t-tat of a
message. It was impossible, under the circumstances, to record or
translate it! The thought flashed over Dan that he had been tricked;
that the message came from the Triumvirs, who were now enjoying his
discomfiture!

"What's that damned noise?" Hogarth demanded, as if to lend confirmation
to this theory.

Reaching for a secret switch, Dan snapped off the radio. Only a clever
bluff, he knew, could save him now!

"Oh, it's only the magnified sound of the impact of the gravitational
rays upon the Deflector," he lied, glibly, still hoping against hope.
"In other words, the vibrational impetus of--"

"To hell with your long-winded explanations!" Wiley cut him short,
impatiently. "What we want to know is, what progress have you made? Any
sign of getting the earth back in place?"

"Time we gave you is about up!" said Malvine. "If you're not getting
results, better turn things over to some one else!"

"Everything's in the devil's own mess!" sighed Hogarth. "It's hell on
earth--people freezing to death right and left. By God! if I thought you
weren't getting somewhere, I'd have you choked to death, just for the
fun of it!"

"Well, as a matter of fact," fabricated Dan, "the Super-Detectonic rays
are a bit slow in getting into operation. But you can't expect miracles.
If you'll give me a little more time--a few more days, maybe a
week--I'll promise you results."

A cold sweat had broken out all over him before he had explained, in
scientific detail, just why he might succeed if given another week.
Thank God! they had not suspected! Or had they suspected?--and were they
only toying with him? In any case, they had, wittingly or unwittingly,
broken into his experiment at the crucial point. Would he ever again
catch the interrupted message?

His fingers shaking with eagerness, he turned back to the radio. But
even as he did so, the sneer on Wiley's retreating face hit him like a
taunt.

* * * * *

After the first cruel shock, Lucile had realized just what was behind
Dan's disappearance. She not only was sure that he had been kidnapped by
Hogarth and his gang, but that any effort on her part to report to the
police would result in her own immediate apprehension. Already her
position was perilous--might the conspirators not finish the job by
seizing her at any moment? There was nothing to be done, therefore,
except to change her residence, without informing anyone where she was