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'2:': The San Francisco Sunday Call |; THE SLEEP TRUST '°\*. /^VTJT'of the side street entrance-of ■"• OUT of the side street entrance of the great John Stoneyman's •'• \^J Fifth avenue. mansion a burly ,•„ **• little man dashed, throwing* on ,''.-• -.-his fur overcoat as he bounded into his . _ Jlmousine.car standing at the' curb. * '-'. "Ground the park,' Jenks, till I? tell" ,% • you to stop. Shove her along like -blazes, I have got to think, I have got 'V : to think." X . Thoroughly familiar with the match ," *: less promoter's habit of laying his .' plans for huge coups while 1 riding at •.* : breakneck speed through. the night, the faithful /Jenks? swung the? machine (across Into the park and set the engine Jumping. -. '.--:. - His senses engulfed, so that they did not bother --; him, Christopher? Cripps, dimly conscious of the streaking lights and bulky blurs "of trees and of the roaring, jolting, thumping car, wrestled with the problem of his life. His was the master mind that long since had *• perceived that man must have and use certain things; - that by intercepting those things and adding a handling price to the cost price of them, a flood ; of . millions, unfailing and gracious, could be turned ; into the treasury of the interceptor; also,-that the best way 5 t to intercept was to monopolize the '"" sources of supply, dam up the channels • of distribution,* and, under a republic •" an form of government, paralyze the " defensive functions of the government. •*. Then, having made what vulgar people .'" would call a "rapacious trust," sit back: -•..let the machine run and' calculate the dividends. He had shown the great captains of i industry how to do It. When they tried ".•'to get along without him. they .. M slipped "a cog somewhere. Now, .for ~ v three years these captains, one and all. had been restive; they had confessed to ° * themselves that they had monopolized all the necessities. of life, and, robbed of their amusement, had turned to the distribution of ' their? enormous surplus of wealth as a diversion. Some had financed beautiful and hopeful act '■> resses in theaters of their own; some had endowed | schools and colleges; " others had given men of science and "" art" millions with which to play for \ the amusement of the. donors. -• " Stoneyman-had founded an institute * "of scientific research- and a result of this had lust bowled Cripps over. -'• * That evening he had gone to Stoney ".'«man's house sad, dull, and pensive, to talk over with his great patron the I good old days when life was worth liv ing-when there still were necessities of life not yet cornered, and when there still was enough spirit- in the public so that it raised sufficient protest to make the game worth while. . " They had had their : chat, and was Vetting late, when Dr. Simian Bendable of the Stoneyman institute was an nounced. . ii'v "Poor fellow," said Stoneyman, smil ing indulgently at Cripps across the jasper smoking table. "He does some thing he thinks is wonderful once in a while, he and his understrapper scien tists, and he thinks he must come and tell me about It. I pretend a little en thusiasm to please the doctor— s a 5 good ■ though, of course, I don t know what he is talking about most of ' the time." ■'-J :'•'•*. ' . With narrow, pin point eyes, Cripps (surveyed the eminent scientist, as he shook the thin, white, chemical stained hand. But the enthusiast had not ut tered 10 words before Cripps* eyes be gin to expand and soften; and before Doctor Bendable had told his story the orbs of vision of the promoter were the great, sunken," wide, dreaming, imag inative things that his associates knew and feared. They were the shaded win dows of a giant mind in travail. The promoter was evolving a tremendous work of Interception. This, in a few words, Is what he had heard. . -'?;?;'- "' . "••■■.- '■'_- ';- Some months before, in studying the germs of the African sleeping sickness. Doctor Bendable had discovered—in line with the theory that all conditions of man are Tsut the reflexes of germ actionthat sleep, physical. repose, cat-"' --c c naps, yawns, etc., were merely symp toms of the periodical assertion, by colonies of beneficent germs, of their "presence in the human makeup. He had " succeeded in isolating and identifying § athe sleep germ, and, in fact, had created j artificial colonies of them —on the good doctor's private laboratory ? shelves he had six jars filled with the germs, and these had evolved a shape IS diameters j greater than normal. He had -found. o that, wherever an electric current trav eled, the germs would, as if they were a part of it, be carried with the current. To make sure that insomnia and sim liar disturbed conditions were-merely a sort of "strike" in the sleep germ col - onies, Doctor Bendable * had spent months of time experimenting and at last he had discovered that the premise was false, the theory deceptive, j The sleep germ had its enemies in another, germ, the germ of wakefulnessa most dangerous thing—and now at last he had discovered this toxic opposition to the sleep germ. Doctor Bendable had come, therefore to announce that he o had found a cure for Insomnia, restless • ness, bad dreams, nightmares, and de „ lirium tremens. ? '."'