from me."
The Very Young Man obediently brought his weapon down with a thump upon
the reptile's head.

"Keep on," said the Banker. "Be sure he's dead."

The Very Young Man pounded the quivering body for a moment. The Big
Business Man handed him a napkin from the tray and the Very Young Man
wrapped up the lizard and threw it into the waste-basket.

Then he rose to his feet and tossed the paper-weight on to the desk with
a crash.

"Well, gentlemen," he said, turning back to them with flushed face,
"those drugs sure do work. We're going into the ring all right, three
weeks from to-night, and nothing on earth can stop us."

CHAPTER XI

THE ESCAPE OF THE DRUG

For the next hour the four friends busily planned their preparations for
the journey. When they began to discuss the details of the trip, and
found themselves face to face with so hazardous an adventure, each
discovered a hundred things in his private life that needed attention.

The Doctor's phrase, "My patients can go to the devil," seemed to
relieve his mind of all further responsibility towards his personal
affairs.

"That's all very well for you," said the Big Business Man, "I've too
many irons in the fire just to drop everything--there are too many other
people concerned. And I've got to plan as though I were never coming
back, you know."

"Your troubles are easy," said the Very Young Man. "I've got a girl. I
wonder what she'll say. Oh, gosh, I can't tell her where I'm going, can
I? I never thought of that." He scratched his head with a perplexed air.
"That's tough on her. Well, I'm glad I'm an orphan, anyway."

The actual necessities of the trip needed a little discussion, for what
they could take with them amounted to practically nothing.

"As I understand it," said the Banker, "all I have to do is watch you
start, and then take the ring back to the Museum."

"Take it carefully," continued the Very Young Man. "Remember what it's
got in it."

"You will give us about two hours to get well started down," said the
Doctor. "After that it will be quite safe to move the ring. You can take
it back to the Society in that case I brought it here in."

"Be sure you take it yourself," put in the Very Young Man. "Don't trust
it to anybody else. And how about having that wire rack fixed for it at
the Museum," he added. "Don't forget that."

"I'll have that done myself this week," said the Doctor.

They had been talking for perhaps an hour when t