Seeds of Life by John Taine

Author:John Taine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Galaxy Publishing Corporation
Published: 1953-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight—TRAPPED

SHORTLY BEFORE MIDNIGHT, while De Soto in his hotel room was busy with his prophylaxis, Crane descended upon the doctor to prepare for the proposed raid on the forbidden laboratory. Brown knew that he was taking his reputation, if not his life, in his hands by sharing Crane’s somewhat foolhardy enterprise. Nevertheless he was determined to go through with it for scientific reasons as well as for the sake of friendship.

Crane found the doctor peering through his binocular microscope.

“Anything new?” he asked.

“Not exactly. The same protozoa that you contributed to the cause of science. This really is most extraordinary. Old Wilkes would.give his right eye for one look at these. They mustn’t be exposed to the light too long, or they’ll vanish into nothing.”

In answer to Crane’s rapid fire of questions, the doctor explained how he had secured his supply of protozoa. The announcement that De Soto and Alice were married was received in silence. What could be said? The time for talk was past.

“De Soto has blundered,” Crane hazarded finally. “What it took thirty hours for the two million volt tube to develop on my skin has shown up on his in half a day. This must have happened after I left this morning. My hunch is that he doesn’t know what he is doing. Well, shall we be going?”

“If you insist, we may as well.” The doctor pocketed his flashlight and a small medicine case. “I’ll go and give Bertha her sleeping potion and join you in front.”

Forty minutes later the two rash men were outside the door of De Soto’s laboratory. Brown carried a large paper market bag in which the drugged brown hen reposed limply and silently. There was some slight difficulty at first in forcing the new key into the lock. Crane began to swear softly.

“Hadn’t we better give it up?” Brown suggested. "A superstitious man would say our trouble in forcing an entrance is a sign from Heaven to quit."

For a moment Crane was inclined to agree. Hie square* Jawed obstinacy, however, persisted.

"There,” he whispered at last, as the key turned in the lock.

Before turning on the lights, Crane cautiously felt his way from one window to the next, making sure that the iron shutters had been closed as usual for the night.

“All safe,” he announced, rejoining Brown by the door, and turning on the lights. “Now to find out what friend De Soto thinks he is doing.”

"Your key?” Brown suggested. "Hadn’t you better leave it in the lock?”

“No. The watchman is not due this way for nearly two hours yet. But suppose he were to come round out of his regular beat. If he found the door locked from the inside he would ring till he was let in. Otherwise he would just open the door, turn on the lights, look around from here and lock up again. You must stand here and switch off the lights if you hear anyone coming. I shall duck into that closet-where the insulating togs are hung-and wait till he goes away again.

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