.< -'??', That was the moment when Christo-1 pher Cripps, pale and- trembling, had risen, said good night, and had hurried from the house. ? .. .~. ,".'-'• "Now as he crouched in the leather cushions, he breathed to himself in* tense whispers: >-? ; ■ . "Fool that I have "been./?-. Sleep is. a necessity of life. Sleep we must have. , -. They can't boycott it, they can't go on _J"^ny vegetable diet or do anything to ~Abeat It. They must, have it. and Bend able has got : control of the secret of wakefulness and the secret of pounding your ear. Why, oh, why, did I never?? think of it before? How many times I. have listed —from beef to? tooth- ' ".. ache drops. The nearest we have ever • come to monopolizing sleep was 'in con trolling the places where people sleep.* „ Oh, what a fool I have been! , It's been under my nose ever since I was a baby, ?, and I never saw it before tonight. But now I see it. He! he! "; Even old Sto- ; , neyman never guessed it. But Bendable r is his man! I've got to build this ne- - cessity into a trust ■ for Stoneyman. Now, how—that is the questionhow, how, how?" "Did you call me just then, sir?" called back his chauffeurJ^^^^^SßßS . "No, Jenks, no. Can't you go a little faster?" -. XX., The problem dazzled and ; evaded him.;, - Bendable ; could ; keep ? a man awake, \or he could let; him sleep. ?, Stoneyman I owned Bendable's brains, 'but even the American ?, public .i might '% not '?, stand for patenting, protecting,?,', monopolizing, advertising; and selling sleep tablets, one or- more of which would allow.-, a'? night's "sleep.. . ■'■-"";■"'■■'.*:? How to make them pay to sleep of * nights?,'-?, \ ,;;v iXX^' X'-. How to keep them awake if they -- wouldn't pay? "iSPSMmB^^SIiPBB -.-. Round and round the park the car;: sped. Dawn was showing- In the east, and the only thing that had broken thetv tour was when, Qripps?had stopped 1 at X the Plaza and sent; nine telegrams ?tow nine of Stoneyman's greatest associates f; to meet him in Stoneyman'sfoffice in?|; lower Broadway? in threes days' time.": ay this time " the unfortunate {Jenks i; * was numb and - exhausted ? and *; he * was ->' well pleased? when Cripps tapped him ; on the shoulder;and said, in f his nat ural, mild voice: -•'-. .?■ ..';?.: ;,' ?■<'". "All right, Jenks. home' now." ''■j_ The plan , was j ready.'r ""? ;0 -•".' -'-"» fit suddenly occurred to? Cripps that r he was riding? through; the street -on which Bendable lived, and as he turned to look out of the window he caught a? flashing view of i a lighted window in the long. low, laboratory, building. down the side street. .>". Maybe Bendable was at -work : there. An:-excellent , chance for a talk with him. {? ' 1 "Drop jme here, Jenks; | take -the car home and get to bed," said Cripps, and in a moment more, when the car had slowed and swung - back, the > matchless. promoter stepped out on -the curb be fore ; the laboratory side . door. ?■'-. He, was about; to ring,? when her noticed that the light he had -^ seen 'in?.: the window. burned no longer. Peering in, he saw a flash travel along the casement—^-the flash of -. a > lantern! ;*;?>;. --'-'•-. Softly Cripps., trie.i •the door. ; - y It was open. It had been forced! -? Shifting"his Luger pistol from under his arm,- where it hung in its silken holster, he held it ready'; in his over coat side pocket and entered with the . tread of \ a cat. Down, the hall and up the steps 'he passed, then 'turned into? an ; open door at the landing, r' The '" light from the street illuminated the place sufficiently for him? to see the arrangement of the .;;.interior^—rows'- of * glass and nickel-steel cases with aisles between; and? furnaces■■»at* the farther end. -Skulking in -the shadow? of the cases Cripps?made his way to the" cen ter of. the room. ;- If this were a com mon burglary he could cover the man and call the {police, 'If 'this were a strategic burglary, wellhe, but not the public, ° must know about It. '■':}' " Was Bendable's secret out? : Was 1 : there a % rival V; in the ? ; field;; so soon? He \ had ■, gathered that not even? Bendable's ? assistants knew of the full significance of j the researches. '. . Was Bendable mistaken? *? , » The ' character of " the " intruder was soon, made plain; V-- Just }■ on * the ; other I side of* the : case he , had reached ? was a 'dark :figure. "-■.: It moved. There was ■ another slow ray from? the dark t lan ■ tern;; and where i a?? glance reflected>,it ; on j the? burglar,; for ;an instant, j Cripps saw the coarse features and dull, heavy j lines of I the ; face 'of; a ; human beast 'of prey of^ the , lower order. . He ; drew;out his v pistol :. and. ? covering?. the ?,. burglar from behind, watched him curiously as he J went ' carefully from article to ar ticle, '.seeking ? something ;? convertible into ready cash ; through the "fence" •■ or the melting pot.? ? ?"■'...- ■'",'.-,"-? -.-_"-. ; ? The ? burglar ., stopped .before *■ a?? glass shelf on * the ; : wall! ? ?., ? YiX Cripps* heart stirred within .