The Thinking Machine Collected Stories Part 110

She handed the letter to him and together they seated themselves under one of the windows near the door into the outer hallway. Professor Dexter pulled up a light chair facing her and opened the letter. He glanced through it and then looked up with a newly kindled interest in his eyes.

"I should not have disturbed you," Mme. du Chastaigny explained pleasantly, "had I not known it was a matter of the greatest possible interest to you."

"Yes?" Professor Dexter nodded.

"It's radium," she continued. "It just happens that I have in my possession practically an ounce of radium of which the world of science has never heard."

"An ounce of radium!" repeated Professor Dexter, incredulously. "Why, Madame, you astonish, amaze me. An ounce of radium?"

He leaned further forward in his chair and waited expectantly while Mme. du Chastaigny coughed violently. The paroxysm pa.s.sed after a moment.

"That is my punishment for laughing," she explained, smilingly. "I trust you will pardon me. I have a bad throat-and it was quick retribution."

"Yes, yes," said the other courteously, "but this other-it's most interesting. Please tell me about it."

Mme. du Chastaigny made herself comfortable in the chair, cleared her throat, and began.

"It's rather an unusual story," she said apologetically, "but the radium came into my possession in quite a natural manner. I am English, so I speak the language, but my husband was French as my name indicates, and, he, like you, was a scientist. He was little known to the world at large, however, as he was not connected with any inst.i.tution. His experiments were undertaken for amus.e.m.e.nt and gradually led to a complete absorption of his interest. We were not wealthy as Americans count it, but we were comfortably well off.

"That much for my affairs. The letter I gave you from Mme. Curie will tell you the rest as to who I am. Now when the discovery of radium was made by M. and Mme. Curie my husband began some investigations along the same line and they proved to be remarkably successful. His efforts were first directed towards producing radium, with what object, I was not aware at that time. In the course of months he made grain after grain by some process unlike that of the Curies', and incidentally he spent practically all our little fortune. Finally he had nearly an ounce."

"Most interesting!" commented Professor Dexter. "Please go on."

"It happened that during the production of the last quarter of an ounce, my husband contracted an illness which later proved fatal," Mme. du Chastaigny resumed after a slight pause, and her voice dropped. "I did not know the purpose of his experiments; I only knew what they had been and their comparative cost. On his death bed he revealed this purpose to me. Strangely enough it was identical with yours as the newspapers have announced it-that is, the practicability of radium as a motive power. He was at work on plans looking to the utilization of its power when he died but these plans were not perfected and unfortunately were in such shape as to be unintelligible to another."

She paused and sat silent for a moment. Professor Dexter watching her face, traced a shadow of grief and sorrow there and his own big heart prompted a ready sympathy.

"And what," he asked, "was your purpose in coming to me now?"

"I know of the efforts you have made and the difficulties you have encountered in gathering enough radium for the experiments you have in mind," Mme. du Chastaigny continued, "and it occurred to me that what I have, which is of no possible use to me, might be sold to you or to the university. As I said, there is nearly an ounce of it. It is where I can put my hands on it, and you of course are to make the tests to prove it is what it should be."

"Sell it?" gasped Professor Dexter. "Why, Madame, it's impossible. The funds of the college are not so plentiful that the vast fortune necessary to purchase such a quant.i.ty would be forth-coming."

A certain hopeful light in the face of the young woman pa.s.sed and there was a quick gesture of her hands which indicated disappointment.

"You speak of a vast fortune," she said at last. "I could not hope, of course, to realize anything like the actual value of the substance-a million perhaps? Only a few hundred thousands? Something to convert into available funds for me the fortune which has been sunk."

There was almost an appeal in her limpid voice and Professor Dexter considered the matter deeply for several minutes as he stared out the window.

"Or perhaps," the woman hurried on after a moment, "it might be that you need more radium for the experiments you have in hand now, and there might be some sum paid me for the use of what I have? A sort of royalty? I am willing to do anything within reason."

Again there was a long pause. Ahead of him, with this. .h.i.therto unheard of quant.i.ty of radium available, Professor Dexter saw rosy possibilities in his chosen work. The thought gripped him more firmly as he considered it. He could see little chance of a purchase-but the use of the substance during his experiments! That might be arranged.

