"One of them is coming! This--this indeed
is the stupendous and crowning climax of my scientific career!"
His comment was incredibly coarse: "Gimme the dough," he said without a
tremor of surprise. Indeed there was a metallic ring of menace in his low
and entirely cold tones as he laid one hand on my arm. "No welchin'," he
said, "or I put the whole show on the bum!"
The overwhelming excitement of the approaching crisis neutralized my
disgust; I fished out the certified check from my pocket and flung the
miserable scrap of paper at him. "Get your machine ready!" I hissed. "Do
you understand what these moments mean to the civilized world!"
"I sure do," he said.
Nearer and nearer came the lithe white figure under its glorious crown of
hair, moving warily and gracefully amid the great coquina slabs--nearer,
nearer, until I no longer required my glasses.
[Illustration: "Moving warily and gracefully amid the great coquina
slabs."]
She was a slender red-lipped thing, blue-eyed, dainty of hand and foot.
The spotted pelt of a wild-cat covered her, or attempted to.
I unfolded a large canvas sack as she approached the pool.
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