- him ,as he saw the \ dark : lantern's circle* illumi nate six .? heavy s bottles' with C: ground! glass 1 stoppers, one ? small one with v- a red label, and one small - one with 7 a blue label. -X-. ■.;.?? :',- ; "? ..:'■' ..;.*.'..-?.? The i bottles" 1 of ?the germs » of ;■, sleep, the?bottle' of . the ; germs of wakefulness, the? bottle of the r antitoxin"~? , Under the :shelf,;in >its ordered \ place, hung the usual book with its file sheets of notes, which knew contained 'all * that ? Doctor!- Bendable?? knew about i the matter. He?; knew ?' Bendable well enough to know that if notes and re suits' both were taken, Bendable would be lost; and not only that, but any other scientist could s, do what Bendable ; might do with J these 'things?; placed In his ' hands. kCrippsfalmost choked with the thought that gripped He. do without T Stoneyman; and ?* without ; Stoneyman's? associates. He alone could rule the world or keep it awake: till*it* went insane. - The ' burglar, was sorrowfully plac ing some small silver objects in a big burlap bag :; he carried, for it was a poor crib he had cracked.?-'??< _ , "Throw up , your hands, Bill! I'm not' going to hurt you! Just i listen to what I tell": you," said Cripps quietly, shoving t the muzzle of .the' under the burg lar's ear, where the feel and sight of the cold steel barrel would convince the man =he was not being held up : with a ; shoe l}S^i^|!jjpt^j^li!^^|^^ ■ When the i burglar's 'hands were duly elevated .and he was trembling prop erly, , Cripps continued with icy clear ness: t ' ,V ■ ? / ."/■•■";■•■ * - : :'--''.'- XXXi "Take all this blanied'truck,you want to. - I want t you to take something for me *in that * bag of yours. \ I will give you - $1,000 if you § will do just what* I tell you ; and : then forget .' it. Will you; do it?" .'■' X." • '• * #.'•*'; '""j **"'" "Surest-? ting you know," answered the: burglar 4 after a ? slight • hesitation;'?' 4 ! - This pausing may have been due 'to . fright, slow thought :or a mental quibble over some point of professional ethics. It is 'hardly, likely,; though, that he real ized that he was dealing: with a modern •■promoter.?? ./■/- «"'-/'?;?/?:;/: "'-: '■- / /'-/.." '• ."-'■ .-_.': "All right; See those bottles in front %fif-you?/ Hand me the two little ones. * That's right. ?? I \ can *, carry them this ? way in *my coat./^Now-} hand /me?? that? book r hanging there. All right. Stop '"your./ shaking. Don't *i you -? dare g! look, 5 * around. It does not matter?, to? you what \ I look like/ Now put.those?bottles care "t fully, one ;by one,,in '-. that bag."?; i ••/ ?* "I got two bags, mister." ; _/•;?■ XI "All right; "put- them in the "empty one." ■/'■;-? ? "'..-; ?.!,://*.' /; /,','. /./ .Tensely Cripps watched the burglars obedience? to his /commands,/ and when ? the bags were * ready,** he 1- continued: -p'X. - "Now,-, leave your dark lantern where it is. Walk straight ahead to the door, down the steps, and out to the [street^ Go over t to"? Madison avenue | and walk down % to the grand central station and s check the bag with the bottles in it, in the parcel room. This thing lam slip ping" in your/, side- pocket is a $1,000 bill. rl> l 4 am ' going to walk - behind you f ,-th" my gun in ?, my overcoat "J pocket - pointing at you and I tell s you flat, ifs , you i make * one? false move I will drill : you so full? of holes that you will look '*' like a bird ?; cage."i?-? .-?--v;^-."v-q xi*<:C ? Steadily and in order form the little »procession i; took ." up '■> Its ,t march—down to the, street, over to Madison avenue| „ and down toward Forty-second street, ?, very s innocent as to appearance 1 in" 1 the 5 ; growing daylight to the -"'eyes i. of all * , early rising beholders save one--Lieu , tenants of Detectives McPheeny. * ..?.;- ; * - He : was on; the back end of a Madi son avenue car about Forty-seventh ; street? chatting i with conductor.• -v . "Gee, will vy'/ look iat dat"*"-'; he -? ex- 1 claimed. "Stubby Conners strolling s home wid two dray loads of goods. The ■ noivefofl 'Iml Watch me nail *im." " ' ■'" * ■/'.; He swung from the j car and came back on the run. . - f. .r ■%. ' " : ~ J The burglar heard the | heavy, ' famil- J iar footfalls. - glanced around enough to ■i see "i that | his. conjectures were oorrect fc •and/before!; Cripps «• realized what |J had A happened, fj the two -j men, burglar Sand ;* detective, were speeding down the street in advance of him. ! .;/. '" * Christopher Cripps thought, as -he x -: ran, that the] increasing throngs of the | city's toilers | bound to work presented % an added danger with each Individual, and that "J some one might see him and i I recognize i him engaged \ in'a? sensational | r ; chase that | must lead to explanations. Each ; added ■' person meantf so much greater .'chance of discovery,?: of !V what the burglar had in the bags. . And oh, terrible thought: What if the detec tive should overhaul the fleet footed marauder and the marauder should tell of the man who gave $1,000 bills at the point of a gun! And then, if he should I point him out as the man! Cripps