of his doings, the better he could carry out his work, his curiosity had now got the upper hand. He called three messenger moats and directed their conductors to sweep over the streets of Berlin,

looked for newspapers, and bring him a copy of each separate paper they could find. They were notified that the three must keep together, so that in case anything happened to one of them, the two others could come to its rescue. copies of several Berlin daily papers were thus secured, which the two leaders eagerly scan. What Campbell most feared was some concerted action by the leading nations to checkmate him by a common resistance to the bitter end. But the numerous telegrams from all quarters told of little but wild excitement, unreasoning comment, and proposals and suggestions of every degree of sanity and unsanity. So far as any thread of consistency could be traced in the mass,

the feeling was in favor of waiting to see what the moats could or would do before taking decided action. But, said Campbell, studying the Army news in the evening paper, Here is something we have got to look into. Well, what is it? Campbell read the Emperor's General Order and looked at his companion. I'm rather glad our men did not know of that, said Gein. He might have enraged them or frightened them, and I don't know which would have been the worse. As they did not know it, I can't say that I am altogether sorry the Emperor has taken such ground. We want to know whether the old regime is to stand or give way to the new.

The more desperate the fight it makes, the more decisive will be its defeat, if defeat it is, and the more readily men will welcome the victor. For this reason I am disposed to meet the Emperor's order, with action as aggressive as his words. Would there be any difficulty in capturing him if he shows himself in the field tomorrow, as he did today? Not the slightest, I don't believe he will show himself again. We should likely find it necessary to hunt him up in the council chamber of the Schloss. He must have learned prudence from the day's experience.

I am hardly prepared to go so far as to drag him from his council chamber just at present. If he is seen out of doors, have him captured at once and brought on board their concordia. If he keeps under cover, well, we will think the matter over. I should capture him wherever found on the very grounds you have taken. But there is no hurry, and perhaps we shall find him. The Emperor's general order proved innocuous, as the troops had not found it possible to make any prisoners or to seize a single moat except the disabled one, which was of no use to anyone, and was

therefore left on the field. When the worst of the fight was over, a daddy was sent to blow it to pieces with dynamite. The Emperor again spent the evening in council with his generals. Of the great army, 100,000 strong, which in the morning had been drawn up on the plains of Potsdam, hardly a vestige could be found. Telegrams from various towns in the provinces of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg showed that a large part of the men who had formed it were at their several homes, without arms, and that it was doubtful if they could again be brought together without a complete re-enlistment. The remainder had taken refuge in tents, barracks, or private houses, wherever they could find shelter, or were wandering aimlessly through the streets or over the fields.

Decidedly, the party which sustained the waiting policy, was vindicated. Only one course seemed feasible. All the troops in the neighborhood of Berlin, still numbering more than 100,000, must be gotten into their barracks or into the casemates of the fortifications before the attack was renewed in the morning. As the tents offered no protection, those who were quartered in them might remain there for the night, but must join their comrades in the barracks by daylight. The weapons and artillery were to be stored out of sight so far as possible. When the aerial fleet returned to the attack in the morning, not a vestige of an army could be seen.

All the arms which had been taken from the soldiers the day previous have been left in piles on or around the field, and there they still lay. Every preparation for disposing of them had been made long before. In the Imperial Park at Potsdam was an artificial lake, about four acres in extent, in the midst of which a fountain played on Galadais. A squadron of 50 centipedes was directed to pick up the arms, carry them to Potsdam, and throw them pell-mell into the center of the pond. When the top of the pile got above the water,

the muskets were to be piled up on top of those already there, supposed to form a huge pyramid. When the pile was complete, several carboyes of sulfuric acid were poured over the top of it, which would be carried through the whole mass by the first shower of rain. While this was going on, the main body of the fleet scoured the region for its prey. Even without the maps which Gein had with them, there would have been little difficulty in finding the barracks in which the garrison was ordinarily lodged, those at Telto were first reached. They comprised ten immense buildings, each capable of lodging twenty-five hundred men with

their officers. Of course, the moats could not enter by the doors or windows, and it is quite possible that for this reason the military authorities hoped to foil their enemy. But if they did, their mistake was soon evident. A half-dozen datties mounted, or rather settled, on the roof of each building, and with their sharp and well-practiced claws, proceeded to tear off the tiles and sheathing as a flock of hens might scratch up a flower-bed. The rafters followed, leaving the upper story entirely exposed. The soldiers who occupied it, as soon as they found the roof doomed to destruction,

ran downstairs and joined their companions on the floor below. The tops of their brick walls were then attacked in like manner, but the well-hardened cement proved too strong even for the powerful claws of the daddies. A few of the centipede moats were supplied with crowbars for seizing and pulling down walls, and these speedily reduced the buildings to a mass of ruins. As the work progressed, the unfortunate inmates rushed down from floor to floor and at length out into the parade ground, only to find themselves so completely surrounded by the enemy that nothing but surrender.

was possible. This is the end of Chapter 14 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story. Chapter 15 of His Wisdom The Defender, A Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 15, a captive emperor. I strongly suspect that had Campbell better understood the spirit in which the German emperor fought his battle, he would have been disposed to deal more gently with him, and condone his murderous order as something he was right in executing if he could. But neither of the antagonists knew how like was the spirit of their fight. The one saw the old regime could not be claimed to have passed away forever, unless it made the most desperate fight in its power to sustain itself.

If it did not fight to the death, if it begged for a compromise or even a truce, and succeeded in obtaining either, none could foreseen how much vitality it might have left, or how long it might rule the nations by the right of the strongest. Hence his desire to carry his work to the end, without giving any power the chance to propose a truce, and without exposing himself to the temptation to compromise, which a knowledge of what was going on below might have held out. If, after all, he could not overcome the passive resistance of United Europe, then he could say to the world, behold my power, what do you want me to do with it? Make known your wishes to my headquarters in Elba. The emberer, on his side of the contest, view the situation in much the same spirit.

honor of his house, vigorously upheld through all the generations from Barbarossa to himself, was dearer to him than life. That honor was associated with the old regime, and it required that he should uphold that regime to the bitter end. He could make no terms with the low-born person who was now seeking to establish a new order of things. What he might be forced to do if finally vanquished, he did not allow himself even to consider. He would cross that bridge when he came to it. On the second morning of the contest, he was at work from daylight, discussing the reports of the disaster of the day previous and trying to invent some new way of meeting his foe. He sent for Prince Valdeck, his minister of foreign affairs, with whom he drew up a dispatch to

the German ambassador at Washington, directing him to make a vigorous representation of the case to the American government and to ask for the immediate enforcement of its neutrality laws. The official dispatch was accompanied by private instructions to urge on Secretary Bain the immediate seizure of their works at Campbelltown by such force, military or civil, as could securely hold them and prevent any help being sent to their owner. Then he sent personal messages to the heads of the principal European states, inviting them to take concerted measures for the common defense, if possible indeed to come to Berlin or send a special representative to observe the proceedings and discuss the situation. On his cousin of England and his friend, the President of the French

Republic, he urged the seizure of the Lumotes, Hesperus, and Cynthia, which were already making regular trips between New York, Paris, and London. He asked the President of the Italian Republic to take immediate military possession of the works at Elba and prevent their being used as a base of operations. Of course, no ruler could leave his kingdom at so critical a juncture, but the request to send envoys to Berlin to observe and report on the situation was gladly applied with. The question of seizing the moats and the works at Elba in Campbelltown was a more delicate one. How it was dealt with, we shall see later. About 10 o'clock, just as he had finished his dispatches, he received word of the attack on the barracks at Teltow, the destruction of the roofs

the buildings and the difficulties which the attacking party was meeting in trying to tear down the walls. He immediately arose and expressed his intention of proceeding at once on a tour of inspection, going indeed as far as Teltto, if necessary. General Mueller was present and heard the announcement. Will your majesty allow me to make a suggestion? What is it? I suggest the question whether it is prudent in so critical a situation that your majesty should expose his person to a possible assault by the enemy. But I surveyed all the operations yesterday, without any. attack on me or my staff? Besides, what good would it do him to attack my person? What could he do with me? Cast not the fashion of uncertain evils. There are occasions when we should act in direct opposition

to this maxim, guarding ourselves most carefully against uncertain evils, and this is one of them. If there ever was a juncture at which Germany could not spare the head of a state, this is what? Never shall I allow Germany to feel that, at the most critical moment in her history, her emperor heard councils of prudence when the interests of his empire were at stake. Germany can dispense with her emperor better than he can say a word or perform an act unworthy of his house or of his exalted position. He cannot stay concealed in his palace while his soldiers are being carried into captivity. And if he should, could not the enemy find him there as easily as in the field?

If such is your majesty's view, I shall gladly accompany him to the field. In that case, as the bodyguard will be of no service for defense, it might be well that we went alone. We should attract less attention without the guard. I do not want it said that the German emperor escaped the fate of his army by a subterfuge of any sort such as going without his usual guard would be. Telephone Steinitz and such other generals, as are within reach,

to meet me at Schernberg in three-quarters of an hour from now. A ride of half an hour brought the emperor and Mueller to the appointed place where several other generals joined them, one by one, and made their reports. From Teltow, the news was bad. Most of the buildings were already raised to the ground, and the soldiers were being carried off as they were the day before. If the remainder of the army was to be saved, it must be concealed in the casemates of the fortifications, or in houses where their presence might not be suspected by the enemy. As these alternatives were being discussed, a fleet of moats, accompanied by a flock of daddies,

were seen in the air. The latter pounced upon the party like fishhawks diving for their prey. The emperor felt himself lifted out of his saddle as if by a pair of powerful arms, in a moment he was seated on something he knew not want, gently enough, yet held firmly as in a vice. Then he saw the ground receding below him and felt the blast as of a heavy wind from being carried through the air. The daddy had him seated on its knees, but it was holding him in its hands to keep him from falling, much like a child going through, ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross. The experience would have unnerved an ordinary man, but he was not such.

Dazed at first. He recovered his mental equilibrium in a few minutes and calmed. awaited his fate. In less than ten minutes he saw the Concordia before him. A door opened in her side, through which he was lifted, he hardly knew how. Placed upon the deck, he soon recovered from the bewilderment of his wild flight. He was received with the greatest deference by an usher, clad in white, who showed him to a room. As he passed along, he glanced with some interest at the motto. Campbell, suspecting the emperor's feelings, considered that there was no occasion for requesting a personal interview. In fact, it was not at all likely that such an interview would productive of any good result. He therefore directed that the emperor be taken by the usher into one of the

cabins and asked to occupy it for the time being. The usher returned and reported his duty performed. Campbell then dictated the following, which was written in a plain hand on the most sumptuous kind of paper. Should His Majesty the German Emperor be graciously pleased to annul and revoke his general order directing that no quarter be shown to the forces or endeavoring to disband his armies, an opportunity has now afforded him to do so. The usher was simply. The usher was sent back with the paper and with writing materials. The latter were placed on a table in front of the emperor, the former was placed in his hands. He glanced listlessly at it for a moment, and then laid it on the table without saying a word. The usher, in doubt whether he had really read it or not,

returned to report to his master. The emperor remained in gloomy silence for half an hour, determined that the first question or the first proposal should come from the other party, who was expected to feel that he, as emperor, was not going to enter into any arrangements whatever. At the end of the half hour, the usher paid the emperor a second visit, doing so by Campbell's direction in the most courteous and ceremonious manner. I am directed to say to your majesty that if you have any communication written or verbal to make either to the owner of the moats or to your own army or government, the owner of the moats will be very happy to consider or communicate it. The emperor replied not a word, still maintaining a dignified and gloomy silence. You might have been a

blind deaf mute. The usher returned and reported, no. progress. How does he look? asked the owner. I cannot say that he looks at all. When I first showed him into the cabin, he took his seat by the table, with one hand resting upon it, and his face turned towards the door. When I went in again, he was still in the same position. He might be a statue for all the notice he takes. An uneasy thought entered the owner's mind. Is he wearing his sword? Yes, that is, he has on what seems a sword. Campbell mused, it would be a terrible thing if he should kill himself. If he did, would I have the nerve to go on with my work?