"Madame," he said at last, "I want to thank you deeply for coming to me. While I can promise nothing definite I can promise that I will take up the matter with certain persons who may be able to do something for you. It's perfectly astounding. Yes, I may say that I will do something, but I shall perhaps, require several days to bring it about. Will you grant me that time?"

Mme. du Chastaigny smiled.

"I must of course," she said, and again she went off into a paroxysm of coughing, a distressing, hacking outburst which seemed to shake her whole body. "Of course," she added, when the spasm pa.s.sed, "I can only hope that you can do something either in purchasing or using it."

"Could you fix a definite price for the quant.i.ty you have-that is a sale price-and another price merely for its use?" asked Professor Dexter.

"I can't do that offhand of course, but here is my address on this card-Hotel Teutonic. I expect to remain there for a few days and you may reach me any time. Please, now please," and again there was a pleading note in her voice, and she laid one hand on his arm, "don't hesitate to make any offer to me. I shall be only too glad to accept it if I can."

She arose and Professor Dexter stood beside her.

"For your information," she went on, "I will explain that I only arrived in this country yesterday by steamer from Liverpool and my need is such that within another six months I shall be absolutely dependent upon what I may realize from the radium."

She crossed the room, picked up the suit case and again she smiled, evidently at the recollection of Professor Dexter's awkward stumble. Then with her burden she turned to go.

"Permit me, Madame," suggested Professor Dexter, quickly as he reached for the bag.

"Oh no, it is quite light," she responded easily.

There were a few commonplaces and then she went out. Gazing through the window after her Professor Dexter noted, with certain admiration in his eyes the graceful strong lines of her figure as she entered a carriage and was driven away. He stood deeply thoughtful for a minute considering the possibilities arising from her casual announcement of the existence of this unknown radium.

"If I only had that too," he muttered as he turned and re-entered his work room.

An instant later, a cry-a wild amazed shriek-came from the laboratory and Professor Dexter, with pallid face, rushed out through the reception room and flung open the door into the main hallway. Half a dozen students gathered about him and from across the hall Mr. Bowen, the instructor, appeared with startled eyes.

"The radium is gone-stolen!" gasped Professor Dexter.

The members of the little group stared at one another blankly while Professor Dexter raved impotently and ran his fingers through his hair. There were questions and conjectures; a babble was raging about him when a new figure loomed up in the picture. It was that of a small man with an enormous yellow head and an eternal petulant droop to the corners of his mouth. He had just turned a corner in the hall.

"Ah, Professor Van Dusen," exclaimed Professor Dexter, and he seized the long, slender hand of The Thinking Machine in a frenzied grip.

"Dear me! Dear me!" complained The Thinking Machine as he sought to extract his fingers from the vice. "Don't do that. What's the matter?"

"The radium is gone-stolen!" Professor Dexter explained.

The Thinking Machine drew back a little and squinted aggressively into the distended eyes of his fellow scientist.

"Why that's perfectly silly," he said at last. "Come in, please, and tell me what happened."

With perspiration dripping from his brow and hands atremble, Professor Dexter followed him into the reception room, whereupon The Thinking Machine turned, closed the door into the hallway and snapped the lock. Outside Mr. Bowen and the students heard the click and turned away to send the astonis.h.i.+ng news hurtling through the great university. Inside Professor Dexter sank down on a chair with staring eyes and nervously twitching lips.

"Dear me, Dexter, are you crazy?" demanded The Thinking Machine irritably. "Compose yourself. What happened? What were the circ.u.mstances of the disappearance?"

"Come-come in here-the laboratory and see," suggested Professor Dexter.

"Oh, never mind that now," said the other impatiently. "Tell me what happened?"

Professor Dexter paced the length of the small room twice then sat down again, controlling himself with a perceptible effort. Then, ramblingly but completely, he told the story of Mme. du Chastaigny's call, covering every circ.u.mstance from the time he placed the radium on the table in the laboratory until he saw her drive away in the carriage. The Thinking Machine leaned back in his chair with squint eyes upturned and slender white fingers pressed tip to tip.

"How long was she here?" he asked at the end.

"Ten minutes, I should say," was the reply.

"Where did she sit?"