stop ped short, thanking his lucky stars that ihe had \ realized | his danger in tlmeJ^ES But the bottles! th« bottles! They were getting out of his hands 'g and into the % hands •of the police—the:f newspapers—the public! He must fol low, he must claim them, he must bribe them out of the detective's hands. He must have them at any cost. <' "? .I.T;'''*'-"-" On the other hand, if the burglar saw him and pointed him out, the bot tles *In " the - pockets' of "his fur coat S»««1SSK»-S - ■ ': -■ "J ... --■ > - - _ - ' - ..." i<,u would damn him. He had resumed;his : 4 place In the tearing, plunging, yelling : hue"- and cry with | the thought j that he must follow the bottles, and now, with the realization of the J incrimmlnating : evidence >he carried, he-whirled aside into the first door —that» ( of an employ- I ment agency.*?? *:' .^ . v ■/•- -■ A huge, I fat Italian padrona sat - by? the door. Back in the gloom lay a swarm of £ Immigrant ?s laborers tjj asleep ?on the' floor ? awaiting san early work train's departure. i"With ? one g compre- \ hending glance Cripps saw these things —at -r least*, all t that?.were,* obvious—and then thrusting the bottles into the? fat woman's ■ wide -. s but , - shelving -, lap ?. he 'gasped:, ::]'-XX't ■•>'■', ' 5- '^'■?:?*?. ?.:;,«?*;;-:*' "Keep these! Hundred:dollars!".; *: - * '■',". He was." once more in the chase.' "?J; - : > Full well Stubby j Conners \ knew that Forty-second {Street > was alive with po licemen in and about the station. Full .well Stubby Conners knew that his sole hope now lay in stopping the :; detective. Thrusting a hand Into one of the bags, which he would have dropped had'they ? not 1 been strung around i his turtle like heck, he drew f the hand forth. > .There . was; a flash—'; swish, and "over" the > de tective's I head, over the head ■■ of '. Chris . topher 5 Cripps *, flew one %of f. the * massive bottles. ? Stubby Conners ? had? gained : the, time the ; detective took in dodging. ??*:Cripps heard the crash and '»splash of « the bottle behind him 1:?; and then? strange cries, but on he sped. Another and then a third bottle, the last knock ing the detective's hat from his head. He paused and stooped for it. 'f-H Crlpps now caught ;up wi th', the burg lar and choked l back, with an effort, the cry that rose to his lips—a cry implor- Ing. the burglar to throw away no more hundreds of millions of dollars. i -: I The entrance of the subway was Just ahead and, pausing to hurl yet another of the priceless* ) jars, which went bowl ing Into Forty-second street this time, as t the -' pursuit made the turn. Stubby,: Conners darted down 'into the; tube.. !•' ■!"' Quicker wttted than t either officer or I fugitive, Cripps \ knew that * the burglar * was trapped," even though he boarded a* | train, 7: for the dispatcher could % stop it I | before j the'; next ? station. Stubby! Con < ners I was I good las j locked up arid * con- i fessing to his Jailer. Therefore, Chris topher Cripps slowed down, followed h leisurely gasping for breath, and got to the first landing of the subway stairs in time to be paralyzed with the events transpiring before him., ■,> .', ;•!-J, -'.■ Down ' .the' ':■:,. platform %i between the I r. trains ; rushed I the? burglar, but *a f guard f slammed the door In his face quite as ihe would S:have? done /to ant? ordinary "" passenger. Whereupon Stubby Conners whirled 'arid t. brought % the fifth bottle ;j crashing down on the head of the de tective, and with the broken glass there fell a shower of a greenish fluid J that scarcely i seemed to reach the ce ment X floor of the platform, before it rolled away in a spreading thin blue '*vapor, l§that§f appeared .to . increase; into miraculous quantities the frac tion of a second. In one glance "Gripps i saw the burglar and the detective droop peacefully and fall. The hundreds of passengers rushing toward them on the platform reeled back in a wave and lay still. A motorman just ready to start his train pitched forward with a pro digious yawn and was motionless. The sleep germs! The gigantic sleep germs! Afloat In the air by the - billions! | The sleep germs! - MM "Run f for your lives! §j Run for your lives!" cried' an ashen ■ faced ' man, clam bering up out of the subway entrance. But thousands had been drawn *" to the * chase fan ';* no one | heeded the cries of I Christopher . '. If they had looked back! Up Forty secondvstreet.■? where the 'last bottle I Stubby; Conners had thrown *in the open air had smashed or a post, the thin, ,•■"■-■•'-**'■"' ? -- - ■** a, :.,;■:.■ /:../..--:.. ..:;.,.. r alrtiost Imperceptible cloud was spread ?ing. The eager,; curious, 1. running multi tudes met paused and pitched on * their;-j faces;?'sat down and then laid ?; back; knelt down and then rolled over; fought to get away, while' yawning ? with/an? overwhelming^ somnolence, or perchance leaned up ? against a wall or - post and \ stayed there! '-."j A j great four- J horse wagon, piled^withl trunks, / came 1 sweeping out of Vanderbllt place. *2 Sud denly the horses . checked y themselves, f spread <■ -•/ their legs wider * and wider, ■i rolled like drunken sailors, and dropped Jto ? rest. ?