be relied on. On Arcot's back there was strapped a large
and rather hastily wired mechanism--one long wire extending from it out
into the laboratory. He was carrying a second piece of apparatus,
similarly wired. Morey was touching a short metal bar that Arcot held
extended in his hand, using a table knife as a connector, lest they get
radio frequency burns on making contact.

"I've been busy getting the last connection of this portable apparatus
rigged up. I have the thing in working order, as you see--or rather,
didn't see. This other outfit here is the thing that is more important
to us. It's a bit heavy, so if you'll clear a space, I'll set it down.
Look out for my power supply there--that wire is carrying a rather
dangerously high E.M.F. I had to connect with the lab power supply to do
this, and I had no time to rig up a little mechanism like the one the
pirate must have.

"I have duplicated his experiment. He has simply made use of a principle
known for some time, but as there was no need for it, it hasn't been
used. It was found back in the early days of radio, as early as the
first quarter of the twentieth century, that very short wavelengths
effected peculiar changes in metals. It was shown that the plates of
tubes working on very short waves became nearly transparent. The waves
were so short, however, that they were economically useless. They would
not travel in usable paths, so they were never developed. Furthermore,
existing apparatus could not be made to handle them. In the last war
they tried to apply the idea for making airplanes invisible, but they
could not get their tubes to handle the power needed, so they had to
drop it. However, with the tube I recently got out on the market, it is
possible to get down there. Our friend the pirate has developed this
thing to a point were he could use it. You can see that invisibility,
while interesting, and a good thing for a stage and television
entertainment, is not very much of a commercial need. No one wants to be
invisible in any honest occupation. Invisibility is a tremendous weapon
in war, so the pirate just started a little private war, the only way he
could make any money on his invention. His gas, too, made the thing
attractive. The two together made a perfect combination for criminal
operations.

"The whole thing looks to me to be the work of a slightly unbalanced
mind. He is not violently insane; probably just has this one particular
obsession. His sc