bismuth to lead and
the lead in turn to mercury. Now platinum stands at 197.5, and it was
accordingly the next metal to be produced by the continued current. Do
you see now?"

"It is quite clear."

"And then there came the inference, which sent my heart into my mouth
and caused my head to swim round. Gold is the next in the series.
Its atomic weight is 197. I remembered now, and for the first time
understood why it was always lead and mercury winch were mentioned by
the old alchemists as being the two metals which might be used in their
calling. With fingers which trembled with excitement I adjusted the
wires again, and in little more than an hour--for the length of the
process was always in proportion to the difference in the metals--I
had before me a knob of ruddy crinkled metal, which answered to every
reaction for gold.

"Well, Robert, this is a long story, but I think that you will agree
with me that its importance justifies me in going into detail. When
I had satisfied myself that I had really manufactured gold I cut the
nugget in two. One half I sent to a jeweller and worker in precious
metals, with whom I had some slight acquaintance, asking him to report
upon the quality of the metal. With the other half I continued my series
of experiments, and reduced it in successive stages through all the long
series of metals, through silver and zinc and manganese, until I brought
it to lithium, which is the lightest of all."

"And what did it turn to then?" asked Robert.

"Then came what to chemists is likely to be the most interesting portion
of my discovery. It turned to a greyish fine powder, which powder gave
no further results, however much I might treat it with electricity.
And that powder is the base of all things; it is the mother of all
the elements; it is, in short, the substance whose existence has been
recently surmised by a leading chemist, and which has been christened
protyle by him. I am the discoverer of the great law of the electrical
transposition of the metals, and I am the first to demonstrate protyle,
so that, I think, Robert, if all my schemes in other directions come to
nothing, my name is at least likely to live in the chemical world.

"There is not very much more for me to tell you. I had my nugget back
from my friend the jeweller, confirming my opinion as to its nature and
its quality. I soon found several methods by which the process might
be simplified, and especially a modification of