he other as he forced the reporter to his knees. It was
Handlon.... Once more he was sinking into soft oblivion, the while a
horrid miasma assailed his nostrils. He was nothing....

* * * * *

Slowly, and with infinite effort, Perry felt himself returning to
consciousness, though he had no clear conception of his surroundings.
His brain was as yet but a whirling vortex of confused sounds, colors
and--yes, odors. A temporary rift came in the mental cloud which
fettered his faculties, and things began to take definite shape. He
became aware that he was lying upon his back at some elevation from the
floor. Again the cloudy incubus closed in and he knew no more.

When he finally recovered the use of his faculties it was to discover
himself the possessor of a violent headache. The pain came in such
fearsome throbs that it was well nigh unendurable. The lamp still
sputtered dimly where the professor had left it. At the moment it was on
the point of going out altogether. The reporter noticed this, and over
him stole a sense of panic. What if the light should fail altogether,
leaving him lying in the dark in this frightful place! Still dizzy and
sick, he managed to rise upon his elbows enough to complete a survey of
the room. He was still in the laboratory of Professor Kell, but that
worthy had disappeared. Of Handlon there was no sign. The mysterious
apparatus, of which he now had but a vague remembrance, also had
vanished.

His thoughts became confused again, and wearily he passed a hand over
his brow in the effort to collect all of his faculties. The lamp began
to sputter, arousing him to action. Desperately he fought against the
benumbing sensation that was even again stealing over him. Gradually he
gained the ascendancy. He struggled dizzily to his feet and took a few
tentative steps.

Where was Handlon? He decided his friend had probably recovered from the
drug first and was gone, possibly to get a doctor for him, Perry.
However, he must make some search to determine if Skip had really left
the premises.

As he walked through the open door the lamp in his hand gave a last
despairing flicker and went out. From there he was forced to grope his
way down the dark hall to the stairs. Just how he reached the lower
floor he was never able to remember, for as yet all the effect of the
powerful drug had not worn off. He had a dim recollection of being
thankful to the ancestor of Kell who had p