I think not. If he wanted to speak to me, he could surely have said something to the usher. I think I can divine what he is thinking. Whatever I do, he wants to boast that he never deign to address me a word or notice my presence, even when he was my prisoner. This divination was quite correct. The emperor was thinking thus, I have yielded to a brute force which has taken possession of my person. the man who wills that force can do with my person what he pleases,

but he shall not have the satisfaction of knowing that a Holon-Zalern proposed terms to him or even honored him with a word or a look. He may do his worst. The question of the sword perplexed Campbell extremely. He was several times on the point of sending the usher to ask that it be surrendered. But what if it was refused? To attempt to take it by force might precipitate what he wanted to avoid. He finally hoped that the same pride which led the emperor to take the stand he did would prevent his doing anything so vulgar as killing himself. So he drew up the following paper. Mote Concordia, May 1946. Whereas his majesty, the German emperor, has been pleased to issue a general order to his army

that no quarter be shown to the forces of the owner of the Motes, who are endeavoring to disband that army, which order is couched in the following terms? Here follows the order as we have given it. Now, therefore, protesting against this my act being ever taken as a precedent or being justified by any law, desiring that it shall ever be regarded as called forth only by the exigency of the present situation, it is hereby order, that the same Friedrich Wilhelm, German Emperor, be kept in close confinement in such place as the owner of the moats may from time to time direct, until the said order shall be revoked or annulled by such regency or other authority, as may wield supreme power during the absence of the Emperor, and furthermore until His Majesty shall have indicated his

concurrence in the said annulment. Campbell, owner of the moats. The usher carried this order to the emperor. The latter refused even to look at it, sitting at his table and moved. The usher could do nothing but return to his chief and report. Did he not read the order? asked the letter. Not while I was there. I offered it to him, but he took no notice of my movements,

so I laid it on the table by his side. I suspect that he looked at it after you left. But even if he did not, it will make no difference. The question now was where to keep the prisoner. It would be very disturbing to the owner to have him on the Concordia. Campbelltown was too far away, and even if that had been nearer to send him thither would involve complications with the American government. There was only one spot in Europe over which Campbell had complete control, and that was Elba. The principal danger in sending him thither was that the Italian government might attempt his release.

But plans were all made to protect the island, an easy task, because it could be invaded only by water, and the moats could command the sea even better than the land. So Elba was chosen. The works at Elba had been placed in charge of one of the most trusted officers of the Order of the Seraphim under the title of commander, with whom, however, Campbell had had no communications since he commenced his great movement. The latter could now be left entirely in Gein's hands, and it was imperative that he himself should take personal charge of affairs at his only base of

operations. Gein was notified to go on with the work in hand, according to his best judgment, and to detail 50 d'addies and 20 centipines to accompany the owner to Elba. A small moat was also detailed for the transportation of the emperor. This was one of a few moat deluxe which had been fitted up and brought along for the transportation of distinguished personages with whom the owner might want to confer, or to whom he might tender a compliment. It was placed alongside the Concordia and fastened to her in such a way that a person could step from one into the other with entire security.

Its captain and lieutenant were summoned to the owner's room to receive their instructions. Campbell now began to be uneasy lest he had failed to treat the emperor with due courtesy. Under ordinary circumstances, he ought to have received him in person on his first arrival as the master of a house receives a distinguished guest. Perhaps it was owing to this neglect of the amenities that the emperor had demeaned himself so haughtily. So when everything was ready for the emperor's departure, the usher again presented himself. I am directed by the owner of the moats to inquire whether it will be agreeable to your majesty to allow him to pay his respects in person before your majesty's departure.

If it will be agreeable, he will do so immediately. During the two hours of the emperor's enforced leisure, he had enjoyed a better opportunity for reflection than had ever before been afforded him. As a result of this reflection, certain facts which, though he had known them from infancy, had modestly kept themselves in the background, now obtruded themselves on his thoughts in a very disagreeable way. One of these facts was that nature had made emperors on the same general plan that she had made peasants and philosophers, subjecting them all alike to the common

limitations of humanity. One of her inexorable laws was that the man who ate nothing in the morning but a biscuit should get very hungry before noon. It was now noon. A principle of international law that he had long ago been taught also insisted on presenting itself in a new light. It was that accomplished facts were to be accepted, how unpleasant soever they might be. Two accomplished facts stared him in the face. He was a prisoner, and he was hungry. Not being aware of the excellent culinary arrangements in Moat 92, on which he was soon to embark, he began to reflect seriously on the possible consequences to his stomach of a continued policy of absolute silence. As to receiving Campbell, his feelings were mixed. He did not want to see him,

and yet he was incensed at the slight shown his royal person by Campbell's not receiving him. An interview would have been disagreeable to both parties, and yet it could not be avoided without discourtesy on one side or the other, but he must relax a little. I am a person. I am a prisoner, he at length replied, and have nothing to say on the subject of my visitors. Will your majesty allow me to explain the situation more exactly? I will listen to anything you may have to say. I then beg leave to say, on behalf of the owner of the moats, that he has refrained from trespassing on your majesty's privacy for a fear that a personal interview might not be agreeable to you,

and a feeling that no good result would flow from it. As you were about to leave the Concordia, he desired me to make this explanation, and to ascertain whether he was wrong in this impression. Will your majesty be pleased to favor me with a more precise statement of his wishes on the subject of the moats? I have no wishes on the subject. If the gentleman presents himself, I shall, of course, receive him. That is all I can say. I fear the owner of the moats will be embarrassed by his lack of certain knowledge what course on his part will be most agreeable to your majesty. My duty will end with reporting what you have said. A few minutes later, the usher return, accompanied by the captain of

Moat's 92. I am directed by the owner of the moats to say that, acting on his own judgment, he reaches the conclusion that a personal interview will not be agreeable to Your Majesty. He therefore presents his apologies, accompanied by his earnest hope for your Majesty's speedy return to his empire. I now have the honor to present the captain of the moat, who has been detailed to take you from the Concordia. If he would like some lunch, sir, I mean, your majesty, we have it nearly prepared on my moat if you, your majesty will come along with me. The captain stood back, waiting for his distinguished prisoner to move. The latter was perplexed.

He had, of course, read the order for his imprisonment, but he had no idea how or where it would be carried out, and could not ask. He suspected that the present move was to his prison, and so would rather have stood where he was. But to what new humiliation might he not subject himself by refusing to stir? Moved by this consideration, he allowed himself to be ushered to the door of the moat. He winced a little on stepping into the other moat, half a mile in the air, but soon recovered his balance. He asked not a question as to where he was

going or what was to be done with him. The moat cast loose immediately and started for Elba, proceeded by the Concordia, which, being faster, arrived there first. This gave the owner time to make arrangements for the reception of his prisoner guest, and ascertained whether any hostile attempt had been made by the Italian government. The Concordia landed late in the afternoon, and was at once visited by the commander and his two lieutenants, Johnson and Miles. Well, I am glad to see you and find things here undisturbed. Has anything happened? Have the Italian shown any sign of hostility?

You cannot be glad or to see us, or we are to see you. Are you not getting us all into a dreadful scrape? The Leghorn papers tell us of your attack on the German army, and only half an hour ago Benson wired me that you had carried off the emperor, no one knew where. We'll talk about that later. I want to know whether we are to be attacked here. Have you any news as to that?

Only what's in the morning papers. Have you seen them? No, what do they say? say. The German government has proposed to all the powers that their Mediterranean fleets combine and seize this place, bombarding it if necessary. Austria and England have partly consented. Italy is so far non-committal, and France has not yet been heard from. The Italian police have been very inquisitive, but I have not heard of any hostile movement on their part. If that's their move, I hope to be ready for them by this time tomorrow. Meanwhile, we have a little business to attend to for the emperor.

He will arrive in number 92 in about an hour, and I will propose to keep him in a my house under close guard, I remaining here. Let Miles make the arrangements at once. He is to be treated with all the deference due to his rank, but not allowed to leave the house. James will go with you, and assist in receiving his majesty with all the honors. Trust him for that. He did it royally this morning. The Emperor had not deigned to speak one word during the entire journey, except to the waiter who served his lunch. He preserved the same silence when he was received by the officers and shown to his lodgings. The limits within which he was to be confined, including a

parlor, bedroom, and dressing room were shown to him, and he was left to himself. Then, for the first time, human nature asserted himself, and he expressed a wish. It was that his valet might be brought to him. This is the end of Chapter 15 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story. Chapter 16 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 16

The Naval Attack on Elba It took three days to prepare for the naval attack on Elba. Let us take advantage of the lull to view the storm which was raging over Europe and learn how the little island came to be chosen as the site of Uranerburg, the seat of empire. The latter can be told in a few words. Campbell wanted an island for his seat because an island could be more readily defended against attack or invasion, and would be more easily commanded than a region with purely

artificial boundaries. He wanted to place his seat in Europe rather than his own country, because the latter, with this traditional policy of peace and goodwill, would require less of his attention than the war-ridden countries of Europe. He wanted a seat favored by its climate, and so preferred the Mediterranean to the Baltic. He would have preferred a situation farther west, one of the Balearic islands, for example, but the rugged surface of these mountain ranges, rising above the water could not be made the sight for a great city, such as he contemplated. so Elba was chosen. These reasons seem good enough to do away with a suspicion frequently expressed

that it was Tiana who really fixed the side of Urenaberg. Yet we must admit that she made the founder better satisfied with the circumstances that dictated his choice. It goes without saying that Campbell had all along taken every measure that his foresight could suggest to guard his base of operations against a naval attack. The commander of the place was, next to Geim, the most trusted officer of the Angelic Order, and as soon as the details of construction of the daddy had been perfected, a number of these instruments were made expressly for use in dealing with armed ships.

Now that an attack was imminent, it was not prudent to remain in ignorance of what the world might be about to do, so the Italian journals were sent for and eagerly scanned. If he had not felt himself across the Rubicon, with his bridges all burned behind him, their contents might well have appalled him. From every quarter only one story came, that of unbridled denunciation and fierce resistance. The London Times, ever mindful of its dignity, approached the nearest to moderation and reasonableness in its comments. But even it had no word of apology. Never was so great an opportunity placed within the grasp of a human hand, and never did the possessor of an opportunity waste it, as Campbell has done.

Weielding the power he did, all the world would have listened with respectful attention to many proposals he might have made to ensure that his enterprise should be productive of nothing, but that good to mankind which he declared to be his supreme object. The powers were ready to deliberate on the subject, and devise from time to time the measures best adapted to meet the emergency. They would naturally have looked to the United States to take the lead in executing their plans. He would thus, with the concurrence of the leading nations of the world, have earned for himself in perishable fame. All this he has thrown away with the recklessness to which no parallel can be found in history. He has become not only a criminal,

but an outlaw. Whatever power succeeds in capturing him may deal with him at its own will. that his forces must soon be exhausted, no reasonable person can doubt. All that is to be feared is a general attempt on the part of some one nation to seize the remnants of his power. This can easily be guarded against by a concurrent agreement which we believe can be reached without even waiting for the final downfall of the man who has pitted his strength against that of the world. These denunciations, universal though they were, formed only one of the clouds in the horizon. Yet blacker ones were that men everywhere lost their heads. At the exchanges and borses, stocks and bonds of every kind were being sacrificed in so mad a rush

that these institutions were closed through the voluntary act of the brokers themselves. Universal bankruptcy seemed to stare the commercial world in the face. Laborers were everywhere thrown out of employment because all demand had ceased, and employers did not know what was to come next. People were going insane with excitement in such numbers that the asylums could not contain the crowds that were brought to their doors for treatment. mobs were everywhere rampant, especially in Germany. Sometimes the police could control them, and sometimes not.

