room. Presently he turned to the Attorney General and remarked:
"That is merely your opinion, sir. It is not proof. Why may these earthquakes not be due to some human agency? Have we not begun to solve all the mysteries of nature? A few years ago it was inconceivable that electricity could ever be used for power, heat and light. May not many of the inconceivable things of today be the commonplace realities of tomorrow? We have earthquakes. Is it beyond imagination that the forces which produce them can be controlled?"
"Still," returned the Attorney General vigorously, "my answer is that we have no adequate reason for attributing either the appearance or the cessation of these earthquakes to any human power! And I am unalterably opposed to making the government of the United States ridiculous by fitting out a naval expedition to combat a phantom adversary."
Dr. Gresham now had risen and was standing behind his chair, his face flushed and his eyes shining. At this point he broke sharply into the discussion, the cold, cutting force of his words leaving no doubt of his decision.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I did not come here to argue; I came to help! As surely as I am standing here, our world is upon the brink of dissolution! And I alone may be able to save it! But, if I am to do so, you must agree absolutely to the course of action I propose!"
He glanced at his watch. It was 10 o'clock.
"At noon," he announced, in tones of finality, "I shall return for my answer!"
And he turned and started for the door.
In the tenseness of those last few moments, almost no one had been conscious of the soft buzzing of the President's telephone signal, or of the fact that the executive had removed the receiver and was listening into the instrument.
Now, as Dr. Gresham reached the door, the President lifted a hand in a commanding gesture and cried: "Wait!"
The astronomer turned back into the room.
For a minute, perhaps, the President listened at the telephone; and as he did so the expression of his face underwent a grave change. Then, telling the person at the other end of the wire to wait, he addressed the gathering:
"The naval observatory at Georgetown is on the 'phone. There has just been another communication from 'KWO.' It says—"
The executive again spoke into the telephone: "Read the message once more, please!"
After a few seconds, speaking slowly, he repeated:
"'To the Presiding Officer of the International Scientific Congress:
"'I hereby set the hour of noon, on the twenty-fifth day of the next month, September, as the time when I shall require compliance with the first three demands of my last communication. The fulfillment of the fourth demand—the resignation of all the existing governments—therefore, will take place on the twenty-eighth day of September.
"'In order to facilitate the execution of my plans, I shall require an answer by midnight next Saturday, one week from today, from the governments of the world as to whether they will comply with my terms of surrender. In the absence of a favorable reply by that time, I shall terminate, absolutely and forever, all negotiations with the human race, and shall cause the earthquakes to resume and continue with increasing violence until the earth is shattered. "'KWO.'"
When the President finished reading and hung up the telephone, a deathlike silence fell upon the gathering. Dr. Gresham, standing by the door, made no further movement to depart.
The President glanced at the faces about him, as if seeking some solution of the problem. But no aid was forthcoming from that source.
Suddenly the silence was broken by a chair being pushed back from the table, and Sir William Belford rose to speak.
"Gentlemen," he said, "this is no time for hesitation. If the United States does not immediately grant Dr. Gresham's request for a naval expedition against the Seuen-H'sin, Great Britain will do so!"
At once Monsieur Linne spoke up: "And that is the attitude of France!"
The Duke de Rizzio nodded, as if in acquiescence.
Without further hesitation, the President announced his decision.
"I will take the responsibility for acting first and explaining to Congress afterward," he said. And, turning to the Secretary of the Navy, he added:
"Please see that Dr. Gresham gets whatever ships, men, money and supplies he needs—without delay!"
CHAPTER V.
BEGINNING A STRANGE VOYAGE
Immediately after obtaining the Presiden't permission to combat the Seuen-H'sin, Dr. Ferdinand Gresham went into conference with the Secretary of the Navy adn his aides. Soon telegraphic orders flew thick and fast from Washington, and before nightfall two high naval officers left the capital for San Francisco to expedite arrangements for the expedition.
Meanwhile, the doctor hurried me back to New York with instructions to visit the electrical concern that had manufactured the dynamos and other equipment that had been aboard the steamship Nippon, and obtain all the information possible about this machinery. This I did without difficulty.
The government arranged with a big electrical machinery firm to place a section of its plant at Dr. Gresham's disposal, and as soon as the astronomer returned to New York he plunged into feverish activity at this shop, personally superintending the construction of his paraphernalia.
As fast as this apparatus was completed it was rushed off by airplane to the Mare Island Navy Yard near San Francisco.
It had already been settled that I was to accompany the doctor on his expedition, so my friend availed himself of my services for many tasks. Some of these struck me as most odd.
I had to purchase a large quantity of fine silks of brilliant hues, mostly orange, blue and violet; also a supply of grease-paints and other materials for theatrical make-up. These articles were sent to Mare Island with the scientific equipment.
Day by day, the week which "KWO" had granted the world to announce its surrender slipped by. During this period the utmost secrecy was maintained regarding the projected naval expedition. The public knew nothing of the strange story of the sorcerers of China. Anxiety was universal and acute.
Many persons favored surrender to the would-be "emperor of the earth," arguing that any person who proposed to abolish war possessed a greatness of spirit far beyond any known statesman; they were willing to entrust the future of the world to such a dictator. Others contended that the demand for destruction of all implements of war was merely a precautionary measure against resistance to tyranny.
Dr. Gresham urged to the authorities at Washington that in dealing with so unscrupulous and inhuman a foe as the
