his aim. He deliberately ignored the President and aimed again at that
window. That was when I tackled him."

"Who was standing there, Carnes?"

"_You_ were, Doctor."

Dr. Bird whistled.

"Then you think that bullet was intended for me?"

"I am sure of it, Doctor. That fact proves one thing to me. You are
right in your idea that this whole affair is man-made and not an
accident of nature. The guiding intelligence back of it fears you more
than he fears anyone else and he took this means to get rid of you
unobtrusively. Attention was focused on the President. Your death would
have been laid to accident. It was a clever thought."

"It does look that way, Carnes," said the doctor slowly. "If you are
right, this incident confirms my opinion. There is only one man in the
world clever enough to have disturbed the orderly course of the seasons,
and such a plan for my assassination would appeal to his love of the
dramatic."

"You mean--"

"Ivan Saranoff, of course."

"We are pretty sure that he hasn't got back to the United States,
Doctor."

"You may be right but I am sure of nothing where that man is concerned.
However, that fact has no bearing. He may be operating from anywhere.
His organization is still in the United States."

* * * * *

A knock sounded at the door. In response to the doctor's command a
messenger entered and presented a letter. Dr. Bird read it and dropped
it in a waste basket.

"Tell them that I am otherwise engaged just now," he said curtly. The
messenger withdrew. "It was just a summons to another meeting of the
council of scientists," he said to Carnes. "They'll have to get along
without me. All they'll do anyway will be to read a lot of dispatches
and wrangle about data and the relative accuracy of their observations.
Herriott will lecture for hours on celestial mechanics and propound some
fool theory about a hidden body, which doesn't exist, and its possible
influence, which would be nil, on the inclination of the earth's axis.
After wasting four hours without a single constructive idea being put
forward, they will gravely conclude that the sun rose fifty-three
seconds earlier at the fortieth north parallel than it did yesterday and
correspondingly later at the fortieth south parallel. I know that
without wasting time."

"Was it fifty-three seconds to-day, Doctor?"

"Yes. This is the twentieth of July. The sun should have risen at 4:52,
sixteen minute