They were destroying life and property in every direction. The requisition of the German government on that of the United States to prosecute Campbell for violation of the laws of neutrality had been promptly answered with the assurance that every measure in the power of the government would be taken to execute the law. Warrants had accordingly been issued, and whenever Campbell should return to his own country, he would at once become a prisoner at the bar of justice. But what was the world to do? We might almost say that no two men were agreed, except on a single point, the offender must be

resisted to the bitter end. Every general declaimed in its own way, and proposed plans from day to day, only to have them shown impractable the day following. One idea was to seize all the moats that could be found and send them over to fight the insurgent owner. The proposal of the emperor that the Secretary of State and the English and French governments caused the seizure of the Cynthia and Hesperus met with General approval. But what could have been done with them after they were seized? To look for

Gein, as he was flying from place to place would have been useless. He encamped every night on a different spot, and no one knew beforehand where that spot would be. No one knew how to make a centipede or a daddy, or how to construct any of the apparatus that Campbell was employing. And if men did learn, weeks of practice would still be required to use the machines. The British and French governments had agreed that the neutrality of the moats should be respected. The terms of this agreement we have already stated. Campbell had been extremely cautious that no excuse for violating it should be offered, and nothing to be used by him was transported in these vehicles. The seizure of the German Emperor added new fuel to the flame. If it did not increase it,

it was only because any increase was impossible. The same might be said of a suicide of the Tsar of Russia, which occurred the moment it was discovered that the annihilation of the Russian military power was to be as complete as that of the German. Messages looking to a conference of the heads of the European states were sent to and fro, but none of these heads felt justified in leaving his kingdom in such an emergency. The proposed joint attack of the navies upon Elba looked so feasible that it was received with universal approval. A new impetus was given the proposal when it became known that the seat of the owner of the moats had been chosen for the German emperor's prison. It was felt that such an indignity to the head of the leading state in Europe was not to be tolerated,

and the only question was how to release him. As he was imprisoned on Italian territory, the government of Italy was looked to to take the lead. But this government showed great lukewarmness in the premises. The fact was that, under arrangements which Campbell had begun to make with it, Italy was to be the first European beneficiary of his enterprise, and when called upon to seize its own island of Elba by military force, it had a more valid excuse than this. It was impossible to send an army over from the mainland without its being speedily destroyed by the forces which Campbell had placed there for its defense. It was not for a moment to be supposed that the position destined to become his main base of operations had been left in an undefended condition. It was well known that after having entrusted the

disarmament of the Russian armies to Gein, he had remained at Elba, making every preparation for his defense. A cloud of datties which appeared from time to time over his headquarters showed that he was preparing for an emergency. But a naval attack looked more hopeful. It is true that Campbell had spoken of hauling the navies of the world ashore as a part of his program, but no way of doing this was apparent, and in any case, if all the navies together could not fight the owner of the moats, the sooner they were sold for old iron, the better for all concerned. It was agreed that the combined fleets should be under command of the ranking officer, who proved to be the British Admiral. The Port of Bastia, on the east coast of Corsica,

about 40 miles from Elba, was chosen as the rendezvous, where preparations for the attack should be made. The English, German, Italian, and Austrian fleets all reached this point four days after the capture of the emperor. The French fleet failed to come. Its non-appearance and the general attitude of the French government caused great uneasiness. It began to make conditions as to the command and the movements of the combined fleets of so dilatory a character as led to the suspicion of an Arié-Ponsei of some sort. But there was no time for dilly-dallying, and the other four powers ordered their fleets to proceed without regard to France. Campbell's determination and courage rose to the height

of the crisis, he began to suspect that there was something illogical in the idea of forcibly putting an end to war without even a battle, and began to feel like accepting a challenge. Still, he felt some concern lest his motives might be misconstrued if he made an attack on the fleets before they attacked him, especially if, as was inevitable, loss of life should result. So to satisfy his own conscience, if for nothing else, he decided to make public his intention to defend his position at every hazard. The best medium of communication seems to be able to to be the London Times, to which he telegraphed the following communication as soon as he heard of the proposed movement. I understand that the powers contemplate a combined naval attack on my

station at Elba. As such a course will lead to a speedy solution of the important question whether I possess the power to destroy the navies of Europe, as well as to disband its armies, and as such a solution may be desirable in the general interests of humanity, I cannot disapprove of the proposed attack. At the same time, I must express the fear that the conflict which will thus be precipitated, will be attended with loss of life, as my preparations for dealing with armed ships are far from being as complete as those for disarming land forces. I have to add that I shall regard any entrance of warships into the Laguerian Sea as being made with hostile intent, and shall take such measures for their destruction as I may have at command. Campbell, owner of the moats.

In issuing this challenge, our hero built it far better than he knew. It was characteristic of the system of fatalism that when the victim was warned of his fate, and, in consequence, took every measure he could to guard against it, these very measures proved to be instruments in executing the decree. It was so in the present case. The naval authorities, thus forewarned, determined to elude their adversary by a change of plan. The post of rendezvous was changed from Bostia to San Florenza on the west shore of Corsica, and the fleet was to sail from this point for its destination by night, so as to reach the harbor of Porto Ferrio by daybreak, and begin bombarding the place, or landing sailors, before their presence was known to the defenders.

As fate would have it, the latter could not have wished for any better policy than this. Looking back, it does seem curious that the military powers should have supposed that their adversary, who had been planning everything for years, would have failed to be on his guard against a night attack, and with all the contrivances he had at hand, would not be more at home by night than by day. but perhaps we should have done no better than our grandfathers in such an emergency. The fleets gathered according to orders. A study of the problem by the admirals and captains in council led to a plan by which it might be

possible for the ships to defend themselves mutually against any attack by moats. Machine guns throwing shot of a weight sufficient to penetrate either a moat or a daddy could, without difficulty, be mounted in the tops of the men of war. To reach any one of these guns without encountering its fire, the attacking party would have to come towards it from above. The searchlights could be turned upon the descending moats, then all the ships around could fire at them as they were coming down without endangering each other. The combined fleet was 60 strong in ships, and the crews numbered nearly 40,000. The plan of attack and defense, of which these were the main features, was matured on the

evening of June 26th. The whole of the next day was spent in mounting machine guns so that they could be fired in the air and practicing the men in handling them. Before nightfall, all was ready, and sunset was awaited with the greatest anxiety, for then the combined fleets were to leave their moorings. But the sun had not set before the officers were astonished, and the men filled with superstitious fear, by the appearance of a score of moats, aerial ships they were then called, at a great height in the blue sky. Scarcely one, even though the officers, had yet seen a moat. Half an hour after the aerial fleet was first sighted, it was in the zenith, and there seemed to come to anchor, so immovable was its position.

This very stillness added to Jack's discomfort. He was always a superstitious fellow, and the calmness with which the demoniac power looked down upon him suggested the placid certainty with which a gigantic vulture might watch its prey. As minutes, which seemed ours, passed away, and the enemy remained as if nailed to the sky, the feeling extended from sailors to lieans, from them to captains, perhaps even from the captains to the admirals.

There's something fallen from one of them things, sir? The officer addressed looked up. It was not from one thing alone that something was following, but from all. A few moments later a crash was heard and a violent shock felt. What was that? said the captain as he ran a midship. What is it? asked all the officers, as they gathered around a hole in the deck large enough for a man to pass through. Dynamite? No, the sound was not that of an explosion. See, there's a hole in the main deck, too. Go below and see what's to pay.

Before this last order could be executed, a report as to what was to to pay became no longer necessary. The sound of rushing water in the boiler space was heard by all. Men ran up from below reporting that the ship was filling. Lower the boats. Carpenter, take soundings. Within the space of five minutes, experiences such as these were suffered on twenty of the sixty ships. Twenty others had heard or seen something drop in the water alongside of them, but did not know what it was. Signals of distress arose from the first twenty, and boats were lowered from all to aid their sinking companions or save their own men. Twelve thousand of the latter were landed.

The remainder were missing, or were added to the complement of the remaining ships. The number of ships afloat was reduced to forty. The enemy was seen sailing slowly away in the sky, as if satisfied with what had been done. The British flag-ship was among the forty left afloat, and her admiral was the coolest and most resolute of men, a worthy successor of Nelson. The fleet of boats had not done picking up the men struggling in the water, or clinging to the spars of the sunken ships, when he signaled requesting a conference with the other admirals. They all gathered in his cabin. It is now sunset, the hour for sailing. Where my own fleet

the only one concerned, I should immediately order it to proceed to the attack, but in view of the deplorable accidents to so many of our ships, I deem it courteous to ask you whether you are ready before giving sailing orders. If you are, we sail at once for Friot, as agreed upon. The Austrian and Italian admirals protested against so imprudent of course. The German was silent, He thought of his imprisoned monarch and could not lag behind when an Englishman proposed to rescue him whatever he might think of the prudence or practicability of the attempt. "'I think we should be encouraged by what has happened,' said Admiral Collins. "'The enemy has spent his force, and will pass the night in fancied security, feeling sure that he has disabled us.

These are the very conditions under which he should be attacked, without an hour's delay.' "'We should at least await further orders from our governments,' said the Austrian. "'That will involve a day's delay and give the enemy so much more. more time to prepare himself. I have my orders and mean to act on them. The result was that the English and German fleets, numbering 25 ships, sailed to the attack, the other two fleets awaiting orders. While the former are on their way, let us take a glance at Elba. We have already intimated that Campbell had not been able to contrive any quite satisfactory method of attacking and rending harmless a fleet of warships. The problem was to sink the ships or haul them ashore without killing or

drowning the sailors, and without exposing his own men to danger from their fire. One plan was to drop battering rams from a height of several thousand feet, of such size and weight as to go through a ship from top to bottom. But he foresaw the difficulty, perhaps impossibility, of adjusting the position of the moat and the moment of dropping the ram with such precision that the latter would strike the ship in its fall, especially if the ship were in motion. Stale, he determined to try the experiment and had fifty such rams constructed. Each was a steel-pointed cylinder, a foot or more in diameter and 12 feet long, filled in the interior with lead and weighing some five tons. We have seen what measure of success was gained by this contrivance. If he had

foreseen how well it would work, he might have sunk the whole of the combined fleets with the greatest ease, as he had actually sunk one-third of their ships. But there was no time to cry over lost opportunities. The warships were steaming ahead. They were rounding Cape Corso when searchlights more powerful than their own shone on them from above and around. No doubt could remain that their movements were as well known at Elba as if they had been made by day. The fleet reached Porto Friayo at dawn without any other incident. Admiral Collins inwardly felicitated himself on his foresight. The boats were lowered and men began to jump into them.

