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diff --git a/old/64567-0.txt b/old/64567-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 21d6597..0000000 --- a/old/64567-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10489 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Nordenholt's Million, by J. J. Connington - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Nordenholt's Million - - -Author: J. J. Connington - - - -Release Date: February 15, 2021 [eBook #64567] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORDENHOLT'S MILLION*** - - -E-text prepared by Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net) - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - - - - -NORDENHOLT’S MILLION - - - * * * * * * - -_RECENT FICTION_ - - THE DOVE’S NEST & OTHER STORIES - By KATHERINE MANSFIELD - - THE KEY OF DREAMS - By L. ADAMS BECK - - THE SLEEPER BY MOONLIGHT - By K. BALBERNIE - - THE THRESHOLD - By MARTHA KINROSS - - SWEET PEPPER - By GEOFFREY MOSS - - PONJOLA - By CYNTHIA STOCKLEY - - DESOLATE SPLENDOUR - By MICHAEL SADLEIR - - CONSTABLE & CO. LTD. - - * * * * * * - - -NORDENHOLT’S MILLION - -by - -J. J. CONNINGTON - - - - - - -Constable & Co. Ltd. -London · Bombay · Sydney -1923 - -Printed in Great Britain by -Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, -Bungay, Suffolk. - - - - - TO - J. N. C. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. GENESIS 1 - - II. THE COMING OF “THE BLIGHT” 16 - - III. _B. DIAZOTANS_ 26 - - IV. PANIC 35 - - V. NORDENHOLT 41 - - VI. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE BREAKING-STRAIN 64 - - VII. NORDENHOLT’S MILLION 88 - - VIII. THE CLYDE VALLEY 103 - - IX. INTERMEZZO 125 - - X. THE DEATH OF THE LEVIATHAN 140 - - XI. FATA MORGANA 149 - - XII. NUIT BLANCHE 156 - - XIII. RECONSTRUCTION 189 - - XIV. WINTER IN THE OUTER WORLD 208 - - XV. DOCUMENT B. 53. X. 15 224 - - XVI. IN THE NITROGEN AREA 240 - - XVII. PER ITER TENEBRICOSUM 256 - - XVIII. THE ELEVENTH HOUR 271 - - XIX. THE BREAKING-STRAIN 289 - - XX. ASGARD 298 - - - - -NORDENHOLT’S MILLION - - - - -CHAPTER I - -Genesis - - -I suppose that in the days before the catastrophe I was a very -fair representative of the better type of business man. I had been -successful in my own line, which was the application of mass-production -methods to a better pattern of motor-car than had yet been dealt with -upon a large scale; and the Flint car had been a good speculation. -I was thinking of bringing out an economical type of gyroscopic -two-wheeler just at the time we were overwhelmed. Organisation was my -strong point; and much of my commercial success was due to a new system -of control which I had introduced into my factories. I mention this -point in passing, because it was this capacity of mine which first -brought me to the notice of Nordenholt. - -Although at the time of which I speak I had become more a director -than a designer, I was originally by profession a mechanical engineer; -and in my student days I had had a scientific training, some remnants -of which still fluttered in tatters in odd corners of my mind. I -could check the newspaper accounts of new discoveries in chemistry -and physics well enough to know when the reporters blundered grossly; -geology I remembered vaguely, though I could barely have distinguished -augite from muscovite under a microscope: but the biological group of -subjects had never come within my ken. The medical side of science was -a closed book as far as I was concerned. - -Yet, like many educated men of that time, I took a certain interest -in scientific affairs. I read the accounts of the British Association -in the newspapers year by year; I bought a copy of _Nature_ now and -again when a new line of research caught my attention; and occasionally -I glanced through some of these popular _réchauffés_ of various -scientific topics by means of which people like myself were able to -persuade themselves that they were keeping in touch with the advance of -knowledge. - -It was this taste of mine which brought me into contact with -Wotherspoon; for, beyond his interest in scientific affairs, he and I -had little enough in common. It is over a quarter of a century since I -saw him last, for he must have died in the first year of our troubles; -but I can still recall him very clearly: a short, stout man--“pudgy” -is perhaps the word which best describes him--with a drooping, untidy -moustache half-covering but not concealing the slackness of his -mouth; fair hair, generally brushed in a lank mass to one side of his -forehead; and watery eyes which had a look in them as of one crushed -beneath a weight of knowledge and responsibility. - -As a matter of fact, I doubt if his knowledge was sufficiently profound -or extensive to crush any ordinary person; and as he had a private -income and no dependants, I could not understand what responsibilities -weighed upon him. He certainly held no official post in the scientific -world which might have burdened him; for despite numerous applications -on his part, none of the Universities had seen fit to utilise his -services in even the meanest capacity. - -To be quite frank, he was a dabbler. He originated nothing, discovered -nothing, improved nothing; and yet, by some means, he had succeeded in -imposing himself upon the public mind. He delivered courses of popular -lectures on the work of real investigators; and I believe that these -lectures were well attended. He wrote numerous books dealing with the -researches of other men; and the publication of volume after volume -kept him in the public eye. Whenever an important discovery was made -by some real scientific expert, Wotherspoon would sit down and compile -newspaper articles on the subject with great facility; and by these -methods he achieved, among inexperienced readers, the reputation of a -sort of arbiter in the scientific field. “As Mr. Wotherspoon says in -the article which we publish elsewhere” was a phrase which appeared -from time to time in the leader columns of the more sensational Press. - -Naturally, he was disliked by the men who actually did the scientific -work of the world and who had little time to spare for cultivating -notoriety. He was a member of a large number of those societies to -which admission can be gained by payment of an entrance fee and -subscription; and on the bills of his lectures and the title-pages -of his books his name was followed by a string of letters which the -uninitiated assumed to imply great scientific ability. His application -for admission to the Royal Society had, however, been unsuccessful--a -failure which he frequently and publicly attributed to jealousy. - -It appears strange that such a man as this should have been selected -by Fate as the agent of disaster; and it seems characteristic of him -that, when the key of the problem was lying beside him, his energy was -entirely engrossed in writing newspaper paragraphs on another matter. -His mind worked exclusively through the medium of print and paper; so -that even the most striking natural phenomenon escaped his observation. - -At that time he lived in one of the houses of Cumberland Terrace, -overlooking Regent’s Park. I cannot recall the number; and the -place has long ago disappeared; but I remember that it was near St. -Katherine’s College and it overlooked the grounds of St. Katherine’s -House. Wotherspoon carried his scientific aura even into the -arrangement of his residence; for what was normally the drawing-room -of the house had been turned into a kind of laboratory-reception-room; -so that casual visitors might be impressed by his ardour in the pursuit -of knowledge. When anyone called upon him, he was always discovered -in this room, fingering apparatus, pouring liquids from one tube -into another, producing precipitates or doing something else which -would strike the unwary as being part of a recondite process. I had a -feeling, when I came upon him in the midst of these manœuvres, that -he had sprung up from his chair at the sound of the door bell and had -plunged hastily into his operations. I know enough to distinguish real -work from make-believe; and Wotherspoon never gave me the impression -that he was engaged in anything better than window-dressing. At any -rate, nothing ever was made public with regard to the results of these -multitudinous experiments; and when, occasionally, I asked him if he -proposed to bring out a paper, he merely launched into a diatribe -against the jealousy of scientific men. - -It was about this time that Henley-Davenport was making his earlier -discoveries in the field of induced radioactivity. The results were -too technical for the unscientific man to appreciate; but I had -become interested, not so much in details as in possibilities; and I -determined to go across the Park and pay a visit to Wotherspoon one -evening. I knew that, as far as published information went, he would be -in possession of the latest news; and it was easier to get it from him -than to read it myself. - -It was warm weather then. I decided to use my car instead of walking -through the Park. I had a slight headache, and I thought that possibly -a short spin later, in the cool of the evening, might take it away. As -I drove, I noticed how thunder-clouds were banking up on the horizon, -and I congratulated myself that even if they broke I should have the -shelter of the car and be saved a walk home through the rain. - -When I reached Cumberland Terrace, I was, as I expected, shown up into -Wotherspoon’s sanctum. I found him, as usual, deeply engrossed in work: -he had his eye to the tube of a large microscope, down which he was -staring intently. I noticed a slight change in the equipment of the -room. There seemed to be fewer retorts, flasks and test-tube racks than -there usually were; and two large tables at the windows were littered -with flat glass dishes containing thin slabs of pinkish material which -seemed to be gelatine. Things like incubators took up a good deal of -the remaining space. But I doubt if it is worth while describing what -I saw: I know very little of such things; and I question whether his -apparatus would have passed muster with an expert in any case. - -After a certain amount of fumbling with the microscope, which seemed -largely a formal matter leading to nothing, he rose from his seat and -greeted me with his customary pre-occupied air. For a time we smoked -and talked of Henley-Davenport’s work; but after he had answered my -questions it became evident that he had no further interest in the -subject; and I was not surprised when, after a pause, he broke entirely -new ground in his next remark. - -“Do you know, Flint,” he said, “I am losing interest in all these -investigations of the atomic structure. It seems to me that while -unimaginative people like Henley-Davenport are groping into the depths -of the material Universe, the real thing is passing them by. After all, -what is mere matter in comparison with the problems of life? I have -given up atoms and I am going to begin work upon living organisms.” - -That was so characteristic of Wotherspoon. He was always “losing -interest in” something and “going to begin work” upon something else. -I nodded without saying anything. After all, it seemed of very little -importance what he “worked” at. - -“I wonder if you ever reflect, Flint,” he continued, “if you ever -ponder over our position in this Universe? Here we stand, like Dante, -‘midway in this our mortal life’; at the half-way house between the -cradle and the grave in time. And in space, too, we represent the -middle term between the endless stretches of the Macrocosm and the -bottomless deeps of the Microcosm. Look up at the night-sky and your -eyes will tingle with the rays from long-dead stars, suns that were -blotted out ages ago though the light they sent out before they died -still thrills across the ether on its journey to our Earth. Take -your microscope, and you find a new world before you; increase the -magnification and another, tinier cosmos sweeps into your ken. And so, -with ever-growing lens-power, we can peer either upward into stellar -space or downward into the regions of the infinitesimal, while between -these deeps we ourselves stand for a time on our precarious bridge of -Earth.” - -I began to suspect that he was trying over some phrases for a coming -lecture; but it was early yet and I could not decently make an excuse -for leaving him. I took a fresh cigar and let him go on without -interruption. - -“It always seems strange to me how little the man in the street knows -of the things around him. The microscopic world has no existence as -far as his mind is concerned. A grain of dust is too small for him to -notice; it must blow into his eye before he appreciates that it has -perceptible size at all. And yet, all about him and within him there -lives this wonderful race of beings, passing to and fro in his veins -as we do in the streets and avenues of a great city; coming to birth, -going about their concerns, falling ill and dying, just as men do in -London at this hour. Think of the battles, the victories, and the -defeats which take place minute by minute in the tiniest drop of our -blood; and the issue of the war may be the life or death of one of us. -They talk of the struggle for existence; but the real struggle for -existence is going on within us and not in the outer world. Phagocyte -against bacterium--that is where the fitness of an organism comes to -its ultimate test. A slight hitch in the reinforcements, a minute’s -delay in bringing numbers to bear, and the keystone is out of the -edifice; nothing is left but a ruin. - -“It always reminds me of those frontier skirmishes--a mere handful of -troops engaged on either side--upon the issue of which the fate of -an empire may depend. Get a new set of enemies, some novel type of -bacteria with fresh tactics which the phagocytes cannot cope with--and -down comes a human being. It strikes wonder into me, that, you know. A -human body is so colossal in comparison with these bacteria that they -can have no idea even of our existence; and yet they can destroy the -whole machinery upon which our life depends. It’s almost as if a few -shots fired in Africa could crumble the whole Earth into an impalpable -dust. - -“And it is not only within us that these struggles are going on. When -you came in, I was just studying some specimens of organisms which are -equally vital to us. Come over here to the microscope, Flint, and have -a look at them yourself.” - -When I had got the focus adjusted to suit my eyes, I must confess that -I was astonished by what I saw. Somehow, in the course of my reading, -I had picked up the idea that bacteria were rod-like creatures which -floated inertly in liquids at the mercy of the currents; but at the -first glance I realised how much below the reality my conception had -been. In the field of the instrument I saw a score of objects, rod-like -in their main structure, it is true, but so mantled with the fringes of -their fine, thread-like cilia that their baculite character was almost -concealed. Nor were they the inert things which I had supposed them to -be; for, as I watched them, now one and again another would dart with -prodigious swiftness from point to point in the circle of illumination. -I had rarely seen such relative activity in any creature. The speed of -their movements was so great that my eye could not follow them in their -tracks. They appeared to be at rest one instant and then to vanish, -reappearing as suddenly in some fresh spot. I watched them, fascinated, -for some minutes, trying to trace the vibrations of the cilia which -projected them from place to place at such enormous speeds; but either -my eye was untrained or the movements of the thread-like fringes were -too rapid to be seen. It was certainly an illuminating glimpse into the -life of the under-world. - -When I had risen from the microscope table, Wotherspoon took me over to -one of the benches before the window and showed me the glass vessels -containing the pinkish gelatine. These slabs, he told me, were cultures -of bacteria. One placed a few organisms on the gelatine and there they -grew and multiplied enormously. - -“These specimens here,” said Wotherspoon, “are not the same variety -as the ones on the microscope slide. They have nothing whatever to -do with disease; and yet, as I told you, they have an influence upon -animal life. I suppose you never heard of nitrifying and denitrifying -bacteria?” - -I admitted that the names were unfamiliar to me. - -“Just so. Few people seem to take any interest in these vital problems. -Now you do know that internally we swarm with all sorts of germs, -noxious in some cases, beneficent in others; but I suppose it never -struck you that our bodies form only a trifling part of the material -world; and that outside these living islets there is space for all -sorts of microscopic flora and fauna to grow and multiply? And need -these creatures be absolutely isolated from the interests of animals? -Not at all. - -“Now what is the essential thing, apart from air and water, which we -derive from the outside world? Food, isn’t it? Did it ever occur to you -to inquire where your food comes from, ultimately?” - -“Well, of course,” I said, “it comes from all over the world. I don’t -know whether the wheat I eat in my bread comes from Canada or the -States or Argentina, or was home-grown. It doesn’t seem to me a matter -of importance, anyway.” - -“That isn’t what I mean at all,” Wotherspoon interrupted, “I want you -to look at it in another way. I suppose you had your usual style of -dinner to-day. Just think of the items: soup, fish, meat, bread, and so -on. Your soup was made from bones and vegetables; your fish course was -originally an animal; so was your joint; your sweet was probably purely -vegetable; and your dessert certainly was a plant product. Now don’t -you see what I mean?” - -“No, I confess I don’t.” - -“Haven’t I just shown you that everything you ate comes from either the -animal or vegetable kingdom? You don’t bite bits out of the crockery, -like the Mad Hatter. Everything you use to keep your physical machine -alive is something which has already had life in it? Isn’t that so? You -never think of having a meal of pure chemicals, do you?” - -“It never occurred to me; and I doubt it I shall begin now. It doesn’t -sound very appetising.” - -“It would be worse than that; but follow my argument further. Take the -case of your joint. Presumably that came from an ox or a sheep. Where -did the animal, whatever it was, get _its_ food? From the vegetable -kingdom, in the form of grass. Isn’t it clear that everything you -yourself eat comes, either directly or indirectly, from the plants? -And aren’t all animals on the same footing as yourself--they depend -ultimately on the vegetables for their sustenance, don’t they? A fox -may live on poultry; but the chickens he kills have grown fat by -eating grain; and so you come back to the plants again. If you like to -look on it in that way, we are all parasites on the plants; we cannot -live without them. Our digestive machinery is so specialised that -it will assimilate only a certain type of material--protoplasm--and -unless it is supplied with that material, we starve. We can convert the -protoplasm of other animals or of plants to our own use; but we cannot -manufacture protoplasm from its elements. We have to get it ready-made -from the vegetables, either directly or indirectly. - -“Now the foundation-stone of protoplasm is the element nitrogen. The -plants draw on the store of nitrogenous compounds in the soil in order -to build up their tissues; and then we eat the plants and thus transfer -this material to our own organisms. What happens next? Do we return -the nitrogen to the soil? Not we. We throw it into the sea in the form -of sewage. So you see the net outcome of the process is that we are -gradually using up the stores of nitrogen compounds in the soil, with -the result that the plants have less and less nitrogen to live on.” - -“Well, but surely four-fifths of the atmosphere is nitrogen? That seems -to me a big enough reserve to be drawn on.” - -“So it would be, if the plants could tap it directly; but they can’t do -that except in the case of some exceptional ones. Most plants simply -cannot utilise nitrogen until it has been combined with some other -element. They can’t touch it in the uncombined state, as it is in the -atmosphere; so that as far as the nitrogen in the air goes, it is -useless to plants. They can’t thrive on pure nitrogen, any more than -you can feed yourself on a mixture of charcoal, hydrogen, oxygen and -nitrogen; though these elements are all that you need in the way of -diet to keep life going. - -“No, Flint, we are actually depleting the soil of these nitrogen -compounds at a very rapid rate indeed. Why, even in the first decade -of the twentieth century South America was exporting no less than -15,000,000 tons of nitrogen compounds which she dug out of the natural -deposits in the nitre beds of Chili and Peru; and all that vast -quantity was being used as artificial manure to replace the nitrogenous -loss in the soil of the agricultural parts of the world. The loss -is so great that it even pays to run chemical processes for making -nitrogenous materials from the nitrogen of the air--the fixation of -nitrogen, they call it. - -“Well, that is surely enough to show you how much hangs upon this -nitrogen question. If we go on as we are doing, there will eventually -be a nitrogen famine; the soil will cease to yield crops; and we shall -go short of food. It’s no vision I am giving you; the thing has already -happened in a modified form in America. There they used up the soil by -continual drafts on it, wheat crops year after year in the same places. -The result was that the land ceased to be productive; and we had the -rush of American farmers into Canada in the early days of the century -to utilise the virgin soil across the border instead of their own -exhausted fields.” - -“I suppose you know all about it,” I said, “but where do these come in?” - -I pointed to the pinkish disks of the cultures. - -“These are what are called denitrifying bacteria. Although the plants -can’t act upon pure nitrogen and convert it into compounds which they -can feed upon, some bacteria have the knack. The nitrifying bacteria -can link up nitrogen with other elements so as to produce nitrogenous -material which the plants can then utilise. So that if we grow these -nitrifying bacteria in the soil, we help the plants to get more food. -The denitrifying bacteria, on the other hand--these ones here--act in -just the opposite way. Wherever they find nitrogenous compounds, they -break them down and liberate the nitrogen from them, so that it goes -back into the air and is lost to us again. - -“So you see that outside our bodies we have bacteria working for or -against us. The nitrifying bacteria are helping to pile up further -supplies of nitrogen compounds upon which the plants can draw and -whereon, indirectly, we ourselves can be supported. The denitrifying -bacteria, on the other hand, are continually nibbling at the basic -store of our food; decomposing the nitrogen compounds and freeing the -nitrogen from them in the form of the pure gas which is useless to us -from the point of view of food.” - -“You mean that a large increase in the numbers of the one set would -put us in clover, whereas multiplication of the other lot would mean a -shortness of supplies?” - -“Exactly. And we have no idea of the forces which govern the -reproduction of these creatures. It’s quite within the bounds of -possibility that some slight change in the external conditions might -reinforce one set and decimate the other; and such a change would have -almost unpredictable influences on our food problem.” - -At this moment the thunder-clouds, which had grown heavier as time -passed, evidently reached their full tension. A tremendous flash shot -across the sky; and on its heel, so close as to be almost simultaneous, -there came a shattering peal of thunder. We looked out; but I had been -so dazzled by the brilliance of the flash that I could see little. The -air was very still; no rain had yet fallen; and my skin tingled with -the electrical tension of the atmosphere. Wotherspoon felt it also, -he told me. It was evident that we were in the vicinity of some very -powerful disturbance. - -“Awfully hot to-night, isn’t it?” I said. “Suppose we have some more -air? It’s stifling in here.” - -Wotherspoon pushed the broad leaves of the French windows apart; but no -breeze came to cool us; though in the silence after the thunder-clap I -heard the rustle of leaves from the trees below us. We stood, one at -either end of the bench with the cultures on it, trying to draw cooler -air into our lungs; and all the while I felt as though a multitude of -tiny electric sparks were running to and fro upon the surface of my -body. - -Suddenly, over St. Katherine’s House, a sphere of light appeared in -the air. It was not like lightning, brilliantly though it shone. It -seemed to hover for a few seconds above the roof, almost motionless. -Then it began slowly to advance in a wavering flight, approaching us -and sinking by degrees in the sky as it came. To me, it appeared to -be about a foot in diameter; but Wotherspoon afterwards estimated it -at rather less. In any case, it was of no great size; and its rate of -approach was not more than five miles an hour. - -For some seconds I watched it coming. It had a peculiar vacillating -motion, rather like that which one sees in the flight of certain kinds -of summer flies. Now it would hover almost motionless, then suddenly -it would dart forward for twenty yards or so, only to resume its -oscillation about a fixed point. - -But to tell the truth, I watched it in such a state of fascination -that I doubt if any coherent thoughts passed through my mind; so that -my impressions may have been inaccurate. All that I remember clearly -is a state of extreme tension. I never feel quite comfortable during -a thunder-storm; and the novelty of the phenomenon increased this -discomfort, for I did not know what turn it might take next. - -Slowly the luminous sphere crossed the edge of the Park, dipping -suddenly as though the iron railings had attracted it; and now it was -almost opposite our window. For a moment its impetus seemed to carry it -onwards, slantingly along the terrace; then, with a dart it swung from -its course and entered the window at which we stood. - -From its behaviour at the Park rail, I am inclined to think that it -was drawn from its line of flight by the attracting power of the metal -balustrade which protected the little balcony outside the window; and -that its velocity carried it past the iron, so that it came to rest -within the room, just over the table between us. - -Instinctively, both Wotherspoon and I recoiled from this flaming -apparition, shrinking back as far as possible from it on either side. -Beyond this movement we seemed unable to go, for neither of us stepped -out of the window recess. Between us, the ball of fire hung almost -motionless; but before my eyes were dazzled I saw that it was spinning -with tremendous velocity on a horizontal axis; and it seemed to me -that its substance was a multitude of tiny sparks whirling in orbits -about its centre. Its light was like that from a spirit-lamp charged -with common salt; for over it I caught a glimpse of Wotherspoon’s -flinching face, all shadowed and green. As I watched the fire-ball, -shading my eyes with my hands, I saw that it was slowly settling, just -as a soap-bubble sinks in the air. Lower it descended and lower, still -spinning furiously on its axis. Then, after what seemed an interminable -period of suspense, it collided with the table. - -There came a dull explosion which jerked me from my feet and drove me -back against a chair. I saw Wotherspoon collapse and then everything -vanished in the darkness which followed the concussion. - -It must have been half a minute before I was able to recover from the -shock and pull myself together. When I got to my feet again, I found -Wotherspoon half-standing, half-leaning against the door, one panel of -which had been blown out. The room was strewn with wreckage: broken -glass, scattered papers, and shattered furniture. The electric lamps -had been smashed by the force of the explosion. - -Wotherspoon and I recovered almost simultaneously; and on comparing -notes--which was difficult at first owing to our being temporarily -deaf--we found that neither of us had suffered any serious injury. A -few slight cuts with flying glass were apparently the worst of the -damage which we had sustained. There was a sharp tang in the air of -the room which made us cough for some time until it cleared away; but -whatever the gas may have been, it left no permanent effects on us. - -When we had procured lights and pulled ourselves together sufficiently -to make a fuller examination of the room, we began to appreciate the -extent of the damage and to congratulate ourselves still more upon the -escape which we had had. The whole place was littered with fragments -of furniture. The incubators had been shattered; and their contents, -smashed into countless fragments, lay all over the floor. But it was on -the bench at the window that the full force of the fire-ball had spent -itself. There was hardly anything recognisable in the heap of debris. -The wooden planks had been torn and broken with tremendous force. The -little balcony was filled with sticks which had been thrown outward by -the explosion; and, as we found afterwards, a good deal of material had -been projected half-way across the road. Of the denitrifying bacteria -cultures or their cases there was hardly a trace, except a few tiny -splinters of glass. - -I did not wait much longer with Wotherspoon; for, to tell the truth, -my nerves were badly shaken by my experiences. I got him to come -downstairs with me and we had a stiff glass of brandy each; and then I -telephoned for a taxi to take me home. My own car was standing at the -door; but I did not trust my ability to drive it in traffic at that -moment. It seemed better to send my man round for it after I got home. - -I went back in the taxi, with my nerves on edge. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -The Coming of “The Blight” - - -Next morning I still felt the effects of the shock; and decided not -to go to my office. I stayed indoors all day. When the evening papers -came, I found in them brief accounts of the fire-ball; and in one case -there was an article by Wotherspoon under the heading: “Well-known -Scientist’s Strange Experience.” One or two reporters called at my -house later in the day in search of copy, but I sent them on to -Cumberland Terrace. In some of the reports I figured as “a well-known -motor manufacturer,” whilst in others I was referred to simply as “a -friend of Mr. Wotherspoon.” I had little difficulty in surmising the -authorship of the latter group. - -In the ordinary course of events, the fire-ball would have been much -less than a nine days’ wonder, even in spite of Wotherspoon’s industry -in compiling accounts of it and digging out parallel cases from the -correspondence columns of old volumes of _Nature_ and _Knowledge_; -actually its career as a news item was made briefer still. An entirely -different phenomenon shouldered it out of the limelight almost -immediately. - -After staying indoors all day, I felt the need of fresh air; and -resolved to walk across the Park to Cumberland Terrace to see whether -Wotherspoon had quite recovered from the shock. I had not much doubt -in my mind upon the point; for the traces of his journalistic activity -were plain enough; and showed that he was certainly not incapacitated. -However, as I wanted a stroll and as I might as well have an object -before me, I decided to go and see him. - -Twilight was coming on as I crossed the suspension bridge. Even after -the thunder-storm on the previous night there had been no rainfall; and -although the temperature had fallen until the air was almost chilly, -there was as yet no dew on the ground. I stopped on the bridge to watch -the tints of the western sky; for these London after-glow effects -always pleased me. - -As I leaned on the rail, I heard the low drone of aerial engines; -and in a few seconds the broad wings of the Australian Express swept -between me and the sky. Even in those days I could never see one of -these vast argosies passing overhead without a throb in my veins. - -The great air-services had just come to their own; and aeroplanes -started from London four and five times daily for America, Asia, -Africa, and Australia. In the windows of the air-offices the flight of -these vessels could be followed hour by hour on the huge world-maps -over which moved tiny models showing the exact positions of the various -aeroplanes on the globe. Watching the dots moving across the surface -of the charts, one could call up, with very little imagination, the -landscapes which were sweeping into the view of travellers on board the -real machines as they glided through these far-distant spaces of the -air. This one, two days out from London, would be sighting the pagoda -roofs of Pekin as the night was coming on; that one, on the Pacific -route, had just finished filling up its tanks at Singapore and was -starting on the long course to Australia; the passengers on this other -would be watching the sun standing high over Victoria Nyanza; while, -on the Atlantic, the Western Ocean Express and the South American Mail -were racing the daylight into a fourth continent. - -I think it was these maps which first brought home to me distinctly -how the spaces of the world had shrunk on the “time-scale” with the -coming of the giant aeroplanes. The pace had been growing swifter -and ever swifter since the middle of the nineteenth century. Up -to that day, there had been little advance since the time of the -earlier sailing-vessels. Then came the change from sail to steam; -and the Atlantic crossing contracted in its duration. The great -Trans-continental railways quickened transit once more; again there -was a shrinkage in the time-scale. Vladivostok came within ten days of -London; from Cairo to the Cape was only five days. But with the coming -of the air-ways the acceleration was greater still; and we reckoned -in hours the journeys which, in the nineteenth century days, had been -calculated in weeks and even months. All the outposts of the world were -drawing nearer together. - -It was not this shrinkage only which the air-maps suggested. In the -early twentieth century the telegraphs and submarine cables had spread -their network over the world, linking nation to nation and coast to -coast; but their ramifications dwindled in perspective when compared -with the complex network of the air-ways which now enmeshed the globe. -London lay like a spider at the centre of the web of communications, -the like of which the world had never seen before; and along each -thread the aeroplanes were speeding to and from all the quarters of the -earth. - -Rapid communication we had had since the days of the extension of the -telegraph; but it had been limited to the transmission of thoughts -and of news. The coming of the aeroplanes had changed all that. -These tracks on the air-maps were not mere wires thrilling with the -quiverings of the electric current. Along them material things were -passing continually; a constant interchange of passengers and goods was -taking place hourly over the multitudinous routes. For good or ill, -humanity was becoming linked together until it formed a single unit. - -It is curious that all the prophetic writers of the early twentieth -century concentrated their attention almost exclusively upon the racial -and social reactions which might be expected to follow from this -knitting of the world into a connected whole and the resultant increase -of traffic between the nations over the now contracted world-spaces. -They had seen the interminglings of races which began in the steamship -days; and they deduced that the process would be intensified in the new -era of air-transit; so that, in the end of their dreams, they saw the -possibility of a World Federation stretching its rule over the whole -globe and bringing with it the end of wars. None of them, strangely -enough, had foreseen the real effects which this intercommunication was -to bring forth. - -To a certain extent, their foresight had been justified. With the -coming of the air-ways, the war-spirit was temporarily exorcised. The -vast increase