Then he smoked a huge cigar. He heaved a sigh of satisfaction. He had not lived in vain.
When his meal was finished, he was given a somber black suit. Wonderfully content, he arrayed himself in it. Everybody was trying to outdo everybody else in being nice to him. A chaplain came to see him, a man whose face was truly beautiful—beautiful with a calm and restful peace.
"Have you anything to say, my brother?" the chaplain asked in a voice that was as soft as the wind through the treetops.
"Nothing," replied Mel Curran contentedly. "That was the finest meal I ever ate. I shall never forget it."
The chaplain placed his hand on his shoulder and prayed aloud. It was all very wonderful, Mel thought. It seemed rather fine to have people taking such an interest in him.
Then the gate of his cell was thrown open and he was led to the grim, gray chamber in which stood the electric chair. He gazed upon the scene blankly. He wondered what they were going to do with so many chairs. Without a word they led him to the gruesome chair. He sat down comfortably as if it were good to rest after such an enormous meal. He gazed at the little group of spectators who sat grimly in a huddled bunch on one side of the room. Their faces were chalklike in the shadows. To him the score of people seemed a multitude. And their gaze was centered on him as if he were a personage of prominence or an actor in a splendid play.
Someone stepped forward and placed a black cap over his eyes.
That was good. Now he could sleep.
Then other hands began fastening buckles about his legs and other parts of his body. That was very foolish. He was not going away. He was going to sleep.
Then the guards stepped back. There was a moment of utter silence—a silence so intense that it was almost deafening. The next instant the prison lights flickered dim. Then bright again, then dim.
Mel Curran would never be hungry again.
This man contrived a machine that would revive the dead, and killed himself to try out his invention. But as he was being brought back to life, something happened
In WEIRD TALES for March
On sale at all news stands February first