Before they could push off, the Admiral began to lose his self-complacence at the sight of 30 daddies rising up from the town to the height of a thousand feet. Telescope showed that a cord was suspended from each. Tracing these cords downward, something that looked like an enormous shale. was seen at the end of each. The way in which the machine guns were to be evaded was now plain. If these objects were torpedoes, the datties could explode them alongside a ship and it remain a thousand feet in the air. At this height it was very doubtful whether the machine guns of the fleet could be pointed at them. They were soon suspended over the fleet. Then one after another,

they slowly descended in such a way that each torpedo could gently dip into the water immediately alongside a ship. The torpedoes were so constructed that a pressure of ten feet of water upon an airbag attached to each would explode the weapon, which contained two tons of nitroglycerin. As the doughties descended, the machine guns from the ships directed a rather wild fire into the air. Accurate aim was impossible because no idea of the range could be formed, but a better defense was made than had been made by any of the armies which had been attacked. As the torpedoes approached the water, the datties from which they were hung had to move with great deliberation so as to get their charges into the right position. This gave the gunners their opportunity, as the

Charges began to explode here and there among the fleet. Several daddies, one after the other, were struck by shot. The men inside two of them were killed, and three or four others were so damaged that they dropped into the water. The remainder reached the shore in safety after exploding their torpedoes. The result of this stage of the contest was that four men out of sixty on Campbell's side were lost, while all but a half dozen of the ships were sunk or sinking. Although the self-complacency of the Admiral had evaporated, his resolution was as firm as

ever. It was to be determined once for all whether one of the most powerful naval forces ever collected could or could not successfully cope with a new machinery of war. And the decision of this question justified the most heroic measures. If the sinking ships had to be abandoned, the men should take to the boats with their arms and their hands and row to the shore. Never before had men escaped from drowning in order to form an attacking force. Whether to save their lives or to storm the place, there was but one thing to be done. The boats must land their men as rapidly as possible, and then returned to take off those who might be left. The water where the ships had come to anchor was so shallow that the upper works of the

sunken ones were mostly above its surface, and to those clung such of the crews as could not at first be taken in the boats. Besides the daddies which had attacked the ships, there were a number held in reserve. These attacked the boats with their claws, but an annoying musketry fire was kept up from the boats, which, although it did not penetrate the walls of the aerial machines, served to distract the men who were in them. The boats were too heavy to be lifted out of the water, and when the effort was made to upset them, they were merely pulled to one side through the yielding fluid in which they floated. Only about a dozen were successfully upset. The men and these threw down their arms and swam

to the shore. The other boats succeeded in effecting a landing, and their crews formed for a march upon the factories while the boats returned to the ships. But before they could even form in marching order, they were thrown into confusion by an attack of centipedes. The arms were pulled out of the hands of the sailors just as they had been pulled out of those of the German soldiers, and being so damaged by the pressure of the iron claw as to render them useless, were thrown away. In this way, not only was the number of effective men every minute diminished, but those who kept their arms were so busy defending themselves that they became oblivious of their main object. Their officers tried to rally them, and actually succeeded in getting a force of about a thousand

strong, half English and half Germans, to run up toward the factories. But the centipedes captured the officers with the greatest ease, depositing them upon their upper decks, and leaving the men with no clear idea what to do. At the end of an hour, what was left of the naval force, consisted of some 6,000 unarmed men scattered along the shore in a daze and demoralized condition, and a few ships still afloat, having on board of them the remnants of their own crews and of those of the sunken vessels. What was now feared on the land was a bombardment by these ships. As there were no defensive works, this mode of attack would not have been in accord with the customs of war, but one could not feel sure what desperate measures might not be taken by men in such an emergency.

It was therefore imperative that a truth should be agreed upon, or that the remaining ships should be sunk by the only mode of attack available, the torpedo. No time was lost in preparing for either course of action. A daddy, bearing a flag of truce, carried to the British flagship a letter in one of its claws, and deposited it on the quarter-deck. It was picked up and handed to the admiral, who was sufficiently alive to the situation to open and read it. It contained a statement that if the fleet were willing to surrender, no further attempt will be made to sink the remaining ships. The alternative was made evident by the sight of 20 d'addies hanging over the shore awaiting the order to attack. The admiral had to consult with this German coadjutor, a proceeding

which took some time. Before reaching a conclusion, the situation was summed up. Of the combined fleet of 60 ships, perhaps the most powerful, if not the most numerous, that had ever been assembled, only a half-dozen remained. The approaching fate of the ladder was red in the metallic visages of the curious beings hanging over the shore, each with a cord much longer than had been used in the first attack. If a new force were landed, nothing could save it from the centipies, which, having already disarmed the force on shore, awaited its arrival. Any attempt to continue the attack would result only in a useless destruction of life and property. The flag of truce returned, with the answer of the two admirals. They agreed to surrender, but requested

facilities for communicating with their respective governments as to the disposal of the ship's crews, whether on board or on the shore. An interview was requested to arrange details. Campbell replied, acceding to the interview, and offered every facility for the communication desired. He would send a messenger-mode to Pianbino, the nearest town on the Italian shore, with any dispatches which the admirals wished to send.

If no further hostilities were intended, it would be easy to send the sailors to Pianbino or Fonolica on the remaining ships. Time will be given to transport the sailors from the shore to the ships. If the latter did not then sail away, he reserved the right on two hours notice to sink them if you could. Next morning, the sailors were all put on board the ships by centipede moats, and orders from the governments were awaited. After much telegraphing, the powers decided to give up the attack for the time being

and recall their fleets. This is the end of Chapter 16 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story. Chapter 17 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin Chapter 17 The French Attempt on the Cynthia On the day that the remnant of the combined fleets

sailed away from Elba with their human freight, an event occurred which filled Campbell with deeper emotion than any he had experienced since commencing his movement. We have already alluded to the fact that, through all his attacks upon the German armies, he had allowed the two great Lumotes, the Hesperus and the Cynthia, to continue their regular trips.

the hesperous between New York and London, the Cynthia between New York and Paris. Few passengers had, however, been carried because men were naturally timorous in undertaking a journey across the ocean by such a method, until experience had demonstrated its safety. Moreover, few were disposed to choose a period of such universal turmoil to make a journey. Great surprise was therefore felt that the continued running of these moats, because it seemed to be placing within reach of the British and French governments a means of attack and defense which might result in their own owner's defeat. If they chose to seize these vessels, fill them with armed men and send them to Elba,

what was to hinder them from inflicting a crushing defeat upon their owner? It was supposed that the latter disregard of this danger, because he had entire confidence in the British and French governments, carrying out their agreement guaranteeing the moats from seizure. To understand the event now to be narrated, we must begin by a brief description of these first loomotes, of which the construction differed in some points from that with which we are familiar. The central portion being cylindrical in form, and 60 feet in diameter, it was 60 feet from the bottom to the top of the moats.

They had three decks. The lower deck was 20 feet above the bottom at its lowest point. This space formed the main hold. Owing to the curvature of the bottom, the height of the hole diminished continually towards each side. The rear half of it was occupied by the great furnaces which were necessary to keep the etherene thermalized and which burned 100 tons of coal on each trip. The remainder of the space was taken up with the mail rooms and storerooms for passengers' baggage. The space between the next two decks was entirely filled by the state rooms. On the deck above them were immense dining halls and sitting rooms. Above this deck, the great arched roof formed by the upper part of the cylinder rose 24 feet

at its center. It was built of aluminum arches, the narrow spaces between which, only about one foot and width, were filled with thick, strong glass. This glass vault was in the daytime, almost as bright as the sky outside, and being airy, was the general place of resort for the passengers. At the usual running height of 15,000 feet above the ocean, it was necessary to the comfort of the passengers that the air pressure around them should be higher than it was outside. This was brought about by having the prow of the moat terminate in a circular opening, six feet in diameter. The rapid motion of 350 feet a second would have caused a violent rush of air through this opening had there been one equally large at the other end for its escape. At the stern, however, the opening was made

comparatively small, so that the air which actually entered at the front was just sufficient to give good ventilation and feed the fires below. The result was that the advancing boat exerted a pressure upon the air in the front opening, the reaction of which kept the barometer inside the moat some full inches higher than it was outside. To prevent the force thus generated from bursting the roof, the latter was made strong enough to bear the pressure of an entire atmosphere. As we have said, a free space of 24 feet between the deck and the roof. This was partly filled by a promenade deck, 12 feet in breadth, extending through the forward 200 feet of the moat, about 8 feet above the main deck. A strong metallic cylinder, 8 feet in diameter, passed vertically through all the decks,

as well as the vault above, at a distance of 50 feet behind the prow. The upper part of this cylinder formed the pilot house, which projected about 3 feet above the top of the moat. Here we're stationed the captain and pilots. From our description, it will be seen that the latter, when in such a position that they could look around, would stand with their feet some twelve feet above the promenade deck, but being enclosed within the metallic cylinder which we have described were entirely invisible. It was noticed by the passengers that neither captain nor pilot was ever seen. Walking to the front of the promenade deck, one could pass round the cylinder below the

pilot house and examine it on all sides. There was nothing about it to excite notice except what looked like a door with an ordinary handle to open it and a keyhole. Although it seemed plain enough that this door was the entrance to the pilot house, it was noticed that no one was ever known to come through it. This was attributed to prudence, which required that the conductors of the moat should during the voyage not be allowed to leave their posts or engage in conversation with the passengers.

The fact was that this supposed door was a sham. The real entrance to the cylinder was a secret one, through what looked like a door devoted to rubbish in the hold of the moat. The whole interior of the cylinder was taken up with elevating machines, and with the rods and levers which passed from the pilot house downward and worked the elevating arms, by which the etherene was made more or less buoyant, as might be required, or impelled in the direction the moat was to take. There was also an elevator by which the conductors and pilots could be lifted most of the way through the 60 feet they had to mount

to reach the pilot house. The secret door at the bottom, by which an entrance to the cylinder was gained, closed perfectly airtight. About 10 feet below the pilot house, there was a horizontal floor or diaphragm, with an opening for passage up or down, which could be made airtight. In case of an emergency, the captain and pilots could pass below this diaphragm, and close the opening above them so as to be enclosed in the airtight part of the cylinder. Here they would find a duplicate set of apparatus for guiding and running the moat, including compass and barometer. On the inside of this part of the cylinder were tanks filled with oxygen at high pressure. It was thus possible in an emergency for a moat to be run from this

lower part instead of from the pilot house, and for the men to remain there for an hour or more without suffocation. These arrangements were known only to the captains, who were sworn to the most absolute secrecy. What other instructions they received in order that they might meet an emergency will appear subsequently. The pilots reached the pilot house from the outside, by a ladder passing over the roof of the moat and thence to the ground. The object of this singular proceeding, when to all appearances there was a door inside for them to ascend by, no one suspected, not even themselves. In addition to the captain and pilots, some of whom were always on watch in the pilot house, a watchman was kept continually on the roof outside the pilot house while the moat was at its station,

either in Paris or London. The instructions to these watchmen were to keep a constant lookout for any attempt by a possible body of men who were not passengers to enter the moat in a threatening way. In case of such an attempt, an electric arm was to be touched, which was set in motion two rows of gongs. On sounding these gongs, the watchman was instructed to jump into the pilot house and go below with the captain and pilots. There was no secrecy about this danger signal. The printed instructions for passengers notified them that in case of any catastrophe being threatened

while the moot was in the port, a danger signal was to be sounded on hearing which all the passengers were to leave as soon as possible. Similar directions were given to all the workmen within who were to abandon their work and leave whenever the great gongs were sounded. At noon on June 15th, the Cynthia gently settled into her station on the shop to Mars, as usual.

No one noticed, that on the last two voyages, several passengers went from Paris to New York and came back on the return trip. Had this been observed, suspicion might have been aroused as to the motives which inspired so rapid a double journey. Equally unnoticed was the curiosity shown by these passengers in examining every part of the moat to which they were allowed access, such a sentiment being almost universal. Nor did anyone observe the proceedings of one of these Frenchmen who won the preceding voyage and occupied himself in making wax impressions of the sham keyhole, the door leading up to the pilot house. This false door was in front of the great cylinder we have described, and being near

the end of the promenade deck was concealed from the great body of passengers thereon. It thus happened that the little space in front of it was frequently empty, and then the locksmith could carry on his work without being seen. The Cynthia, as we have said, settled quietly into a resting place. The doors were opened on the side for the exit of passengers, those on the other side, intended only for entrance, being kept closed until all the arriving passengers with their baggage had left the moat. During the two hours required for the landing, it was quite common for departing passengers to wait outside the entrance gates before they were open for admission. Thus, the curiosity shown by certain persons who were peering through the iron bars excited no remark.