in the size and number of air-craft and the terrors of an -aerial war, with all its untested possibilities, served to rein in even -the most ardent of military nations. Standing armies still persisted; -but their numbers had been diminished to a few thousands; for under -the new conditions the old huge and unwieldy terrestrial forces could -neither be fed, nor protected from aerial attacks. - -Thus as I leaned on the rail of the suspension bridge and looked out -over the greenery of the Park it seemed to me a very pleasant world. -Those of the younger generation can hardly imagine how fair it was -or how inexhaustible it seemed. Thousands of square miles of Africa -and South America were still virgin soil, store-houses of untapped -resources waiting for humanity to draw upon their abundance. There was -food for all the thousand millions of mankind; and, as the population -rose, fresh lands could be brought under cultivation for the mere -labour of clearing the soil of its surplus vegetation. It was the -Golden Age of humanity; yet few of us recognised it. We looked either -backward into the past or forward into the future when we sought the -Islands of the Blest: while all about us lay Paradise, and the Earth -blossomed like a huge garden which was ours for the taking. - -I left my visions with a sigh and continued my way across the Park. The -prolonged spell of heat was affecting the vegetation. The trees were -dusty; and the grass seemed to have lost something of its brilliant -green. I remember that after I had crossed the Broad Walk I noticed -especially how moribund all the plant-life of the Park appeared to be. -There was an air of decline about it, though no tints of autumn had yet -appeared in the leaves. - -Wotherspoon was, as usual, in his laboratory. The glass of the windows -had been replaced; but otherwise the place was much in its disordered -condition. I suspect that he had purposely refrained from getting it -cleared up, in order to impress reporters with the actual damage which -the explosion had done; and that when the reporters had ceased to -call he had left things as they were with the idea of fascinating any -visitors who might come. - -He was sitting at his writing-desk, surrounded by piles of books from -which he was apparently extracting information for the purpose of some -fresh article he had in hand; and when I came in he asked me to excuse -him for a few minutes until he had got his data completed. In order to -amuse me in the meanwhile, he dragged out his microscope and a pile of -slides which he thought might interest me. - -Before he went back to his work, it struck me that I would like to see -the bacteria again; and I picked up from the floor some fragments of -glass which evidently had formed part of his cultures, since particles -of the pink gelatine adhered to them still. I asked him to fix the -microscope for me, so that I could examine these things; and he wetted -the stuff with some water and put a drop of it under the lens, leaving -me to focus it myself while he went back to his writing-desk. He was -soon deep in his article. - -As I gazed down at the field of the microscope, I saw again the clumps -of bacilli, some floating aimlessly in masses, others darting here and -there in the disk of illumination. I studied them for a time without -noticing anything peculiar; but at last it struck me that the field was -becoming congested with the creatures. I looked more carefully; and -now there seemed little doubt of the fact. The numbers of them were -increasing almost visibly. I concentrated my attention on a small group -in one corner of the slide and was able, in spite of the confusion -introduced by their rapid and erratic movements, to feel certain that -they were multiplying so fast that I could almost estimate the increase -in percentages minute by minute. - -“Here, Wotherspoon,” I said, “come and have a look through this. These -bacteria of yours seem to be spawning or something.” - -“I wish you wouldn’t interrupt, there’s a good chap,” he said in a -peevish tone. “Don’t you know that writing takes all one’s attention? I -can’t do two things at once; and this article must be finished on time -if it is to be of any use to me or anyone else. Just amuse yourself for -half an hour and then I shall be at your disposal if you want me.” - -It was said so ungraciously that I took offence; and as his original -“few minutes” had now apparently extended to “half an hour” I thought -it best to leave him to himself. When I said good-night to him, he -seemed to regard it as an extra interruption; so I was not sorry to go. -I left him still delving into the masses of printed material around him. - -And that was how Wotherspoon missed the greatest discovery that ever -came his way. It was waiting for him across the table, for I doubt if -he could have failed to draw the obvious conclusion had he actually -taken the trouble to examine the phenomenon with his own eyes. But -his interest was concentrated upon his writing; and his chance passed -him by. After Johnston published his views, Wotherspoon made what I -can only consider to be a dishonest attempt to secure priority on the -ground that he was aware of the facts but had not had time to work out -the subject fully before Johnston rushed into print; but he secured -no support from any authoritative quarter; and even the newspapers -had by that time seen the necessity of consulting experts, so that he -was unable to place the numerous articles which he wrote to confute -Johnston. - - * * * * * - -Three days later, Regent’s Park again figured in the columns of the -newspapers. - -The first mention of the matter which I saw was in an evening journal. -I had been reading a short account of a locust plague in China which -was reported to have destroyed crops upon a large scale and caused a -panic emigration of the inhabitants of the devastated district, owing -to the failure of supplies. Just below this article, my eye caught a -paragraph headed: - - STRANGE BLIGHT IN REGENT’S PARK. - -It appeared that the vegetation in the Park had been attacked by some -peculiar disease, the symptoms of which were evidently not very clear -to the writer of the paragraph. According to him, the plants were -withering away; but there seemed to be no fungus or growth on the -leaves which would account for their decrepitude. Trees and flowers -equally with the grass were attacked by the blight. While throwing -out a hint that the prolonged drought might possibly account for the -phenomenon, the reporter indicated that the thing was rather more -local than might have been anticipated from this cause; for the worst -effects of the blight were to be found in the vegetation of the strip -between Gloucester Gate and the Outer Circle in one direction and -between the Broad Walk and the Park edge in the other. Beyond this -oblong, the damage done was not so readily recognisable. - -That evening, as the fine weather still held, I walked through Regent’s -Park to see for myself what truth there was in the newspaper talk. -More people than usual were out; for in addition to the normal crowds -of pedestrians, it was evident that others had come, like myself, to -examine the blight. The Broad Walk was thronged; for the Londoner of -those days was one of the most inquisitive creatures in existence. - -It was evident that, considered from the “show” point of view, the -state of affairs had been a disappointment to the people. I heard -numerous comments as I walked among the crowd; and the tone was one of -disparagement. The general feeling seemed to be that the thing was a -mare’s nest or a newspaper hoax. - -“Blight, they calls it?” said one stout old woman as I passed; “I’d -like to blight the young feller what wrote all that in the papers about -it, I would! Me putting on my best things and walking ever so far on a -hot night to see nothing better than a lot of dried grass. I thought it -would be fair seething with grasshoppers,” and she shook her head till -the trimmings of her antique hat trembled with her vehemence. Evidently -she had mixed up the Chinese locusts and the Regent’s Park affair in -her mind. - -Other people shared her discontent; and the younger section of the -crowd had begun to seek for amusement by means of spasmodic outbursts -of horse-play. - -What I saw of the phenomenon was certainly not very thrilling. All -the grass to the east of the Broad Walk had the appearance of being -sun-blasted. The green tint had gone from it and it had turned -straw-colour. On the west side of the Walk there were patches of -stricken vegetation scattered here and there as far as one could see, -but the effect was not so marked towards the Inner Circle. - -I stooped down and rooted up a tuft of withered grass in order to -examine it more closely; and to my surprise it came away readily in -my hand, leaving the roots almost clear of earth. I could see nothing -peculiar about the grass itself; even the most careful inspection -failed to reveal any adherent fungus or growth of any description which -might account for the phenomenon. I began to think that, after all, the -whole thing was due to the heat of the past few weeks, and that the -local appearance of the effects was a mere chance. - -Next day, however, this idea was put out of court by the news that -the blight had spread to the other London parks. Hyde Park suffered -severely in the corner between the Marble Arch and the Serpentine; -the gardens of Buckingham Palace were also affected; and the grass in -Battersea Park showed sporadic outbreaks of the disease also. Victoria -Park, however, seemed to have escaped almost intact; though some traces -could be detected. - -I learned that the Park gardeners had endeavoured to check the -extension of the disease--for it spread almost visibly in places--by -spraying the vegetation with the usual vermin-killers; but these had -been found to have no influence upon the growth of the smitten areas. - -By this time, the newspapers had begun to make the matter a main -feature. The heading: “THE BLIGHT” occupied the principal column; -and correspondence had been opened on the subject in several of -the journals. But as yet the matter was not exciting any interest -outside London. It was regarded as a purely local manifestation of no -particular import; and although some of the writers of London Letters -for the provincial Press alluded to it in their articles, it was -usually referred to with a sneer at the “silly season attitude” of -supposedly weighty newspapers. - -This tone underwent a rapid change, however, on the following day. Even -the staid dailies of the Provinces became electrified with the news; -and over most of the area of southern England the breakfast tables were -ahum with conversations on the Blight and its effects; for the morning -papers were filled with telegrams announcing the extension of the -affected area broadcast over the Home Counties; and the headlines ran: - - SPREAD OF THE NEW BLIGHT - - ALL HOME COUNTIES AFFECTED - - TOTAL FAILURE OF CROPS FEARED - - - - -CHAPTER III - -_B. Diazotans_[1] - - -At this point, I remember, the long spell of dry weather reached its -end. A heavy series of thunderstorms marked its termination; and for -three days the country was deluged with rain and swept by intermittent -gales. The cracked ground drank up the moisture; but still more showers -fell, until there was mud everywhere. - -These meteorological changes in themselves were sufficiently grave -from the farmer’s point of view; but even more serious was the state -of things revealed after the rain had ceased. Whether it was due to -the weather conditions or whether it was a vagary produced by factors -beyond discovery will never be known; but the fact is established that -the spread of the Blight became accentuated during the rainy period. -Wherever it had secured a hold during the hot weather it became more -malignant in its effects; and its extension to fresh fields was so -great that hardly a grain-growing area in the country escaped at this -time. It penetrated as far north as the Border agricultural districts; -and devastated fields were found even in Perthshire. - -Since the potato blight in 1845, no such rapid and extensive -destruction of food supplies had been known. The standing crops in -the affected areas withered; and a total failure of the home-grown -cereals seemed to be inevitable. Nor was it only in this section of the -food-supply that the attacks of the Blight became evident. Fruit-trees -seemed arrested in their productivity; vegetables failed to ripen and -began to rot. Everywhere the vegetable kingdom seemed to be falling -into a decline. The great market-gardens and nurseries showed the trace -of the same mysterious agent. Roses withered on their stems; and even -the hot-house plants suffered equally with their open-air fellows. The -only crop which appeared to escape the general disaster was hay. - -And now it became clear that the Blight, as it was still called, -was going to produce effects in the most widely-separated fields of -activity. With a total failure of the crops, the financial side of the -question came to the front. Throughout the length and breadth of the -land, small farmers were beginning to realise that it was to be a year -of utter disaster, ending probably in bankruptcy and ruin. The larger -land-owners looked forward to the collapse of tenants and the failure -of rents. Mortgage-holders began to consider the nature of their -security, and when it was agricultural land they were placed in doubt -as to their best course; for no one could foresee whether the Blight -was a temporary epidemic or a permanent factor which would reappear -with the next crops. And all these varying influences had their effects -upon the great financial operations of the City; for even in that -industrial age the land had maintained its value as a basic security -which apparently could not suffer deterioration beyond a definite point. - -This, however, was only a minor field of the Blight’s reactions. With -the probable failure of the home crop looming before him, even the man -in the street could not fail to perceive the more obvious results. It -meant a greater dependence upon imported food-stuffs and especially -imported grain. Argentina, Canada, India and the United States must -make up the missing supplies; and since almost half our cereals were -home-grown at that period, the price of food was certain to rise by -leaps and bounds; so that every family in the land would be affected by -the catastrophe. - -Then a further factor was brought to light. With the failure of grain -and even of grass, it would be impossible to keep alive the cattle -which furnished part of the nation’s food. The milk supply would be -gravely affected also, from the same cause. - -It is difficult for us now to look back and catch again the spirit of -that time. Never before, even during the war, had the food of Britain -been endangered to such a degree. And the steadily rising prices were -sufficient to bring home to the most thoughtless the actual imminence -of the peril. I can recall, however, that at first there was no panic -of any kind. It was assumed by all of us that although we might have -to go short of our usual lavish supplies, yet we should always have -enough food to carry us through to the next harvest. The whole world -was our granary; and if we were prepared to pay the higher prices which -we saw to be inevitable, we had no reason to suppose that we should -lack imported grain. Our attitude was quite comprehensible under the -circumstances, I think. In the past we had always been able to obtain -food; and there seemed no doubt that the same would hold good through -this shortage. - -The newspapers were fairly evenly divided in their expressed opinions. -The Government had recently adjourned Parliament, after a session in -which their majority had oscillated dangerously more than once, and -the Opposition Press seized upon the Blight in order to embarrass -the Cabinet, and especially the Prime Minister, as far as possible. -They clamoured that the Government should take steps to secure the -food supply of the country by making immediate purchases of wheat in -the foreign markets. They demanded that a system of rationing should -be established forthwith; and that cases of food-hoarding should be -stringently punished. Day after day they held up to public obloquy the -individual members of the Cabinet, who were then scattered on holiday; -the amusements of each of them were described and coupled with sneering -hopes that they would succeed better in their games than they had done -in the government of the country and the safeguarding of the national -interests. Echoes of the Mazanderan Development Syndicate scandal were -kept alive in the most ingenious manner. - -The Government Press, naturally, professed to see in the inactivity of -the Cabinet a proof that they had the matter well in hand. Avoidance of -panic, restriction by voluntary effort of all unnecessary consumption -of food, and the postponement of inquiries likely to interfere with the -wise projects of the Premier: these formed the stock of their leading -articles. - -The gutter organ of the Opposition retorted by publishing the complete -menu of the Premier’s dinner on the previous day, which it had -obtained from some waiter in the hotel at which he was staying; and -it accompanied this item of news by interspersed extracts from the -Government organs in which appeals had been made for a less luxurious -form of living. - -It must be remembered that this stage of the sequence of events -occupied only a brief period. If I am not wrong, it was within ten days -of the outbreak of the Blight that we got the first American cables -announcing the appearance of the epidemic among the great wheat areas -of the Middle West. Almost immediately after came similar news from -Canada. - -The meaning of this was not at first appreciated by the people as a -whole. They still clung to the idea that grain would be forthcoming if -a sufficiently high price were paid for it; but those of us who had -tried to forecast the possibilities of the situation found our worst -fears taking concrete form. Soon even the unthinking were forced to -understand what the American news implied. If the Blight spread over -the wheat-fields of the Western continent, there would be no surplus -grain there for export at all. That source of supply would barely -suffice for the mouths at home. - -Then, following each other like hammer-strokes upon metal, each biting -deeper than the last, came the cables from the rest of the world. -Egypt reported the outbreak of the Blight in the Nile valley; British -East Africa became affected. The news from the Argentine fell like a -thunderbolt, for we realised that with it the last great open source -of wheat had failed. The Don and Volga basins followed with the same -tale. Over India, the Blight raged with almost unheard-of virulence. -Then, days after the others, Australia was smitten, and our last hopes -vanished. - - * * * * * - -During all this period, it must be remembered, we had no idea of the -origin of our calamities. We referred to the thing always as “The -Blight,” though it was made clear at quite an early stage that no -plant parasite was concerned in the matter at all. The most careful -microscopic examination of affected vegetation had been made without -revealing anything in the nature of a fungus or noxious growth. - -Yet, on looking backward, I cannot help feeling that we, and especially -I myself, were strangely blind to the obvious in the matter. I have -already mentioned that when I rooted up a clump of grass in Regent’s -Park it came away from the soil without resistance; and that when I -examined the roots I found them almost as free of earthy deposit as -if it had been grown in sand. That, coupled with what I already knew, -should have put me on the track of the explanation; and yet I failed -to draw the simplest deduction from what I observed. To account for -this obtuseness, I can only suggest that already the idea of a “Blight” -had taken root in my mind; and that I was so obsessed with the idea of -a parasite that I never considered the facts from any other point of -view. Since others proved to be equally slow in arriving at the truth, -I can only conclude that they were misled in their mental processes -much as I myself was. - -As I have said on a previous page, it was to Johnston, the -bacteriologist, that we owe the discovery. It appears that he had been -growing some bacteria in cultures; and, whether by accident or design, -he had left one of his cultivation media open to the air. On examining -the germs some days later, he had discovered in the culture a type of -bacterium with which he was unfamiliar. He proceeded to isolate it in -the usual way--I believe it is done by dabbing a needle-point into the -culture and using the few micro-organisms which stick to the needle -as the parents of a fresh colony--and he was amazed at its fecundity. -There had never been such a case of bacterial fertility in his -experience. - -A paper in the _Lancet_ brought the description of the creature -to the notice of the scientific world. Johnston himself had not -recognised the nature of the organism, as he had never dealt with this -type of bacteria before; but from his description an agricultural -bacteriologist named Vincent was able to identify it as being almost -identical with one of the denitrifying group, from which it differed -only in its immense power of multiplication. It was hurriedly -christened _Bacterium diazotans_, on account of its denitrifying -qualities. Further examination showed that its capacity for breaking -down nitrogenous material far surpassed that of any known denitrifying -agent. - -With these discoveries, the mystery of the new blight vanished. An -examination of the soil of stricken areas showed that it swarmed -with colonies of _B. diazotans_--to use the customary medical -contraction--and the whole secret of the destruction was revealed. - -It was evident that these new and super-active bacteria attacked the -soil, disintegrated all the nitrogenous compounds within their range -and thus left the plants without nourishment. The death of the plant -followed as a natural result; but the matter did not end there. By -destroying the nitrogenous compounds in the soil, the bacteria altered -the whole texture of the earth in which they grew. All the nitrogenous -organic matter which forms so large a part of the binding material of -some soils was destroyed utterly; with the consequence that the mineral -particles, which previously had been resting in an organic matrix, were -now free to move. Only the clays retained their tenacious character: -all other soils degenerated into sand. - -There has, of course, been a great deal of speculation upon the origin -of _B. diazotans_. Hartwell suggested that it came to us from Venus, -propelled by light-pressure across the abysses of space. Inshelwood put -forward the view that in _B. diazotans_ we had an example of bacteria, -originally endemic, changing their habits and spreading into fresh -regions. - -Personally, I believe neither hypothesis. I feel sure that I saw the -birth of the first _B. diazotans_ on that night in Wotherspoon’s -laboratory, under the action of the fire-ball; and the evidence is -simple enough. - -Every living creature is a wonderfully constructed electrical machine. -Each beat of our hearts, each systole of our lungs, each contraction of -a muscle in our frame produces a tiny electrical current. Our organism -is a mass of colloids and electrolytes which transmit these charges -hither and thither throughout our systems; and were we gifted with an -electrical sense in addition to those which we already have, we should -see each other as complexities of conductors along which currents were -playing with every movement of our body. - -This complex electrical system is acutely sensible to external -electrical conditions. Anyone who has held the handles of an induction -coil or who has taken a spark from a Leyden jar knows the physiological -effects which these things produce. The influence of high-tension -currents upon the growth of plants has been proved beyond dispute. - -Now it seems to me that in this effect of an external electric charge -upon the internal mechanism of an organism we have a clue to the origin -of these new bacteria. I have already told how the fire-ball, in its -explosion, shattered the denitrifying cultures in Wotherspoon’s room; -and it seems clear that at the moment of the concussion there must have -been a tremendous play of electrical forces about the spot. We know -hardly anything with regard to the nature of the electrical fields -existing in such things as these fire-balls; and it is quite possible -that they may be different from anything of which we have any knowledge -among the more usual displays of electrical energy. I believe, then, -that it is in the action of the fire-ball that we must seek for an -explanation of the change in habit of Wotherspoon’s denitrifying -bacteria. - -Again, I have mentioned my observation of the rapid multiplication of -the denitrifying bacteria which I made with Wotherspoon’s microscope -on the following day. That also seems to me to have a bearing upon the -problem; though I admit quite frankly that my evidence is only that of -a layman. It is in every way regrettable that Wotherspoon, having tired -of using his room as an exhibit, should have cleared away every trace -of the wreckage before any expert examination of it could be made; for -in this way the crucial evidence on the point was destroyed. - -Further, in support of my views, I would point out that the very first -known occurrence of _B. diazotans_ was that which had Regent’s Park -as its site; and that the first place of attack was in the immediate -neighbourhood of Wotherspoon’s house in Cumberland Terrace. This can -hardly be disregarded, when it is considered in connection with the -other facts which I have mentioned. - -At this time of day there can be no question that London formed the -focus from which _B. diazotans_ spread throughout the world. I have -described the ramifications of the great air-services; and it seems -to me obvious that the organisms were carried to and fro upon the -surface of the globe by the agency of the aeroplanes. The order of -attack at various points indicates this very clearly, in my opinion. -First came the American and Egyptian outbreaks; then Uganda and South -America; and finally, long after the others, Australia showed traces -of the devastation. I have checked the possible dates of arrival in -these various places, taking into account the relative swiftnesses of -the aeroplanes on the different routes; and the results can hardly be -gainsaid. Allowing, as one must, a certain latitude for the time of -development of the microbe in various spots, there seems little doubt -that the dates of the outbreaks fell into the same succession as the -times of arrival of the various London air-services. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -Panic - - -In dealing with the subsequent stage of affairs in this country, I -feel myself at a loss. Matters of fact, sequences of events, definite -incidents in a chain of affairs: all these can be described without -much difficulty and with a certain detachment on the part of the -narrator. But when it comes to indicating the transition from one -psychological state to another, the task is one which would require -for its proper fulfilment a more practised pen than mine; and it is -precisely this transitional period which I must now attempt to make -clear in retrospect; for without an understanding of it my narrative -would lack one of its corner-stones. - -Apart from the mere question of narration, however, there is a further -difficulty which cannot be evaded. I myself passed through this crisis -and underwent day by day these changes in outlook which I shall have -to portray; so that the personal factor cannot be eliminated from -my account. Yet my own feelings and views must not be allowed to -monopolise the field; since they had not the slightest influence upon -the main current of popular feeling. - -I have used the word “current,” and perhaps it is the best one which -I could have chosen to express the thing which baffles me. As a man -walks by the side of a mountain stream, he sees the volume of the water -change as it grows from rill to rivulet and from rivulet to river; -yet no single tributary is of any notable size. Gradually, almost -imperceptibly, the banks diverge, the sound of the running water grows -louder and yet louder: until at last comes a sweep over the rapids and -the thunder of the fall below. - -It was in this way that events merged into each other between the -outbreak and the complete realisation of our fears. The transition -from security to panic was not made in one swift step. Rather it came -little by little, and at no point could one indicate precisely how -the public feeling had changed from that of the previous day. A whole -series of tiny impulses, each in itself almost negligible, served to -drive us from one mental position to the next; and a complete analysis -of the psychology of the time would be an impossible task. I propose, -therefore, merely to indicate some of these innumerable factors which -played upon our spirits; so that this blank in my narrative may be -filled in some way, even if only roughly. - -It was not until the Blight had spread far over the Home Counties that -the general public became interested in the matter at all; and at this -period the mass of people in the country districts were almost the -only ones who saw any cause for alarm. The town-dwellers seldom came -in direct contact with the sources of their food-supply; in fact it -is doubtful if the lower-class Londoner of the old days could have -answered a direct question as to the date of harvesting. Food came to -them daily in a form which suggested very little with regard to its -original nature. Wheat they knew only in the form of bread or flour; -meat was divorced almost entirely from the shapes of the animals from -which it was derived; tea, coffee and sugar brought with them no -visions of tea-gardens on the Indian hills or sugar plantations under -the West Indian sun. The furthest traceable point of origin of these -things, as far as most of the population was concerned, was to be -found in the retail shops. Thus there was a certain sluggishness in -apprehension among the main bulk of the people when they read in the -newspapers that the crops had failed. To them, it simply meant that we -should have to buy in another market; just as they had to go to a fresh -grocer when their own dealer ran short of some commodity which they -required. - -In the country districts, and especially in the great centres of the -agricultural portions of the kingdom, the outlook was different, but -still restricted in its scope. Failure of the crops to them meant -financial loss, hard times, stringency, urgent personal economy and -the hope of better luck in the following season. Though closer to the -soil, the country folk were unmoved by any outlook wider than that -which included the direct effects of the Blight upon their industry. -And, indeed, they had little time in which to speculate upon ultimate -reactions, for their attention was concentrated almost wholly upon -their efforts to remedy the damage already done or to protect from -injury any portions of the crop which had not yet been attacked. - -Thus at this stage the mental surface of the country as a whole -remained unruffled. Here and there, of course, a few of us had grasped -what might be entailed if the Blight destroyed the whole of the home -supplies; but I doubt if even the most far-sighted had imagined that -anything but a local shortage was in prospect. - -With the arrival of the American cables, the situation changed -slightly. The tone of the newspapers became graver, and they -endeavoured to awake their readers to the fact that the possibility of -a serious shortage had become a certainty. Edition after edition poured -out from the printing-presses and the headlines grew in magnitude -from hour to hour. “_The Blight in America_” was the first type of -intimation, which attracted but little interest and was placed in the -“third-class” column of the papers. Then came appreciation of the -importance of the news; the headlines increased in size and moved up -nearer the centre of readers’ interest: “_Spread of the Blight in the -Wheat Districts_.” Next came a sudden jump to the first place on the -page and heavily leaded type in the headlines: “_Failure of Wheat Crop -in America_.” - -Even at this stage, the readers as a whole failed to connect the news -with anything in their daily life. Gradually it was borne in upon -their minds that the collapse of the American crops--including the -Canadian--meant a very rapid rise in the price of cereal food-stuffs; -but further than this they refused to look. At that time the cattle -question had not been noticed at all; and the general feeling simply -resolved itself into a decision to avoid bread as far as possible and -eat meat instead. - -With the arrival of reports from the remaining wheat-growing districts, -the newspapers increased their efforts to awaken their readers to the -gravity of the situation. “_The World Shortage_” occupied the place of -honour in their columns, and was supported by telegrams and cables from -all parts of the globe telling the same tale of crop failure with a -steady monotony. - -As I look back upon these days I can only marvel at the ingrained -conservatism of the human mind. It is true that on the whole the public -were at last beginning to understand the situation. They had grasped -the fact that almost all the known regions of wheat-growing land had -been attacked; and that a shortage was inevitable. But, none the less, -in their inmost thoughts they still clung to the fixed idea that -_somewhere_ in the world there was bound to be a store of wheat--or if -not wheat, then rice or some other edible grain--which would enable -us to pass through the coming winter without undue restriction of our -food supplies. It was perhaps a manifestation of that eternal optimism -which is necessary if the race is to survive at all; or possibly it -represented a trust in the Government’s capacity to arrange some means -whereby supplies would be forthcoming in due course. Whatever its -origin, it was among the most marked features of that strange time. - -I remember that one of the side-issues of the disaster created at that -stage far deeper impressions than the catastrophe itself. With the -failure of the American supplies over a huge area, the Wheat Pit became -convulsed with an outbreak of gambling such as had never been seen -before. Chicago went crazy; and legitimate business gave place to a -fury of speculation which grew ever more intense as the news came in of -further extensions of the devastated areas. Before the Blight appeared -in America, December wheat had been offered at 233¼; but in the earlier -stages of the game of speculation it rushed up to 405: and before the -end came it was dealt with at prices which were purely illusory, since -they corresponded to nothing tangible in commodities. Thousands of -bears were ruined in the preliminary moves; and in the end the whole -machinery of the Pit was brought to a standstill owing to there being -no sellers. - -Of course that series of transactions had no real influence upon the -course of events; but the public, both here and in America, failed to -see this; and the bitterest feelings found vent concerning “gambling in -the food of the people.” It is quite possible that the anger uselessly -expended on this subject served to keep the public from concentrating -their attention upon the real problem of the world shortage. Huge -quantities of wheat were dealt with on paper; and the people, being -unfamiliar with the methods of Chicago speculation, assumed that these -enormous transactions actually represented the transfer of millions -of bushels of real grain from seller to buyer. The sharp upward trend -of flour and bread prices at home served to confirm their impression -that the gambling in the Pit was responsible for their troubles; and -Rodman’s attempt--which was practically successful--to corner wheat, -led to violent criticism and even, at one time, to an effort to lynch -him. - -It was not only in the wheat market that this fever of speculation -showed itself. Maize, oats, barley and cotton also became counters in -the game and rose to incredible prices. Unknown men appeared in the -world of finance and for days maintained their positions as controllers -of the markets. Many of the great firms in America ventured their -capital rashly and suffered disaster. - -In its ultimate effects also, the gamble in food-stuffs exerted a -profound influence on the stream of public opinion. The news of the -speculations in Chicago, the descriptions of the turbulent scenes in -the Wheat Pit, where at one time revolvers were fired by super-excited -members, the tales of huge fortunes won and lost in a day, the deep -under-current of resentment at this callous trading upon the world’s -necessities, all tended in the end to bring into view the real state -of the wheat question. And now the newspapers were printing the single -word FAMINE as a headline; and the people were beginning to ask in -ominous tones: “What is the Government doing?” - -It was at this time that, to my profound surprise, I received a private -letter from the Prime Minister requesting my attendance at a meeting -which he had arranged. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -Nordenholt - - -Probably with a view to avoiding the attention of the Press, the -meeting was held elsewhere than at No. 10 Downing Street. I found -myself in what looked like a Board meeting-room. A fire burned in the -grate, for it was a chilly day. Down the centre of the room stretched -a long table around which a number of men were sitting, some of whom -were familiar as great figures in the industrial world. At the head of -the table I recognised the Premier, flanked on either hand by a Cabinet -Minister. A chair was vacant half-way up the table, opposite the -fireplace; and I took it on a gesture from the Premier. - -Almost at once, the Prime Minister rose to his feet. He looked worn and -agitated; but even under the evidences of the strain he endeavoured to -assume a cheerful and confident air. He was a man I had never trusted; -and I now had my first opportunity of examining him at close quarters. -In repose, his face fell into the heavy lines of the successful -barrister; but when he became animated, a mechanical smile flitted -across it which in some way displeased me more than the expression -which it veiled. He seemed to me a typical example of the _faux -bonhomme_. In politics he had gained a reputation for dilatory conduct -combined with a mastery in the art of managing a majority; and his -mind was saturated with the idea of Party advantage. Of real loyalty -I suspect he had very little; but when one of his Cabinet blundered -heavily, he would step into the limelight with a fine gesture and -assume all responsibility. In this way he kept his Government intact -and gained a reputation for fidelity without losing anything; for he -well knew that no one would call him to account for the responsibility -which he had assumed. - -“Gentlemen,” he said, “you will probably wonder why we have invited -you to meet us here to-day. We all know the unhappy state of affairs -into which the country has fallen. There is dissatisfaction abroad; -and the Government is being held responsible for conditions which were -none of its making. I will speak plainly to you, for it is no time for -reservations. Something must be done to allay public anxiety, which -is growing more intense as time goes on. I am not one of those who -take these passing scares seriously; but we cannot afford to ignore -the present feeling: and some measures are necessary to satisfy this -clamour. It is a time when all of us must come to the aid of the -Executive. - -“The Cabinet is dispersed at the moment. Many of the members are -abroad and are unable to return at present, owing to a disorganisation -of transport. But pending their return and the decisions which we -shall then be forced to take, I thought it right to call together you -gentlemen, large employers of labour, and to enlist your aid in the -work we shall have to do. It is essential that the Government should -retain public confidence at the present time. I think we are agreed -upon that point. Nothing could be more fatal than a General Election -forced upon us under the reigning conditions. - -“We have taken steps to call Parliament together immediately, in order -to lay before it certain measures which we believe will enable us to -tide over this crisis. But in the meantime we must try to pacify the -working classes, who are being agitated by the dismal forecasts of -the newspapers. I have no desire to inquire into the origin of the -jeremiads which are being printed daily in a certain group of papers; -but I cannot help noticing that they all tend towards a discrediting of -myself and my colleagues. There is a cry for action; whereas I think -all of you will agree that consideration is required, so that the -action, if it should become necessary, may be well-contrived. - -“It is in these circumstances that we have called you gentlemen -together. We propose to lay before you the main points of our scheme; -and when you have heard them, we count upon you, as great employers -of labour, to lay the matter before your employés. We shall use the -newspapers also to disseminate our proposals; but personal efforts can -do more than any printed appeals. I trust that we shall not look in -vain for the cordial co-operation which is absolutely requisite at this -crisis.” - -As this speech proceeded, I had become more and more uneasy. Through it -all ran the governing thought that something must be done, which was -true enough; but the thing which he proposed to do, it appeared to me, -was to persuade the country that all was well, whereas I felt that the -essential matter was to prepare against a practical calamity. - -“We have given a great deal of thought to our proposals, though we have -not wasted time in the consideration of details. The broad outlines are -all that are required for our present purpose; and we have confined -our attention to them. My friend the Home Secretary”--he indicated the -colleague who sat on his left--“will be good enough to read to you the -heads of our decisions. I may say, however, that these decisions are -only of a temporary nature. We may find it necessary to modify some of -them in due course; and they must not be regarded as in any way final. -Possibly”--he let the mechanical smile play over the company--“possibly -some of those present may be able to suggest certain modifications at -this meeting. If these modifications are such that we can adopt them, -we shall be only too glad to do so.” - -He sat down; and the Home Secretary rose in his turn. Saxenham had the -reputation of being dull but honest. He had no force of character, but -he had won his way into the Cabinet mainly because he had never been -known to stoop to a false action in the whole course of his career. -On this account he represented a mainstay of the Government, which -in other ways was not too scrupulous. His brain was one which worked -slowly; and his personal admiration for the Prime Minister was such -that he followed him blindly without seeing too clearly whither he was -being led. He cleared his throat and took up a sheet of paper which -contained the Government proposals. - -“I think that it will be best if I take the various proposals seriatim -and elucidate each of them, as I come to it, by a short commentary. - -“_First_, we shall issue a Government statement to the Press with the -object of reassuring the public and putting an end to this rising -clamour for action in haste. In this statement we shall call attention -to the fact that there is at present a twelve-weeks’ supply of food in -the country, which, with due care, would itself be sufficient to last -the population until the next harvest. We shall make it clear that the -Government have under earnest consideration the steps which it may be -necessary to take in the future; and we shall appeal to the public to -pay no heed to alarmist statements from interested quarters. - -“_Second_, we shall advise the King to issue a Proclamation on the same -lines. We believe that this may have a greater effect in some quarters -than an official Government statement. - -“_Third_, we shall make arrangements for taking over the food stores in -the country, though we hope that it will not be necessary to do so. - -“_Fourth_, we shall make arrangements to purchase with the national -moneys the surplus food supplies of grain. We shall be able to pay -higher prices than private importers; and I have little doubt that we -shall thus be able to stock our granaries with food sufficient to carry -us through until well beyond the next harvest. - -“_Fifth_, we shall prepare a system of rationing, as soon as we have -obtained our supplies and know definitely how much food can be allotted -per head to the population. - -“_Sixth_, since a continuance of the present crisis will undoubtedly -lead to widespread distress and unemployment, we propose to take under -consideration a system of unemployment relief; so that there may be no -centres of disturbance generated among the population by idleness or -lack of money. - -“_Seventh_, we shall invite the scientific experts on agriculture to -devote their attention to the problem of increasing the crops in the -next harvest, so that such a state of affairs as this may not again -arise.” - -He paused, with an air of finality, though he did not resume his seat. -At the head of the table, the Prime Minister was apparently plunged in -thought. Suddenly I was struck by the employment to which the third -member of the Cabinet was putting his time. With the sheets of paper in -front of him he was constructing a series of toys. A box, a cock-boat, -an extraordinarily life-like frog lay before him on the table, and he -was busily engaged in the production of something which looked like a -bird. I learned afterwards that this was a trick of his, the outcome of -his peculiarly nervous temperament. Not wishing to be detected watching -him, I turned my eyes away; and as I swept my glance round the table, I -suddenly found myself in turn the object of scrutiny. - -My first impression was of two steel-blue eyes fixed upon my own with -an almost disquieting intensity of gaze. I had the feeling of being -examined, not only physically but mentally, as though by some hypnotic -power my very thoughts were being brought to light. Usually, in a -casual interchange of glances, one or other of two is diverted almost -at once; but in this case I felt in some way unable to withdraw my eyes -from those before me; while my _vis-à-vis_ continued to examine me with -a steadfast attention which, strangely enough, suggested no rudeness. - -He was a man of more than the average height, over six feet I found -later when he rose from his chair. His features suggested no particular -race, though there was an elusive resemblance to the Red Indian type -which I felt rather than saw; but this was perhaps intensified by -the jet-black hair and the clean-shaven face. All these are mere -details of little importance. What impressed me most about him was -an air of conscious power, which would have singled him out in any -gathering. Looking from him to the Prime Minister, it crossed my mind -that while the Premier counterfeited power in his appearance, this -unknown embodied it; and yet there was no parade, for he appeared to be -entirely devoid of self-consciousness. Before he removed his eyes from -mine I saw an inscrutable smile curve his lips. I say inscrutable, for -I could not read what it meant; but it resembled the expression of a -man who has just checked a calculation and found it to be accurate. - -It has taken me some time to describe this incident; but actually it -can have occupied hardly more than a fraction of a minute; for, as I -took my eyes away from his, I heard the Home Secretary continue: - -“These, gentlemen, are our proposals; and I think that they cover the -necessary ground. We wish especially to draw your attention to the -sixth one: for it is that which has chiefly moved us to lay these -matters before you ere we make them public. It concerns unemployment, -if you remember. We have brought you into our councils because all -of you are large employers of labour in different lines of industry; -and we would welcome any suggestions from you now with regard to the -possible modes of application of this scheme in practice. As Mr. Biles -has told you, it is essential at this moment to avoid discontent among -the proletariat. Europe is in a very disturbed condition, and a change -of Government at this juncture would have disastrous effects. I can say -no more upon that point; but I wish you to understand that we urgently -require your co-operation at this time.” - -He sat down; and the Prime Minister rose again. - -“I think you will see, gentlemen, from what the Home Secretary has -said, that the Government has the situation well in hand. The only -matter about which we are at all concerned is the liquor question. It -is clear that we can hardly sacrifice grain for the manufacture of -alcohol until we are sure that we have in stock a sufficiency of food -for the country’s needs. A shortage of liquor, however, may lead to -industrial unrest; and it is this possible unrest which we desire your -help in preventing. We wish if possible to get directly into touch with -the workers of the nation; and we have approached you first of all. -Later we intend to interview the Trades Union leaders with the same -object. But time presses; and I shall be glad to hear any criticisms of -our plans if you will be so good as to give your views.” - -He sank back into his chair and again the smile faded almost at once. -For a moment there was a pause. Then the man opposite me rose to his -feet. - -“Who is that?” I whispered to my neighbour. - -“Nordenholt.” - -Nordenholt! I looked at him with even more attention than before. For -two decades that name had rung through the world, and yet, meeting him -now face to face, I had not recognised him. Nor was this astonishing; -for no portrait of him had ever come to my notice. The daily photo -papers, the illustrated weeklies, even _Punch_ itself, had never -printed so much as a sketch of him. He had leaped into fame simply -as a name to which no physical complement had been attached. By some -mysterious influence behind the scenes, he had avoided the usual Press -illustrator with a success which left him unrecognisable to the man in -the street. - -So this--I looked at him again--so this was Nordenholt, the Platinum -King, the multi-millionaire, wrecker of two Governments. No wonder that -I had felt him to be out of the common. I am no hero-worshipper; yet -Nordenholt had always exercised an attraction upon my mind, even though -he was only a name. In many respects he seemed to be the kind of man I -should have liked to be, if I had his character and gifts. - -When he rose, I found that his voice matched his appearance; it was -deep, grave and harmonious, although he spoke without any rhetorical -turn. Had he chosen to force himself to the front in politics, that -instrument would have served him to sway masses of men by its mere -charm. I thought that I detected a faint sub-tinge of irony in it as he -began. He wasted no time upon preliminaries but went straight to the -point. - -“Are we to understand that this paper in the hands of the Home -Secretary contains a full statement of the measures which the -Cabinet--or such members of it as are available--have decided upon up -to the present?” - -The Prime Minister nodded assent. I seemed to detect a certain -uneasiness in his pose since Nordenholt had risen. - -“May I see the paper?... Thank you.” - -He read it over slowly and then, still retaining it in his hand, -continued: - -“Perhaps I have not fathomed your purpose in drawing it up; but if I -am correct in my interpretation, it seems to me an excellent scheme. I -doubt if anything better could be devised.” - -The nervous frown left the Premier’s face and was replaced by -a satisfied smile; the Home Secretary, after a pause of mental -calculation, also seemed to be relieved; while the Colonial Secretary -put down his paper model and looked up at Nordenholt with an expression -of mild astonishment. It was evident that they had hardly expected this -approval. The hint of irony in the speaker’s voice grew more pronounced: - -“This scheme of yours, if I am not mistaken, is a piece of -window-dressing, pure and simple. You felt that you had to make some -show of energy; and to pacify the public you bring forward these -proposals. The first two of them achieve nothing practical; and the -remaining five concern steps which you propose to take at some future -time, but which you have not yet considered fully. Am I correct?” - -The Colonial Secretary broke in angrily in reply: - -“I object to the word window-dressing. These proposals give in outline -the steps which we shall take in due course. They represent the -principles which we shall use as our guides. You surely did not expect -us to work out the details for this meeting?” - -Nordenholt’s voice remained unchanged. - -“No, I did not expect _you_ to have worked out the details of this -scheme. I will confine myself to principles if you wish it. I see that -in the fourth clause you anticipate the purchase of foreign grain, -though at an enhanced price. May I ask where you propose to secure it? -It is common knowledge that it cannot be obtained within the Empire, so -presumably you have some other granary in your minds. Possibly you have -already taken steps.” - -The face of the Colonial Secretary lit up with a flash of malice. - -“You are quite correct in both conjectures. Australia and Canada have -suffered so severely from the Blight that we can expect nothing from -them, and I am afraid that Russia is in the same condition. But we have -actually issued instructions to agents in America to purchase all the -wheat which they can obtain, and advices have arrived showing that we -control already a very large supply.” - -“Excellent forethought. I fear, however, that it has been wasted -through no fault of yours. At ten o’clock this morning, the Government -of the United States prohibited the export of food-stuffs of any -description. You will not get your supplies.” - -“But that is contrary to their Constitution! How can they do that?” The -Prime Minister was evidently startled. “And how do you come to know of -it while we have had no advice?” - -“A censorship was established over the American cables and wireless -just before this decision was made public. They do not wish it to -be known here until they have had time to make their arrangements. -My information came through my private wireless, which was seized -immediately after transmitting it.” - -“But ... but ...” stammered the Home Secretary, “this complicates our -arrangements in a most unforeseen manner. It is a most serious piece of -news. Biles, we never took that into account.” - -“Sufficient unto the day, Saxenham. This Government has been in -difficult places before; but we always succeeded in turning the corner -successfully. Don’t let us yield to panic now. If we think over the -matter for a while, I do not doubt that we shall see daylight through -it in the end.” - -Nordenholt listened to this interchange of views in scornful silence. - -“One of the details which have still to be thought out, I suppose, -Biles,” he continued. “Don’t let it delay us at present. There is -another point upon which I wish some information.” - -The meeting was a curious study by this time. Almost without seeming -to notice it, Nordenholt had driven the three Cabinet Ministers into a -corner; and he now seemed to dominate them as though they were clerks -who had been detected in scamping their work. Personality was telling -in the contest, for contest it had now become. - -“This news which I have given you implies that the twelve-weeks’ supply -of food in the country is all that we have at our command anywhere. -What do you propose to do?” - -“We shall have to take stock and begin the issue of ration tickets as -soon as possible.” - -“Twelve-weeks’ supply; how long will that last the country under your -arrangements?” - -The Colonial Secretary made a rapid calculation on a sheet of paper. - -“As we shall need to carry on till the next harvest, I suppose it means -that the daily ration will have to be reduced to less than a quarter of -the full amount--three-thirteenths, to be exact.” - -“And you are satisfied with that calculation?” - -The Colonial Secretary glanced over his figures. - -“Yes, I see no reason to alter it. Naturally it will mean great -privation; and the working class will be difficult to keep in hand; but -I see no objection to carrying on till next year when the harvest will -be due. The potato crop will come in early and help us.” - -Nordenholt looked at him for a moment and then laughed contemptuously. -Suddenly his almost pedantic phraseology dropped away. - -“Simpson, you beat the band. I never heard anything like it.” - -Then his manner changed abruptly. - -“Do you mean to say,” he asked roughly, “that you haven’t realised -yet that there will be _no_ next harvest? Don’t you understand that -things have changed, once for all? The soil is done for. There will be -no crops again until every inch of it is revivified in some way. ‘The -potato crop will come in early and help us!’ I’ve consulted some men -who know; and they tell me that within a year it will be impossible to -raise more than a small fraction even of the worst crop we ever saw in -this country.” - -The Premier was the only one of the three who stood fast under this -blow. - -“That is certainly a serious matter, Nordenholt,” he said; “but there -is nothing to be gained from hard words. Let us think over the case, -and I feel sure that some way out of this apparent _impasse_ can be -found. Surely some of these scientific experts could suggest something -which might get us out of the difficulty. I don’t despair. Past -experience has always shown that with care one can avoid most awkward -embarrassments.” - -“The ‘awkward embarrassment,’ as you call it, amounts to this. How are -you going to feed fifty millions of people for an indefinite time when -your supplies are only capable of feeding them normally for twelve -weeks? Put them on ‘three-thirteenth rations’ as Simpson suggests; -and when the next harvest comes in you will find you have a good deal -less than ‘three-thirteenth rations’ per head for them. What’s your -solution, Biles? You will have to produce it quick; for every hour -you sit thinking means a bigger inroad into the available supplies. -Remember, this is something new in your experience. You aren’t up -against a majority you can wheedle into taking your advice. This time -you are up against plain facts of Nature; and arguments are out of -court. Now I ask a plain question; and I’m going to get a straight -answer from you for once: What are your plans?” - -The Premier pondered the matter in silence for a couple of minutes; -then, apparently, the instinct of the old Parliamentary hand came -uppermost in his mind. The habits of thought which have lasted through -a generation cannot be broken instantaneously. With a striving after -dignity, which was only half successful he said: - -“Parliament is about to meet. I shall go there and lay this matter -before the Great Inquest of the nation and let them decide.” - -“Three days wasted; and probably two days of talk at least before -anything is settled; then two days more before you can bring anything -into gear: one week’s supplies eaten up and nothing to show for it. Is -that your solution?” - -“Yes.” - -“You are determined on that? No wavering?” - -“No.” - -“Very good, Biles. I give you the fairest warning. On the day that you -meet the House of Commons, I shall place upon the paper a series of -questions which will expose the very root of the Mazanderan scandal, -and I shall supply full information on the subject to the Opposition -Press. I have had every document in my possession for the last year. -I can prove that you yourself were in it up to the neck; I have notes -of all the transactions with Rimanez and Co. And I know all about the -Party Funds also. If that once gets into print, Biles, you are done -for--thumbs down!” - -He imitated the old death sign of the Roman arena. The Premier sat as -if frozen in his chair. His face had gone a dirty grey. Nordenholt -towered over him with contempt on his features. Suddenly the Colonial -Secretary sprang to his feet. - -“This is blackmail, Nordenholt,” he cried furiously. “Do you think you -can do that sort of thing and not be touched? You may think you are -safe behind your millions; but if you carried out your threat there -isn’t a decent man who would speak to you again. You daren’t do it!” - -“If you speak to me like that again, Simpson, I’ll take care that no -decent man speaks to you either,” Nordenholt said, calmly. “There’s -another set of notes besides those on Mazanderan. I have the whole -dossier of the house in Carshalton Terrace in my desk. I’ll publish -them too, unless you come to heel. It will be worse than Mazanderan, -Simpson. It will be prison.” - -In his turn, the Colonial Secretary collapsed into his chair. Whatever -the threat had been, it had evidently brought him face to face with -ruin; and guilt was written across his face. - -But Saxenham had paid no attention to this interruption. In his slow -way he was evidently turning over in his mind what Nordenholt had said -to the Prime Minister; and now he spoke almost in a tone of anguish: - -“Johnnie, Johnnie,” he said. “Deny it! Deny it at once. You can’t sit -under that foul charge. Our hands were clean, weren’t they? You said -they were, in the House. There’s no truth in what Nordenholt says, is -there? Is there, Johnnie?” - -But the Premier sat like a statue in his chair, staring in front of him -with unseeing eyes. The affairs of the Mazanderan Development Syndicate -had been a bad business; and if the connection between it and the -Government could be proved, after what had already passed, it was an -end of Biles and the total discredit of his Party. Nordenholt, still on -his feet, looked down at the silent figure without a gleam of pity in -his face. Somehow I understood that he was playing for a great stake, -though no flicker of interest crossed his countenance. - -The strain was broken by Saxenham getting to his feet. I knew his -record, and I could guess what his feelings must have been. He stood -there, a pathetic little figure, with shaking hands and dim eyes, a -worshipper who had found his god only a broken image. He turned and -looked at us in a pitiful way and then faced round to the wrecker. - -“Nordenholt,” he said, “he doesn’t deny it. Is it really true? Can you -give me your word?” - -Nordenholt’s face became very gentle and all the hardness died out of -his voice. - -“Yes, Saxenham, it is true. I give you my word of honour for its truth. -He can’t deny it.” - -“Then I’ve backed a lie. I believed him. And now I’ve misled people. -I’ve gone on to platforms and denied the truth of it; pledged my word -that it was a malicious falsehood. Oh! I can’t face it, Nordenholt. I -can’t face it. This finishes me with public service. I--I----” - -He covered his face with his hands and I could see the tears trickle -between his fingers. He had paid his price for being honest. - -But the Premier was of sterner stuff. He looked up at Nordenholt at -last with a gleam of hatred which he suppressed almost as it came: - -“Well, Nordenholt, what’s your price?” - -“So you’ve seen reason, Biles? Not like poor Saxenham, eh?” There -was an under-current of bitterness in the tone, but it was almost -imperceptible. “Well, it’s not hard. You take your orders from me now. -You cover me with your full responsibility. You understand? You always -were good at assuming responsibility. Have it now.” - -“Do I understand you to mean that you would like to be a Dictator?” - -“No, you haven’t got it quite correctly. I _mean_ to be Dictator.” - -The Prime Minister had relapsed into his stony attitude. There was -no trace of feeling on his face; but I could understand the mental -commotion which must lie behind that blank countenance. Under cover -of fine phrases, he had always sought the lowest form of Party -advantage; his political nostrum had become part and parcel of his -individuality, and he had never looked higher than the intricacies of -the Parliamentary game. Now, suddenly, he had been brought face to -face with reality; and it had broken him. To do him justice, I believe -that he might have faced personal discredit with indifference. He had -done it before and escaped with his political life. But Nordenholt had -struck him on an even more vital spot. If the Mazanderan affair came -into the daylight, his Party would be ruined; and he would have been -responsible. I give him the credit of supposing that it was upon the -larger and not upon the personal issue that he surrendered. - -Nordenholt, having gained his object, refrained from going further. He -turned away from the upper end of the table and addressed the rest of -us. - -“Gentlemen, you see the state of affairs. We cannot wait for the slow -machinery of politics to revolve through its time-honoured cycles -before beginning to act. Something must be done at once. Every moment -is now of importance. I wish to lay before you what appears to me the -only method whereby we can save something out of the wreck. - -“I have been thinking out the problem with the greatest care; and I -believe that even now it is not too late, if you will give me your -support. This meeting was called at my suggestion; and I supplied a -list of your names because all of you will be needed if my scheme is to -be carried out. But before I divulge it, I must ask from each of you -an absolutely unconditional promise of secrecy. Will you give that, -Ross? And you, Arbuthnot?...” - -He went from individual to individual round the table; and to my -astonishment, used my own name with the others. How he knew me, I could -not understand. - -When he had secured a promise from all present, he continued: - -“In the first place, I had better tell you what I have done. -Immediately the Blight began to ravage the American wheat-fields, I -bought up all the grain which was available from last year’s crop and -got it shipped as soon as possible. It is on the high seas now; so -we have evaded the new prohibition of exports. I need not give you -figures; but it amounts to a considerable quantity. This, of course, I -carried through at my own expense. - -“I have also had printed a series of ration tickets and explanatory -leaflets sufficient to last the whole country for three weeks. This -also I did at my private charges. - -“Further, I have placed orders with the printers and bill-posters for -the placarding of certain notices. Some of these, I expect, are already -posted up on the hoardings. - -“I mention these matters merely in order to show you that I have not -been idle and that I am fully convinced of the necessity for speed.” - -He paused for a few seconds to let this sink in. - -“Now we come to the main problem. Saxenham has told you the state -of affairs; and I have supplemented it sufficiently to allow of -your forming a judgment on the case. We have a population of fifty -millions in the country. We have a food supply which will last, with -my additions to it, for perhaps fourteen weeks. Beyond that we have -nothing in hand. The next supply cannot make its appearance for at -least a year. I have omitted the yield of the present crop, as I wish -to be on the safe side; and I find that most of the grain is useless. -When the new crop comes in, it will be, under present conditions, -negligible in quantity owing to the soil-destruction which the -_Bacillus diazotans_ has wrought. That, I think, is a fair statement of -the case as it stands. - -“What results can we look for? If we ration the nation, even if we -allow only a quarter of the normal supplies per day, our whole stock -will be exhausted within the year. There will be a large percentage -of deaths owing to underfeeding; but at the end of the year I think -we might look forward to having a debilitated population of some -thirty millions to feed. Will the new crop give us food for them? I -have consulted men who know the subject and they tell me that it is -an impossibility. We could not raise food enough, under the present -conditions, to support even a reasonable percentage of that population.” - -He paused again, as though to let this sink in also. - -“Gentlemen, this nation stands at the edge of its grave. That is the -simple truth.” - -We had all seen the trend of his reasoning; but this cold statement -sent a shiver through the meeting. When he spoke again, it was in an -even graver tone. - -“You must admit, gentlemen, that we cannot hope to keep alive even -half of the population until crops become plentiful once more. There -is only a single choice before us. Either we distribute the available -food uniformly throughout the country or we take upon ourselves the -responsibility of an unequal allotment. If we choose the first course, -all of us will die without reprieve. It is not a matter of sentiment; -it is the plain logic of figures. No safety lies in that course. What -about the second? - -“Let us assume that we choose the alternative. We select from the -fifty millions of our population those whom we regard as most fitted -to survive. We lay aside from our stores sufficient to support this -fraction; and we distribute among the remainder of the people the -residuum of our food. If they can survive on that scale of rations, -well and good. If not, we cannot turn aside the course of Nature.” - -The Prime Minister looked up. Evidently, behind his impassive mask, he -had been following the reasoning. - -“If I understand you aright,” he said, “you are proposing to murder a -large proportion of the population by slow starvation?” - -“No. What I am trying to do is to save some millions of them from a -certain death. It just depends upon which way you look at it, Biles. -But have it your own way if it pleases you. - -“Now, gentlemen, the calculation is a simple one. We have enough food -to last a population of fifty millions for fourteen weeks. From that -we deduct five weeks’ supplies for the whole population; which leaves -us with four hundred and fifty million weekly rations. We select five -million people whom we decide must survive; and these four hundred and -fifty million rations will keep them fed for ninety weeks--say a year -and nine months. It will really be longer than that; for I anticipate -rather heavy ravages of disease on account of the monotony of the diet -and the lack of fresh vegetables. That is in the nature of things; and -we cannot evade it. - -“That then, is the only alternative. It is, as the Prime Minister has -said, a death sentence on by far the greater part of the people in -these islands; but I see no way out of the difficulties in which we -are involved. It is not we who have passed that sentence. Nature has -done it; and all that we can achieve is the rescue of a certain number -of the victims. With your help, I propose to undertake that work of -rescue.” - -I doubt if those sitting round the table had more than the vaguest -glimpse of what all this meant. When a death-roll reaches high figures, -the mind refuses to grasp its implications. Very few people have any -concrete idea of what the words “one million” stand for. We only -understood that there was impending a human catastrophe on a scale -which dwarfed all preceding tragedies. Beyond that, I know that I, for -one, could not force my mind. - -“We are thus left with five million survivors,” Nordenholt continued. -“But this does not reach the crux of the matter. The nitrogen of the -soil has vanished; and it must be replaced if the earth is ever again -to bring forth fruits. That task devolves upon mankind, for Nature -works too slowly for our purposes. In order to feed these five million -mouths--or what is left of them when the food supply runs out--we have -to raise crops next year; and to raise these crops we must supply the -soil with the necessary nitrogenous material. - -“I have consulted men who know”--this seemed to be his only phrase when -he referred to his authorities--“and they tell me that it can be done -if we bend our whole energies to the task. All the methods of using -the nitrogen of the air have been worked out in detail long ago: the -Birkeland-Eyde process, Serpek’s method, the Schönherr and the Haber-Le -Rossignol processes, as well as nitrolim manufacture and so forth. We -have only to set up enough machinery and work hard--very hard--and we -shall be able to produce by chemical processes the material which we -require. That is what the five million will have to do. There will be -no idlers among them. At first it will be work in the dark, for we -cannot calculate how much material we require until the agricultural -experts have made their experiments upon the soil. But I understand -that it is quite within the bounds of possibility that we shall be -successful. - -“I come now to another point. These five million survivors cannot be -scattered up and down the country. They must be brought into a definite -area, for two reasons. In the first place, we must have them under our -control so that we can make food-distribution simple; and, in the -second place, we must be able to protect them from attack. Remember, -outside this area there will be millions dying of starvation, and these -millions will be desperate. We can take no risks.” - -He took a roll from behind his chair and unfolded upon the table a -large map of the British Isles marked with patches of colour. - -“As to the choice of a segregation area, we are limited by various -factors. We shall need coal for the basis of our work; therefore it -would suit us best to place our colony near one of the coal-fields. We -shall need iron for our new machinery; and it would be best to choose -some centre in which foundries are already numerous. We shall need to -house our five million survivors and we cannot spend time in building -new cities for them. And, finally, we need a huge water-supply for -that population. On this map, I have had these various factors marked -in colour. In some places, as you see, three of the desiderata are -co-existent; but there is only one region in which we find all four -conditions satisfied--in the Clyde Valley. There you have coal and -iron; there are already in existence enormous numbers of foundries and -machine-shops; the city of Glasgow alone is capable of accommodating -over a million human beings; and the water-supply is ample. This, I -think, is sufficient to direct our choice to that spot. - -“There are two further reasons why I am in favour of the Clyde Valley. -It is a defensible position, for one thing. North of it you have only -a very limited population--some three millions or even less. On the -south, it is far removed from the main centres of population in the -Midlands and London. This will be an advantage later on. Again, second -point, we have to look forward to cultivation next year. Bordering the -Clyde Valley, within easy reach, lie the tracts which, before the -Blight, used to be the most fertile land in the country. The fields are -ready for us to sow, once we have replaced the vanished nitrogen. I -think there is no better place which we could select. - -“Now, gentlemen, I have put my scheme before you. I have not given you -more than the outlines of it. I know that it seems visionary at first; -but you must either take it or leave it. We cannot wait for Parliament -or for anybody else. The thing must be done now. Will you help?” - -A murmur of assent passed round the table. Even the Prime Minister -joined in the common approval; and I saw Nordenholt thank him with a -glance. - -“Very good, gentlemen. I have most of the preliminaries worked out -in sufficient detail to let us get ahead. To-morrow we meet again -here at nine in the morning, and by that time I hope to have further -information for each of you. In the meantime, will you be good -enough to think over the points at which this scheme will touch -your own special branches of industry? We have an immense amount of -improvisation before us; and we must be ready for things as they come. -Thank you.” - -He seated himself; and for the first time I realised what he had -done. By sheer force of personality and a clear mind, he had carried -us along with him and secured our assent to a scheme which, wild-cat -though it might appear, seemed to be the only possible way out of the -crisis. He had constituted himself a kind of Dictator, though without -any of the trappings of the office; and no one had dared to oppose -him. The cold brutality with which he had treated the politicians was -apparently justified; for I now saw whither their procrastination would -have led us. But I must confess that I was dazed by the rapidity with -which his moves had been made. Possibly in my account I have failed to -reproduce the exact series of transitions by which he passed from stage -to stage. I was too intent at the time to take clear mental notes of -what occurred; but I believe that I have at least drawn a picture which -comes near to the reality. - -The meeting was at its end. Nordenholt went across to speak to the -Prime Minister; while the others began to leave the room in groups of -two and three. I moved towards the door, when Nordenholt looked up and -caught my eye. - -“Just wait a minute, Flint, please.” - -He continued his earnest talk with the Premier for a few minutes, then -handed over an envelope containing a bulky mass of papers. At last he -came to me and we went out together. - -“You might come round to my place for a short time, Flint,” he said. -“My car is waiting for us. I want you to be one of my right-hand men in -this business and there are some things I wish to explain to you now. -It may not seem altogether relevant to you; but I think it is necessary -if we are to work together well.