ment, we never could climb back. And leave word with them
for Hope; tell her I'll scramble out somehow--that _we_ will,
if you decide to try your luck.

Vic

Underneath, in Hope's clear, purposeful hand, was this:

Peter dear:

Not knowing when you'll arrive, I'm going on ahead. We must
give Vic a hand--mustn't we?

H.

* * * * *

Naturally, I didn't understand Vic's jargon about frequencies and
light-rays, for I thought more about football than physics in college,
but two things were clear to me. One was that Vic had plunged into some
sort of wild experiment, and the other was that Hope had followed him.
The rest didn't matter very much.

"Perrin! Mr. Butler and Miss Hope are safe. Everything is explained in
this note. You and Mrs. Perrin are to leave me here, and not disturb
anything. Do nothing at all for at least a week. If we aren't all back
here before that time ... take any action you see fit. Understand?"

"No-no, sir. Where--"

"You understand the orders, anyway. That's all that's necessary. Close
the door--and keep it closed at least a week!" I glared at him, and
Perrin closed the door.

The apparatus Vic had mentioned was my first thought. It consisted
primarily of four tall, slim posts, set in the form of a square, about a
yard apart, and supported by heavy copper brackets mounted on a thick
base of insulating material, and each post bore at its top, like a stalk
with a single drooping flower, a deep, highly polished reflector,
pointing inward and downward. The whole effect was not unlike the
skeleton of a miniature skyscraper.

I strode between two of the high, slim black pillars and glanced upward.
All four of the reflectors seemed pointed directly at my face, and I
could see that each held, not the bulb I had expected, but a crudely
shaped blob of fused quartz.

* * * * *

There was nothing to be gained by examining the peculiar machine, and
therefore the one quick glance sufficed. If Vic and Hope had gone this
route, I was anxious to follow. I glanced down at the papers in my
hand, and slowly turned the first dial on the little instrument board,
narrowly watching the hand of the meter beside it, as Vic had
instructed.

The hand moved slowly, like the hand of an oil-gauge in wh