Everything went on as usual until the baggage was nearly all landed. Then something happened so unexpected that the lookers-on were for a moment quite dazed. A crowd of men in citizens' clothes, but armed with muskets, bayonets, sledgehammers, and chisels, came suddenly, running to the exit gate of the enclosure, they knocked down the two watchmen on guard and rushed through the crowd of panic-stricken passengers to the moat. The guards could offer no resistance, and had no time to close the great aluminum doors. The watchman on top was so taken by surprise that the head of the column had nearly reached the moat before he sounded the gong. The porters and firemen within had not time after hearing the alarm to get out before their exit was barred by the

inrush of men, so they ran to the entrance side, hastily opened a door, and jumped to the ground. As soon as the watchman had sounded the alarm, he jumped into the pilot house, while the captain and pilots below ran into the airtight space we have described, the watchman following. The captain was for a moment and doubt what to do. His orders in such an emergency were to fly as high as possible immediately and bring the moat to Uranerburg. He ventured to hesitate so far as to run up to the pilot house himself in order to be sure of the necessity of this heroic measure. There could no longer be any doubt. The armed men were rushing through the open doors in two columns.

He turned the lever which caused the moat to rise, and again jumped into the compartment below and closed the airtight trap door over the heads of himself and the other two occupants. Now, as we have said, the moat could be navigated for a considerable distance without seeing outside the cylinder. An electric light permitted the reading of the barometer, which showed the air pressure both without and within, as well as the compass. There was no difficulty in going on a voyage so long as life and activity could be maintained by the stream of oxygen which could be turned on from the holders below. About 50 of the assailants had succeeded in getting into the moat, when she slowly began to rise.

The last dozen who had entered, alarmed at this, retraced their steps and jumped out. The remainder were obliged to stay whether they wished to or not. They lost no time in trying to gain possession. The leader, followed by his men, climbed as fast as possible with a cry, en avant, to the upper deck, mounted the narrow promenade, and then ran forward to the base of the pilot house, taking out a key which had been carefully filed, to fit the sham lock of the door, he inserted it. To his surprise, it turned round loosely without unlocking anything or producing any effect. He vainly tried to make it catch hold of a bolt.

By the time he had satisfied himself that he could not unbolt the door, a roar was heard, both above and below. Below it was the rush of air out of the boat through the open doors, as that outside grew rarer with the ascent. Above, it was the low roar always produced by the rapid motion of the moat upwards and onwards. Try your bayonets, said the leader, he saw that the door could not be unlocked. The bayonets were inserted in the false crack between the door and the cylinder, with a view to prying it open, while the leader took a small dynamite torpedo from his pocket and put it into the keyhole to blow the lock to pieces. Of course, both attempts were vain. The bayonets simply bent in the crack, and the torpedo did no

damage except to blow off some of the metal round the lock. Then they began to beat the supposed door, with the sledgehammers and the butts of their muskets, crying to those inside to open. in every moment they felt themselves flying higher and the air getting rarer. Finding that the door resisted every attack, yet more violent measures were attempted. There was a narrow horizontal opening in the cylinder just below the roof of the moat. This was closed by glass, forming a sort of window through which an indistinct view of the now empty interior of the pilot house could be obtained. Fire through the window! The volley of musketry, fired at a venture with the view of alarming the

supposed inmates, produced no effect except to destroy the window. All within was as silent as the grave. Every minute the roar of the air increased, and the situation grew more desperate. Mountain climb into the window. Some of the most agile of the men undertook to obey the order by climbing up to the roof of the guards round the promenade in order to enter the pilot house through the broken glass. One managed to get his head through the window and was dumbfounded to find the place quite empty. He had to drop immediately, as he found himself without breath for such exertion.

The program of the attacking party had been very simple. By guile or force, with keys, chisels or hammers, as might be required, they were first of all to get possession of the pilot house, while the moat lay in her bed, and shoot the inmates if they offered any resistance. If they did not resist, they were to be compelled to show the victors how the moat was navigated. This, however, was not important because, once in possession of the wheels and levers of the navigating power, it would only take a few hours to find out how they were worked. The idea that the moat might run away with them before they could get possession had scarcely entered

their minds. When they found it doing so, they were at first so intent of on executing their plan that they failed to think of anything else. Now, frustrated in the attempt to enter the pilot house, they had time to think, and soon realized the terrible situation. The moat was carrying them higher and higher, and the continued rarefaction of the air would soon cause suffocation. Only one resource was within reach. Run below and close the doors of the moat. As the men who tried to do so approached the first door, the outrush blew the three foremost of them out, like feathers. Those behind them on each side were obliged to grasp the rails of the stairway in order to avoid meeting the same fate, and made their way back against the air storm with the greatest

difficulty. Arriving again at the upper deck, exhausted and out of breath, they could only report the fate of their fellows and their inability to do anything. Every minute the air grew rarer. Every minute exertion became more difficult. A dozen hammers and as many muskets beat loudly upon on the outside of the pilot house, but no sound came back. Open! Open! Open! For God's sakes, open! We are your prisoners! We surrender! But there was no response. Were those within dead? Or had they escaped by some secret passage? Minute snowflakes began to form in the air. The fingers of the men were soon chilled with the cold of a winter day. We must get into the pilot house. Try again. A desperate attempt was made to

carry out this order by the men climbing on each other. A dozen of them got on their knees and led a half-dozen mount on their shoulders, while several more climbed up by the guards as before. The first set stood up, lifting the second with them, while the third stepped on the shoulders of the ladder. But they no sooner had got so far than the whole body fell to the deck with weakness and suffocation. Load and fire once more! The muskets were reloaded, and again a volley was fired into the pilot-house and against the cylinder, with no better effect than before. cries of entreaty and despair that were intended to be loud and piercing were sent forth by the doomed men, calling upon those within for mercy. But the loudest were now as faint as the wail of an infant a hundred

feet away and fell like whispers against the deaf metallic wall. Blood began to pour from their noses and run upon the snow-covered deck. Looking round once more in their despair for an avenue of escape or a source of help, each saw in the livid faces of his companions the reflection of his own. A last, desperate cry was attempted, but it was only a gasp. The tongue could no longer make an articulate sound. It protruded from each mouth and could not be drawn back into place. They felt the air within their breasts, pressing to burst them, as if some demoniac power was pumping it into them.

Their bodies swelled. The increasing stream of blood from their noses was followed by one from each of their blinded eyes. Their livid faces grew cold. One after another, the unhappy men fell into the pool of their own blood, which was now running from the promenade to the deck below. The world faded from their eyes, and they all became unconscious in the embrace of death.

In a few minutes, the report of the attempted seizure of the moat and its unexpected escape had spread through Paris. An hour later, the mangled remains of three men, apparently fallen from the sky, were found in the park at Vincennes. All Paris was impressed with the feeling that some mysterious calamity had happened and anxiously awaited further intelligence,

but none was forthcoming. The authorities professed ignorance of the affair, and for some time it was not even known to the public who or what the attacking party was. About five o'clock, Sentinels at Uranerburg, always on the lookout, were surprised to see a great loomote approaching from the west. A telescope was levelled upon her, and a few minutes sufficed to ascertain that she was the Cynthia. What could have happened? Campbell's first impression was that she had been captured by the enemy and was sent out, perhaps filled with armed men and explosives to attack his headquarters. His small available force was called together as rapidly as possible to await events and make the best defense possible. But the accuracy of her movements soon relieved his mind.

She must at least be directed by his own captain and pilots, for it would be impossible for any other set of men to manage her as she was being managed without weeks of instruction and patience. True, his own men might have been forced to conduct her under threat of their lives, but even in this case they would still, to a certain extent, have the captors at their mercy. It was impossible that she should make any successful attack unless her conductors managed her accordingly. The fears of all were allayed as she approached near and nearer, and skillfully was brought to the ground. The first one to emerge was the watchman, who gave a hurried account of what had happened. True to discipline, the captain and pilot remained at their posts.

Campbell and a dozen of his followers ran in and mounted the stairways, as they reached the upper main deck, pools of blood met their eyes, mounting the promenade, an appalling sight was disclosed. The bodies of 35 men were heaped in a pool of gore around the base of the pilot-house. The captain and pilot looked out from the window below. What has happened to these men? For God's sakes, how were they so mangled? They were not mangled at all, sir, so far as we know. The moat was attacked, and we simply obeyed your orders.

We mounted upward until the pressure on the outside was reduced to five inches, and the air within, notwithstanding the supply of oxygen, grew so close that we could scarcely breathe it. Then, taking our course towards this point, we descended as rapidly as possible. By the time the air barometer outside rose to 20 inches, we were ourselves nearly suffocated, and were obliged to open the trap. While a moat was rising, we heard a great pounding against the side of the pilot house. Of course, we took no notice of this. It ceased about the time we reached the highest level.

When we were able to look out, we could see what had happened. but we were powerless to do any good, so we continued our journey here, according to orders. Campbell was almost overcome by the catastrophe. With all his philosophy, with all the consciousness that a million of lives were as nothing compared with a human interest entrusted to him, he could not view such a horror without feeling as if he were himself a murderer.

What bore most heavily upon him was the consciousness that the tragic result was one that he had himself planned. He had arranged to defend the moats from capture by having them, in case of attack, fly many miles above the earth, carrying their captors with them if they remained on board. Intellectually speaking, he knew that this course would lead to their speedy destruction, and yet he had never pictured to himself the possibilities of his plan being carried out with such terrible success.

He could not help trying to think, now that it was too late, how the safety of the moat might have been secured by some proceeding less destructive to life. Every such thought only added to his depression. He tried in vain to sleep that night. whenever he closed his eyes, there it floated before his vision, the livid faces of ghastly cadavers, each lying in a pool of its own blood. It is said by the most advanced students of evolution, that our nightly visions are inspired by the thoughts and sentiments of savage or brute ancestors which take advantage of their relaxation of sleep to assert themselves in us.