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -The Psychology of the Breaking-strain - - -With my entry into Nordenholt’s house I hoped to gain a clearer -insight into certain sides of his character; for the possessions which -a man accumulates about him serve as an index to his mind even when -his reticence gives no clue to his nature. I had expected something -uncommon, from what I had already seen of him; but my forecasts were -entirely different from the reality. - -The room into which he ushered me was spacious and high-ceilinged; a -heavy carpet, into the pile of which my feet sank, covered the floor; -a few arm-chairs were scattered here and there; and a closed roll-top -desk stood in a corner. One entire side of the room was occupied by -bookshelves. Beyond this, there was nothing. It was the simplest -furnishing I had ever seen; and in the house of a multi-millionaire -it astonished me. I had somehow expected to find lavishness in some -form: art in one or other of its interpretations, or at any rate an -indication of Nordenholt’s tastes. But this room defeated me by its -very plainness. There appeared to be no starting-point for an analysis. -To me it seemed a place where a man could think without distraction; -and then, at the desk, put his thoughts into practical application. - -As we entered, Nordenholt excused himself for a moment. He wished to -give instructions to his secretary. Some telephoning had to be done at -once; and then he would be at my disposal. I heard him go into the next -room. - -When I am left alone in a strange house with nothing to fill in -my time, I gravitate naturally to the bookcases; so that now I -mechanically moved over to the serried rows of shelves which lined one -side of the room. Here at last I might get some clue to the workings -of Nordenholt’s mind. Glancing along the backs of the volumes, I -found that the first shelf contained only works on metaphysics and -psychology. Somewhat puzzled by this selection, I passed from tier to -tier, and still no other subject came in view. A rapid examination of -the cases from end to end showed me that the entire library dealt with -this single theme, the main bulk of the works being psychological. - -This discovery overturned in my mind several nebulous conjectures which -I had begun to form as to Nordenholt’s character. What sort of a man -was this, a millionaire, reputed to be one of the shrewdest financiers -of the day, who stocked his study entirely with psychological works -among which not a single financial book of reference was to be found? -Coupled with the stark simplicity of the furniture, this clue seemed -unlikely to lead me far. - -As I was pondering, the door opened and Nordenholt returned. While it -was still ajar, I heard the trill of a telephone bell and a girl’s -voice giving a number; then the door closed and cut off further -sounds. Thus after ten minutes in his house I had gathered only three -things about him: he was simple, almost Spartan, in his tastes; he was -interested in psychology; and his secretary was a girl and not a man. - -He came forward towards me; and again I had the sensation of command in -his appearance. His great height and easy movements may have accounted -for it in part; but I am taller than the average myself; so that it -was not entirely this. Even now I cannot analyse the feeling which he -produced, not on myself alone, but upon all those with whom he came in -contact. Personal magnetism may satisfy some people as an explanation; -but what is personal magnetism but a name? In some inexplicable manner, -Nordenholt gave the impression of a vast reservoir of pent-up force, -seldom unloosed but ever ready to spring into action if required; and -in these unfathomable eyes there seemed to brood an uncanny and yet not -entirely unsympathetic perception which chilled me with its aloofness -and nevertheless drew me to him in some way which is not clear to me -even now. Under that slow and minute inspection, eye to eye, I felt all -my human littleness, all my petty weaknesses exposed and weighed; but -I felt also that behind this unrelenting scrutiny there was a depth of -understanding which struck an even balance and saved me from contempt. -I can put it no better than that. - -He motioned me to a chair and took another himself. For a few moments -he remained silent; and when he spoke I was struck by the change in -his tone. At the meeting, he had spoken decisively, almost bitterly at -times; but now a ring of sadness entered into that great musical voice. - -“I wonder, Flint,” he said, “I wonder if you understand what we have -taken in hand to-day? I doubt if any of us see where all this is -leading us. I see the vague outlines of it before us; but beyond a -certain point one cannot go.” - -He paused, deep in thought for a few seconds; then, as though waking -suddenly to life again, offered me a cigar and took one himself. When -he spoke again, it was in a different tone. - -“Perhaps you wonder why I picked you out--of course it was I who got -you invited to that meeting; I wanted to look you over there before -making up my mind about you. Well, I have means of knowing about -people; and you struck me as the man I needed in this work. I’ve been -watching you for some years, Flint; ever since you made your mark, in -fact. You aren’t one of my young men--the ones they call ‘Nordenholt’s -gang,’ I believe--but you are of my kind; and I knew that I could get -you if I wanted you for something big.” - -In any other man this would have struck me as insolence; but Nordenholt -had already established such an influence over me that I felt flattered -rather than ruffled by this calm assumption on his part. - -“But in some ways it’s a disadvantage now that we didn’t come together -earlier,” he continued. “You remember Nelson and his captains--the -band of brothers? Nothing can be accomplished on a grand scale without -that feeling; and possibly I have left it until too late to get into -touch with you. It depends on yourself, Flint. I know you, possibly as -well as you know yourself; but you know nothing of me. With my young -men,” and a tinge of pride came into his voice, “with my young men, -that difficulty doesn’t arise. They know me as well as anyone can--well -enough, at any rate, for us to work together for a common object, no -matter how big the stake may be. But you, Flint, represent a foreign -mind in the machine. I want you to understand some things; in fact, -it’s essential that you should see the lines on which I work; for -otherwise we shall be at cross-purposes. I wonder how it can be done?” - -He leaned back in his chair and smoked silently for a few minutes. I -said nothing; for I was quite content to await whatever he had to put -into words. I only wondered what form it would take. When he broke the -silence, it was on quite unexpected lines. He looked at his watch. - -“Three hours yet before we can do anything further. I might as well -spend part of it on this; and possibly I can give you an idea of my -outlook on things which will help you when we are working together up -North. - -“When I was quite a child, Flint, I used to take a certain delight in -doing things which had an element of risk in them--physical risk, -I mean. I liked to climb difficult trees, to work my way out on to -dangerous bits of roof, to walk across tree-trunks spanning streams, -and so forth. There’s that element of risk at the back of all real -enjoyment, to my mind. It needn’t be physical risk necessarily, though -there you have it in perhaps its most acute aspect; but at the root of -a gamble of any sort where the stakes are high you find this factor -lying, whether it is noticeable or not. - -“One of my earliest experiences in that direction took the form of -walking along a slippery wall which was high enough to make a fall -from it a serious matter. I mastered the art of keeping on the wall -to perfection; and then, finding that pall upon me, I endeavoured to -complicate it by jumping across the gap made by a gateway. It was an -easy distance: I proved that to myself by practising on the ground from -a standing take-off. And the nature of the wall offered no particular -difficulty, for I tested myself in jumping a similar gap between two -slippery tree-trunks laid end to end. Yet when I came to the actual gap -in the wall, my muscles simply refused to obey me; and time after time -I drew back involuntarily from the spring. - -“I was an introspective child; and this puzzled me. I knew that I -could accomplish the feat with ease; and yet something prevented my -attempting it. I fell to analysing my sensations and tracing down the -various factors in the case; and, of course, it was not long until I -came to the crucial point. Does this bore you? I am sorry if it does, -but you’ll see the point of it by-and-by.” - -While he had been speaking, I had had a most curious impression. His -argument, whatever it might be, was evidently addressed to me; and yet -all through it I had the feeling that it was not altogether to me that -he was talking. In some way I gathered the idea that while he spoke -to me his mind was working upon another line, testing and re-testing -some chain of reasoning which was illustrated by his anecdote; so that -while I looked upon one aspect of it he was scanning the same facts -from a totally different point of view and reading into them something -which I was not intended to grasp. - -“Obviously the crux of the matter was the height of the wall and the -fear of hurting myself severely if I missed my leap,” he continued. -“Once I had discovered that--and of course it took much less time to do -so than it takes now to explain the case--I set about another trial. I -made up my mind that I would think nothing of the chance of slipping, -and that this time I would accomplish the feat with ease. Yet once more -I failed to bring my body up to the effort. Something stronger than my -consciousness was at work; and it defeated me.” - -He smiled sardonically at some memory or other. - -“I practised jumping along a marked portion of the wall where it was -lower; and I found that I could accomplish the distance with ease. -Whereupon my childish mind formulated the problem in this way; and I -believe that it was correct in doing so. The ultimate factor in the -thing was the fear of a damaging fall. Within limits, I was prepared to -take the risk; as had been shown by the success on the lower parts of -the wall. But at the high place beside the gateway, my resolution had -given way under a strain of nervousness. And at once there came into my -mind the conception of a breaking-strain. Up to a certain tension, my -conscious mind worked perfectly; but, beyond that, there was a complete -collapse. Something had snapped under the strain. I may say that I -finally accomplished the leap successfully; I simply wouldn’t allow -myself to be beaten in a thing I knew I could do.” - -He halted for a moment as though this marked a turning-point in his -thoughts. - -“This idea of the breaking-strain remained fixed in my child’s mind, -however; and I used to amuse myself by conjecturing all sorts of -hypothetical cases in which it played a part. It finally grew to be a -sort of mild obsession with me, and I would ask myself continually: -“Why did So-and-so do this rather than that?” and would then set -to work to discover the factors at the back of his actions and the -tension-snap which had driven him into something which was unexpected -from his normal line of conduct. - -“You can understand, Flint, how this practice grew upon me. It is -the most interesting thing in the world; and the materials for -applying it are everywhere about us in our everyday life. I extracted -endless amusement from it; and as I grew up into boyhood I found its -fascination greater than ever. I took a never-failing interest in -probing at the hidden springs of conduct and trying to establish these -breaking-strains in the people before me. - -“Then, as I grew older I discovered the Law Courts. There you see the -philosophy of the breaking-strain brought into touch with real life -in a practical form. I used to go and watch some well-known barrister -handling a hostile witness; and suddenly I understood that all these -men were merely fumbling empirically after the thing that I had studied -from my earliest days. What does a barrister want to do with a hostile -witness? To break him down, to throw him out of his normal line of -thought and then to fish among the dislocated machinery for something -which suits his own case. It afforded me endless interest to follow the -methods of each different cross-examiner. I learned a great deal in the -Courts; and I came away from them convinced that I had found something -of more than mere academic interest. This breaking-strain question -was one which could be applied to affairs of the greatest practical -importance. It was actually so applied in law cases. Why not utilise it -in other directions also?” - -I found him watching me keenly to see if I followed his line of -thought. After a moment, he went on: - -“It sounds so obvious now, Flint; but I believe that I alone saw it as -a scientific problem. Your blackmailer, your poker-sharp, all those -types of mind had been working on the thing in a crude way; but to me -it appeared from a different angle. Everyone else had looked on it -in the form of special cases, particular men who had to be swayed by -particular motives. I began as a youth where they left off. I spent -some years on it, Flint, examining it in all its bearings; and finally -I evolved a system of classification which enabled me to approach any -specific case along general lines. I can’t go into that now; but it -suddenly gave me an insight into motives and actions such as I doubt if -anyone ever had before.” - -He paused and watched the smoke curling up from his cigar. Again he -seemed to be deep in the consideration of some problem connected with -and yet alien to what he had been saying. For a time he was lost in -thought; and I waited to hear the rest of the story. - -“Well, Flint,” he went on at last, “it certainly seemed on the face -of it to be a very useless accomplishment from the practical point -of view; from the standpoint of mere cash, I mean. And yet, it still -fascinated me. When I was quite a young man I determined to go to -Canada and take up lumber. I was an orphan; there was nothing to keep -me in this country, for I had no near relations; and I felt that it -might do me good to cut loose from things here and go away into the -woods for a time. I had enough capital to start in a small way; so I -went. My ideas of the lumber-trade were vague at the time. If I had -known what it was, I doubt if I should have touched it. - -“At first sight, it looked a hopeless venture. I knew nothing of -the trade; I was a youngster then; I’d had no training in financial -operations. Failure seemed to be the only outcome; and the men on the -spot laughed at me. I simply would not admit that I was beaten at the -start; and everything drove me on against my better judgment. And I -had one tremendous asset. I knew men. - -“I knew men better than anyone else out there. I never made a mistake -in my choice. I collected a few good men at the start to help me; -and through them I gathered others almost as good. In a year I had -made progress; in two years I was a success; and very soon I became -somebody to reckon with. And through it all, Flint, I knew practically -nothing about the actual trade. That was only a tool in my hands. What -I dealt in was men and men’s minds. I could gauge a man’s capacity to -a hair; and I picked my managers and foremen from the very best. They -were glad to come to me, somehow. They felt I understood them; and no -inefficients were comfortable with me. I never had to discharge them; -they simply went of their own accord. I left everything to my staff, -for I knew them thoroughly and gauged their capacities to a degree. And -because I knew them I found the right place for each man; so that the -work went forward with perfect smoothness and efficiency. Before I had -been five years there I was on the road to being a rich man.” - -His tone expressed no satisfaction. It was clear that I was not -expected to admire his talents. - -“Then, suddenly, came the discovery of platinum on a large scale in -the neighbourhood of my district. You know what that meant; but you -must remember that in those days it was a very different matter from -now. It was like the Yukon gold rush in some of its aspects. The place -swarmed with prospectors, mostly men of no education, whose main object -was to get as much as they could in a hurry and then go elsewhere to -spend the money the platinum brought them. Meanwhile, the platinum -market was convulsed, and the price swayed to and fro from day to day. -You must remember that in those times the thing was in the hands of a -very few men; for the supply was limited. The Canadian mines overthrew -the nicely-adjusted balance of the market and everything suffered in -consequence; for the uses of platinum directly or indirectly spread -over a very large field of human industry.” - -That part of his history was more or less familiar to me, but I did not -interrupt. - -“One day it occurred to me that here in Canada we had a case parallel -to the state of affairs in the Diamond Fields before the Kimberley -amalgamation. Why not repeat Cecil Rhodes’ methods? Just as he -regulated the price of diamonds, I could regulate the price of platinum -if I could get control of the Canadian mines, for they were by far the -most important in the world. - -“Again, I knew nothing of platinum, just as I had known nothing of -lumber; but I was able to pay for the best advice, to pay for secrecy -as well; and to judge the experts, I had my knowledge of men to help -me. I got the best men, I chose only men whom my insight enabled me to -pick out; and I began to buy up claims quietly under their guidance. -Here again psychology came in. I could tell at a glance when a man -was a “quitter” and when a miner would refuse to sell. I could gauge -almost to a sovereign the price that would prove the breaking-strain -for any particular owner. I can’t tell you how it is done; it is partly -inborn, perhaps, partly acquired; but I know that my knowledge is quite -incommunicable. - -“To make a long story short, I had acquired a very fair percentage of -the valuable ground when suddenly I discovered that five other men had -been struck with the same idea; and that prices were rising beyond -anything I could hope to pay. It was a case for amalgamation; but I -did not see my way through it quite so simply. Two of them I knew to -be honest. One of them I could not trust, although he had hitherto -never shown any signs of crookedness; but I knew his breaking-strain, -and I knew also that the temptations to which he would be exposed -under any amalgamation scheme would be too great for him. He had to -be eliminated. The other two were weak men who could be dealt with -easily enough. I needn’t give you the details. I approached the two -honest men, combined with them, and with the joint capital of the three -of us I bought out the third competitor. The other two we dealt with -separately, buying out the one and taking the other in along with us. -My partners trusted me with the negotiations, again because I knew men -and their motives. - -“And that was how I made my first million. Remember, I knew nothing -about the materials I had handled in the making of it. I never took -the slightest interest in the things themselves--and I took very -little interest in the money either, for my tastes are simple. What -did interest me was the psychology of the thing, the probing among -the springs and levers of men’s minds, and the working out of all the -complex strains and stresses which form the background of our reason -and our emotions. The million was a mere by-product of the process. - -“But with the million there came another interest. Up to that time -I had applied my methods to individual cases; but it struck me, -after the strain of the amalgamation negotiations was over, that my -generalisations were capable of a wider application. I took up the -study of political affairs over here; and I found that my principles -enabled me to gauge the psychology of masses even more easily than -those of individuals. As a practical test, I stood for Parliament; and -got elected without any difficulty. Of course one of the Parties was -glad to have me--a millionaire isn’t likely to go a-begging at their -door for long--but you may remember that I won that election by my own -methods. The Party machines tried to copy them, of course, at a later -date; but they failed hopelessly because they were merely repeating -mechanically some operations which I had designed for a special case. - -“I took very little interest in politics, though. I had no sympathy -with the usual methods of the politicians; and at times I revolted -against them effectually.” - -He was evidently thinking of the two episodes which had gained him the -nickname of the Wrecker. - -“When I began, I think I told you that the element of risk enters -largely into one’s pleasures; and I believe that holds good in -politics. The work of a politician, and especially of a Cabinet -Minister, is largely in the nature of a gamble. To most of them, -politics is an empirical science; for they have little time to study -the basis of it. I’ll do them the justice to say that I don’t think -it is a mere matter of clinging to their salaries which keeps them -in office; it’s mainly that they enjoy the feeling of swaying great -events. With an Empire like ours, the stakes are tremendous; and -there’s a certain sensation to be got out of gambling on that scale. -Mind you, I doubt if they realise themselves that this is what they -enjoy in the political game; but it is actually what does sway them to -a great extent. - -“Now so long as it’s a mere question of some parochial point, I don’t -mind their enjoying their sensations. It matters very little in the -long run whether one Bill or another passes Parliament; and if they -fight over minor questions, I don’t care. But twice in my political -career I saw that the Party game was threatening trouble on bigger -lines. The Anglo-Peruvian agreement and the Malotu Islands question -were affairs that cut down to the bed-rock of things; and I couldn’t -stand aside and see them muddled in the usual way. I had to assert -myself there, whether I liked it or not. And when I did intervene, my -mental equipment made the result a certainty. _I_ knew the country and -the country’s average opinion in a way that none of them did; and I -had only to strike at the vital point. They call me the Wrecker; and -I suppose I did bring down two Governments on these questions; but it -wasn’t so difficult for me. - -“But, as I told you, I never had much interest in politics. I like real -things; and the political game is more than half make-believe. I still -have my seat in the House; but I think they are gladdest when I am not -there. - -“Well, I am afraid I’m making a long story of it; but I think you will -see the drift of it now. Politics failed to give me what I wanted. I -had no turn for the routine of it; and I had no wish to be involved in -all the petty manœuvres upon which the nursing of a majority depends. -Mind you, I could have done it better than any of them, with that -peculiar bent of mine. They consult me whenever a crisis arises; and -I can generally pull them through. After all, it’s a case of handling -men, there as everywhere else. - -“However, I wanted something better to amuse me than the squaring of -some nonentity with a knighthood or the pacification of some indignant -office-seeker who had been passed over. I wanted to feel myself pitted -against men who really were experts in their own line. And that was how -I came to take up finance in earnest.” - -He paused again and lighted a fresh cigar. While he was doing so, I -watched his face. In any other man, his autobiographic sketch would -have seemed egotistical; and possibly I have raised that impression in -my reproduction of it; for I can only give the sense of what he said. I -cannot put on paper the tones of his voice--the faint tinge of contempt -with which he spoke of his triumphs, as though they were child’s -play. Nor can I do more than indicate here and there that peculiar -sensation of duality which his talk took on more and more clearly as -he proceeded. It was as though the Nordenholt whom I saw before me -were telling his story whilst over behind him stood some greater -personality, following the narrative and tracing out in it the clues -which were to lead on to some events still in the distant future. - -“Finance, Flint,” he continued. “That was the field where I came into -my own at last. Money in itself is nothing, nothing whatever. But the -making of money, the duel of brain against brain with not even the -counters on the table, that’s the great game. The higher branches of -finance are simply a combination of arithmetic and psychology. They’re -divorced absolutely from any idea of material gain or loss. Railways, -steamship lines, coal, oil, wheat, cotton or wool--do you imagine that -one thinks of these concrete things while one plays the game? Not at -all. They are the merest pawns. The whole affair is compressed into -groups of figures and the glimpses of the other man’s brain which one -gets here and there throughout the operations. And I played a straight -game, Flint; no small investor was ever ruined through my manœuvres. I -doubt if any other financier can say as much. I went into the thing as -a game, a big, risky game for my own hand; and I refused to gamble in -the savings of little men. I took my gains from the big men who opposed -me, not from the swarm of innocents.” - -It was true, I remembered. Nordenholt had played the game of finance in -a way never seen before. He had made many men’s fortunes--a by-product, -as he would have said, no doubt--but no one had ever gone into the -arena unwarned by him. When he had laid his plans, carried out his -preliminary moves and was ready to strike, a full-page advertisement -had appeared in every newspaper in the country. “MR. NORDENHOLT ADVISES -THE SMALL INVESTOR TO REFRAIN FROM OPERATING IN WHEAT,” or whatever it -might be that he proposed to deal in himself. Then, after giving time -for this to take effect, he struck his first blow. Wonderful struggles -these were, fought out often far in the depths of that strange sea of -finance, so that hardly a ripple came to the surface. Often, too, the -agitation reached the upper waters and there would be glimpses of the -two vast organisations convulsed by their efforts; here a mass of foam -only, there some strange tentacle stretching out to reach its prey or -to coil itself around a vantage-point which it could use as a fulcrum -in further exertions. During this period, the Exchanges of the world -would be shaken, there would be failures, hammerings, ruin for those -who had ventured into the contest despite the warnings. Then, suddenly, -the cascading waves would be stilled. One of the antagonists had gone -under. - -A fresh advertisement would appear: “MR. NORDENHOLT HAS CEASED HIS -OPERATIONS.” It was a strange requiem over the grave of some king of -finance. Nordenholt was always victorious. And with the collapse of his -opponent, the small speculators flocked into the markets of the world -and completed the downfall. - -Finally, after the gains had been counted, he advertised again asking -all those who had involuntarily suffered by his contest to submit -their claims to him; and every genuine case was paid in full. He could -afford it, no doubt; but how many would have done it? I knew from -that move of his that he really spoke the truth when he said that -money in itself was nothing to him. And it perhaps illustrates as well -as anything the impression he produced upon my mind that afternoon. -On the one side he was cold, calculating, pitiless to those whom he -regarded as his enemies and the enemies of the smaller investor; on the -other, he was full of understanding and compassion for those whom he -had maimed in the course of his gigantic operations. The Wheat Trust, -the Cotton Combine, Consolidated Industries, the Steel Magnates, and -the Associated Railways, all had gone down before him; and he had -ground their leaders into the very dust. And in every case, he had -opened his campaign as soon as they had shown signs of using their -power to oppress the common people. It may have been merely a move -in his psychological strategy; he may have waited until the man in -the street had begun to be uneasy for the future, so that this great -intangible mass of opinion was enlisted on his side. But I prefer -to think otherwise: and I was associated with Nordenholt in the end -as closely as any man. No one ever knew him, no one ever fathomed -that personality--of that I am certain. He was always a riddle. But -I believe that his cool intelligence, his merciless tactics, all had -behind them a depth of understanding and a sympathy with the helpless -minority. I know this is almost incredible in face of his record; but I -am convinced of its truth. - -“At the end of it all,” he went on, “I can look back and say that my -theories were justified. I knew nothing of finance; but I chose my -advisers well. I knew what my opponents relied upon and what they -regarded as points which could be given up without affecting their -general position. The rest was simply a matter of psychology. How could -I bring the breaking-strain to bear? - -“Well, when I left it, the financial world had handed over to me a -fortune which, I suppose, has seldom been equalled. There was nothing -in it, you know, Flint, nothing whatever. It merely happened that I -was trained in a way different from everyone else. They were plotting -and scheming with shares and stocks and debentures, skying this one, -depressing that one and keeping their attention fixed on the Exchanges. -I came to the thing from a different angle. The movements of the -markets meant little to me in comparison with the workings of the -brains behind those markets. I could foresee the line of their advance; -and I knew how to take them in the flank at the right moment. I fought -them on ground they could not understand. They knew the mind of the -small investor thoroughly, for they had fleeced him again and again. -I began by clearing the small speculator off the board; and thus they -were deprived of their trump card. They had to fight me instead of -ruining him; and they had no idea what I was. It was incredibly simple, -when you think of it. That is why you never found anything about my -personality in the newspapers. I paid them to leave me alone. No one -knew me; and I was able to fight in the dark. - -“But when I grew tired of it at last, I had an enormous fortune. What -was I to do with it? Money in itself one can do nothing with. If I were -put to it, I doubt if I could spend £5,000 a year and honestly say that -I had got value for it--I mean direct personal enjoyment. I cast about -for some use to which I could turn this enormous mass of wealth. You -may smile, Flint, but it is one of the most difficult problems I ever -took up. I hate waste; and I wanted to see some direct, practical value -for all these accumulated millions. What was I to do? - -“I looked back on the work of some of my predecessors. Carnegie used to -spend his money on libraries; but do libraries yield one any intimate -satisfaction? Can one really say that they would give one a feeling -that one’s money had been spent to a good purpose? Apparently they -did to him; but that sort of thing wouldn’t appeal to me. Then there -is art. Pierpont Morgan amassed a huge collection; but there again I -don’t feel on safe ground. Is one’s money merely to go in accumulating -painted canvas for the elect to pore over? The man in the street cannot -appreciate these things even if he could see them. I gave up that idea. - -“Then I came across a life of Cecil Rhodes and he seemed to be more -akin to me in some ways. Empire building is a big thing and, if you -believe in Empires, it’s a good thing. There is something satisfactory -in knowing that you are preparing the way for future generations, -laying the foundations in the desert and awaiting the tramp of those -far-off generations which will throng the streets of the unbuilt -cities. A great dream, Flint. One needs a prospicience and a fund of -hope to deal in things like that. But I want to see results in my own -day; I want to be sure that I’m on the right lines and not merely -rearing a dream-fabric which will fade out and pass away long before -it has its chance of materialisation. I want something which I can see -in action now and yet something which will go down from generation to -generation. - -“I thought long over it, Flint. Time and again I seemed to glimpse what -I wanted; and yet it eluded me. Then, suddenly, I realised that I had -the very thing at my gates. Youth. - -“All over the world there are youngsters growing up who will be stifled -in their development by mere financial troubles. They have the brains -and the character to make good in time; but at what a cost! All their -best energy goes in fulfilling the requirements of our social system, -getting a roof over their heads, climbing the ladder step by step, -waiting for dead men’s shoes. Then, when they come to their own, more -often than not their heart’s desire has withered. I don’t mean that -they are failures; but they have used up their powers in overcoming -those minor difficulties which beset us all. It was an essay of -Huxley’s that brought the thing clearly before me. ‘If the nation could -purchase a potential Watt, or Davy, or Faraday, at the cost of £100,000 -down,’ he said, ‘he would be dirt-cheap at the money.’ And with that, -in a flash, I saw my way clear. I would go about in search of these -potential leaders among our youth. My peculiar insight would suffice to -keep me on the right lines there. I would make the way easy for them, -but not too easy. I would test and re-test them till I was sure of -them. And then I would give them all that they desired and open up the -world to them to work out their destinies. - -“I did it in time. Even now I’m only at the beginning of the -experiment, but already I feel that I have spent my money well. I have -given a push to things; and although I can see no further than this -generation, I know that I have opened a road for the next. Each of them -is a centre for others to congregate around and so the thing spreads -like the circles in a pool. I have thrown in the stone; but long after -I am gone the waves will be beating outward and breaking upon unknown -shores....” - -He paused and seemed to fall into a day-dream for a few moments. Then -he spoke again. - -“That was the origin of my young men, Flint; the Nordenholt gang”--he -sneered perceptibly at the words. “Many of them have gone down in the -race. One cannot foresee everything, you know, try as one may. But -the residuum are a picked lot. They are scattered throughout all the -industries and professions of the Empire; and all of them are far up -in their own pursuits. I often wondered whether anything would come of -it in my day beyond individual successes; but now I see a culmination -before me. We shall all go up side by side to Armageddon and my own men -will be with me in this struggle against the darkness. Man never put -his hand to a bigger task than this in front of us; and I shall need -my young men to help me. If we fail, the Earth falls back beyond the -Eolithic Age once more and Man has lived in vain.” - -His voice had risen with pride as he spoke of his helpers; but at the -close I heard again the sub-current of sadness come into the deep -tones. I had been jarred by his exposition at the meeting, by his -apparent callousness in outlook; but now I thought I saw behind the -mask. - -Again he sat pondering for some moments; but at last he threw off -his preoccupation; and when he spoke it was more directly to me than -hitherto. - -“Possibly you may wonder, Flint, why it is that with all these -resources in my hands I have come to you for help; and why I have never -approached you before. The fact is, I watched you from your start -and stood by to help you if you needed me; but you made good alone, -and I never interfere with a man unless it is absolutely necessary. -You made good without my assistance; and I thought too well of you -to offer any. But I watched you, as I said--I have my own ways of -getting information--and I knew that you were just the man I required -for a particular section of the work in front of us. Your factory -organisation showed me that. There will be an enormous task before you; -but I know that you’ll be the right man in the right place. I never -make a mistake, when it is a case of this kind. You aren’t an untried -man.” - -From anyone else, I would have regarded this as clumsy flattery; but so -great an influence had Nordenholt acquired over me even in that single -afternoon that I never looked at the matter in that light at all. His -manner showed no patronage or admiration; it seemed merely that he was -stating facts as he knew them, without caring much about my opinion. - -“But it seems to me,” he went on, “that I’ve talked enough about -personal affairs already. I want to try to give you some views on the -main thing in front of us. You and I, Flint, have been born and grown -up in the midst of this civilisation; and I expect that you, like most -other people, have been oblivious of the changes which have come about; -for they have been so gradual that very few of us have noticed them at -all. - -“When you begin low down in the scale of Creation, you find creatures -without any specialised organs. The simplest living things are just -spots of protoplasm, mere aggregations of cells, each of which -performs functions common to them all. Then, step by step as you rise -in the scale, specialisation sets in: the cells become differentiated -from one another; and each performs a function of its own. You get -the cells of the nerves receiving and transmitting sensation; you get -cells engaged in nutrition processes; there are other cells devoted -to producing motion. And with this specialisation you get the dawn -of something which apparently did not exist before: the structure -as a whole acquires a personality of its own, distinct from the -individualities of the cells which go to build it up. - -“But the inverse process is also possible. When the body as a whole -suffers death, you still have a certain period during which the cells -have an existence. Hair grows after death, for example. - -“Now if you look at the trend of civilisation, you will see that we are -passing into a stage of specialisation. In the Middle Ages, a man might -be a celebrated artist and yet be in the forefront of the science of -his day--like Leonardo da Vinci; but in our time you seldom find a man -who is first-class in more than one line. In the national body, each -individual citizen is a specialised cell; and if he diverged from his -normal functions he would disorganise the machine, just as a cancer -cell disorganises the body in which it grows. - -“But this civilisation of ours has come to the edge of its grave. -It is going to die. There is no help for it. What I fear is that in -its death-throe it may destroy even the hope of a newer and perhaps -better civilisation in the future. It is going to starve to death; -and a starving organism is desperate. So long as it retains its -present organised and coherent life, it will be a danger to us; and -for our own safety--I mean the safety of the future generations--we -must disorganise it as soon as possible. We must throw it back at a -step, if we can, to the old unspecialised conditions; for then it -will lose its most formidable powers and break up of itself. Did you -ever read Hobbes? He thought of the State as a great Leviathan, an -artificial man of greater strength and stature than the natural man, -for whose protection and defence it was contrived; and the soul of this -artificial creature he found in sovereignty. How can we bring about the -_débâcle_ of this huge organism? That is the problem I have been facing -this afternoon. - -“The Leviathan’s life-blood is the system of communications throughout -the country; and I doubt if we can cripple that sufficiently rapidly -and effectively to bring about the downfall. It would take too long -and excite too much opposition if we did it thoroughly. We must -have something subtler, Flint, something which will strike at each -individual intelligence and isolate it from its fellows as far as -possible. It’s my old problem of the breaking-strain again on the -very widest scale. We must find some psychological weapon to help us. -Nothing else will do.” - -It seemed as though he were appealing to me for suggestions; but I had -nothing to offer. I had never considered such a problem; and at first -sight it certainly seemed insoluble. Given that men already had the -certainty of death before them, what stronger motive could one bring to -bear? - -“I must think over it further,” he said at last, “I think I see a -glimmering of some possibilities. After all, it’s my own line.” - -He dropped the subject and seemed to sink into his own thoughts for -a time. When he broke the silence once more, it was on an entirely -different subject. - -“I wonder if you ever read the Norse mythology, Flint? No? Well, you’ve -missed something. The gods of Greece were a poor lot, a kind of divine -collection of Fermiers Généreaux with much the same tastes; but the -Scandinavian divinities were in a different class. They were human in -a way; but their humanity wasn’t of the baser sort. And over them -all hung that doom of Ragnarök, their Twilight, when the forces of -Evil would be loosed for the final struggle to bring darkness upon the -earth. It’s the strangest forecast of our present crisis. As Ragnarök -drew near, brother was to turn against brother; bloodshed was to sweep -the land. Then was to come the Winter, three years long, when all -trees were to fail and all fruits to perish, while the race of men -died by hunger and cold and violence. And with Ragnarök the very Gods -themselves were to pass away in their struggle with all the Forces of -Evil and Darkness. - -“But they were only half-gods, deified men. Behind them, the All-Father -stood; and beyond that time of terror there lay the hope of Gimle, the -new age when all would again be young and fair. - -“I look beyond these coming horrors to a new Gimle, Flint; a time -when Earth will renew her youth and we shall shake free from all the -trammels which this dying civilisation has twined about our feet. It -will come, I feel sure. But only a few of us leaders will see it. The -strain will be too much for us; only the very toughest will survive. -But each of us must work to the very last breath to save something upon -which we can build anew. There must be no shrinking in either will or -emotion. I warn you that it will be terrible. To save mankind from -the terror of the giants, Odin gave his eye to Mimir in return for a -draught of the Well of Knowledge. Some of us will have to give our -lives.... A few of us will lose our very souls.... It will be worth it!” - -I was amazed to find this train of mysticism in that cold mind. Yet, -after all, is it surprising? Almost all the great men of history have -been mystics of one kind or another. Nordenholt rose; and something -which had burned in his eyes died out suddenly. He went to the roll-top -desk and took from it a bundle of papers. - -“Here are your instructions, Flint. Everything has been foreseen, I -think, for the start. Follow them implicitly as far as they go; and -after that I trust you to carry out the further steps which you will -see are required.” - -As he was shaking hands with me, another thought seemed to strike him. - -“By the way, of course you understand that the whole of this scheme -depends for success on our being able to exterminate these bacilli? If -we cannot do that, they will simply attack any nitrogenous manure which -we use. I am putting my bacteriologists on to the problem at once; but -in any case the nitrogen scheme must go ahead. Without it, no success -is possible, even if we destroyed _B. diazotans_. So go ahead.” - -His car awaited me at the door. On the drive home, I saw in the -streets crowds gathered around hoarding after hoarding and staring up -at enormous placards which had just been posted. The smaller type was -invisible to me; but gigantic lettering caught my eye as I passed. - - +-------------------------------------------+ - | NITROGEN | - | | - | | - | ONE MILLION MEN WANTED | - | | - | | - | NORDENHOLT | - +-------------------------------------------+ - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -Nordenholt’s Million - - -Of all the incidents in that afternoon, I think the sight of these -placards brought home to me most forcibly two of the salient -characteristics of Nordenholt’s many-sided mind: his foresight and -his self-reliance. Their appearance in the streets at that moment -showed that they formed part of a plan which had been decided upon -several days in advance, since time had to be allowed for printing -and distributing them; whilst the fact that they were being posted up -within two hours of the close of the meeting proved that Nordenholt -had never had the slightest doubt of his success in dominating the -Ministers. - -Later on, I became familiar with these posters. They were not identical -by any means; and I learned to expect a difference in their wording -according to the district in which they were posted up. The methods -of varied personal appeal had long been familiar to the advertising -world; but I found that Nordenholt had broken away from tradition and -had staked everything upon his knowledge of the human mind. In these -advertisements his psychological instinct was developed in an uncanny -degree which was clear enough to me, who knew the secret; but I doubt -if any man without my knowledge would have seen through the superficial -aspect of them quite so readily. - -In this first stage of his campaign he had to conceal his hand. The -advertisements were merely the first great net which he spread in -order to capture every man who would be at all likely to be useful -to him, while the meshes had to be left wide enough to allow the -undesirable types to slip through. The proclamations--for they really -took this form--set forth concisely the exact danger which threatened -the food-supply of the country; explained why it was essential that -immense masses of nitrogenous material must be manufactured; and called -for the immediate enrolment of volunteers from selected trades and -professions. - -As a primary inducement, the scale of remuneration offered was far -above the normal pay in any given line. It was, in fact, so high that I -fell at once to calculating the approximate total of wages which would -be payable weekly; and the figures took me by surprise when I worked -them out. No single private fortune, however gigantic, could have kept -the machinery running for even a few months at the uttermost. When I -pointed this out to Nordenholt he seemed amused and rather taken aback; -but his surprise was at my obtuseness and not at my calculations. - -“Well, I’m slightly astonished, Flint. I thought you would have seen -deeper into it than that. Hasn’t it occurred to you that within six -weeks money, as we understand it, will be valueless? If we pay up -during the time we are getting things arranged, that will be all that -is required. Once the colony is founded, there will be no trade between -it and the outside world, naturally; and inside our own group we could -arrange any type of currency we choose. But, as a matter of fact, -we shall go on just as usual; and Treasury notes sufficient for the -purpose are already being printed.” - -But the cash inducement was not the only one upon which he relied even -in his preliminary moves. Patriotism, the spirit of public service, -the promise of opportunities for talent and many other driving forces -were enlisted in the campaign. These more specialised appeals were -mainly sent out in the form of advertisements in the newspapers--great -whole-page announcements which appeared in unusual places in the -journals. I suppose to a man of enormous wealth most things are -possible, especially when the wealth is coupled with a personality like -Nordenholt’s; but it certainly amazed me to find his advertisements -taking the place of the normal “latest news” space in many papers. Nor -was this the only way in which his influence made itself felt. The -editorial comments, and even the news columns of the journals, dealt -at length with his scheme; and he secured the support of papers which -were quite above any suspicion of being amenable to outside influence. -On the face of it, of course, his plans--so far as they were made -public--were obviously sound; but I cannot help feeling that below this -almost unanimous chorus of praise in the leading articles there must be -some influence at work beyond mere casual approbation. Very probably -Nordenholt had seen his way to enlist the sympathy of editors by some -more direct methods, possibly by calling the controllers of policy -together and utilising his magnetic personality and persuasive powers. - -In my own field of work at the first I found some difficulties in my -dealings with the Trades Union officials, who were suspicious of our -methods. They feared that we contemplated dilution on a huge scale; -and they were anxious to know the details of our plans. I consulted -Nordenholt on the point and found him prepared. - -“Of course that was bound to arise as soon as we began to move on -a big scale. Well, you can assure them that we shall act strictly -according to the law of the matter. Promise them that as far as working -conditions go, we shall begin by letting the men fix their own hours of -work; and if any man is dissatisfied with these, we will pay him on the -spot a bonus of six months’ wages and let him leave instantly if he so -desires. - -“Point out to them that, in the cases of some trades, I may have to -enlist the majority of the Unionists in the country; and that I am -not going to tie their hands by any previous arrangements: they shall -settle the matter for themselves. If that doesn’t satisfy them, you may -tell them definitely--and put it in writing if they wish--that under -no circumstances will I expect my employés to work for longer hours or -less pay than any other Trades Unionist in the country.” - -I jotted the phrase down in my pocket-book. - -“I may as well tell you, Flint, that I have given instructions to the -recruiting offices. No Trades Union Leader will be engaged by me under -any circumstances whatever. It’s real working men that I want; and I -don’t think much of the Union leaders from the point of view of actual -work.” - -He looked at me for a moment and I saw a faint smile on his face. - -“It seems to me, Flint, that even yet you haven’t managed to see this -thing in perspective. You must really get into your mind the fact that -there is going to be a clean break between the old system and the new -one we are making. Look at the thing in all its bearings. Once we are -up North, men shall work for me as I choose and for what I choose. -There will be no Factory Acts and Trades Union regulations or any other -hindrance to our affairs. They come here and try to put a spoke in my -wheel? I don’t mind that at all. But I do see that they are trying, -whether wilfully or through sheer ignorance, to hamper this work which -is essential to the race. Therefore I propose to meet them with fair -words. It’s not for me to enlighten their ignorance if it has persisted -up to now in the face of all this. I make them that promise, and if -they can’t understand its meaning, that is no affair of mine. _We_ -know, if they’re too dense to see it, that in a few months there won’t -be a Trades Unionist left in the country, outside the colony! There -will be no wages drawn outside our frontier; so even if I paid our men -nothing, still I should be keeping my promise to the strict letter.” - -“I see your point,” I said; “all’s fair and so forth?” - -“Also, we shall have trouble, up there, I have no doubt. Probably there -will be a ca’ canny party among our recruits. They will have every -chance at first. I won’t interfere with them. But once the situation -clears up a little, I shall deal with them--and I shall do it by the -hand of their own fellows. They won’t last long. Now get along and -promise these officials exactly what I have told you.” - -I offered no criticisms of his methods. His brain was far better than -mine. When I remember that he must have drafted the outlines of his -scheme and arranged most of the preliminaries of its execution in less -time than it would have taken me to decide upon a new factory-site, -I am still lost in amazement at the combination of wide outlook and -tremendous concentration of thought which the task involved. - -Despite the carefully-planned deterrents which appeared in the -proclamations, the recruiting was enormous from the first. -“Nordenholt’s Million”--as the popular phrase ran--was not really a -million at all; but Nordenholt knew the influence of a round figure -upon the public imagination and it was near enough for all practical -purposes. He had looked on the thing in the broadest possible lines at -the start, and had drawn up a rough classification for the use of the -recruiting stations. To begin with, he limited the enlistment to men -between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five; though exceptional -cases received special consideration. On this basis, he expected to get -all the men he required. Three-quarters of a million of these were to -be married men with an upper limit of four children, preferably between -the ages of six and twelve. In addition to this, he was prepared to -accept half a million young unmarried men. Half a million unmarried -girls were also selected. The net result of this was that in the end he -obtained in round numbers the following classes: - - Husbands 750,000 - Wives 750,000 - Children 2,250,000 - Bachelors 500,000 - Girls 500,000 - ---------- - Total 4,750,000 - -That left a margin of a quarter of a million below his original -estimate of five millions; and this he kept free for the time being, -partly because some of the number would be made up by specialists who -did not come under the general recruitment organisation and partly, -possibly, for taking in at the last moment any cases which might be -specially desirable. - -At a later date I had an opportunity of questioning him as to his -reasons in laying down this classification: and they struck me as sound. - -“In the first place, I want a solid backbone to this enterprise. I get -that by selecting the married men. They have got a stake in the thing -already in their wives, and especially in their children. I know that -the children mean the consumption of a vast quantity of food for which -we shall get no direct return in the form of labour; but I believe that -the steadying effect introduced by them will be worth the loss. We are -going to put this colony under a strain which is about as great as -human nature can bear; and I want everything on our side that can be -brought there. - -“Then again, they will help to form a sort of public opinion. Don’t -forget that the ultimate aim of this affair is to carry on the race. I -could have done that by selecting bachelors and girls in equal numbers -and simply going ahead on that basis. But we must have discipline; and -unless you have some established order we should simply have ended by -a Saturnalia. You couldn’t have prevented it, considering the nervous -strain we are going to put on these people. I have no use for that sort -of thing; so I chose a majority of men with families, whose natural -instincts are to keep down the bacchanalian element among the unmarried. - -“But in addition to these married men, I needed others who had a free -hand and who had only their own lives to risk. In certain lines, the -unmarried man can be relied upon where the married man shivers in his -shoes to some extent. That accounts for the bachelor element. - -“But, since a preponderance of males over females would be bound to -lead to trouble, I had to enrol enough girls to bring up the balance. -Possibly they may also serve to spur on the younger men to work; and -they will be able to help in the actual task before us in a good many -ways, like the Munition girls of the War period.” - -It seemed to me then the only possible solution of the problem; and it -worked in practice. We can’t tell how things would have fared if any -other arrangements had been made, so I must leave it at that. Anyway, -I think Nordenholt enlisted two of the strongest instincts of humanity -on his side in addition to the fear of hunger: and that was a definite -gain. - -“Nordenholt’s Million” was, of course, a microcosm of the national -industries. It would serve no purpose to catalogue the trades which -were represented in it. Miners, iron- and steel-workers, electricians -and makers of electrical machinery preponderated; but Nordenholt had -looked ahead to agriculture and the needs of the population after the -danger of famine was past. - -In the early stages, the statistical branch--recruited from the great -insurance companies--was perhaps the hardest worked of all. The most -diverse problems presented themselves for treatment; and they could -only be handled in the most rough-and-ready fashion until we were able -to bring calculation to bear. Without the help of the actuaries, I -believe that there would have been a collapse at various points, in -spite of all our foresight. - -I have not attempted to do more than indicate in outline the activities -which engrossed us at that time. In my memory, it lives as a period of -frantic and often very successful improvisation. New problems cropped -up at every turn. The decision of one day might entail a recasting of -plans in some field which at first sight seemed totally divorced from -the question under consideration. Each line of that complex system -had to be kept abreast of the rest, so that there was no disjunction, -no involuntary halt for one section to come up with the remainder, no -clash between two departments of the organisation. And yet, somehow, -it seemed to work with more smoothness than we had expected. Behind us -all, seated at the nucleus of that complex web of activities, there -was Nordenholt, seldom interfering but always ready to give a sharp -decision should the need arise. And I think the presence of that cool -intelligence behind us had a moral effect upon our minds. He never -lessened our initiative, never showed any sign of vexation when things -began to go wrong. He treated us all as colleagues, though we knew that -he was our master. And under his examination, difficulties seemed to -fade away in our hands. - - * * * * * - -It was not until the meeting of Parliament that the Government -connection with Nordenholt’s scheme became known to the public; but on -the first day of the session the Prime Minister introduced a Bill which -subsequently became the Billeting Act; and this brought to light the -fact that Nordenholt was not working merely as a private individual. -Under the Act, the Government took powers to house the Nitrogen -Volunteers, as they were termed, in any locality which might be found -necessary. The wording of the Act gave them the fullest power in this -matter; but it was so contrived that no one suspected the establishment -of only a single Nitrogen Area. - -In his speech on the second Reading, the Premier excelled all his -previous tactical exercises. He explained very clearly the nature -of the peril which threatened the country; and he pointed out that -the measure was necessary in order to cope with the danger. The new -Nitrogen work would entail great shiftings of labour hither and -thither, as the new factories grew up; and it was essential to provide -dwellings for the artisans engaged in the industry. Everything must -give way to this; and since houses could not be built in the short time -available, some sort of arrangement must be made which would, he hoped, -be merely temporary. He explained that the Government had empowered -Nordenholt to carry out the early arrangements; and he was able to give -statistics showing the progress which had already been made during the -last few days. - -At the same time, he introduced a second Bill, somewhat on the lines of -the old Defence of the Realm Act, which enabled the Government to cope -with circumstances as they arose without the necessity of prolonged -Parliamentary debates. - -So ingeniously did he handle the matter that there was practically no -opposition to either measure. It must be remembered that the influence -of the Press had been exerted almost entirely in favour of Nordenholt’s -scheme. The previous clamour for action had been succeeded by a chorus -of praise; and the bold initiative shown in the Nitrogen plans had been -acclaimed throughout the country. - -Meanwhile, Nordenholt was making the best of two worlds. Nominally, -he was engaged in a private enterprise over which the Government had -no control; actually, he had the whole State machinery at his back to -assist him in his operations. This dual nature of the matter enabled -him to carry out his work with a minimum of interference from red taped -officials, while at the same time he was able to command the resources -of State Departments in any line wherein they could be of service -to him. After the passing of the two Acts, the Government adjourned -Parliament, to avoid the putting of awkward questions; so that during -the ensuing weeks the Nitrogen undertaking could progress without any -fear of interference or undue publicity. - -Transport was the first problem which occupied Nordenholt’s attention. -It was in this connection that I caught my first glimpse of the -“Nordenholt Gang” at work. The executive staffs of the railways were -left intact, but one day there descended upon them a quiet little man -in spectacles with full authority in his pocket. Grogan had apparently -never been connected with railways in his life, as far as I knew, but -he took control of the whole system in the country without showing the -faintest sign of hesitation. How he acquired his knowledge, I never -learned; but I gathered that he had originally made his mark by his -investigations of the effect of trade-routes upon commerce. - -His work was to indicate the broad outlines of the scheme, and the -railway officials then filled in the details. Yet I was told that he -seemed to know to a truck the demands which his projects would entail -upon the railways; and he never put forward anything which led to a -breakdown. I think he had that type of mind which sees straight through -the details to the core of an undertaking and which yet retains in due -perspective the minutiæ of the machinery. - -And it was not only the railways which he had in his charge. All -the motor services were brought under his control as well. It was a -bewilderingly complex affair; and he had to act as a kind of liaison -centre between the two departments, clearing up any troubles which -arose and co-ordinating the twin methods of transport. I think he had -the power of mental visualisation developed to an abnormal extent; -and his memory must have been quite out of the common. To assist -him, he had the largest railway map I have ever seen--it covered a -whole floor--and on it were placed blocks of metal showing the exact -situation of every truck, carriage and locomotive in the kingdom. These -were moved from time to time by his assistants in accordance with -telegraphic information; and if he doubted his recollections at any -moment he could go and study the groupings upon it. - -I remember seeing him once when things had got slightly out of gear, -his hands full of telegraph forms, his feet encased in felt slippers -to avoid marking the surface of the map, studying a point in the Welsh -system where a number of trucks had been stranded in sidings. With the -briefest consideration he seemed to come to a decision, for he gave his -orders to an assistant: - -“Locomotive, Newport to Crumlin, _via_ Tredegar Junction. (It can’t -go through Abercarne, because the 3.46 is on the line now and I -don’t want to waste time shunting.) Then on to Cwm--C-w-m--to pick -up twenty-seven trucks in the siding. All right. After that, back -to Aberbeeg--b-double-e-g--since the line is blocked at Victoria by -No. 702. Then Blaina--B-l-a-i-n-a--and Abergavenny. All right.... -Stop a moment. Map-measure, please. Motor Fleet 37 will be at -Abergavenny about then with some stores for the North. Hold train at -Abergavenny and wire them to stop No. 37 as it passes. That will fill -up ten trucks, I think. All right. Train Hereford, Birmingham, via -Leominster. Load twelve trucks Birmingham. Tamworth, pick up five -truck-loads--food, that red block there--then North behind No. 605. All -right. Then wire Abergavenny to send No. 37 to Monmouth. They’ll get -their orders there. All right.” - -So it went on, I am told, hour after hour, throughout the day. Even -the details of the diurnal traffic were not sufficient; for as he went -along, he planned the night-operations as well. When he retired for the -short sleep-time which he took, every point had been regulated for the -ensuing five hours. - -At first, everything culminated in the word “North”; but almost -immediately the whirling traffic on the south going rails had to be -considered also, as it grew in volume. How he managed it, I do not -know; but he seemed to have some sub-conscious faculty of drawing a -balance-sheet of the traffic at any moment; so that he knew if he was -sending too much North or too little South. Personally, I imagine -that he owed his success to a power akin to that of the professional -chess-player who can play a dozen blindfold games at one time. -Everybody has the faculty of mental visualisation developed in a -greater or less degree; but in Grogan, as far as traffic was concerned, -it seems to have attained supernormal proportions. I believe that he -actually “saw” in his mind the whole of England covered with his trains -and motor fleets and that he had by some means established time-scales -which enabled him to calculate the moments at which any train or fleet -would pass a series of given points. It was, of course, an immensely -more difficult affair than blindfold chess-playing; but I think it -clearly depended upon cognate processes. - -Congleton, the Shipping Director, had a much easier task. For him there -was no trouble of blocked rails or interleaving traffic. His main -difficulty arose from berthing accommodation, which was a comparatively -simple affair. Most of the food-supplies were transferred North on -board ship; and a certain amount of the shifting of population was also -done in this way, especially the removal of the Glasgow inhabitants. - -I can only give the merest outline of these great operations; for -the details are too intricate to be described here. Nordenholt’s -first step was to commandeer most of the public halls in the country, -which were then fitted up with partitions, etc., in order to convert -them into temporary dwelling-places for families. Thereafter, he -began to move his Nitrogen Volunteers into the Clyde Valley step by -step; and simultaneously, under the Billeting Act, he evicted the -local population to make room for his men. There was a considerable -outcry; and at times the military had to be employed to persuade the -reluctant to move out of their homes; but after the first few cases of -obstruction had been dealt with firmly, the people recognised that it -was useless to protest. Edinburgh was also treated in the same way; for -Nordenholt had planned to occupy a belt of country running from coast -to coast. He had to find room for a population of five millions; and it -was evidently going to be a difficult matter. - -Looking back upon it now, it was a wonderful piece of work, carried out -without any very serious hitches. To transfer a population of nearly -ten millions, and to distribute five millions of that over a wide -area of England--for this was the only way in which house-room could -be found for them--was a gigantic task. Fabulous sums were expended -in finding living-room for the refugees in the houses of residents -throughout England; and eventually all of them had roofs over their -heads, in private dwellings, in converted halls or in commandeered -hotels. - -Meanwhile, in Glasgow itself, the ever-growing Nitrogen Area was -surrounded with military pickets which prevented the mingling of -new-comers and the old population. This precaution of Nordenholt’s was -mainly directed against the possibility of rioting; for the feeling -between the expelled inhabitants and the incomers was extremely bitter: -but it served another purpose in that it tended to surround the -Nitrogen Area with a certain atmosphere of mystery. This was heightened -by the stoppage of all telegraphic and telephonic communication between -Glasgow and the South. Soon the only information obtainable in England -with regard to affairs in the Clyde Valley came from emigrants; and -with the end of the exodus, even the mails ceased and an impenetrable -veil fell between the two parts of the island. - -A similar screen had fallen between England and Ireland at a slightly -earlier date. All postal and telegraphic communication was broken -off, and no vessels were permitted to trade with the Irish ports. -It was by this means that the knowledge of the great Raid was kept -secret. Nordenholt was almost ready to disclose his hand; and the Raid -could not be postponed if any cattle were to be obtained alive. By a -series of lightning sweeps, the military rounded up all the available -live-stock in the island and drove them to the nearest ports, where -ships were awaiting them. Bitter guerrilla warfare raged along the -tracks of the columns; and the last pages in Irish history were marked -with bloodshed. Not that it mattered much, since all were to die in any -case before very long. - -But I am now coming to the last stages of the exodus. All the required -food, all the available machinery and all the Nitrogen Volunteers had -been sent up into the Clyde Valley. Without warning, after a secret -session, Parliament had resolved to transfer itself to Glasgow. Now -came the final moves. On the last day, only pickets of the Military -Volunteers--the Labour Defence Force, as Nordenholt had renamed -them--were left behind in every important town. - -During that night a carefully-planned course of destruction was -followed. Every telegraph and telephone exchange was gutted; the -remaining artillery was rendered useless; all the printing machinery -of newspapers was wrecked; every aeroplane destroyed and practically -all aerodromes burned: and as the trains and motors went northward in -the night, bridge after bridge on the line or road was blown up. When -morning came, there was a complete stoppage of all the normal channels -of communication; and up to the Border, the railways had been put out -of action for months. It was the second step in Nordenholt’s plan. - -Hitherto, I have chronicled his successes; but now I must deal with his -single failure. He had intended to persuade the King to take refuge -in the Clyde Valley, and had even, I believe, found a residence for -him near Glasgow. Here, however, he met with a rebuff. I never learned -the details of the interview; but it appears that the King refused to -save himself. He felt it his duty to share the fate of his people. -Nordenholt pleaded that if the King himself would not come, at least -the Prince of Wales might be sent; but here also he failed to carry -his point. The Prince point-blank rejected the suggestion. Knowing -Nordenholt, I could hardly conceive that his persuasive proposals could -fail to take effect; but it was evident that he met with no success. - -“He understood perfectly,” Nordenholt said to me later. “Both of them -thoroughly understood what it meant. I think they felt that a Crown -rescued at that price wouldn’t be worth wearing. At any rate, they -refused to come North.