>?A motorman, turning his car into Madison avenue, gave an enormous : yawn; his head went back and he was ■ about *to / crumple ?.; d own? on i" the: front platform, but before «';he^:did!? so :he whirled his controller, stopping the car %: in obedience to a duty he could not for get. I As the § passengers /piled off i they - were ; met; by the ; germ ; laden air, and at the (front .and back steps ? two"? great : heaps of humanity gradually slid down ;to a level of composure. A cat fleeing 'I from a fox terrier came down from the /direction of Fifth avenue. /"So > great was her momentum that she rolled over i and over ere "she stopped, and the/dog? answering the Instinct to-[turn* around | at. least twice/? before : going to \ sleep,* threw himself into a series of amazing, whirling somersaults before he lit on his head in the gutter, and stayed there. - Christopher Cripps I was the one man running who had both speed and under /standing.*'; •, Hef alone had observed that the germ laden air did not blow about, that it did not rise, and that he might ; J be , able to make the door of the Hotel . Belmont before he was overtaken. And , he did ; so, but the porter that swung it wide for him laid down on the ' "wel come" mat and yawned but an instant - before the ' full slumber seized 5 him. ? /■■•,-' '-" Without waiting, i and no ' longer cry- Zing 'out,^warriings,*f Christopher s Cripps dashed t into '"" the ; flrsV: elevator. 'A "Take me up to the roof!" he shouted. "To the /rooflf or? heaven's sake, quick *> Crouching In the corner, the bell boy on / the elevator watch gazed at "" the I madman who wanted to commit sui cide. ".j ,_' x» : j'« '-';■ ••" s'-i- ' - X A Crlpps sprung* at the lever, but ? his s ; Ignorant tugs did not stir the car. * In the lobby there was wild excite- J ment, A man with his eyes closed, his hands 1 black with printers' ink, a fresh copy of the / Sun nin '$,'. his ": pocket, ;i came j 'staggering.' in the?door. -» .-'. .- *.v .j » . "Call up the Sun for me, quick, quick! ; | Evening Sun! Patrick McGuire, printer, aged 54, residing—residing—" 'f^X'r", |ff Then -he lurched Into the manager's s arms, and in a moment the manager reeled and the two dropped on the mar ble floor. The captain of the bellboys ' stooped tto t pick|them"! up, -, arid; He's too, yawned, tried to rise, but sank back. All this Cripps saw as if gazing. at motion pictures. Fortunately, the bell- I boy saw, also, and without further com mand he shot the car to the cupola Cripps sprang out by the wireless station. - .- -;- . "<;-.-; "Can we break the cables to keep any one else from coming up?" he f shouted at the jboy/;^/-: -vt^*^ •"Better than that," said' the boy, pull ing a switch. "We can shut oft* the power." . * - .- ■ : ' _ - Christopher Cripps sighed*. felt \of his : wallet and check book and was him self again. X. •-, "-.V'^SBiiWm From the edge of the roof the scene ■ unfolded like the battle area did below the rocky brow of sea born Salamis. Little zephyrs, that now swirled in all directions, took the germ laden air far and near. " / Some who met it con -1 trived to dash to some distance before ? they dropped, and wherever they passed "? they spread the infection of somnolence as powerfully as if one of [ the original bottles had been broken in /that "spot. I Two ?or ' three blocks !in either/direction i . • < - - . , • -. -, " ' '' " the -between^: and around • the j stalled '.cars,*-; trucks, cabs,, and ; s automo- ; biles—was black, with countless'thou- ?. 'sands' at rest. In the distance other j ? thousands,?! drawn by the evidences of excitement, as people* go to a confla- ; j gration, s& came ZfX running -in < * black * swarms; and when , they, struck i the % sleep? germs, they melted .** as if f. before machine gun I Are. The s people; Indoors ?• above", the • first ',floors were rarely > wise . < enough ito remain there. They rushed for the open air and stopped when they '-■ struck the < street? The sleeping piles were largest before the main entrances of the hotels and apartment /.houses^; Over in the New York Central yards. t; Crlpps I saw I a strain?f trying to make its ■; ? way out. At the windows were strick- ?■ ? en passengers, and the engineer, clos ing the throttle as he fell, drooped in ! V l his cab. It was soon ; |plain that the . entire system was .blocked;.?: ?'. ". • "The wireless man just told me that : he hears this thing is catching oyer ; ; the ; wires, that all the j telephones) are knocked out —girls xin the centrals all ,- clean gone,"?*said the trembling .'voice ?« of the bellboy at Crlpps' elbow. :-. : . "; Bendable had said that electric cur '• rents*carried i the germs. . (• :X '■ *■ "v •'•'^ : v In half an hour the whole United States would Ibe going to sleep! :\ ;.i .'■'; ■"". ?. The | promoter dashed to the wireless * room shouting. ''--,-•'':;Vr;?? v ? ".