But in the present case, it was the conscience of the civilized man rather than that of the brute which dominated. next morning his incessant attention was demanded by the events which he was to guide. It was absolutely necessary to cast off the thought of what he had seen, and to devote himself wholly to the work in hand. The contest he was waging against the world was not alone a physical one. At such been the case, there would have been little doubt of his ability to carry it through, especially if he cast aside his scruples against taking human life. What made it trying was as being waged against the feelings and opinions of the race. The soldier goes to his

death because he is inspired by the feeling that his countrymen are looking upon him and approving his acts. Ability to defy the good opinion of mankind, he's the principal mark of a criminal. To one of sensibilities so highly educated, the contest would have been an unequal one had he not felt that he was backed against the humanity of the present, by the humanity of the near future. Under these circumstances, a visitor who could entertain the slightest personal sympathy with him was doubly welcome, even had he come to be his executioner. Such a visitor, he was soon to receive. This is the end of Chapter 17 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story. Chapter 18 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by

Terry Cronin. Chapter 18, Austria threatens checkmate. We left Gein demolishing the barracks around Berlin, carrying off generals, and disarming all the soldiers he could find. From Feltow he went to the barracks at Zeylandorf and demolished them in like manner. But the third barracks which he attacked was nearly empty, only a corporal's guard was in them. From the men, he learned that all the soldiers who were left around Berlin had taken refuge in the casemates of the fortifications. It was evident that the task of reaching them in such a retreat would be one of great difficulty and possible danger. He was aptly equipped for tearing down the strongest buildings and capturing any armed force in the world, but the masses of earth,

stone and iron by which the capital was defended were practically unattackable by his machinery. The steel lords of the casemates would resist, he knew not how long, all the force he could bring against them. There was no doubt that by taking time enough and perhaps bringing new modes of attack to bear, he could ultimately succeed even against this strong defense. But to do this would take much time, involving something like a regular siege. Such an undertaking might well be postponed in view of the fact that an army driven into its defenses like a flock of sheep would be too much demoralized to become an important factor in the affairs of the world. The last instructions he had received before leaving were not to spend time on the German

armies if they succeeded in making an effective resistance, but in this case, to carry out the rest of the program and then disband the armies of Russia and Austria, leaving those of Germany to be disposed of in the future. All the details have been left in his hands, and unless he received orders to the contrary from his chief, he was to go on doing all the harm he could to the military power of the leading nations, regardless of consequences. He spent the next three days in a general sweep over all the military posts of northern Germany, cutting the telegraph wires so that the local authorities could receive no immediate instructions from Berlin. All the soldiers that could be found were sought out,

disarmed, and sent home in the same way as before. To guard against any attempt at collecting the scattered fragments into a new force, all the field officers that could be captured were sent in a body to the island of Rheugen in the Baltic, the railway connecting this island with the mainland was destroyed. When this was done, the Germans were yet more surprised by a sudden attack upon the arsenals and manufactories of arms in the empire. Both the centipedes and daddies were effectively used for this purpose. The former, with their powerful claws, tore off the roofs from the buildings, while the daddies helped to demolish the walls. The machinery for the manufacture of arms was torn to pieces, and all the plans, models, molds, and drawings that could be found by the

most careful search were broken or torn up and heaped into a pile. Sulfuric acid was poured over the mass as it had been on the arms taken from the soldiers in order that it might not be possible in the near future, even to fit up a new factory. All the arms that were stored in the arsenals were treated in the same way. The outcome of the week's work may be briefly stated. The German military power was practically annihilated, except for the remnants of the army hidden encasements and the garrisons of the posts on the French frontier. Not only had Germany no arms, but not only had Germany no army for active operations, but in order to organize one, work would have to be begun at the bottom. There would have been no arms for the infantry, no guns for the artillery, and no machinery to make

either arms or guns. The whole empire was, for the moment, helpless against any attack from its neighbors, unless it should receive aid from the same power which had destroyed its means of defense. The smallness of the loss suffered by the attacking force can be accounted for only by reflecting that two men, one of them a military expert, had spent two years in elaborating the most careful preparations for the work, and this without their intention having ever been suspected until they were nearly ready to act. The only mishap had been that arising from the attention of the world having been temporarily called to the possibilities of the case by the correspondent of the New York Herald. Fortunately, the preparations were so well advanced that this did little

harm beyond necessitating more prompt and decisive action. The result of all this foresight was that out of the 350 moats which had made up the attacking fleet, only one had been totally destroyed, none had been captured until after they had been made useless, and only a dozen had suffered damage which could not be speedily repaired. Only three men had lost their lives, one through treachery to his own cause, and the others through what was almost equivalent to an inadvertence. About 20 had been disabled by injuries, more or less serious. For all practical purposes, the attacking force was therefore as effective as ever. The call and petroleum necessary for running the moats, and the provisions and other supplies necessary for the commissariat could be seized wherever they

were to be found. No defense of person or property against an army flying through the air where it chose, and pouncing down on any place at any moment was possible. There was nothing to prevent the military forces of other nations being dealt with in the same manner as those of Germany, unless some new mode of defense should be devised. Gein felt it necessary to forestall this possibility by disorganizing, without loss of time, the other great armies. For this purpose, it was a very good army. For this purpose, it was essential that as little as possible should be known of the policy by which the Germans had temporarily evaded the attacking force. So the telograph wires were everywhere ruthlessly cut, and every railway train that attempted to run anywhere in eastern Germany was pulled off the track.

The tracks themselves were torn up and many bridges destroyed. The result was that the military authorities in St. Petersburg and Vienna had, for the moment, no detailed information as to events in Berlin. They knew of the capture of the emperor, and had heard rumors of the German troops being obliged should take shelter wherever they could find it. But they had not received any authentic announcement of the date at which their own armies might be attacked, and indeed did not know that they were to be molested at all. On June 29, Gine, with his whole force,

arrived at St. Petersburg and proceeded to search out and disband the Russian armies in the same way that they had the German. The Russian soldiers, owing to their inferior intelligence, were even less able to offer effective resistance than their neighbors had been. The Tsar, like his friend, the emperor, had attempted to take command of his forces. Finding resistance in vain, he adopted the course of one of his ancestors of the 19th century

and committed suicide, though not in the same way. He swallowed Prussic acid. On July 1st, the force proceeded from St. Petersburg to Warsaw without waiting for the complete disarmament of the armies around St. Petersburg. The main features of our hero's policy, from the beginning, had been to demonstrate his power by every means that had not involved injury to the beneficent institutions of civilization. As we have already seen, he well knew that the old regime would yield to nothing but force.

Physical force alone might in the end have conquered, but in a project which must, in a not-distant future, involve serious changes in political institutions, he felt it essential that, if possible, he should also show that he possessed political power. There was one region of Europe in which such a power could be exerted in entire conformity to the political principles which he intended should control the relations of nations under his new regime. This region was that which had formerly been occupied by the kingdom of Poland. The history of the re-establishment of his kingdom under the personal guidance of the defender is too well known to find a place here, so we shall follow the operations of his army. The entire force under Gein's command, coming from Warsaw,

passed one night in a field near Ernstbrun, a village about 20 miles north of Vienna, as far from railway and telegraph as it was convenient to get. Next morning, the aerial army gathered over Vienna and made the circuit of the fortifications in search of the Austrian troops. It was quite an agreeable surprise to see more than 50,000 soldiers stationed in front of a long line of works, waiting to receive the attack. The space occupied by this army extended a mile along the line, and was from a quarter to half a mile in depth. The tops of the fortifications were armed with an extraordinary number of field batteries, evidently stationed there for the occasion. In addition to this, a number of rapid-fire guns have been taken from naval vessels,

and were also mounted on the fortifications, ready for such use as might be required. Before, Gienet attacked the troops with confidence, under the line of fire of batteries, because it was impossible for the artillery to open fire upon him without destruction to its own men. But these preparations made it look as if, in the present case, the Austrians were ready to sacrifice their own troops for the purpose of destroying his forces once and for all. In order to disarm the troops, the centipies must come down among them, and then, if the artillery chose, it could fire upon them with destructive effect to both sides. A few thousand Austrians might be killed, but his own force will be permanently disabled.

Gein and his adjutant, also was point man, who kept at his elbow, surveyed the scene. "'What do you suppose they're after?' asked the chief. "'I think if we attack as we did at Potsdam, the rapid-fire guns will open upon us, regardless of their own men. That would be so contrary to every sentiment and tradition of civilized warfare I could hardly believe it possible.' "'But,' replied the adjutant, the men stand as if they expected death. See how they have been drilled.

every battalion and every company keeps its place, and the soldiers stand at attention their rifles on the ground without the slightest movement. They really seem to await their doom from their own artillery in order to bring about our destruction. Anyway, said Gein, the rapid-fire guns can be aimed at our moats while they are descending, and several shots might be fired from each before the moats could get among the soldiers on the ground. The conclusion was that it would not be prudent to sweep down like a hawk upon its prey, as had been done with the Germans and Russians, and a reconnaissance was decided to upon. A line of six plain moats, each manned only by the three men necessary to manage it,

was ordered to form and approach the ground, not among the soldiers, but at a distance of half a mile on the right flank, at a point where the rapid-fire guns could not play upon them. Then they were to make a dash from the armed troops, keeping as near the ground as possible, flying directly through the lines at a rapid rate, and then rising and returning on the other side. If the artillery seriously intended to destroy the attacking party at all hazards, regardless of their own men, They might try to fire upon these swiftly flying moats, but would not be likely to hit any of them. If fired upon, the moats were to suddenly change their course and return without passing through the lines. Gein from Iziri watched the six moats dash and single file through the Austrian ranks.

Not a soldier budged, not a weapon was moved in self-defense. Such stolid immobility seemed superhuman. Suddenly, a deadly fire was opened upon the advancing moats from hundreds of guns, the Austrians mowing down their own men without mercy. The state of the case was seen by the captains of the moats and grasped by Gein almost at the same moment. The supposed army which held out so inviting a temptation to come and disarm it was made up of dummies, men literally of straw, in the uniforms of soldiers with their arms resting on the ground. It was fortunate indeed that the whole force had not in its enthusiasm

flown to the attack. Two of the moats were disabled, the others affected their escape. The former succeeded in rising a short distance and then fell to the ground. The men on board of them jumped out and made signs of surrender. The Austrians were too anxious to secure possession of his curious vessels to destroy them by a continued fire. The real troops ran out, took the six men prisoners, and eagerly climbed upon the moats. The latter were, of course, immovable, and would be of little real use to their captors except as objects of curiosity.

The only hopeful result in getting possession of them would be the discovery of the secret by which they were managed. As each weighed many tons, it would be impossible to remove them without machinery and appliances which it would require several days to get into operation. But the great cylinders running through nearly their whole length, and containing the etherene which gave them buoyancy, had been pierced by the shot. The etherene itself was escaping and running like an oily fluid into the bottom of the moat, as much as possible of it was collected and carried off for scientific examination and chemical

analysis. Leaving the fortifications, Gein proceeded to attack the barracks around the city in which the troops were supposed to be quartered, but none were found except a few soldiers. necessary to guard them. The Austrian authorities have followed the German example of hiding their troops in the casemates of the fortifications, or quartering them in houses throughout the city. There would be no difficulty in affecting their capture by a thorough search of the city and by blowing up the casemates one after another with dynamite. But to reduce every fortified city in Germany and Austria in this way would be a long and tedious job. A messenger was therefore

dispatched to Elba for instructions as to the course to pursue. A complete statement of the situation was sent to Campbell. The dispatch arrived the day after the attempt on the Cynthia, and it elicited the following instructions. Keep your force together, and do as much harm to the military equipment as you can without causing great destruction of private property. Do not operate on two successive days at the same place unless some decided advantage will result. So far as possible, move from place to place in the night, and let your men encamp in the daytime whenever they are fatigued. If, after attacking the Austrian troops one day, you should appear at Berlin next morning, you would probably find the army has come out of its hiding place, so that it

could be again reached. Dean proceeded to carry out this program, with even more success, moral as well as physical, than he could have anticipated. While he is thus spreading alarm, let us return to headquarters. This is the end of Chapter 18 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story. Chapter 19 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Librevox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronan. Chapter 19. The Dawn It was every hour becoming plainer to all but the most obstinate men that some other policy than that of defiance of the new power must be adopted.

