thought that we were to be brought to its shivering contact. It was out of the occult; it had been so pronounced by the professor; a great secret of life holding out a guerdon of death

and flesh? Why had the soul h

old me together. I must tell you. You must take my

. Hansen over there. Even if we cannot save

fetched H

race of fever. Not sick, you say-" Hobart pointed to

or, then upon myself, and finally upon the brandy. He took it up and dr

e? Excuse me, doc. I am not sick. I told them. I am far past physic; I have g

he doctor kindly,

e touched himsel

tried it. Somebody had to do it and somebody has to do it yet. You remember D

nsen s

us all; "you don't mean this ma

k into inertia; the speech he had made was his

He reached into his pocket and flicked something into the glass. "That will help him. Gentlemen, do you know what it means? I

n; his spirit seemed sudden

. Holcomb-pardon me. I do not wish to appear a sot; but this brandy is

know what the doctor had dropped into it. Chick revived suddenl

I am be

us all; then

secret of life

I

he border. And yet-a few drinks of brandy, of stimulants, and you have drawn me back, my heart beats strongly, for an hour. By means of drugs you have infused a new life-which of course is the old-and driven the material

ave drunk four glasses of brandy; I have a lease of four short hours. Ordinarily it would bring reaction; it is poison, to be sure; but it is driving back my spirit, giving me life and strength

, the doctor most of

dow or what you will is concrete, is in itself a substance. It is material just as much as you are. Because you do

ed at Watson; h

your abstract philosophy. No man knows

ighter, he straightened; he began

playing with lightning. I sought for life and it is givi

this

r. Ho

t that he had been through some terrible experience. There are things in the world that may not be unriddled. Some power, so

ven't long to tell it. However, before I

he ring upo

range pellucid transparency-a jewel undoubtedly; but of a kind we have never seen. We all of u

, and Watson was sipping it, not because he liked it,

uck the match and held the flame against the jewel. "Gentlemen, there is no need for me to speak. The stone will give you a v

e his eyes. At first he frowned; then came a look of

laimed, "the man

e doctor held the ring so we could se

ut the man himself. It was beyond all reason that he could be in the jewel; indeed there was only the head visible; one coul

y own eyes I would call it impossible. It's absurd on the

k no

hing. You are now looking into the Blind Spot. The doctor sought t