* ; ' " "Quick, man, quick! Wire Chief- Marcy :to break connection with .all : trunk lines ovt of New York!" '■"_,' ■* . Cripps • heard? the f message ; crashing • out, and then the distant clatter of ; ; gongs drew him again to the roof edge. V Some one ! had pulledr; a grand alarm : - for J the' Are department,! the ambulance corps, and the police i; patrols. From * every direction they were v approaching *• -and the crowds ? that now were fleeing ? ?: f rom the danger collided with those* following the racing?? vehicles /of?: sue . cor. On came the careering, clatter- : ing, careening*; chariots jof the city's' v defense, but the horses tottered and ". fell, one and all, and the men? rolled? ; from • their? perches or \ dropped ;to ;sleep : where > they < sat or clung. From the : ? east, ? four ambulancps* and pieces "of; * fire apparatus came very close to ?the ; : Grand Central station, as,the? germs had > E spread "slowly!* in the direction of Third avenue. One of the wagons corps of > men with: air? tight .oxygen i helmets, ? ; and the men were getting these ready . as: tl*ey came. The wireless ;man shout ed that it had beep discovered that the •-'-. whole ; ? affair?: was tithe result of some I subterranean '."gas t that ? -had broken ' from the bowels ?of .the"earth i into the - ■ subway and that Mayor Jacoby and IS Police Commissioner /Adamsoniwere on y the way to take command of the situ ation. '-■•'--•.V- '-V'.?«?,:',/?'*"'?' ;>!? ?-;-- r'?'"- ' ,?;^i Cripps saw that, with the exception .vof.three?meh/the.'helmeted .firemen did •not get their /helmets on ?in-:. time. Only trfree"were able to advance. An? idea struck him. When they were /near,'; he ? let a'shower?bf silver coins ' fall at their . cfeet.^ v The looked up. 7; In '/; sign . language he besought one of them to come up, and he waved two fists full'of. ' yellow.*backed?" money at them. '~''X v."" :? They?; consulted an instant and then one of them entered the hotel. The others were forging .'.toward'the center or rather the q apparent center of .*.'.' the 'catastrophe, seeking its source. In a short space,-; of ?. time, the first fireman" appeared 'on? the roof. :.:'■'.; ; "Great .head,?/ great''',*,head," ? Brother. Fireman!" ?'shouted Cripps*. . "I! am the /engineer, of ; the ; subway.?'.' I know 'just where the leak is that Is .letting'? out : ; this deadly gas. Give ,me a chance to J save my reputation;"/, Give me your hel "''met./? Here;? Is ?a'"";thousand /dollars...'^-If- you;have got 1 sense? enough to come up :here,'! you have got sense enough to know a good ithlhg^.whe^ you see it 'and? take -this? bill and stay here. Is '/It' a go?" ;'/-'? ''-"-.'.~"": ? T X f t{- '' < ' :*X' ■ '.-" "I wish you would^kinda point a* gun ' .at' me orsuthin';" said : the :-? fireman. : and Cripps cowed him * with? his Luger and took the helmet.*/? ?'/;/. ;. ' *i?'?■/ / It seemed that he. would never reach the street." The stairways and hallways were interminable?* but at last'bedashed; by the hodge-podge of guests and serv * ants lying on the lobby floor and on ; toward the street door, leaping over the manager, Patrick* McGulre the'; printer, ; * and I the captain of the bellboys. There was a terrible roaring noise in the place, but it did not occur to v Cripps just then :;;.whatli't:was."':Vs?.*T"*-^*?':'-*!? i?.'.'i' X'--'- XXX Out in the street he bounded, over "? human forms more? thickly spread than '■", at Gettysburg, and as he neared the ? subway •'he ■.saw. two/ gentlemen, r." each * with something held to their noses and '. mouths coming on the run for the en trance across? the street. He must - get ?? to f, that ? sixth bottle before £ they| could ," ?! reach it, but they had the nearer;side,? j and seeking the source of the were drawn to the spot from which the swirl /ing clouds of blue vapor wreathed up. X Struck; -with i horror at the \ sight lof : the l blood on the face of Detective f Me ' Pheeney.'.who lay in a position "that indi cated awful distortion, though a second look would have shown that this wa> i not the 1 & case. Police^,™ Commissioner , -. Adamson bent over him. and forgetting / for the? moment to protect himself, tried C ?to speak. With lifted brows ilie; fought to open his eyes. With clenched jaws :he strove r ' against the fatal yawn. To I 'no avail; wearily he f leaned over the •' t, policeman 1 and j sank. Then J w the mayor, ( rushing to raise the head j of/ the chief / sof police, tried •' to make two hands? do the work of three, and he, too, clutch aing- wildly at the ' air a moment, folded ? himself tacross the top of the commis sioner, and McPheeny from beneath the |. < load groaned fitfully. v> XX ' t X ■XX /;>! Chuckling at-his fortune, Cripps "now, !,' dared to come from behind a pillar and ? descend to the platform. He was again aware of the mighty roaring noise about % him and suddenly he •• realized f what i'W\ ■was —the thousands of people snoring/ in the otherwise silent subway and ,100,- ? ;■ 000 people snoring on /i the: stricken ? t. streets' above! \//, :. -'-■*; ij* -" IX. Picking Jhi s I way : t over ?