As a first step toward a change of front, you must be ascertained what terms of peace Campbell was disposed to demand, or what arrangement could be made with him. Not only men, but even countries, must sacrifice their dignity, at least to the extent of trying to bring some inducement to bear upon him to cease his mad career. The first step in this direction was taken by Lord Worcester, the English Premier. Knowing in what intimate relations Winthrop stood to Campbell, he addressed him through Secretary Bain, asking if he could not immediately visit London in the Frida, which had been left at his disposal, to confer with representatives of the

British government. After an assurance that no attempt would be made to interfere with the Frida, the request was complied with. Winthrop landed in Hyde Park the next day. It was soon agreed that he should be one member of a delegation, of which Lord Churchill would be the other, to interview the owner of the moats in the interests of peace. Before starting, Winthrop explained the very delicate position in which he was placed. Not only was he the friend and advisor of Campbell, but he entirely sympathized with his objects. All he could do was to facilitate their being carried out by negotiations. With this understanding, he and Churchill proceeded in the Frida to Elba. Let me see him first, said Winthrop, and explain to him.

our coming to him, then I will introduce you, and you can say what you please. I need not describe the greeting of the two friends under circumstances. For a few minutes, Campbell was quite overcome. Then Winthrop proceeded to business. I have come to you simply as the bearer of a message. They want you to stop. How can I stop? What shall I do with my force? Surrender it? If so, to whom? The power to which I surrender it will be master of the world. Can you name any power which the world is willing to except as master? My constant prayer is that I may look beyond the sea of troubles that now rages around me to the haven of rest that lies beyond. I cannot gainsay a word you utter,

was the reply. I do not want you to stop until your end is gained. But now I think the road is open and that you can make your own terms. You save my life when you say that. I am so worn that I doubt whether I can stand this strain for another week and live. The reason makes it plain as day that I must go on and finish my work. The man who for years, have been planning his ends with infinite resolution, who had driven the armies of Europe into caves and dens to hide from his power, was overcome. He sprang to his companion, embraced him, and, laying his head on his shoulder, burst into tears.

Having thus relieved his mind, he was ready to talk with the other. Lord Churchill presented the state of Europe in strong colors. In Germany, anarchy reigned triumphant. Mobs of half-starved workmen were marching round, and no power could suppress their violence. half the city of Geeson had been burned before the frightened inhabitants could defend themselves against the attack. Buildings in smaller towns were almost everywhere in flames. In all the burses, stocks were practically worthless. Business of every kind was at a standstill.

Can you not make it stop? Campbell felt that this was the real crisis of his career. The appeal struck what he knew was his weakest point. He had always been an implacable fighter as long as his enemy kept up the contest. But on the first signs of weakening, his disposition had been to go more than halfway and surrender almost everything. Happily, being conscious of this weakness, he had gone through a course of self-reproof and self-discipline with a view of guarding against it. How can I stop?

Is Europe ready to disarm voluntarily? Is your government ready to abolish its military establishment and sell its navy to me for old iron? If England is ready, are France and Austria ready? Will all the nations enact a law that there shall be no more war, and abide by it? When they do this, then I am ready to start. stop, and not before. To these questions Churchill could give no satisfactory reply. He was not,

in fact, authorized to offer any terms or propositions, whatever. All he could do was to beg Campbell to stop long enough to receive such communications as the combined governments of Europe might choose to make. "'I cannot stop,' said Campbell, until I have an assurance that not only her majesty's government, but that of France, is willing to acknowledge my authority as defender of the peace of the world. I will convey your answer to my government. While it is, considering it, can we not at least have a truce? I fail to see how anything that could properly be called a truce is possible. The very term implies a combat, the continuance of which is harmful to one or both the opposing

parties, and the cessation of which will facilitate peace. No such combat is going on. You have placed in a very strong light the deplorable conditions that exist throughout Europe. Would any truce that I could enter into better those conditions? What good would it do if I should now bring my forces to Elba and cease active operations? He would at least help to calm the public mind, said Churchill. Prepare it to weigh the situation in all its aspects and reach a conclusion as to the best course to pursue under the circumstances.

But my force will be as much of a menace then as now. Allow me to repeat what I have so often tried to say, but never seem to succeed in impressing on men's minds. What the world really wants is not merely a cessation of my operations, but an assurance that moats shall never be used in warfare under any circumstances. When the world is ready to accept what I think the old, only solution of the difficulty, one leading to this assurance, I am ready to confer on the subject. Will you kindly tell me more exactly what course you think will lead to the end you deem so desirable?

I have already pointed out what I deem the only available course. I am deliberating on the details of my plan and will make them public as soon as they are matured. All Europe will, I am sure, be glad to know that you have a definite plan. So far as I can see, nothing remains but to report your attitude to the authorities at whose request I am here. The two men shook hands. The two men shook hands and pardon, Churchill returning to London alone. Winthrop had another commission, that of trying to secure the release of the emperor. The regency that acted during the absence of the latter was so far for being animated by his unyielding spirit that it was ready to sacrifice a little dignity to the exigencies of the

situation. An appeal had therefore been made to Winthrop to secure his aid. To accomplish this, the regency had formally annulled the order that no quarter should be shown to the attacking forces. To fulfill the conditions of release, it only remained that the emperor should approve of this action. Campbell was glad to accede to the desire of the regency, and requested Winthrop to go to the emperor, inform him of the action of the regency, and ask him to approve of it. The emperor was notified by his attendant that a representative of the owner of the moats desired an audience on a matter seriously affecting his majesty's interests. After some hesitation, Winthrop was admitted. I am here on behalf of the owner of the moats to advise your majesty that the

Regency, acting in your Majesty's absence, as annulled the proclamation which you were pleased to issue ordering your army to show no quarter to any of the forces of the owner of the moats that might be captured. Should your majesty be pleased to acquiesce in this action, it has been ordered that you be returned to your capital. The Emperor received the announcement in southern silence. Writing materials are here at your majesty's disposal. At what hour shall return to receive your reply? This question was as unsuccessful as the previous statement. Imperial dignity maintained its self in silence. If your majesty has no reply to make, I will bid you adieu.

The single word adieu was uttered in reply. A calmer and more self-possessed man than Winthrop never existed, but he had a hard struggle with himself as he returned and reported the ill success of his mission. What would you do with such a man? inquired Campbell. I would pour a bucket of cold water over his head morning and night until he yielded. Meanwhile, he should be kept in solitary confinement and not allowed to see even his attended. And just to think, I had intended to send him home in the finest mode I could spare, perhaps the Cynthia itself, with his imperial standard floating upon it, in order that the German

people might see that I had not only bore him no ill will, but was disposed to show their monarch every honor. But let us look at the situation calmly. We have a more serious problem before us than that of punishing the most obstinate of men. We expect the Germans to come under our system, and the only question is, how can we best bring it about? Perhaps it is, perhaps it is, better that we should be governed entirely by reason and show no irritation at all, but it goes very hard on the flesh to do so. It is too late to act tonight. Let us see how we shall feel on the subject tomorrow morning. Next morning it was decided to send the Emperor home, and there release him, but to dispense with the unnecessary exhibition of the imperial standard over his moat.

Is it necessary that either of us should communicate our decision to him? No, said Winthrop. I certainly want to have nothing more to do with him, and I am sure you agree with me. Just send a messenger moat after him and let the messenger inform the attendant what he has come for. The slowest of your moats can easily reach Berlin before nightfall. A messenger was sent for in order to get his moat in readiness for conveying the emperor to Berlin. He was then to go to the house where he was imprisoned, inform the attendant of his mission, and signified to the emperor his readiness to execute the mission with which he had been charged. The attendant, overjoyed at the news, conveyed the message to his royal master.

"'Mastil, mezistadt,' he inquired, with that respectful familiarity which marks the intercourse of a valet with his king? The emperor hesitated long before replying. When Winthrop had called upon him the night before, as the representative of the owner of the moats, he felt that it was a slur upon his imperial dignity if the owner had not called in person. After his return, he put this forward as the reason of his discourteous reception of Winthrop. I should have been glad to call in his majesty in person, said Campbell, when long afterward

this sentiment of the emperor was made no to him. But do you suppose he would have treated me in any way different from what he treated Winthrop. I did not believe that he would, and this is the reason that I did not go in person. Now, the Emperor felt that, partly through his own proceedings, a yet greater indignity was done him. Neither his captor nor a representative was sent to inform him that he would be set at liberty, but instead of this he had to receive the information through an underling. But for the demands of the situation, he would have adhered to his policy of grim silence and refused to move, but he felt that this would be almost suicidal.

The interests of his empire imperatively demanded his presence at his capital. and he had gone as far as was prudent in his defiance of the power which held him in captivity. His conscience told him that he had brought this new humiliation upon himself, and that he had better make the best of his situation. So he told the attendant that they would pack up their few belongings and leave in the preferred conveyance. During the rapid passage northward through the clouds, the first sentiment of the emperor was naturally that of nervous fear.

Then, as their frail conveyance seemed as secure as a boat floating on a river, his curiosity got the better even of his imperial dignity, and he eagerly questioned the messenger, not only as to the system on which the moats were run, but as to what he could tell him of the course of events during his captivity. The telegraph had conveyed the news in advance of the moat, but had given no information as to where the landing might be affected. It was thought prudent to leave this matter to the judgment of the conductor. At the place of landing been announced in advance,

there was no telling but that the German authorities might have availed themselves of the opportunity to seize the moat and everyone in it. To guard against this, the conductor landed them in the center of the Tiergarden, before anyone saw them coming. The Emperor was told that he was at liberty. His few belongings were rapidly thrown out, and the moat returned to its station. This is the end of Chapter 19 of

His Wisdom the Defender, a Story. Chapter 20 of His Wisdom the Defender, a Story, by Simon Newcomb. This Liebervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 20, The Proclamation. The fire which had been raging for more than a month, threatening to destroy civilization itself, seemed at last to be burning itself out. The weak-minded people had all gone crazy, leaving only those who could keep their heads to look after the world's affairs. The mobs,

exhausted by their efforts, had begun to take a rest, and were being fed by a concerted plan to give them work whenever it could be found. Merchants and brokers were taking account of stock and waiting for something to turn up. The news that the aerial force had encamped, now here and now there, or had caught someone wary regiment venturing out for exercise, was almost getting to be monotonous. Statesmen actually began to think over the situation and consult on plans. The only men who kept their faculties at the highest tension were the journalists, who found that their presses no longer had to run all day and all night to supply the public demand, and tried to keep this demand from falling off too rapidly. Two of the world's great powers stood unchanged in their attitude

because they had never been carried off their feet by the storm. They were Secretary Bain and the London Times. The former took the ground that he had nothing to do in the case but perform his duty and execute the laws. So he had made a formal requisition on the Italian government for the extradition of one Alexander Campbell, a fugitive from justice in the United States, who had fled to Italian territory, and he now awaited an answer to this demand. The Times adhered to its position that the men who were disturbing the peace should be treated as outlaws and condemn the course of the government in allowing Churchill to hold negotiations with their leader. But the world began to change its point of view. In spite of all, the times could say,

Churchill's interview and the restoration of the German emperor to his throne were both looked upon as auspicious events. From the former it was learned that a proposition looking to peace might soon be expected from the great disturber. The past and the present were almost forgotten in the eager cry. What will it be? Men had not long to wait. The question was answered by a proclamation such as they had never before heard. It appeared in all the journals of the world. Messengers flew with it to every capital. All mankind read it, for to them it was addressed. The defender of the peace of the world to all mankind, greeting. The fullness of time being come when war should cease and all mankind dwell together in amity, an eye being vested by Almighty God with power to prevent the movements of

armies, the sailing of navies, and the prosecution of war by any agency, and believing that this power can best be exercised under an official name and title. Now therefore know all men that I have created and assumed, and do by these presence create, and for myself and my successors assume, the office, title and functions of, Defender of the Peace of the World. And to the end that the office of defender may be so executed as to secure the independence of all nations, the liberty of individuals, and the general welfare of humanity, I do enact and publish the statutes hereto appended, to be obeyed and enforced by the Defender as the Supreme Law of the World, until they shall be amended or repealed in the manner therein set forth. Given under my hand and seal this 14th day of July,

1946, at my seat at Urenaburg in the island of Elba. Campbell, Defender. The accompanying statues were promulgated under five titles. The first consisted of definitions showing the exact sense in which various expressions occurring in the statute should be construed. The second, related to the political functions of the defender, the third to his control over the moats, the fourth to the administration of his revenues, and the fifth to miscellaneous matters pertaining to future conferences among nations, his counsel, and the modes of amending the statutes. In Title I, Confederate nations were defined as those who should, by the act of their highest legislative bodies, adopt the statutes as their supreme law, and who should, in pursuance of this act, have abolished their military and naval establishments.

