od on the bulge of the rug.
Then he jumped into the air and landed solidly on his heels. There was a
sharp crack as the shell of the insect broke under the sharpness of his
blow.

"That did it; that'll do it!" he shouted. Then he leaped again.

"Let me," said the Big Business Man. "I'm heavier"; and he, too, stamped
upon the rug with his heels.

They could hear the huge shell of the insect's back smash under his
weight, and when he jumped again, the squash of its body as he mashed it
down.

"Wait," said the Doctor. "We've killed it."

They eased upon the rug a little, but there was no movement from
beneath.

"Jump on it harder," said the Very Young Man. "Don't let's take a
chance. Mash it good."

The Big Business Man continued stamping violently upon the rug; joined
now by the Very Young Man. The Doctor sat on the floor beside it,
breathing heavily; the Banker lay in a heap at its foot in utter
collapse.

As they stamped, the rug continued to flatten down; it sank under their
tread with a horrible, sickening, squashing sound.

"Let's look," suggested the Very Young Man. "It must be dead"; and he
threw back a corner of the rug. The men turned sick and faint at what
they saw.

Underneath the rug, mashed against the floor, lay a great, noisome,
semi-liquid mass of brown and white. It covered nearly the entire
under-surface of the rug--a hundred pounds, perhaps, of loathsome pulp
and shell, from which a stench arose that stopped their breathing.

With a muttered imprecation the Doctor flung back the rug to cover it,
and sprang to his feet, steadying himself against a chair.

"We killed it in time, thank God," he murmured and dropped into the
chair, burying his face in his hands.

For a time silence fell upon the room, broken only by the labored
breathing of the four men. Then the Big Business Man sat up suddenly.
"Oh, my God, what an experience!" he groaned, and got unsteadily to his
feet.

The Very Young Man helped the Banker up and led him to a seat by the
window, which he opened, letting in the fresh, cool air of the night.

"How did the drug get loose, do you suppose?" asked the Very Young Man,
coming back to the center of the room. He had recovered his composure
somewhat, though he was still very pale. He lighted a cigarette and sat
down beside the Doctor.

The Doctor raised his head wearily. "I suppose we must have spilled some
of it on the floor," he said, "and the cockroach----" He stopped
abr