- the | strange! y¥■ conglomerate ' masses, noting a stenog rapher who had been on her way to /.work, I now powdering her nose in her ?; dreams, seeing a gay old lad still in ? evening dress talking glibly to himself 4 as he ,<sat against a post and shuffling, shuffling, and then dealing to the left; he came to /where?; Stubby^■Conners*''' lay, one hand clutching the thousand : dollar '■■■>'■ bill. . v .. :• ,; ; . : . , \;X' < , ,' Crlpps took ,' it from the tightened f fingers *i and thrust it 4 inside the 5 man's '? undershirt. ;: '/^! \X'~/X\ X«';i'£^ ? r?-*-: *?\;?' With gentle care Cripps lifted the sixth bottle from the burlap bag, /still:? ; sound and unharmed, and thrust It into the inner pocket of his overcoat. f? This i left both hands free and hid the bottle. ">o"lt| is as well to) be careful," he ' said. "There might be some man from Phila- • delphia /In « this bunch, who is almost ; immune, if not quite so." v " ; i.- ■'/ : He was just about to make, his, way out when, at the head of the stairs, ap- ?? peared the two j helmeted firemen and i an '? important looking personage who V:had a rubber mask over his face. He was * writing things on cards and -giving ". them to the firemen! ."*-.-/ As they came down he -advanced 'to ward Cripps, who saw something famil iar in^ his outlines, and"*' gave -him"; this %vritten message: "l - ' 5 : ;:::-:,iy-i.:,v:!i.^ .-<-.---:- • -v~.-.: ■/ ;.■■.*. - .•; --■.,;„;. - . I 'am Doctor' Bendable of 'the* Stoneyman institute. 'i am the only ' man who understands ! this and can " save any of these people. Carry .'out / the • older | ones.' first and .' lay them in easy natural positions. , , A cold, chill.crept, down the spine of Christopher Cripps and ! then another one crept * up. . How many hundred', thousand people had he and ".stubby ? Conners murdered? ' /The old scientist was drawing out a ■, hypodermic syringe/./shaking his head sadly over the loot in the. second burlap bag, when suddenly, quite as a :-?o ■'.\:,'-\XzXfr'-X?:\X'\'-'>\':.i-;-- ■-.-■'• BROUGHTON BRANDENBURG sleeping*dog will lie on his side?"ana run •:% at terrific race,>: Stubby / Conners : came. into a nightmare? A vigorous kick knocked ? out ,; the = legs from - under the venerable Bendable, the ? rubber mask flew off, "and— he ' yawned,'f began a { roar of laughter which /dwindled. into a ?drowsy' yawnful smile;* folded: his a*ms on his venerable "chest—-and, Bendable, too, was gone. ■' " -? .;'.'. ? "I wonder what- struck?him -so fun ny?" Cripps tasked of himself. 7:" ?/, •x*£ Signing to? the""two," firemen.; to; carry the * old (man ? out; into \ the"-' open, Cripps ; :led the way, nursing the sixth 'bottle., " The'appalling noise of the snores was like a mighty 'accusing, chorus /in/bis ears, and only by/a rsupreme; effort did; he assemble his logical functions. •? -~l He ?had 7 known ■? that he must -% get that?bottle.? Now he y had It, what "else must he do? /' ■ ■''' .-"•/• ";.: ' \ '*. '. XXX ?-; Above the -roar of : the.'- ghastly^ ar ray of slumberers on 'the 6treet. he heard the * booming?. of the whistles"; of ■ all the ; craft -on the'*river -voicing*. a gigantic but ? unavailing • alarm. On Manhattan i island 3 he? could ■:■ not ' hear ?the roar ?of an elevated - train ;■ or i the 'clatter? of •" a ear. '•';; v '•?'[ ■■'.: •".,.-' -*:?■ •'- - <■ -■ i .- Had the f germs ;: spread everywhere by this time? ;'.' X t 'X]" ' ??:? ?' */".: ,' .---? Far down the /street ? some * women ? were 't shrieking % from ,- a window in I a lofty ?building,; but there was ;no one to' rise and answer their cries.; Look ing up he saw the bellboy the fireman, whose helmet he ; wore," peer «ing over the /roof ?of ;* the Hotel ? Bel mont.: : The . fireman had realized :? that . being marooned in the heart of the (world's most ; giganticVcatastrophe was worth -more ; than a * thousand dollars and was ;"makingj piteous signs "to him. : But Christopher?? Crlpps heeded not. His legs ? were .". like lead i from ; the r un wonted exercise of the morning, "as 'he.' plodded -^ toward the employ ment agency, where he had left the ? two other bottles of 'his precious -trio. 7 ."'At*"* the?? door Jhe paused;"? The twe ' firemen; were -'" following close behind him. carrying the still smiling J Bend ,able:? by? his head .and -feet.- Within doors, the .old Italian woman still drowsed with the two bottles In her lap. ; In : the : back the bulk of ; the 'Italians laborers ? were still ?' asleep, but half dozen were ? sitting up playing * lotto on the ■ floor. - Evidently the ■ door , had V not? been opened i: and the i: sleep ;germs-had not yet' penetrated the labs*> ?agency. -"■ "•";. — ••".=•-,-'? :??,'.-'?''.£:-*;- Christopher Cripps considered.' 1 ;,/-, ;■'"' lt was useless to worry about [May ? Jacoby,^ Police; Commissioner: Adamion, or any of the r others —even old man was doubtless ; safe fin ,■ his doubly protected house. The " catastrophe 1 that had befallen.' New/York*; would ; serve »merely ■' to make "• the > remainder of the world;' aware 'of;- the\ power that he. " Christopher «Cripps,?? held. From this ■ point 'i on he must "construct? only.?:' Xx:..? ■Did he ;need ; Bendable? : Should f he try to -use ' the \ germs V, of wakefulness on him or ; the antitoxin thing •'-* or 'whatever r?it was in the other bottle? / '- To do ?:*so>? he - must * knowingly and '.willfully- open the door and let In the germs -'on- these poor ignorant peasants In'? a ■strange'" land.' Also, { would '? not the paralysis of the: metropolis, evi dently," complete? this -very minute, so overturn things that he ; could not properly-construct his monopoly? Also, he did not seem to be thinking clearly- His head felt heavy? and the things :at which %he looked / seemed vto ? have red edges on them. • '■". ' ' <; ■•■ •?? ? "Axcuse 'f me. Mister - Chief. ?il,' don't know your name, but". I ? thought I 'would??: just be:? tellin'\you iyou|have about come to the limit of the oxygen • in* the* tank of that helmet." ' "'•'• '' ?? One »of the firemen was • yelling to ; him, sneaking through the glass of -the helmet. <?