An army was defined as any organized body of men armed with deadly weapons to be used on the bodies of their fellow men. To guard against too wide a construction of the term deadly weapon, this again was defined as a weapon specially designed to inflict mortal wounds, thus excluding all appliances suitable only for a police force. We give the statutes of Title II in full. Article 1. There shall be no more war. Article 2. There shall hereafter be no armies or navies, except those. which the defender shall adjudge to be necessary to the protection of life and property. Article 3. The defender shall ever recognize and never abridge those rights which people enjoy

under the law of nature and of nations. The basic principle of this law shall be. The earth belongs to the people who inhabit it, and every part of the earth belongs to the people who inhabit that part, subject to such restrictions as imperfect civilization, the development of customs and institutions, and the necessity of promoting the general welfare may render necessary. In pursuance of this law, the following rights of nations and peoples shall forever be recognized. The right on the part of each independent nation to continue its ancestral form of government under its chosen or accepted rulers from generation to generation forever. The right, by peaceable measures, to change this form of government from time to time when its people,

in their wisdom, shall deem such change conducive to their welfare. the right to manage its own internal affairs in its own way, and to regulate as dealings with the rest of the world according to its own judgment, subject to such treaties as it may for good reason and valuable consideration have voluntarily entered into, and to such general regulations as may be established to promote the general welfare. The corresponding rights of dependent peoples shall be, to be humanely governed in accordance with their laws and traditions, to become a sovereign and independent nation when they shall so desire, and when it shall be shown, to the defender that their welfare may thus be promoted. Article 4. The defender shall not take part

in enforcing the laws of any nation or state, nor shall he act as a ruler of men outside the limits of his seat, unless temporarily to arrest or cure a condition of anarchy. But notwithstanding these and other restrictions, he may protect life and property against unlawful destruction whenever required by the interests of humanity. Article 5. The defender shall, whenever requested by the parties in dispute, arbitrate any question at issue between nations or peoples. In pronouncing his award, he shall state the facts, and expound the law on which his conclusions are based. But he shall never award exemplary damages, nor impose humiliating conditions. Article 6. Whenever it shall appear to the constituted authorities of a Confederate nation that any policy or proceeding of the

defender, contemplated or actual, is injurious to the interests of said nation, or not in accord with equity, or if it shall appear that the defender can adopt any policy or perform any act that will promote the interests of such nations, without injury to any other nation, then in every such case the said authorities shall have the right to make to the defender such representations on the subject as shall to them seem meet. To all such representations, the defender shall give respectful attention, and if he is unable to comply with any wishes which may be thus expressed, he shall set forth the reasons for such noncompliance. Article 7. The defender shall have the right to choose and appropriate to his own use, such place, places,

region, or regions as he shall deem suitable for his seat, but not more than 200,000 square miles shall be taken for this purpose from the territory of any nation without the consent of said nation. Article 8. The defender shall have sovereign and plenary power to govern his seat, and shall enjoy the right of eminent domain over its territory. Article 9. The defender shall not use his power in the propagation of any form of religious belief, worship, or observance. Article 10. The Defender shall not enter into any secret treaty or arrangement with any nation or power or whatever, nor shall he take any measures which might injuriously affect the interests of any nation without giving due notice of his intentions. Article 11. Neither the defender nor

any of his officers of state shall accept any present or mark of distinction from any political personage or power. The mutation of public opinion during the next week is so well reflected in the comments of the London Times that it will be sufficient to give an extract from its editorial columns for each day of the week following the issue. Wednesday, July 15th. If this aspirance for a more than royal eminence supposes that any official notice will be taken of his utterance, he has less sagacity than has been supposed. It is difficult to see what object he had in mind in issuing this paper. He is and must remain an outlaw. How soon the guardians of order in Europe and America shall get possession of his moats

and execute their laws upon his person is merely a question of time. Thursday, July 16th. Those who read the statutes which the so-called owner of the moats issues with his proclamation will view his mad proceedings with even greater regret when they notice that the imagined laws really have some features worthy of consideration. That a man capable of framing a law of any sort should have entered upon such a reckless course is one of the wonders of the situation. Friday, July 17th, one cannot study these alleged statues without being surprised at the restrictions which their framer has thrown around his own power. Seen by the side of his mad and reckless proceedings, the contrast is most striking. It seems quite likely that if referred to an international convention,

many features of these laws might be accepted with advantage. Saturday, July 18th, the destruction of the military power of at least Germany and Russia, and the reduction of that of Austria, to bodies of half-armed soldiers hiding from the enemy wherever they can get shelter, or accomplished facts which we shall be wise to recognize. The question what we should do to promote the national interest is one to be calmly studied with a view to the future rather than the past. Monday, July 20th. The interview of Lord Cardigan with the self-styled defender must be regarded as in every way gratifying.

Nothing can be more admirable than the utterance of philanthropic sentiments and expressions of regard for law by a man who, from our point of view, has violated all law. If Campbell adheres to the construction he puts upon his proposed statutes, neither the political nor commercial interests of Great Britain in any part of the world will be endangered. Under the proposed law, the inhabitants of British India are regarded as a dependent people, and no restriction is placed about England's methods of governing them, which is not in strict accord with England's practice. His Majesty's Indian Empire cannot be erected into an independent government under these laws, except on the condition of a desire for such independence on the part of

the Indian people, and a demonstration that their welfare will be thus promoted. It is difficult to anticipate the time when both of these conditions will be fulfilled, but if it should come, Great Britain will no longer insist on her sway. Tuesday, July 21st, the policy of His Majesty's government in meeting the new conditions will meet with the approval of all sensible men. An unequalled opportunity has offered us to assume that leading position in which every loyal British subject must desire. By promptly accepting the situation as it is, British commerce will be extended into the very center of Asia and Africa, and a new impetus will be given to the enterprise of our people. Wednesday, July 22nd.

The bill introduced by the government into Parliament last evening, recognizing the functions of the defender of the peace of the world, accepting his statutes and providing for the abolition of his majesty's military and naval establishments, is one which will commend itself to general approval. The prompt action of the United States government in the same direction shows a wise appreciation of the new conditions. The defender's propositions were accepted and embodied into law by the almost unanimous vote of both houses of Congress. Among those in power, the only dissenting voice was that of Mr. Secretary Bain, who vigorously adhered to the position he had taken, that the government could not recognize one of its own citizens, especially a fugitive from justice,

in a position assumed by the defender. The wisdom of Congress in refusing to accept this view is shown by the rumored proceedings of the defender in constituting a council of which one of America's most eminent citizens, President Winthrop, is to be the head. It is rumored from Berlin that the German government is seriously considering the question of accepting the new system. The first nation to adopt this measure will not only set an excellent example to the rest of the world, but will naturally be the leading nation for many years to come. Prompt action by a parliament is therefore of the utmost importance. A multitude of details will have to be settled, but these can well be left to the future. The German government was moved

in the same direction by a motive yet more urgent than any that could be felt in England. It is true that the emperor was still smarting under the indignity of having been seized and imprisoned, but a situation stared him in the face which called for action. France had never ceased to deplore the loss of Alsace and Lorraine. The statue of Strasbourg and the Place de la Concorde in Paris still wore the wheeze of mourning in which it had been draped more than 70 years before. The ineffectual attempt to recover the provinces which had been made in the meantime had served to keep alive the national feeling of France on the subject.

Now, all that was wanted to gain the object was the consent of a single man. If Campbell chose, he could, in a single day, disarm the German troops in the two provinces, and turn them over to France. He could say to France, take them for yourself, I will not interfere. The armies already being mobilized in the Eastern departments were sufficient to overcome the feeble and demoralized German garrisons. There was no recourse left open to accept the situation and make the best of it. A bill to this effect was introduced into the Reichstag and was passed by an almost unanimous vote.

This is the end of Chapter 20 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story. Chapter 21 of His Wisdom the Defender, A Story by Simon Newcomb. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Read by Terry Cronin. Chapter 21, Ra, Ra, Ra, the Defender The Man for whom there had been earlier, First while, nothing but execration, was now the hero who had guaranteed peace and liberty to all the world by a system of laws that nothing could subvert. All nations were hurrying into the fold

as fast as their methods of legislative procedure would admit. As they did so, each received a formal invitation to send delegates to a world's Congress which should be charged to revise and amplify the defender's statutes as might be necessary. The Council of the defender met daily to consider the multifarious questions raised by the new order of things. Among the questions under discussion at one of these meetings was that of the title by which the defender should be addressed. The invention of a suitable one was no easy task. Your Majesty was clearly inappropriate because it belonged to a ruler of men, a function which the great actor had from the beginning been entirely sincere in repudiating, and of which he had forbidden the exercise in his statutes. Highness and Excellency were too common and would not mean anything,

even if adjectives without end were added. Someone suggested greatness. I'd suggest too strongly the idea of a little man stuck up, said Campbell. My inclination would be to dispense with any title whatever. I've always felt that expressions implying superiority on the one side and inferiority on the other were not appropriate in the golden age which we are now inaugurating. At the same time, I recognize the fact that human nature and the habits of thought and expression which have come down to us from our ancestors cannot be speedily altered. Assuming then that a title must be found, the matter presents itself to my

mind in this way. The most appropriate title is one expressive of the qualities which we suppose a person addressed ought to possess. Why is a king called his majesty? Because the quality implied by that word is the one which a monarch should show in the eyes of his people. Nothing is more appropriate to the head of a state than majesty. Why do we call the Pope his holiness? Because holiness is the quality which is implied in his position. What attribute, then, is the most appropriate to the position which I have assumed? It seems to me that there can be but one answer to this question. What I need, more than anything else, and what I pray God to imbue me with, his wisdom. Why should not the defender be called his wisdom? The suggestion was received with

enthusiasm. The council arose as one man, the members went forward and grasped the hands of their leader. We congratulate your wisdom on the position he has assumed, and on the brilliant prospect which is before him. May he long adorn his exalted position and enjoy unbroken success in the administration of his office. As soon as the crowd without heard the news, he took up the cry of, long life to his wisdom, the defender. The cry spread through the length of the island as fast as sound could carry it. God bless his wisdom, the defender. As the news flew over the electric wires by land and sea, every point which it reached resounded with the cry of, all hail his wisdom, the defender. The students assembled in the grounds of Harvard, shouted with their clarion voices,

Ra, rah, rah, the defender. As the sun went its round, the cry rose from every continent and from all the islands of the great ocean in every language spoken by man. A yet more human interest in the great character was stirred up when it became known that it had been responsive to the gentler sentiments of our humanity, and that the world's most beautiful palace was to be presided over by one of the most lovely of our sex. How did it come about? This is the one great secret of Uranerburg which has never been divulged, and which men were too much occupied with passing events to pry into.

Hardly a month after the cry we have described, another rose with equal volume. All hail her wisdom the defenderess. Why should we go on with a history known to every schoolchild? Not an intelligent youth in this land but can tell something of the great world's Congress and its work. How the principle that every people, the weak as well as the strong, should enjoy liberty and independence, was established and accepted by all. How the strongest nations found their interests in the welfare of their people, promoted by the submission of all disputes to a common arbitrator.

How the fact that a nation could extend its trade to, every land without the use of force was proved by experience, until men came to wonder that any other policy had ever been pursued. And one need not even go to school to learn what the defenders did for suffering humanity. How commanding the great wealth of the Anita Company, she became such a sister of mercy to the afflicted of the world that as long as she lived, and after her death she was called at every language of the world, Tiana the Blessed. End of Chapter 21. This is the end of His Wisdom the Defend. a story.