a half-dollar in the man's hand. He thanked me and
withdrew. I sat down and waited.

"The lid of the case was removable from the inside. I watched the
screws fall one after another to the floor. Then the lid followed, and
Dr. Magnus stood before me. His eyes, distorted horribly by the extra
powerful lenses of his spectacles, fixed me with a steady look. He came
close as though to assure himself that there was no mistake. His face
almost touched mine. He put on his second and third pair of glasses,
and again I felt like the fly under the microscope.

"We did not go through the farce of exchanging salutations. This was
war and we should both know it. It was now nearly noon and the sun was
rapidly approaching the zenith. I led the way into the rear room.

"'Here are the securities,' said Magnus. I looked them over and
announced myself as satisfied.

"'Kindly sit down and write me out an order on the safe-deposit
company,' he went on, in rather a petulant tone. He was standing by the
big chair. He bent forward as though to turn it in my direction.

"The psychological moment had come, but the trick was even easier than
I had anticipated. Being in a stooping posture, he was partially off
his balance. A sharp jerk at his coat-collar and he was seated in the
big chair. He bit at my hand savagely as a dog snaps, but I had been
too quick for him. Then a couple of turns of stout window-cord put
everything secure.

"The man seemed dazed. He made no attempt to release himself. He did
not even speak. But then his lips were dry. They opened and shut
mechanically. His eyes, staring through their triple glasses, were
turned towards the window. The sunlight, shining in full strength, was
creeping steadily towards the row of bull's-eyes on the right of the
sash. It lay in a broad, golden band on the polished floor.

"A decrepit fly crawled out of a crack and made feebly for the welcome
warmth. The prisoner's feet were free and he advanced one of them
slowly, stealthily towards the miserable insect, then smashed
ruthlessly down upon it. In my turn I looked away, gazing steadily at
the window and the sun beyond. A few minutes now and we would know.

"A little cloud no bigger than a man's hand. It was travelling directly
towards the sun's disk. Suppose now that its veil obscured, at the
final moment, the fatal ray. He saw it too. Together we watched it
slowly drifting through the brilliant blue of the sky--a little cloud
no bigger