*-? '•;'.? -- ■, .-'-:"--■' ?'. Already he felt It. The moment was almost? at hand when he must uncover to the?' germs :or ; must"smother ?in the helmet. : :'Vi"":-'.' "'"'','?■?,;'.''* ":"': "V A '" ':""* Maybe the book' would tell how to use the ?> antitoxin.?'* He -:? drew ?; it out and turned the »pages. ::- It was written ;In chemical formulas, ? mazes of inex plicable % figures, and in; German?' Latin, and English. w' Crlpps ?*, thrust it back In his pocket and turned to the \ door, motioning to; the firemen* to • carry Doc tor Bendable Jln behind S him. .!/;• j; '-■'■ ; The clatter of the rickety door awoke ' the'- sleepinggpadrona' ? from | her '. nor mal repose. She beheld three fright ful helmeted beings and a dead man i and - sought to defend herself. {; In ? her hands ?as she sat were weapons.? Two ? bottles ! of > precise "; missile 5 size.l^' : . The ; bottle with the , blue label sent the .? second ."" fireman sprawling, as- it ; flew ? true rij from -?. - her ? " hand, then it ■ crashed?? against the? wall and a little of its contents fell like dew on the upper lip of the: venerable Bendable, who had been?? dropped to the floor like a log. The smile increased. His lips twitched and the smile Increased >yet i more. ?-' ■ His .eyes opened -i? and .; he sat'r up. /A. new vapor ? filled the ; place. .The s germs of wakefulness were,'. rife. The crush iof Italians in the rear came scrambling ;* to \- their? feet, murmuring, then gabbling, then shouting with ex hilaration and excitement. "-- \.. X X: The? head <of Christopher Cripps was .wavering."","He'->saw?himself ", about ?, to fall, ? burdened with convincing, con victing evidence. Into the hands of the ; awakened ; and' powerful • Bendable. ? Al- ' r ready? Bendable's eye had alighted joy fully "> on? the ; bottle; with I the . red« labia, which <'■ the i good ' padrona held S poised In »reserve.? ?: ? ' ■}'.'. . -? ;■»'• ' -.:"?:?? '■■'.-:, .' '■ £-f'X ' : It : was time ; for : Christopher; Crlpps to go. When he should fall and"; his ihelmet? be taken off, the ' hand :- to ; re veal ? his. features must not he that of Dr. 4 Simian i|Behdable,*;:and? the little : group marveled to gee "the chief" dart out the door and, wavering and un : steady, plunge on toward .? Fifth '■ ave nue.,., X ' ■-..;.- j■• -■ <"?H e ? paid no heed to .the; people >In ! the front iof the store '," as I they*? awak ened, dazed ; and j. amazed, ?.when*?". the germs »of wakefulness touched ? them. ; ; He paid no heed to a corps of helmeted \ firemen % and £ surgeons ?'?; from ; ;Hoboken ?laiying| but^the 5 stricken in J long rows - in Bryant park and clearing the streets ? so electric • ambulances could, pass. ;*? On ■he plunged, going j home—the cunning : fox loves his own burrow best. The last thing J? remembered was turn ing the corner almost at his own , l door : step and seeing a familiar face —among all of the shut eyed multitude—a face that heY knew, one; that? looked at : him with open eyes as he fell. -■$ .;? ?j, ?. ;? 1 -. Nine{'; men, whose combined ? lions ' swayed the destinies of the world, were , gathered in Stoneyman's office on the : fourth day thereafter. All were? strained and anxious in their manner. When i one of them yawned with the weariness of waiting a half hour for Cnrlstopher Cripps to arrive, the others y started and s?:£ scanned the V. ya wner anxiously. The" whole city and much ;of i the ; na tion was like that. New York had had her strange sleep. The g famous Dr. r ■Simiancßenda.bler.had:-le*Q«^ the rescuers, from ,? Hoboken*? -'i and *g Staten^ island,} aroused the populace from the strange somnolence Into which it ;? had fallen.*; ; None of the scientists made any pre tense?; of .? • understanding "??->:l,. ' though f Doctor } ,Bendable>>ad given ,?out||al statement that-he was, seeking in a promising direction f6r the solution of the mystery. No one seemed: to ! have suffered, but many appeared to have been refreshed, though-^^ thousands were stiff and sore from lying ?; over " window .sills.' on door steps and pave ments for from 12 to 36; hours.?-;? It was believed that in dwellings in : and out :. of'the way corners of the city some 50,000 people were still asleep. , f; )';■■' When Stoneyman's secretary .; had \ rung Cripps' home on the i phone j three | times without answer, and: the;: match less promoter was an hour late at - *'-* Continued on Page - ",.' '•■ "California Women Who Think" • - - - - » i .-..-.