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -The Clyde Valley - - -Hitherto my narrative has had a certain unity; for I have been -describing a chain of events, each of which followed naturally from -its fore-runners; but now comes a bifurcation. I have explained how -the Clyde Valley had been isolated, step by step, from the rest of the -country; and when the last food-stores and troops had been brought into -the Nitrogen Area, communications between the two districts ceased. -From that moment, the two regions had different histories; and I cannot -deal with them in an intertwined chronological sequence. I shall -therefore continue my account of the Clyde Valley experiment now; and -shall deal later with the collapse of civilisation in England. - -When planning his colony, Nordenholt decided to occupy a belt of -country between the Forth and Clyde which contained all the required -materials in the form of coal and iron. Other things, such as copper, -he brought into the region in quantities which he believed would -suffice for months. - -The frontier included something like a thousand square miles of -territory; and within the boundary lay the whole industrial tract of -mid-Scotland with its countless pits, mines, foundries, factories, -ship-building yards and other resources. - -Under Congleton’s arrangements, as many ships as possible had been -brought into the Clyde and Forth at the last moment; and thereafter the -Navy blocked the entrances with mine-fields upon an enormous scale. -Nothing, either surface craft or submarine, could have penetrated -either estuary. - -Aerial defence was a secondary matter. No invasion in force would come -by that road; and the destruction of the aerodromes had disposed of any -early attempts at mere malicious damage. Defences were established, -however, around the central area; and to accommodate the aeroplanes and -airships which had been brought North, immense flying-grounds were laid -out on the level reaches of the lower Clyde. - -The storage of the food-supplies cost much thought; but by utilising -every spare corner, including railway and tramway depots, it had -been possible to get them all under cover and under guard. A strict -rationing system was put in force, though the allowance was quite up to -normal quantities. The main trouble was, as Nordenholt had anticipated, -a shortage of vegetables; and there was also a considerable deficit -in the meat-supply. However, after a complete census had been taken, -it seemed likely that we should be able to hold out without much -difficulty. - -These material factors had given little trouble in our arrangements; -but when the human counters came into the question, the resulting -complications were much greater than appeared at first sight. -Taking the problem at its simplest, we had coal at the one end and -manufactured nitrogenous products at the other; and the quantity of -the latter depended roughly on the amount of the former, since coal -represented our source of energy and also part of our raw material in -certain of the processes employed. But, in addition, we needed coal -for lighting, either by gas or electricity, and also for heating; so -that our actual coal output had to be larger than that required for -the mere fixation of nitrogen. Then the number of miners had to be -adjusted in proportion to those of the remaining workmen in each stage -of the process; for it was wasteful to feed men who were employed in -producing a superfluity which could not be utilised. Again, the problem -was complicated by the fact that the coal could not immediately be -used as it was hewn. Time had to be allowed for the construction and -erection of the machinery whereby the atmospheric nitrogen was to be -fixed; and this introduced further complications into the calculations. -Finally, to omit intermediate details, the number of labourers required -for spreading the nitrogenous manure upon the soil was governed by the -quantities of this material which could be prepared. - -But even when calculations had been made which covered all this ground, -a further factor entered into the problem. In dealing with a million -workers, death, disease and accidents have to be taken into account, -since in their effects they touch large numbers of individuals. The -incidence of these factors is not uniform in all trades; and hence -corrections had to be introduced to bring the various groups into -proportion. - -The whole of these calculations had, of course, been made during -the period of enrolment; and the reason I lay stress upon them at -this stage is to show how accurately each section of the machine was -dovetailed into the neighbouring parts. It was impossible to foresee -everything: in fact what happened showed that some factors are beyond -calculation. But when the Nitrogen Area started as a going concern, -everything possible had been provided for, as far as could be seen. It -was no fault of Nordenholt’s that things went as they did in the end. - - * * * * * - -With the segregation of the Nitrogen Area from the rest of the Kingdom, -and the transference of Parliament to Glasgow, a problem arose which -required instant settlement. A dual control in the district might -have been fraught with all manner of evil possibilities; and it was -essential, once for all, to decide where the ultimate power lay. -Nordenholt allowed no time to be wasted in the matter. At the first -meeting of the House of Commons after the Area was definitely closed, -he took his seat as a Member and moved the adjournment of the House -on a matter of urgent public importance. His speech, as reported -officially, was very short. - -“Mr. Speaker--Sir, I have watched the proceedings in this House -closely during the last weeks; and I have noted that a certain number -of members seem animated by a spirit of factious opposition to the -Government measures. I call the attention of the House to the state of -grave peril in which we all stand; and I ask them if this conduct has -their support. I have no wish to complicate matters. We have all of us -more responsibility on our shoulders than we can bear; and I have no -sympathy with these methods. Those who think with me in this matter -will vote with me in the lobby. I move that this House do now adjourn.” - -The motion was seconded and the question put without further debate. -About forty members went into the lobby against Nordenholt. While they -were still there, he drew a whistle from his pocket and blew three -shrill blasts. A picket of the Labour Defence Force entered the House -in response to the signal and arrested the malcontent members, whom -they removed in custody. When the remainder of the Members returned to -the Chamber, Nordenholt took his stand before the Mace. - -“Gentlemen”--he dropped the usual ceremonial form of address--“I wished -to allow these members who do not agree with me to select themselves; -and I adopted the simplest and most convincing method of doing so, -though I could have laid my hand on every one of them without this -demonstration. These gentlemen, it appears, are not satisfied with the -manner in which things are being done here. I would point out to you -that the creation of the Nitrogen Area has been mine from the start; -and that the machinery of it is controlled by me now. There is no room -for dual control in an enterprise of this magnitude. I offer you all -positions in which you can help the remnant of the nation in saving -itself; but there are no such positions in this House. Do you agree?” - -For a moment there was silence, then an angry murmur ran from bench to -bench. Nordenholt continued: - -“Those members who were removed from the House will to-night be -embarked on airships; and by this time to-morrow I trust that they will -all be safely landed, each in the constituency which he represents. -Since they do not wish to aid us in the Nitrogen Area, it is fitting -that they should go back to their constituents and assist them in the -troubles which are about to break upon them. Are you content?” - -Again there was a murmur, but this time less defiant. - -“Finally, gentlemen, as I hear some whispers of constitutionalism, I -have here a Proclamation by the King. He has dissolved Parliament. You -are no longer clothed with even the semblance of authority.” - -The assembly was thunderstruck; for there seemed to be no reply to this. - -“I may say,” continued Nordenholt, “that some of you are of no personal -value in this enterprise. These gentlemen also will be returned to -their proper residences immediately. The remainder, whom I can trust, -will be so good as to apply at my offices to-morrow, when their work -will be explained to them. There is only one ultimate authority here -now--myself.” - -It was a sadly diminished assembly that appeared on the morrow. Neither -the Prime Minister nor the Colonial Secretary was found among its -numbers. - - * * * * * - -With the working men who formed the majority of the Nitrogen -Volunteers, Nordenholt’s methods were entirely different. Here he had -in the first stages to conciliate those with whom he dealt and to -educate them gradually into an understanding of the task before them. -In the beginning, no man worked more than eight hours per day or five -days a week; and the general run of the workmen had a thirty-five hour -week. Nordenholt’s object in this was two-fold. In the first place, he -instilled into the men that he was an easy task-master; and secondly, -he was able, by keeping check of the output, to place his finger upon -those men who even under those easy conditions were not doing their -full share. These workers he proposed to eliminate at a later period; -but he wished to allow them to condemn themselves. - -Next he set going various newspapers. The contents of these, of course, -dealt entirely with doings within the Nitrogen Area; but their readers -soon grew accustomed to this: and as the main object of the journals -was propaganda, the less actual news there was in them, the more likely -it became that the propaganda would be read for want of something -better. - -Through these papers, he began to explain very clearly the necessity -for the work upon which they were engaged, handling the subject in all -manner of ways and making it seem almost new each time by the fresh -treatment which it received from day to day. During this period no -hint of the underlying purpose of the Nitrogen Area was given, beyond -the suggestion that it was a convenient spot, in view of its natural -resources. - -In order to alleviate any grievances which they might feel, he devised -a system of workmen’s committees, one for each trade; and the members -of these bodies were elected separately by the married and unmarried -men in proportion to their numbers. In this way he secured a majority -of the more responsible men upon each committee, although no fault -could be found with the method of election. Whatever grievances were -ventilated by these committees were met immediately or the reasons -against compliance with the demands were clearly and courteously -explained. - -In fact, throughout this stage of the Nitrogen Area history, -Nordenholt’s main object was to show himself in the light of a comrade -rather than a task-master. He was building up a fund of popularity, -even at considerable cost, in order that he might draw upon it later. -It was a difficult game to play; for he could not afford to drive with -an altogether loose rein in view of the necessity for haste; but, as he -himself said, he understood men; and he was perhaps able to gain their -confidence at a cheaper rate than most people in his position could -have done. Like myself, he believed that fundamentally the working man -is a sound man, provided that he is dealt with openly and is not made -suspicious. - -Within a fortnight, in one way and another, practically every man in -the Area understood the importance of his work. I question whether -this was not the greatest of Nordenholt’s triumphs, though perhaps in -perspective it may seem a small affair in comparison with other events. -But the generation of enthusiasm is a difficult matter, much more -difficult than feats which produce immediate effects. - -In one respect Nordenholt gauged the psychology of the masses -accurately. He did not make himself cheap. Except at a few mass -meetings which he addressed, none of the rank and file ever saw him at -all. He knew the value of aloofness and a touch of mystery. - -But he did not confine himself to moves made openly upon the board. -Behind the scenes he had collected an Intelligence Division, the -existence of which was known only to a few; and by means of it he was -able to put his finger on a weak spot or a centre of disaffection -with extraordinary promptitude. Grievances were often remedied long -before the appropriate committee had been able to cast their statement -of them into a definite form. Nor, as I shall have to tell later, did -this Intelligence Division confine its operations to the Nitrogen Area -itself; for its network spread over the whole Kingdom. - -As soon as the machinery of the Area was working satisfactorily, -Nordenholt took a step in advance. The Workmen’s Committees were -supplied with the actual statistics of production and it was explained -to them that speeding-up must begin. The ultimate object was still -concealed; but sufficient information was laid before them to show that -at their present rate of output the nitrogenous materials prepared by -the end of the twelve months would be totally insufficient to yield -food enough for even the population of the Area itself, without taking -the outer regions into account. They were then asked to suggest means -by which output might be raised; and time was given them to think the -matter out in all its bearings. Without hesitation they agreed that -there must be an increase in productivity. - -To raise the output and also to check the points where any loss was -occurring, Nordenholt introduced a series of statistical charts and -at the same time divided the workmen in each trade into gangs of a -definite number. At the end of each week, these charts were submitted -to the Trade Committee and the gangs which were failing to do their -share were indicated. By pointing out that a fixed quantity of material -must be obtained per week unless disaster were to ensue, Nordenholt -was able to make it clear to the Committees that slackness in one -gang entailed extra exertions on the rest. There was no question of -an employer trying to force up the standard of work: it was simply a -question whether they wished to starve or live. - -The effect of this was striking; and certainly it was a novelty in -working conditions. Every man became a policeman for his neighbours, -since he knew that slackness on their part would demand greater -exertions upon his own. The Committees instituted a system of -inspectors, nominated by themselves, to see that work was properly -carried out; and these inspectors reported both to the Committees and -to Nordenholt himself, through special officials. Before long, both the -Committees and Nordenholt had an extensive black list of inefficient -workers; and the stage was being set for another drastic lesson. - -For three days the Area newspapers contained full accounts of the state -into which things had drifted; and it was made obvious even to the -most ignorant what the inevitable result would be if the output were -not raised. Then, having thus prepared his ground, Nordenholt summoned -a meeting of workmen delegates. It was the first time that most of -those present had seen him; and I think he counted upon making his -personality tell. He had no chairman or any of the usual machinery of a -meeting; everything was concentrated upon the tall dark figure, alone -upon the platform. - -It was a short speech which he made; but he delivered it very slowly, -making every point tell as he went along and leaving time for each -statement to sink well home into the minds of his audience. He began -by a clear account of the objects for which they were working--and he -had the gift of lucid exposition. He handled the statistical side of -the matter in detail, and yet so simply that even the dullest could -understand him. When he had completed his survey, every man present saw -the state of affairs in all its bearings. - -Then, for the first time, he explained to them that those in the -Nitrogen Area were all that could be saved; and that their salvation -could be accomplished only at the cost of labour far in excess of -anything they had anticipated. - -“Now, men,” he continued, “remember that I am not your task-master. -I am merely striving, like yourselves, to avert this calamity; and -I think I have already shown you that I have spent my best efforts -in our common cause. I have no wish to dictate to you. I leave the -decision in your own hands. Those of you who wish to starve may do -so. It is your own decision; even though it involves your wives and -families, I will not interfere. I ask no man to work harder than he -thinks necessary. - -“But I put this point before you. Is it right that a man who will not -strain himself in the common service should reap where he has not sown? -Is it right that any man should batten upon the labour of you all while -refusing to do his utmost? Will you permit wilful inefficiency to rob -you and your children of their proper share in the means of safety? Or -do you believe that this community should rid itself of parasites? - -“I leave myself entirely in your hands in the matter. I take no -decision without your consent. If you choose to toil in order that they -may take bread from your children’s mouths, it is no affair of mine. I -will do my best for you all, in any case. But I would be neglecting my -duty did I not warn you that there is no bread to spare. Every mouthful -has been counted; and even at the best we shall just struggle through. - -“These are the facts. Do you wish to retain these inefficients among -you? Without your consent, I can make no move. I ask you here and now -for your decision.” - -He held the meeting in the hollow of his hand. Cries of “No. Away with -them. No spongers,” and the like were heard on all sides. Nordenholt -held up his hand, and silence came at once. The meeting hung on his -words. - -“Those in favour of allowing this inefficiency to continue, stand up.” - -No one rose. - -“Very good, men. I will carry out your decision. This meeting is at an -end.” - -The morning papers contained a full report of his speech; but before -they were in the hands of the populace, Nordenholt had acted. All the -ca’ canny workmen had been arrested during the night, along with their -families, and removed to the southern boundary, where they were placed -on trains and motors ready for transport to the Border. The thing was -done with absolute silence and with such efficiency that it seemed more -like kidnapping than an ordinary process of arrest. Nordenholt knew -the advantage of mystery; and he proposed to make these disappearances -strike home on the public mind. The inefficients vanished without -leaving a clue behind. - -At the Border, each of them was supplied with provisions exactly -equivalent to the rations remaining in the outer world; and they were -then abandoned as they stood. Nothing was ever known of their fate. -When the works opened again in the morning, their fellows missed them -from the gangs and time enough was allowed for their disappearance to -sink in; after which a redistribution took place which closed up the -gaps. But the very mystery served to heighten the effect of the lesson. -For the first time, Fear in more than one form had entered the Nitrogen -Area. - -I remembered what Nordenholt had said to me some weeks earlier: “I -shall deal with them--and I shall do it by the hand of their own -fellows.” - -So you can understand the roaring tide of industry which mounted day by -day in the Area. This sudden stroke had done more than anything else to -convince the people of the seriousness of the situation. Ten thousand -men had been condemned and had vanished on an instant--Nordenholt -made no secret of the number; and the remainder realised that things -must indeed be grave when a step of this kind had been necessary. He -had given no time for amendment: condemnation had been followed by -the execution of the sentence: and it was they themselves who had -pronounced the decree. They could not lay it upon his shoulders. And -the veil of mystery which enwrapped the fate of the convicted ones had -its value in more than one direction. Had Nordenholt caused them to be -shot, public sympathy would have been aroused. But this impenetrable -secrecy baffled speculation and prevented men from forming any concrete -picture which might arouse compassion. - -Choosing his moment, Nordenholt announced that, in future, the -factories would be run continuously, shift after shift, throughout -the twenty-four hours. For a time he called a halt to the newspaper -campaign for increased output. He would need this form of publicity -later; and he did not wish it to become staled by constant repetition. - -For the present he was satisfied. Everything was now in train and -he was into his stride all along the line. At last statistics were -accumulating which would enable him to gauge exactly how the machinery -was running; and he held his hand until a balance-sheet could be drawn -with accuracy. - - * * * * * - -At this point in my narrative I am trying to produce a conspectus of -the Nitrogen Area as it was during that period in its career. I leave -to the imagination of my readers the task of picturing that gigantic -concentration of human effort: the eternal smoke-cloud from a thousand -chimney-stalks lying ever between us and the sun; the murky twilight -of the streets at noon; the whir of dynamos and the roar of the great -electric arcs; the unintermittent thunder of trains pouring coal into -the city; and, above all, the half-naked figures in the factories, -toiling, toiling, shift after shift in one incessant strain through -the four-and-twenty hours. No one can ever depict the details of that -panorama. - -But alongside this vast outpouring of physical energy there lay another -world, calm, orderly and almost silent, yet equally important to the -end in view: the world of the scientific experts in their laboratories -and research stations. To pass from one region to the other was like a -transition from pandemonium to a cloister. - -Nordenholt had grouped his experts into three main classes, though -of course these groups by no means included all the investigators -he controlled. It was here that the Nordenholt Gang were strongest, -for the path of the scientific man is one which offered the greatest -chances to Nordenholt’s scheme for the furthering of youth. - -In the first place came the group of chemists and electricians who -were engaged upon the improvement of nitrogen fixation methods; and -between this section and the factories there was a constant _liaison_; -so that each new plant which was erected might contain the very latest -improvements devised by the experts. - -The second group contained the bacteriologists, whose task it was to -investigate the habits of _B. diazotans_, to determine whether it could -be exterminated in any practical manner and to discover what methods -could be employed to prevent its ravaging the new crops when they were -obtainable. - -Finally, the experts in agriculture overlapped with the chemical -group, since many of the questions before them were concerned with the -chemistry of the soil. I have already mentioned how the action of _B. -diazotans_ disintegrated the upper strata of the land and reduced the -soil to a friable material. This formed one of the most troublesome -features in the cultivation problem, since the porosity of the ground -allowed water to sink through, and thus plants sown in the affected -fields were left without any liquid upon which they could draw for -sustenance. It was J. F. Hope, I believe, who finally suggested a -solution of the matter. His process consisted in mixing colloid -minerals such as clays with the soil and thus forming less permeable -beds; and the agricultural experts were able to establish the minimum -percentages of clay which were required in order to make crops grow. - -I have mentioned these points in order to show how much we in the Area -depended upon the pure scientists for help. But it must not be supposed -that only those lines of scientific investigation capable of immediate -application were kept in view by Nordenholt. I learned later, as I -shall tell in its proper place, that he had cast further afield than -that. - -I cannot give details of the work on the scientific side, because I -have no intimate acquaintance with them; but I met the results on -every hand in the course of my own department’s affairs. From day to -day a new machine would be passed for service and put into operation, -some fresh catalyst would be sent down for trial on a large scale -after having been tested in the laboratory, or there might be a slight -variation in the relative quantities of the ingredients in some of our -factory processes. There was a constant touch between research and -large-scale operations. - -In the course of this I used often to have to visit the Research -Section; and in some ways I found it a mental anodyne in my -perplexities. These long, airy laboratories, with their spotless -cleanliness and delicate apparatus, formed a pleasant contrast to the -grimy factories and gigantic machines among which part of my days were -passed. And I found that the popular conception of the scientific man -as a dry-as-dust creature was strangely wide of the mark. It may be -that Nordenholt’s picked men differed from others of their class; but -I found in them a directness in speech and a sense of humour which I -had not anticipated. After the hurry and confusion of the improvisation -which marked the opening of the Nitrogen Area, the quiet certainty -of the work in the Research Section seemed like a glimpse of another -world. I do not mean that they talked like super-men or that the -investigations were always successful; but over it all there was an -atmosphere of clockwork precision which somehow gave one confidence. -These men, it struck me for the first time, had always been contending -with Nature in their struggle to wrest her secrets from her; while -we in the other world had been sparring against our fellows with -Nature standing above us in the conflict, so great and so remote that -we had never understood even that she was there. Now, under the new -conditions, all was changed for us; while to these scientific experts -it was merely the opening of a fresh field in their long-drawn-out -contest. - - * * * * * - -During the inception of Nordenholt’s scheme, my own work had dealt with -varied lines of activity which brought me into contact with diverse -departments of the machine; but when the transfer to the Clyde Valley -took place, I settled down into more definite duties. Nordenholt had -picked me out, I believe, on the strength of my knowledge of factory -organisation; and my first post in the North dealt with this branch. -Thus in the earlier days, my work took me into the machine-shops and -yards where the heavy machinery was being built or remodelled; and so I -came into direct contact with the human element. - -But as time went on, the range of my control increased; and as my -work extended I had to delegate this section more and more to my -subordinates. I became, through a gradual series of transitions, the -checker of efficiency over most of the Area activities. - -The under-current of all my memories of that time is a series -of curves. Graphs of coal-supply from each pit, so that the -fluctuation of output might be controlled and investigated; graphs of -furnace-production from day to day, whereby all might be kept up to -concert-pitch; graphs comparing one process with another in terms of -power and efficiency; graphs of workmen’s ages and effectiveness; -graphs of total power-consumption; graphs of remaining food-supplies -extrapolated to show probable consumption under various scales; graphs -of population changes; graphs of health-statistics: all these passed -through my hands in their final form until I began to lose touch with -the real world about me and to look upon disasters costing many lives -merely as something which produced a point of inflexion in my curves. - -Nordenholt had established his central offices in the University and -had cleared the benches from all the classrooms to make room for his -staff. It was probably the best choice he could have made; since it -provided within a limited area sufficient office-room to house everyone -whom he might wish to call into consultation at a moment’s notice at -any time; and it had the further advantage that all the scientific -experts had been given the University laboratories to work in, so that -they also were within easy call. He himself had chosen as his private -office the old Senate Room. The Randolph Hall had been fitted up as a -kind of card-index library wherein were stored all the facts of which -he might be in need at any time; and the Court Room was converted into -his secretary’s office and connected with the Senate Room by a door -driven through the wall. - -In Nordenholt’s office a huge graph extended right across the wall over -the fireplace. It was an enormous diagram, covering the period from -the starting of the Nitrogen Area and extending, as far as its numbered -abscissæ were concerned, beyond the harvest-time in the next year. Each -morning, before Nordenholt came to his office, the new daily points -were inserted on it and joined up with the preceding curves. One line, -in red, expressed the amount of food remaining; another, in green, -showed the quantity of nitrogenous material synthesised up to date; -whilst the third curve, in purple, indicated approximately the crop -which might be expected from the nitrogenous manure in hand. Of all the -sights in the Nitrogen Area, I think that series of curves made the -deepest impression upon me. It was so impersonal, a cold record of our -position and our prospects, untinged by any human factor. The slow rise -of the green curve; the steady fall of the red line--our whole future -was locked up in these relative trends. - -I remember one morning in Nordenholt’s office, where I had gone to -consult him on some point or other. We had discussed the matter in -hand; and I was about to leave him when he called me back. - -“I haven’t seen much of you lately, Flint,” he said. “Sit down for a -few minutes, will you? I want a rest from all this for a short time; -and I think it would do you good to get clear of things for a while -also. What do you do with yourself at nights?” - -I told him that I usually worked rather late. - -“That won’t do as a steady thing. I know the work has to be done; and -I know you have to work till midnight, and after it often, to keep -abreast of things. But if you do it without a break now and again -you’ll simply get stale and lose grip. You may keep on working long -hours; but what you do in the end won’t be so efficient. Take to-night -off. Come to dinner with me and we’ll try to shake loose from Nitrogen -for a while. I’ve asked Henley-Davenport also.” - -I accepted eagerly enough, though with a somewhat rueful feeling that -it meant harder work on the following day if I was to overtake arrears. -But I wanted to meet Henley-Davenport. As I mentioned at the beginning -of this narrative, before the irruption of _B. diazotans_ into the -world, he had been engaged upon radioactivity investigations; and I -was anxious to hear what he was doing. I knew that Nordenholt set -great store by his work--he was one of the Nordenholt young men--and -I was interested. But my main reason for accepting was, of course, -Nordenholt himself. As time went on, he fascinated me more and more; -and I grasped at every opportunity of studying his complex personality. -I doubt if I have been able to throw light upon it in these pages. I -have given vignettes here and there to the best of my ability; but -I know that I have failed to set down clearly the feeling which he -always gave me, the distinction between the surface personality and the -greater forces moving behind that screen. The superficial part is easy -to describe; but the noumenon of Nordenholt is a thing beyond me. I -only felt it; I never saw it: and I doubt if any man ever saw it fully -revealed. - -Just then the door of the secretary’s room opened and someone came in. -Curiously enough, I had never seen Nordenholt’s secretary before. She -seemed to be about twenty-four, fair-haired and slim, dressed like any -other business girl; but it was her face which struck me most. She -looked fragile and at the corners of the sensitive mouth I thought I -saw evidences of strain. Somehow she seemed out of place amid all this -grimness: her world should have been one of ease and happiness. - -“These are the figures you wanted with regard to A. 323, Uncle -Stanley,” she said, as she handed over a card. - -“Thanks, Elsa. By the way, this is Mr. Flint. You’ve heard me speak of -him often. My ward, Miss Huntingtower, Flint. She acts as my secretary.” - -We exchanged the commonplaces usual to the situation. I noticed that -Nordenholt’s voice changed as he spoke to her: a ring of cheerfulness -came into it which was not usually there. In a few minutes he dismissed -her and we sat down again. - -“Now, Flint, there’s another example of the effect of too hard work. -We’re all running things rather fine, nowadays. As for myself, it -doesn’t matter. So long as I can see this year through, it’s immaterial -to me what the ultimate effect may be. I can afford to run things to -their end. But you younger people have most of your lives before you. -I’m not hinting that you can spare yourselves; but you must try to -leave something for the future. When it’s all over, we shall still need -directors; and you must manage to combine hard work now with enough -reserve force to prevent a collapse in the moment of success. - -“That’s why I planned amusement for the workers as well as a time -schedule for the factories. We aren’t dealing with machines which can -be run continuously and not suffer. We have to give the men a change -of interest. I suppose some of you thought I was wrong in cumbering -ourselves with all these football players, actors and actresses, -music-hall artistes and so on, who produce nothing directly towards our -object? For all I know you may jib at the sight of the thousands who -go down to the Celtic Park every Saturday afternoon to watch a gang -of professionals playing Soccer. I don’t. I know that these thousands -are getting fresh air and exercising their lungs in yelling applause. -I couldn’t get them to do it any other way; and I want them to do it. -Then the halls and theatres occupy them in the evenings when they -aren’t working; and that keeps them from brooding over their troubles. -I don’t want men to accumulate here and there and grouse over the -strain I put on them. That’s why I picked out the best of the whole -Stage and brought them here. The Labour section is getting better value -for its amusement money than it ever got in its life before; and I’m -getting what I want too. - -“That’s why I cornered tobacco and liquor also. We must remove every -scrap of restraint on pleasure, Flint, or we should have trouble -at once. They must have their smoke and they must have drink in -moderation. You can’t run this kind of colony on narrow lines. - -“And there’s another thing, perhaps the most important of all under -the conditions we are in: religion. I’m not talking about creeds or -anything of that kind. I’ve studied most of them from the point of view -of psychology; and they’re empty things; life left them long ago. But -behind all that mass of outworn lumber there’s a real feeling which -can’t be neglected if we are to get the best out of things. That’s -why I brought all these ministers of the various denominations into -the Area. We must have them; and as far as I could, I picked the best -of them. But I’ll have no idlers here. They have to do their day’s -work with the rest of us and do their teaching afterwards. Every man -ought to be able to _do_ something. After all, Christ was a carpenter -before He took up His work. That’s what has been wrong with ninety per -cent. of parsons since the Churches started. They don’t know anything -practical and they mistake talk for work. What was the average sermon -except expanding a text, with illustrations--diluting the Bible with -talk, just as a dishonest milkman waters his milk. - -“Well, I’ve picked the best I could get; and I’ve given them a free -hand. But I wish I were sure where it is all going to lead. It’s -the most difficult problem I ever tackled, I know. Our conditions -aren’t parallel, but I am half-afraid of reproducing the story of the -Anabaptists in Münster. You can’t get heavy physical and mental tension -in an unprepared population without seeing some strange things. I -introduced these ministers as a brake on that line of development. - -“And what a chance they have! It’s when men are most helpless that -they turn to religion; and here we are going to have a field in which -much might be sown. If only they are equal to the times! But it’s no -affair of mine. They must work out their own salvation and perhaps the -salvation of their people if they can. - -“As for us, Flint, we’ve got enough work of our own in this world. -Take my advice and clear every idea of humanity out of your mind: stick -to your curves and graphs and don’t think beyond them. If once you let -your imagination stray over the real meaning of them--in toil and pain -and death--you’ll never be able to carry on. I can’t help seeing it -all; and that’s why I pin myself to the Curve there. I don’t want to -look beyond it. I want to keep myself detached from all that as far as -possible; for I can’t afford to be biased. It’s difficult; and in a few -weeks more it will be still harder, when these unheard cries of agony -go up in the South. But what can one do? I must shut my ears as best I -can and go forward; or everything will fall to pieces and we shall save -nothing out of the wreck. What a prospect, eh? - -“Now, Flint,”--he sprang up--“off to work again, both of us. We can’t -afford to waste time if we are to have an evening free from worry. I’ll -see you at dinner.” - -As I reached the door, he called me back and spoke low: - -“By the way, Miss Huntingtower doesn’t know all our plans. Keep off the -subject of the South. She hasn’t been told anything about that; and I -want to keep it from her as long as I can. You understand?” - -“Yes, if you wish it. But surely she must have some knowledge of the -state of affairs. You can’t have managed to keep her in the dark about -the whole thing?” - -“It wasn’t difficult. She looks after certain special branches of my -correspondence and so on; and nothing except actual Area business -passes through her hands, so she has seen nothing beyond that. And once -she finishes her work for the day I’ve made it a rule for her that she -takes no further interest in the situation. I told her she must get her -mind clear of it at night, or she would get stale and be no use to me. -That was quite enough. She doesn’t even read the newspapers.” - -“But what’s the use of keeping her in the dark? She is bound to know -all about it soon enough.” - -“There’s a great difference, Flint, between learning of a thing after -it is irrevocable and hearing of it while there is time to protest -against it. Once a catastrophe is over, it _is_ over; and the shock is -lighter than if one feels it coming and struggles against it. I don’t -wish Miss Huntingtower to hear anything about the South until the whole -thing is at an end down there. She’ll accept it then, since there is -nothing else for it. I don’t wish her to be put in the position of -feeling that she ought to do all she can to prevent its coming about. -You understand?” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -Intermezzo - - -In order to understand the impression which that evening left upon -me, it is necessary to bear in mind the conditions under which I had -been living for the last few weeks. In the earlier stages I had been -oscillating between my office, with its ever-accumulating mass of -papers, on the one hand; and the grime and clangour of the factories -and furnaces upon the other. Then, gradually, I saw less and less -of the concrete machinery of our safety and slipped almost wholly -into the work of control from a distance. Lists, sheets of figures, -graphs, letters dictated or read, telephonic communications, reports -from factory managers, all surged up before me in a daily deluge. My -meals were eaten hurriedly at a side-table in my office; and my lights -burned far into the morning in the attempt to cope with the torrent -which I had to control. Often as the dawn was coming up through the -smoke-clouds of the city I walked home with a wearied mind through -which endless columns of figures chased each other; and my eyes -had broken down under the strain to the extent that I had to use -pilocarpine almost constantly. I was beginning to look back on the old -life in London, with its theatre parties and dinners, as if it were -another existence which I should never re-enter. I seemed shut off from -it by some nebulous yet impenetrable curtain; and when I thought of it -at times, I felt that it had passed away beyond recall. All the softer -side of civilisation, it seemed, must go down, once for all, in this -cataclysm; and from our efforts a harder, harsher world would be born. -Ease and luxury had vanished, leaving us stripped to our necessities. - -And suddenly I found myself in the old surroundings once more. I was -ushered into a room which, though its simplicity recalled Nordenholt’s -other environments, still betrayed a woman’s hand at every point. There -was no litter of meaningless nicknacks; every touch went to build up -a harmonious whole: and it was unmistakably a feminine mind which -had designed it. As I glanced down the room, I saw Miss Huntingtower -standing by the fireplace; and it flashed across me that, whether by -accident or design, the room formed a framework for her. - -As she came forward to meet me, her smile effaced the strained -expression which I had noticed in the morning. In these surroundings -she seemed different, somehow. The artistry of the room fitted her own -beauty so that each appeared to find its complement in the other. It -seemed to me that she was designed by destiny for this environment, and -not for the harder work of the world. And yet, she gave no suggestion -of triviality; there was no hint of a feminine desire to attract. It -must have been that she harmonised so well with the frame in which I -saw her. And the personality which gazed from her eyes seemed in some -way to blend with this world of shaded lights, graceful outlines and -innate simplicity. - -Nordenholt came into the room almost at once with a grave apology to -Miss Huntingtower for being late. - -“Convenient having a house in the University Square,” he said to me. -“If we hadn’t taken over some of these professors’ residences, it would -have meant such a waste of time getting to and fro between one’s home -and the office. That was one reason why I selected the University as a -centre. We had the whole thing ready-made for us.” - -Henley-Davenport arrived almost at once; and we went down to dinner. I -had begun to re-acclimatise myself in these surroundings; but I still -recall that evening in every detail. The shaded candles on the table, -which soothed my straining eyes, the glitter of silver and crystal on -the snowy cloth, Nordenholt’s lean visage half in shadow except when -he leaned forward into the soft illumination, Henley-Davenport’s sharp -voice driving home a point, and Miss Huntingtower’s eager face as she -glanced from speaker to speaker or put a question to one of us: with -it all, I seemed back again in my lost world and the Nitrogen Area -appeared to belong to another region of my life. - -But even here it penetrated, though faintly. The usual topics of -conversation were gone: theatres, books, all our old interests had been -uprooted and cast aside, so that we could only take them up in the -form of reminiscence. And, as a matter of fact, we talked very little -about them. I tried one or two tentative efforts; but Henley-Davenport, -who had known Nordenholt and his ward longer than I, made very little -attempt to follow me: and I soon gathered that Miss Huntingtower was -better pleased with other subjects. - -What appeared to interest her most was the general situation; and I was -rather flattered to find that she seemed anxious to hear my own views. - -She seemed to be one of those people who are gifted with the faculty of -drawing one out. I don’t mean that she sat silent and merely listened; -but she had the knack of stimulating one to talk and of keeping one to -the main line by occasional questions, which showed that she had not -only followed what had been said but had silently commented upon it -as one went along. Yet she never appeared to lose her charm by aping -masculinity. Her outlook was a feminine one in its essentials, even if -her mind was acute. And she had the gift of naturalness. There was no -artificiality either in look or speech. She made me feel almost at once -as though I had known her for years. - -One thing I did notice about her. Whenever Nordenholt spoke she seemed -to hang on his words and to weigh them mentally. The two seemed to be -joined by some intimate bond of understanding; and I could see that -Nordenholt was proud of her in his way. - -Dinner drew to an end, and Nordenholt began to question Henley-Davenport -about his researches. Miss Huntingtower interrupted at the beginning -with a request for simple language. - -“If you begin talking about uranium-X₁ and meso-thorium-2, then I won’t -understand you, and I want to know what it is all about.” - -“Well, Miss Huntingtower, I think I can make it plain without using -uranium-X₁ or even eka-tantalum; but it’s hard that I should be -forbidden to use all these fine-sounding words, eh? Isn’t it? I submit -under protest. It takes away half the pleasure of telling things when -one has to put them in mere vulgar English. - -“Well”--he had an extraordinary habit of interjecting “well” and by -inflecting it in various ways, making it serve as a kind of prelude to -his sentences, a sort of keynote, as it were--“Well, I take it that -you know what radioactivity is. Some of the atoms are spontaneously -breaking down into simpler materials, and in that breakdown they -liberate an amount of energy which is immeasurably greater than -anything we can obtain by the ordinary chemical reactions which occur -when coal is burned or when gas is lighted. - -“Well, if we could tap that store of energy which evidently lies within -the atom we should have Nature at our feet. She would be done for, -beaten, out of the struggle: and we should simply have to walk over the -remains and take what we wanted. Until the thing is actually done, none -of us can grasp what it will mean; for no one has ever seen unlimited -energy under control in this world. We have always had to fight hard -for every unit of it that we used. - -“Well, there is no doubt that atoms _can_ be broken down. All the -radioactive elements split up spontaneously without any help from -us. But the quantities of them which we can gather together are so -extremely minute that as a source of energy they are feebler than an -ordinary wax vesta, for all practical purposes. - -“So far, so good. We know the thing can be done; but we haven’t hit on -the way of doing it. Is that clear?” - -“Quite clear, thanks,” said Miss Huntingtower, with a smile. “Radium -without tears, Part I. Now the second lesson, please.” - -“Well, don’t be too optimistic. There may be tears in the second part. -It’s a little stiffer. The majority of the elements are perfectly -stable; they undergo no radioactive decompositions; so that they give -off no energy. But all the same, if our views are right, they contain -a store of pent-up energy quite as great as that of the radioactive -set. It’s like two clocks, both wound up. One of them, the radioactive -clock, is going all the time and the mainspring is running down. -You know it is going because it gives out a tick; and we recognise -radioactivity by certain tests of a somewhat similar type, only we -‘listen’ for electrical effects instead of the sound-waves you detect -when the clock ticks. Now the second clock, the one that is wound up -but hasn’t been started, is like the ordinary element. If you could -give it a shake, it would start off ticking. - -“Well, what we want to do is to start the non-radioactive elements -ticking. We are looking for the right kind of shake to give them in -order to start them off. If we can find that, then we shall get all the -energy we need, because we can utilise enormous quantities of material -where now we have only the traces of radioactive stuff.” - -“A risky business,” said Nordenholt. “Your first successful experiment -will be rather catastrophic, won’t it?” - -“Probably. But I’ve left full notes of everything I’ve done, so someone -else will be able to continue if anything happens to me. - -“Well, the real trouble is that it takes a lot to shake up the internal -machinery of an atom. Rutherford did it long ago by using a stream of -alpha-particles from radium to smash up the nitrogen atom. That was -in 1920 or thereabouts. You see, we have no ordinary force intense -enough to break up atoms of the stable elements; we have to go to the -radioactive materials to get energy sufficiently concentrated to make a -beginning. - -“Now, what I have been following out is this. Perhaps I can show you it -best by an experiment. Can you get me some safety match-boxes?” - -A dozen of these were brought, and he stood them each on its end in a -line. - -“Now,” he continued, “it requires a certain force in a blow from my -finger to knock down one of these boxes; and if I take the ten boxes -separately, it would need ten times that force to throw them all -flat. But if I arrange them so that as each one falls it strikes its -neighbour, then I can knock the whole lot down with a single touch. The -first one collides with the second, and the second in falling upsets -the third, and so on to the end of the line. - -“Well, that is what I have been following out amongst the atoms. I -know that the alpha-rays of radium will upset the equilibrium of other -atoms; and what is wanted is to get the second set of atoms to upset -a third and so forth. Hitherto I have not been able to hit upon the -proper train of atoms to use. Somehow it seems to sputter out half-way, -just as a train of powder fails to catch fire all along its line if one -part of it isn’t thick enough to carry the flame on. But I have got far -enough to show that it can be done. It’s rather pretty to follow, if -one has enough imagination to read behind the measurements. You really -must come and see it, Nordenholt.” - -“Do you think it will come out soon?” asked Miss Huntingtower. - -“Sooner or later, is all one can say. But it might come any day.” - -Nordenholt rose from the table. - -“I’ll come across now, if you can let me see that experiment,” he said. -“I’m more interested than I can tell you; and I want to discuss some -points with you. I’m taking the evening off anyway, and I may as well -make myself useful. How long will it take--an hour? All right. Flint, -will you amuse Miss Huntingtower till I get back?” - -He and Henley-Davenport went out, leaving us to return upstairs. - -For a time we talked of one thing and another till at last, by what -transitions I cannot now remember, we touched upon her secretaryship, -and I asked her how she came to occupy the post. - -“Do you really want to know?” she asked. “I warn you it will be rather -a long story if I tell you it; and it will probably seem rather dull to -you.” - -“Don’t be afraid. I am sure I shall not find it dull.” - -“Well, let’s pretend we are characters in a novel and the distressed -heroine will proceed to relate the story of her life. ‘I was born of -poor but honest parents....’ Will that do to start?” - -“Must you begin at the beginning? I usually skip first chapters myself.” - -“I’m sorry, but I have to begin fairly early if you are to understand. -Mr. Nordenholt isn’t my uncle, really, you know. My father was a -distant relation of his. When Father and Mother died I was quite a tiny -child; I only remember them vaguely now: and Uncle Stanley was the -only relation I had in the world. I believe, too, that I was the only -relative he had, certainly I was the only one I ever heard him speak -of, except Father and Mother. It was just after he had made his fortune -in Canada, and he must have been about thirty then. It appears that -Father had written to him much earlier, asking him to look after me if -anything happened to him and Mother; and when they were drowned--it was -a boating accident--he came home to this country and took me to live -with him. - -“I was only about eight then, and I missed Father and Mother so. I -cried and cried; and he spent hours with me, trying to comfort me. -Somehow he did me good. I don’t know how he did it; but he seemed to -understand so well.” - -Again I had come across a new side in Nordenholt’s character. I could -hardly picture that grim figure--for even at thirty Nordenholt must -have been grim--comforting that tiny scrap of humanity in distress. And -yet she was right: he did understand. - -“And with it all, he didn’t spoil me. He knew, of course, that when I -grew up I would have more money than I knew what to do with; and he -determined that I should get the full pleasure out of it by coming to -it unspoilt and with unjaded feelings. He brought me up in the simplest -way you can imagine. I had no expensive toys, but I liked the ones I -had all the better for that. It gave more scope for the imagination, -you see: and I had even more than the child’s ordinary imaginative -power. When we played fairy tales together he used to be the Ogre or -the Prince Charming, and I could see him so well either way. He laughs -now when I remind him that he used to make a good Prince Charming. - -“Well, so it went on, year after year; and we grew up with more in -common than either father and daughter or brother and sister. Somehow -I picked up his ways of looking at things; and I caught from him -something of his understanding of people. He never put any ideals -before me; but I think he himself gave me something to carve out an -ideal from. Oh, there’s nobody like Uncle Stanley! I don’t know anybody -who comes up to his shoulder.” - -“I’ve only known him for a few weeks, Miss Huntingtower,” I said, “but -I’ve seen enough to agree with you in that.” - -“Have you? I’m so glad. It shows that we’re the same sort of person, -doesn’t it? For I know some people hate him--and I hate them for it!” - -She clenched her teeth with an air that was half-play, half-earnest. - -“I’m going to skip a few years and come to the fairy-tale part of my -story: the Three Wishes. When I grew up, Uncle Stanley told me that -he had settled an immense sum on me and that I could do exactly as I -wished. I think I failed him at that point. He expected me to go and -have a good time; and--I didn’t. I didn’t want to have a good time. I -had been thinking over all he had done for me; and I wanted something -else entirely. I wanted to give him something in return for all his -kindness to me when I was a tiny little thing; and I was afraid that he -wouldn’t let me. I went to him one day and asked him to give me three -wishes. Now even with me, Uncle Stanley is careful; and he wanted to -know what the wishes were before he would promise. - -“‘I don’t know myself yet,’ I said, ‘but I want to feel that I have -three things in reserve that I can ask you to do.’ ‘I promise no -impossibilities,’ he told me, ‘but if the things are really possible, -you can have them.’ ‘Very well,’ said I, ‘the first of them is that I -want to be trained as a secretary.’ - -“He laughed at me, of course; and when I persisted, he pointed out -to me that I was my own mistress and that I needn’t have asked his -permission to get trained. ‘You’ve wasted one of your wishes, Elsa,’ -he said, ‘and I’m going to hold you to your bargain.’ ‘Well, I wanted -your consent to it anyway,’ I told him. - -“I went and took a secretary’s training, the most complete I could -get. You don’t know how I enjoyed it. I hated the work, of course; but -I felt all the time that I was getting ready to be of use to Uncle -Stanley; and even the dullest parts of the thing seemed to be lightened -by that. - -“When I was fully trained, I went to him again. ‘I want my second wish -now: I want you to take me as your private secretary.’ I don’t know -that he was altogether pleased then. I think he imagined that I would -be a nuisance or inefficient or something. But he kept his promise and -took me to work with him. - -“You can’t guess what I felt about it. I worked hard; I did everything -correctly; and I knew him better than anyone else, so that I could help -him just when he needed it. Of course, I’m not his only secretary; but -I know I suit him better than any of the others. I’ve begun to pay -off my debt to him bit by bit; and yet I always seem just as deep in -as ever. He’s always been so good to me, you know. But still, I _am_ -useful to him; and I’m not merely there on sufferance now. I know he -appreciates my work.” - -“I doubt if you would be there long if he didn’t,” I said. “From what I -have seen of him he isn’t likely to employ amateurs even as a favour. -I think he would have let you see you were useless unless you had made -good.” - -“Oh, if he had been the least dissatisfied with me I would have gone at -once as soon as I saw it. I want to be a help and not a hindrance. But -now I have answered your question, although it has taken rather a long -time to do it.” - -Some inane compliment came to my lips but I bit it back without -speaking it. She didn’t seem to be the sort of girl who wanted flattery. - -“I think you are helping more than Mr. Nordenholt with your work just -now,” I said at length. “You seem to have found your way into the -centre of the biggest thing this country has ever seen.” - -Her face clouded for a moment. - -“Yes, it’s a great thing, isn’t it? But do you ever think what failure -might mean, Mr. Flint? Think of all these poor people starving and of -us unable to help them. It would be terrible. Sometimes I think of it -and it makes me feel that we bear a fearful responsibility. I don’t -mean that I personally have any real responsibility. I don’t take -myself so seriously as all that. But the men at the head, Uncle Stanley -and the rest of you--it’s a fearful burden to take on your shoulders. -I’m only a cog in the machine and could be replaced to-morrow; but you -people, the experts, couldn’t be replaced. Fifty millions of people! I -can’t even begin to understand what fifty million deaths would mean. I -do hope, oh, I do so hope that we shall be successful. If anyone but -Uncle Stanley were at the head of it I should doubt; but I feel almost -quite safe with him at the helm. He never failed yet, you know.” - -“No,” I said, “he never failed yet.” - -What would she think when the full plans of Nordenholt--who “never -failed yet”--were revealed to her? I wondered how this fragile girl -would take it. She wouldn’t simply weep and forget, I was sure. She -seemed to have high ideals and she evidently idolised Nordenholt. It -would be a terrible catastrophe for her. I dreaded the next steps in -the conversation, for I did not want to lie to her; and I saw no other -way out of it if she turned the talk into the wrong channel. - -Nordenholt’s hour was up and I began to feel that the old life was -slipping away from me again. For a few minutes we sat silent; for she -did not speak and I was afraid to reopen the conversation lest she -should continue her line of thought. I watched her as she sat: the -tiny shoe, the sweep of the black gown without a sparkle of jewellery -to relieve it, the clean curves of her white throat, and over all the -lustre of her hair. Would there be any place for all this in the new -world? I wondered. Things would be too hard for her fragility, perhaps. - -As ten o’clock struck Nordenholt came in. He looked more cheerful than -when he had left us, though as he dropped into a chair I noticed that -he seemed to be physically tired. - -“Henley-Davenport asked me to make his excuses to you, Elsa. He wants -to work out something which struck him when we were over at his -laboratory; so I left him there.” - -He smoked for a while in silence, as though ruminating over what he had -seen. - -“That’s a brave man if you want to see one,” he said at last. “From -what he told me, there will be a terrible explosion the first time he -manages to jar up his atomic powder-magazine; and yet he goes into the -thing as coolly as though he were lighting a cigarette. I hope he pulls -it off. More hangs on that than one can well estimate just now. It may -be the last shot in our locker for all we know.” - -“But surely, Uncle Stanley, you have foreseen everything?” - -“I’m not omniscient, Elsa, though perhaps you have illusions on the -point. I do what I can, but one must allow a good deal of latitude for -the unpredictable which always exists. And in this affair, I am afraid -the unpredictable will not be on the helping side. But don’t worry your -head over that; we can’t help it. What’s wrong with you to-night. You -look more worried than usual. Tired?” - -“Not specially.” - -“Would you sing to us a little?” - -“Only something very short, then.” She moved to the piano. “What do you -want?” - -“Oh, let’s see.... I’d like.... No, you wouldn’t care for it. Let’s -think again.” - -“No, no, Uncle Stanley; I’ll sing anything you wish,” she said, but -when he asked for the second Song in Cymbeline, her brows contracted. - -“Must you have that one? Won’t the first song do instead?” - -“I’d rather have the other. Only the last two verses, for I see you are -tired.” - -She sat down at the piano and played the preliminary chords. I had -never heard the air, possibly it was an unusual setting. - - “_Fear no more the lightning flash, - Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone; - Fear not slander, censure rash; - Thou hast finished joy and moan: - All lovers young, all lovers must, - Consign to thee, and come to dust._” - -It was a wonderful piece of singing. In the first lines her voice rose -clear and confident, reassuring against the mere physical perils. Then -with the faintest change of tone, just sufficient to mark the shift -in the form of menace, she sang the third line; and let a tinge of -melancholy creep into the next. With the last couplet something new -came into the music, possibly a drop into the minor; and her voice -seemed to fill with an echo of all lost hopes and spent delights. Then -it rose again, full and strong in the mandatory lines of the final -verse, set to a different air, till at last it died away once more with -infinite tenderness: - - “_Quiet consummation have; - And renownèd be thy grave._” - -I sat spellbound after she had ended. It was wonderful art. She closed -the piano and rose from her seat. - -“I can’t imagine why you dislike that air,” said Nordenholt. - -“Oh, it’s so gloomy, Uncle Stanley. I don’t care to think about things -like that.” - -“Gloomy? You misread it, I’m sure. I wish I could be sure of Fidele’s -luck. - - ‘_Fear not slander, censure rash._’ - -Which of us can feel sure of being free from these? Not I. And what -better could one wish for in the end? - - ‘_And renownèd be thy grave._’ - -How many ghosts could boast of that after a hundred years?” - -“Well, none of us will know about that part of it,” she said lightly. -“But I don’t think you need trouble about the ‘censure rash.’ None of -your own people will blame you; and I know you care nothing for the -rest. Even if they all turned against you, you would always have me, -you know.” - -“Is that a promise, Elsa?” he asked gravely; and something in his tone -made her glance at him. “Would you really stand by me no matter what -happened? Don’t say yes, unless you really mean it.” - -She stood in front of him, eye to eye, for a moment without speaking. - -“I don’t understand,” she said at last. “You never doubted me before. -It hurts. Of course I promise you. No matter what happens I won’t leave -you. But you must promise never to send me away until I want to go.” - -“Very good, Elsa, I promise.” - -The strain seemed to relax in a moment. I don’t think they realised how -strange it all seemed to me. They were living in their own world, and -I was outside, I felt, rather bitterly. And of course, none of us was -quite normal at that time. - -Miss Huntingtower came to me and held out her hand. - -“Thanks so much for coming, Mr. Flint. Somehow I feel as if I -had known you for years instead of only a few hours. Now I’ll say -good-night and leave you with Uncle Stanley.” - -“Wait a minute, Elsa,” said Nordenholt. “It seems to me that all three -of us have been cooped up indoors too much lately. Our nerves are -getting on edge. Don’t deny it, Flint, in your case. You haven’t a leg -to stand on. I heard you differing from one of your clerks to-day. We’d -all be the better for fresh air now and again. One afternoon a week, -after this, we’ll take a car out into the country. I can do my thinking -there just as well as anywhere else; and Mr. Flint can drive to keep -his mind off business. That’s settled. I told you before that amusement -of some sort has to come into our routine, Flint; so you must just make -up your mind to it. I can’t replace you if you collapse; so I can’t -allow you to go on like this. You don’t look half the man you were six -weeks ago.” - -I required no pressing, partly because I knew that Nordenholt was right -in what he said. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -The Death of the Leviathan - - -In this narrative I must give some account of the happenings in the -outer world; for, without this, the picture which I am attempting to -draw would be distorted in its perspective. At this point, then, I -shall begin to interleave the description of the Northern experiment -with sketches of the state of affairs elsewhere; and later I shall -return to the more connected form of my narrative. - -It may reasonably be asked how it comes about that I am able to give -any account at all of occurrences in England immediately after the -closing of the Nitrogen Area, since I have taken pains to show the -complete severance of land-communications between the two sections of -the country. I have already hinted that all connection between these -regions was not abolished. - -Nordenholt feared an invasion of the Clyde Valley by some, at least, of -the multitudes in the South as soon as they became famine-stricken. It -was hardly to be expected that, with the knowledge of the food in the -North which they had, they would remain quiescent when the pinch came; -and it was essential to have warning of any hostile movements ere they -actually gained strength enough to become dangerous. For this purpose, -he had organised his Intelligence Department outside as well as within -the Area. - -There was no difficulty in introducing his agents into any district. -Night landings by parachute from airships, or even the daylight -descents of an aeroplane on a misty day, were simple enough to arrange; -and his spies could be picked up again at preconcerted times and places -when their return was desired. - -In this way, there flowed into the Nitrogen Area a constant stream of -information which enabled him to piece together a connected picture of -the affairs outside our frontier. - -I have had access to the summaries of these documents; and it is upon -this basis that I have built the next stage of my narrative. These -reports, of course, were not published at the time. - -As to the rest of the world, I have had to depend upon the wireless -messages which were received by the huge installation Nordenholt had -set up; and also upon the various accounts which have been published in -more recent times. - - * * * * * - -I have already mentioned that the last stage of the exodus involved the -destruction, as complete as was practicable, of roads, railways and -telegraphic communications; and I have mentioned also the breaking-up -of newspaper printing machinery. Following his usual course, Nordenholt -had determined on utilising to the full the psychological factors in -the problem; and it was upon the moral rather than on the mere physical -effect of this disorganisation that he relied in his planning. - -The immediate effect upon the Southern population seems to have -been all that he had hoped. On the morning after the last night of -the exodus, England was still unperturbed. The absence of the usual -newspapers was accepted without marked astonishment; for no one had -any idea that it was more than a temporary interruption. Each city and -town assumed simply that something had gone wrong in their particular -area. No one seems to have imagined that anything but a local mishap -had occurred. The failure of the telegraphs was also discounted to some -extent. - -The local railway services continued to run without exciting comment -by their intermittent character; for already Grogan’s operations had -disorganised them to such an extent that ordinary time-tables were -useless. - -The food-supply was still in full swing under the rationing system -which Nordenholt had introduced; and no shortage had suggested itself -to anyone, even among the staffs of the local control centres. - -Thus for at least a couple of days England remained almost normal, with -the exception of the disorganisation of the communications between -district and district. There was no panic. The population simply went -along its old paths with the feeling that by the end of the week these -temporary difficulties would be overcome and things would clear up. - -The next stage was marked by the increasing difficulty of -communications. Owing to the withdrawal of Grogan and his staff, -simultaneously with the disappearance of the greater part of the -available locomotives into the Nitrogen Area, the train services fell -more and more into disorganisation. Within a very short time, travel -from one part of the country to another could only be accomplished by -the aid of motors. - -The newspapers had been restarted; but they were no longer the organs -to which people had been accustomed. Printed from presses usually -employed for books, they could not be produced in anything approaching -the old quantities; and the break-up of communications had shattered -their organisation for the collection of information. They were mere -fly-sheets, consisting of two or three leaves of quarto size at the -largest and containing very little general news of any description. -Not only were they printed in small numbers, but the difficulties of -circulating the available copies were considerable; so that within a -very short time the greater part of the population had to depend upon -information passing orally from one to another. - -This was the state into which Nordenholt had planned to bring them. His -agents, proceeding upon a carefully considered plan, formed centres -for the spread of rumours which grew more and more incredible as -they were magnified by repetition. Hostile invasions, the capture of -London, the assassination of the Premier, anarchist plots, earthquakes -which had interrupted the normal services of the country, all sorts of -catastrophes were invoked to account for the breakdown of the system -under which men had dwelt so long. But the period of rumours exhausted -the belief of the people. Very soon no one paid any attention to the -stories which, nevertheless, sped across the country in the form of -idle gossip. - -Having thus manœuvred the inhabitants of England into a state of -total disbelief in rumour, Nordenholt made his next move. Hundreds of -aeroplanes ranged over the country, firing guns to attract attention -and then dropping showers of leaflets which were eagerly collected and -read. In these messages from the sky, a complete account was given of -the efforts which were being made in the North to save the situation. -Short articles upon the Nitrogen Area and its vital importance to the -food-supply were scattered broadcast; and by their clear language and -definite figures of production they carried conviction to the minds of -the readers. Here, at last, was reliable news. - -No hint, of course, was given in these aerial bulletins of the real -purpose underlying the Nitrogen Area. Their whole tone was optimistic; -for Nordenholt wished to make his final blow the heavier by raising -hopes at first. Once his agents had assured him that the people -believed implicitly in his aeroplane news-service, he struck hard. - -In my account of his explanation of his breaking-strain theory, I -have indicated roughly the general lines upon which his attack was -based. He had accomplished the breakdown of the social organism into -its component parts by the interruption of communications throughout -the land; but the final stage of the process was to be the isolation of -each individual from his fellows as far as that was possible. - -Suddenly, the news leaflets became charged with a fresh type of -intelligence. At first there was a single item describing the detection -of two cases of a new form of disease in the Nitrogen Area. Then, in -succeeding issues, the spread of the epidemic was chronicled without -comment. - - PLAGUE SPREADING. - - TWENTY CASES TO-DAY. - -The next bulletins contained detailed accounts of the symptoms of the -disease, laying stress upon the painful character of the ailment. It -was said in some ways to resemble hydrophobia, though its course was -more prolonged and the sufferings entailed by it were more severe. - -Then further accounts of the extension of the scourge were rained down -from the sky: - - PLAGUE TOTAL: 10,000 CASES. - - NO RECOVERIES. - -Hitherto the news had confined the Plague to the Nitrogen Area; and -people had not thought it would spread beyond these limits; but in -the next stage of the propaganda this hope was taken from them. The -messages to Southern England described how the disease had made its -appearance in Newcastle and in Hull; those leaflets intended for the -western districts also gave the same information. In the North of -England, the intelligence took the form of accounts of the discovery of -the plague in London. In every case, care was taken that there was no -direct communication between the “affected centre” and the spots where -the news was dropped. - -The penultimate series of publications was in the form of lists of -precautions to be taken to avoid the disease. It was described as -contagious and not infectious; and people were advised to avoid -mingling with their neighbours as far as possible. Complete isolation -would ensure safety, since it had been established that the plague was -not air-borne. Horrible details of the sufferings of patients were also -published. - -Finally, the last group of leaflets represented a steady crescendo. - - ENORMOUS SPREAD OF PLAGUE IN NITROGEN AREA. - 100,000 CASES. - - SPREAD OF PLAGUE THROUGH ENGLAND. - ONLY A FEW DISTRICTS FREE. - - NITROGEN AREA DECIMATED. - POPULATION DYING IN THE STREETS. - - DOOM IN THE CLYDE VALLEY. - TOTAL FAILURE OF NITROGEN SCHEME. - DEATH OF NORDENHOLT. - -The ultimate message was hurriedly printed with blotched type: - - THE NITROGEN AREA IS ALMOST UNINHABITED, THE REMAINDER OF THE - POPULATION HAVING FLED IN PANIC. THE PLAGUE IS SPREADING BROADCAST - OVER ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. ISOLATE YOURSELVES, OTHERWISE SAFETY IS - IMPOSSIBLE. - -After this had been dropped from the air, the skies remained empty. No -aeroplanes appeared. - -Thus, with a stunning suddenness, the population of the kingdom -learned that their hopes were shattered. It is true that there were -still channels of communication open here and there through which the -news might have spread to contradict the stories from the sky. But -Nordenholt had done his work with demonic certainty. By the very form -of his attack he closed these few remaining routes along which the -truth might have percolated. Strangers were forbidden to enter any -district for fear that they might bring the Plague with them; and thus -each community remained closed to the outer world. With the increase in -the terror, even neighbouring villages ceased to have any connection -with one another. The Leviathan was dead. - - * * * * * - -With this closing of the avenues of communication, the problem of -food-supply became acute. The rations remaining in each centre were -distributed hurriedly and inefficiently among the population; and then -the end was in sight. - -I have no wish to dwell upon that side of the story. I saw glimpses -of it, as I shall tell in due course, but all I need do here is to -indicate certain results which flowed naturally from the condition of -things. - -When the coal- and food-shortage became acute, the population divided -itself naturally into two classes. On the one hand were those who, -moved either by timidity of new conditions or a fear of the Plague, -fortified themselves in their dwellings and ceased to stir beyond their -doors until the end overtook them; whilst, on the other, a second -section of the population driven either by despair or adventurousness, -quitted the districts in which it knew there was no hope of survival -and went forth into the unknown to seek better conditions. - -Thus in the ultimate stages of the _débâcle_, the country resembled a -group of armed camps through which wandered a floating population of -many thousand souls, growing more and more desperate as they journeyed -onward in search of an unattainable goal. In the movements of this -migratory horde, two main streams could be perceived. Those who had -set forth from the cities knew that no food remained in the large -aggregations of population; and they therefore wandered ever outward -from their starting-point; the country legions, knowing that the land -was barren, fixed their eyes upon the great centres in the hope that -there the stores of food would still be unexhausted. Both were doomed -to disappointment, but despair drove them on from point to point. - -Of all the centres of attraction, London formed the greatest magnet -to draw to itself these floating and isolated particles of humanity. -Like fragments of flotsam in a whirlpool, they were attracted into its -confines; and once within that labyrinth, they emerged no more. Lost in -its unfamiliar mazes, they wandered here and there, unable to escape -even if they had wished to do so; and no Ariadne waited on them with -her clue. Perhaps I overrate the strangeness of the spectacle and lay -more stress upon it than it deserves. It may be that in the depths of -the country even weirder things were done. But London I saw with my own -eyes in the last stages of its career; and I cannot shake myself free -from the impression made upon me by that uncanny shadow-show beneath -the moon. - - * * * * * - -Gradually but surely the tide of human existence ebbed in Britain -outside the Nitrogen Area. Here and there in the central districts -there might be isolated patches whereon some living creatures remained -by accident with food sufficient to prolong their vitality for a -little longer; but after a few months even these were obliterated and -the last survivors of the race of men were to be found clinging to -the coasts of the island where food was still to be procured from the -sea. Some of them struggled through the Famine period under these -conditions; but most of them perished eventually from starvation; for -even in the marine areas conditions were changing and the old abundant -harvest of sea-creatures had passed away. The herring and other edible -fish were driven to new feeding-grounds. The supply brought in by -the fishing-boats diminished steadily, until at last men ceased to -go out upon the waters and gave up the struggle. The winter was an -exceptionally bitter one--possibly the change in the surface conditions -produced by _B. diazotans_ affected the world-climate, though that is -still a moot point--and the cold completed the work. Long before the -spring came, Britain was a mere Raft of the _Medusa_ lying upon the -waters and peopled by a handful of survivors out of what had once been -a mighty company. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -Fata Morgana - - -To explain how I came to witness the spectacle of London in its -extremity, I must go back to the evening at Nordenholt’s which I have -already described. He persisted in his project of forcing us into the -fresh air, often twice or thrice a week if the weather was favourable; -and to tell the truth, I was nothing loath. Over a hundred hours of my -week were spent in concentrated mental activity under conditions which -removed me more and more from direct contact with human affairs as time -went on; and I looked forward with pleasure to these brief interludes -during which I could take up once more the threads of my old life and -its interests. - -Nordenholt himself contributed but little to the conversation on these -excursions. Sometimes he brought with him one of his numerous experts -and spent the time in technical discussions; but usually he occupied -the back seat of the car alone, lost in his thoughts and plans, while I -drove and Miss Huntingtower sat beside me. - -As our time was limited, and we wished to avoid the city as much as -possible, our routes were mainly those to the west, by the Kilpatrick -Hills or the Campsies. We never pushed farther afield, as Nordenholt -had forbidden me to go outside the boundaries of the Nitrogen Area. I -think he was afraid of what she might see by the roadside if we passed -the frontier. - -Even during these few short afternoons, I came to know her better. -Somehow I had got the impression that she was graver than her years -justified; but I found that in this estimate I was mistaken. She was -sobered by the responsibility of her work, but underneath this she -seemed to have a natural craving for the enjoyment of life, and a -capacity for making the best of things which was suited to my own mood. -She was quite unaffected; I never found her posing in any way. Whether -she chattered nonsense--and I believe both of us did that at times--or -was discussing the future, she gave me the impression of being -perfectly natural. - -We used to make all sorts of plans for the future of the world, once -the danger was past; half-trivial, half-serious schemes which somehow -took on an air of fairy-tale reality. “When I am Queen, I will set -such and such a grievance right”; “In the first year of my Presidency, -I will publish an edict forbidding so and so.” Between us, on these -drives, we planned a fairy kingdom in the future, a new Garden of -the Hesperides, a dream-built Thelema of sunlit walls and towers and -pleasure-grounds wherein might dwell the coming generations of men. -The future! Somehow that was always with us. Less and less did we go -backward into the past. That world was over, never to return; but the -years still to come gave us full scope for our fancies and to them we -turned with eager eyes. - -The diversion grew upon us as time went on. It was always spontaneous, -for our work gave neither of us an opportunity for thinking out -details; and each afternoon brought its fresh store of improvisations. -Through it all, she was the dreamer of dreams; it was my part to throw -her visions into a practically attainable form: and gradually, out of -it all, there arose a fabric of phantasy which yet had its foundations -in the solid earth. - -It took form; we could walk its streets in reverie and pace its lawns. -And gradually that land of Faerie came to be peopled with inhabitants, -mere phantasms at first, but growing ever more real as we talked of -them between ourselves. Half in jest and half in earnest we created -them, and soon they twined themselves about our hearts. Children of our -brain, they were; dearer than any earthly offspring, for from them we -need fear no disappointments. - -Fata Morgana we christened our City, after the mirage in the Straits of -Messina; for it had that mixture of clear outline and unsubstantiality -which seemed to fit the name. - -So we planned the future together out of such stuff as dreams are made -on. And behind us, grim and silent, sat Nordenholt, the real architect -of the coming time. - - * * * * * - -He never interrupted our talks; and I had no idea that he had even -overheard them until one day he called me into his office. He seemed -unusually grave. - -“Sit down, Jack,” he said, and I started slightly to hear him use the -name, since hitherto I had always been simply “Flint” to him. “I’ve got -something serious to discuss with you; and it won’t keep much longer.” - -He looked up at the great Nitrogen Curve above the mantelpiece and -seemed to brood over the inclinations of the red and green lines upon -it. They were closing upon one another now, though some distance still -separated them. - -“Did it ever occur to you that I can’t go on for ever?” - -“Well, I suppose that none of us can go on for ever; but I don’t think -I would worry too much over that, Nordenholt. Of course you’re doing -thrice the work that I am; but I don’t see much sign of it affecting -you yet.” - -“Have a good look.” - -He swung round to the light so that I could see his face clearly; -and it dawned upon me that it was very different from the face I -had seen first at the meeting in London. The old masterfulness was -there, increased if anything; but the leanness was accentuated over -the cheek-bones and there was a weary look in the eyes which was -new to me. I had never noticed the change, even though I saw him -daily--possibly because of that very fact. The alteration had been so -gradual that it was only by comparing him with what I remembered that I -could trace its full extent. - -“Satisfied, eh?” - -“Well, there is a change, certainly; but I don’t think it amounts to -much.” - -“The inside is worse than the surface, I’m afraid. But don’t worry -about that. I’ll last the distance, I believe. It’s what will happen -after the finish that is perplexing me now.” - -I muttered something which I meant to be encouraging. - -“Well, have it your own way, if you like,” he replied; “but I _know_. I -have enough energy to see me through this stage of the thing; but this -is only a beginning. After it, comes reconstruction; and I shall be -exhausted by that time. I can carry on under this strain long enough to -see safety in sight; but someone else must take up the burden then. I -won’t risk doing it myself. I must have a fresh mind on the thing. So I -have to cast about me now for my successor.” - -It was a great shock to hear him speak in this tone. Somehow I had -become so accustomed to look up to Nordenholt as a tower of strength -that it was hard to realise that there might some day be a change -of masters. And yet, like all his views, this was accurate. When we -reached the other bank, he would have strained himself to the utmost -and would have very few reserves left. - -“I’ve been watching you, Jack,” he went on. “I’ve got fairly sharp -ears; and your talks in the car interested me.” - -I was aghast at this; for I had believed that these dreams and -plannings were things entirely between Miss Huntingtower and myself. -They certainly were not meant for anyone else. - -“At first,” he went on, “I thought it was only talk to pass the time; -but by-and-by I saw how it attracted you both. After all, there are -worse ways of passing an afternoon than in building castles in the -air. But what I liked about your castles was that they had their roots -in the earth. You have a knack of solid building, Jack, even in your -dreams. It’s a rare gift, very rare. I felt more friendly to you when I -followed all that.” - -There was no patronage in his tone. As usual, he seemed to be stating -what appeared to him an obvious conclusion. - -“The upshot is,” he went on, “that I’m going to dismiss you from -your present post and put you in charge of a new Department dealing -with Reconstruction. There will be one condition--or rather two -conditions--attached to it; but they aren’t hard ones. Will you take -it?” - -Of course I was taken completely aback. I had never dreamed of such -a thing; and I hardly knew what to say. I stammered some sort of an -acceptance as soon as I could find my voice. - -“Very good. You cut loose from your present affairs from this moment. -Anglesey will take over. You can give him all the pointers he asks for -to-day; and after that he must fend for himself. I’ll have no two minds -on that line of work. - -“Now as to the new thing. It will make you my successor, of course; -and I want to start with a word of warning. Unlimited power is bad for -any man. You have only to look at the example of the Cæsars to see -that: Caligula, Tiberius, Nero, you’ll find the whole sordid business -in Suetonius. And I can tell you the same thing at first hand myself. -I’ve got unlimited power here nowadays; and it isn’t doing me any good. -I feel that I am going downhill under it daily. You’ll probably see it -yourself before long, although I’ve fought to keep it in check. So much -for the warning. - -“Now as to the conditions. I admired your dream-cities, Jack. I wish -you could build them all in stone. But even if you were to do that, -they would still have to be peopled; and I doubt if you will find the -men and women whom you want for them among the present population. -Mind you, I believe you have good material there; but it has a basis -in the brute which none of your dream-people had. You don’t realise -that factor; you couldn’t understand its strength unless you saw it -actually before you: and my first condition is meant to let you see the -frailty with which you will have to contend and which you will have to -eliminate before you can see that visionary race pacing the gardens in -your Fata Morgana. It’s all in full blast within five hundred miles -of here. London is thronged with people just the same as those down -there in the factories; and I want you to see what it amounts to when -you take off the leash. So the first condition is that you go down -to London and see it with your own eyes. I could prepare you for it -from the reports I have; but I think it will be better if you see it -for yourself and don’t trust to any other person. I’ll make all the -arrangements; and you can leave in a couple of days.” - -I am no enthusiast for digging into the baser side of human nature, and -the prospect which he held out was not an inviting one to me. But I -could see that he laid stress upon it, so I merely nodded my consent. - -“Now the second condition. I daresay that you alone could plan a very -good scheme of reconstruction; but it would be a pure male scheme. You -can’t put yourself in any woman’s place and see things with her eyes, -try as you will. But this Fata Morgana of yours, when it rises, has to -be inhabited by both men and women; and you have to make it as fit for -the women as for the men. That’s where you would collapse.” - -“I suppose you’re right. I don’t know much about a woman’s point of -view. I never had even a sister to enlighten me.” - -“Quite so. I judged as much from some things. Well, my second condition -is that you take over Elsa as a colleague. It was hearing the two of -you talk that gave me the idea of using you, Jack; so it is only fair -that she should have a share in the thing also.” - -“But would Miss Huntingtower leave you?” - -“I’ll try to persuade her. Anyway, leave it to me. But remember, Jack, -not a word to her about London or the South. She knows nothing of that -yet. I’ve kept her work confined entirely to Area affairs. I want to -spare her as long as I can; for she’ll take it hard when it comes. -She’ll take it very hard, I’m afraid. Until you’re back from London I -shall say nothing to her about your being away, lest she asks where you -have gone.” - -I was still dazzled by the promotion he had promised me; and I thanked -him for it, again and again. When I left him, my mind was still full of -it all. I don’t know that I felt the responsibility at first; it was -rather the chance of bringing things nearer to that dream-city which we -had built upon the clouds, that I felt most strongly. I had no doubt -that I could lay the foundations securely; and upon them Elsa could -build those fragile upper courses in which she delighted. It would be -our own Fata Morgana, but reared by human hands. - -So I dreamed.... - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -Nuit Blanche - - -The aeroplane which carried me southward alighted on the Hendon -flying-ground when dusk was falling. As we crossed Hertfordshire I had -seen in front of me, to the south-east, a great pall of cloud which -seemed to hang above the city; and as the daylight faded, this curtain -became lit up with a red glow like the sky above a blast-furnace. - -When we landed, I found that all arrangements had already been made by -Nordenholt; for after I had removed my flying kit an untidy-looking, -unshaven man made his appearance, who introduced himself as my guide -for the night. He advised me to have a meal and try to snatch a little -sleep before we started. We dined together in one of the buildings--for -Nordenholt had spared the Hendon aerodrome in the general destruction -of the exodus, though he had burned all the aeroplanes which were -there at the time--and during the meal my guide gave me hints as to my -behaviour while I was under his charge, so that I might not attract -attention under the new conditions. Above all, he warned me not to show -any surprise at anything I might see. - -After I had dozed for a time, he reappeared and insisted on rubbing -some burnt cork well into my skin under the eyes and on my cheeks, and -also giving my hands and the rest of my face a lighter treatment with -the same medium. - -“You look far too well-fed and clean to pass muster here. There’s very -little soap left now; and most of us don’t shave. Must make you look -the part.” - -He handed me two ·45 Colt pistols and a couple of loaded spare -magazines. - -“Shove these extra cartridges into a handy pocket as well. The Colts -are loaded and there’s an extra cartridge in the breech of each. That -gives you eighteen shots without reloading; and sixteen more when you -snick in the fresh magazines. You know how to do it? Pull down the -safety catches. If you have to shoot, shoot at once; and shoot in any -case of doubt. Don’t stop to argue.” - -A motor-car was waiting for us with two men in the front seats. The -glass of the wind-screen bore a small square of paper with a red cross -printed on the white ground; and I saw that one of the side-light -glasses had been painted a peculiar colour. My guide and I climbed -into the back seats and the car moved off. When we passed out of the -aerodrome I observed that the entrance was defended by machine-guns; -and a large flag of some coloured bunting was flown on a short staff. -As it waved in the air, I caught the letters “PLAGUE” on it. - -“To keep off visitors,” said my guide. “By the way, my name’s Glendyne. -Oh, by Jove, I’ve forgotten something important.” - -He took out of the door-pocket a couple of armlets with the Red Cross -on them and fastened one on my left arm, putting the other one on -himself. I gathered that they formed part of his disguise. - -It was night now. The sky was clear except for some clouds on the -horizon and the full moon was up, so that we hardly needed the -head-lights to see our way. Again I noticed the peculiar red glow which -I had seen from the aeroplane; but now, being nearer, I saw flickerings -in it. There were no artificial lights, either of gas or electricity, -in the streets through which we passed. Very occasionally I saw human -forms moving in the distance; but they were too far off for me to -distinguish what sort of person was abroad. In the main, the figures -which I espied were reclining on the ground, some singly, others in -groups; and for a time I did not realise that these were corpses. - -We soon diverged from the main road and drove through a series of -by-streets in which I lost my sense of direction until at last I -discovered that we were passing the old Cavalry Barracks in Albany -Street. - -“Halt!” - -The car drew up suddenly and in the glare of our head-lights I saw a -group of men carrying rifles and fixed bayonets; bandoliers were slung -across their shoulders, but otherwise there was no sign of uniform. - -“Where’s your permit?... Doctor’s car, is it? We’ve been taken in by -that once before. Never again, thank you. Out with that permit if you -have it, or it will be the worse for you.” - -The armed group covered us with their rifles while Glendyne searched in -his pocket. At last he produced a paper which the leader of the patrol -examined. - -“Oh, it’s you, Glendyne? Sorry to trouble you, but we can’t help it. -A medical car came through the other night and played Old Harry with -a patrol at Park Square; so we have to be careful, you see. I think -it was some of Johansen’s little lot who had stolen a Red Cross car. -Stephen got them with a bomb at Hanover Gate later in the evening and -there wasn’t enough left to be sure who they were. Why they can’t leave -this district alone beats me. They have most of London left to rollic -in; and yet they must come here where no one wants them. By the way, -where are you going?” - -“Leaving the car at Wood’s Garage. Going down to the Circus on foot -after that, I think; probably via Euston, though.” - -“All right. I’ll telephone down. Sanderson’s patrol is out there in -Portland Place and he might shoot you by accident. I’ll get him to look -out for you on your way back.” - -“Thanks. Very good of you, I’m sure.” - -Our car ran forward again to the foot of Albany Street, where we turned -in to a large public garage. - -“What was that patrol?” I asked Glendyne. - -“Local Vigilance Committee. Some districts have them. Trying to keep -out the scum and looters.” - -“But what about this being a medical car?” - -“I _am_ a medical. Was an asylum doctor before Nordenholt picked me -out for this job. Medical cars can go anywhere even now; but we can do -better on foot for the particular work you want to-night.” - -He seemed to be a man of few words; but I had been struck by the empty -state of the garage and wished to know where the usual multitude of -cars had gone. - -“Most owners took their machines away in the rush out of London. Any -cars left were looted long ago. Have to leave a guard now on any car, -otherwise we’d have the petrol stolen before we were back. You’ll see -later.” - -There were no lights burning in the Euston Road, either in the streets -or at house-windows. Coming in the car, I had given little heed to -the lack of passers-by; but here, in a district which swarmed with -population in the old days, I could not help being struck by the change -of atmosphere. All inhabitants seemed to have vanished, leaving not a -trace. I asked Glendyne if this region was entirely deserted; but he -explained to me that in all probability there were still a number of -survivors. - -“No one shows a light after dark in a house if they can help it,” he -said. “It simply invites looters.” - -“The full moon stood well above the house-tops, lighting up the streets -far ahead of us. Wheeled traffic seemed non-existent; nor could I see -a single human being. Just beyond the Tube Station, however, I observed -what I took to be a bundle of clothes lying by the roadside. Closer -inspection proved it to be a complete skeleton dressed in a shabby -suit of serge. While I was puzzling over this, Glendyne, seeing my -perplexity, gave me the explanation.” - -“Looking for the flesh, I suppose? Gone long ago. _B. diazotans_ takes -care of that, or we should have had a real Plague instead of a fake -one, considering the number of deaths there have been. As soon as -life goes out, all flesh is attacked by bacteria, but _B. diazotans_ -beats the putrefying bacteria in quick action. You’ll find no decaying -corpses about. Quite a clean affair.” - -Leaving the skeleton behind us, we continued our way. I suppose if I -had been a novelist’s hero I should have examined the pockets of the -man and discovered some document of priceless value in them. I must -confess the idea of searching the clothes never occurred to me till -long afterwards; and I doubt if there was anything useful in them -anyway. - -As we walked eastwards towards Euston I noticed that the red glow -before us was shot now and again with a tongue of flame. We passed -several isolated corpses, or rather skeletons, and suddenly I came upon -a group of them which covered most of the roadway. I noticed that all -the heads pointed in one direction and that the greater number of the -dead had accumulated on the steps of a looted public-house. Noticing my -astonishment, Glendyne condescended to explain. - -“Crawled there at the last gasp looking for alcohol to brace them up -for another day, I expect. See the attitudes? All making for the door. -Hopeless, anyway. The stuff must have been looted long before they got -near it. Curious how one finds them like that, all clustered together, -either at the door of a pub or the porch of a church. A Martian would -think that drink and religion were the only things which attracted -humanity in the end.” - -It was near Whitfield Street that I saw a relic of the exodus from -London. Two cars, a limousine and a big five-seater, had collided at -high speed; for both of them were badly wrecked, and the touring-car -had been driven right across the pavement and through a shop-front. -To judge from the skeletons in the limousine, its passengers had been -killed by the shock. - -Leaving this scene of disaster, we walked eastward again. I glanced -up each side-street as I passed, but there were no signs of living -beings. In the stillness, our footsteps rang upon the pavements; but -the noise attracted no one to our neighbourhood. It was not until we -reached the corner of Tottenham Court Road that I was again reminded -of my fellow-men. A sound of distant singing reached my ears: fifty -or a hundred voices rising and falling in some simple air which had -a strangely familiar ring, though I could not recall exactly what it -reminded me of at the time. The singers were far off, however; for when -we halted at the street-corner I could see no one in Tottenham Court -Road; and we went on our way once more. - -The notice-boards at the gate of Euston Station were covered with -recently-posted bills; and seeing the word PLAGUE in large letters -upon some of them I halted for a moment to read the inscriptions. -They were all of a kind: quack advertisements of nostrums to prevent -the infection or to cure the disease. I was somewhat grimly amused to -find that there was still a market for such trash even amid the final -convulsion of humanity. The only difference between them and their -fore-runners was that instead of money the vendors demanded food in -exchange for their cures. Flour, bread, or oatmeal seemed to be the -currency in vogue. - -The station itself was dark; but here and there in the Hotel windows -glowed with lamp or candle-light. “Probably some select orgy or -other,” was Glendyne’s explanation; and he refused to investigate -further. “No use thrusting oneself in where one isn’t wanted. In these -times the light alone is a danger signal when you know your way about.” - -It was in Endsleigh Gardens that we came across another living -creature. Half-way along, I caught sight of a figure crouching in a -doorway. At first I took it for a skeleton; but as we drew near it rose -to its feet and I found that it was a man, indescribably filthy and -with a matted beard. When he spoke to us, I detected a Semitic tinge in -his speech. - -“Give me some food, kind gentlemen! Jahveh will reward you. A sparrow, -or even some biscuit crumbs? Be merciful, kind gentlemen.” - -“Got none to spare,” said Glendyne roughly. - -“Ah, kind gentlemen, kind gentlemen, surely you have food for a -starving man? See, I will pay you for it. A sovereign for a sparrow? -_Two_ sovereigns for a sparrow? Listen, kind gentlemen, five pounds for -a rat--eight pounds if it is a fat one. I could make soup with a rat.” - -“There’s no food here for you.” - -“But, gentlemen, you don’t understand; you don’t understand. I can make -you rich. Gold, much fine gold, for a miserable sparrow--or a rat! You -think I am too poor to have gold? You despise me because I am clothed -in rags? What are rags to me, who am richer than Solomon? I can pay; I -can pay.” - -He kept pace with us, shuffling along in the gutter; and I noticed that -the sole of one of his boots flapped loose at each step he took. After -glancing around suspiciously as though afraid of being overheard, he -continued in a lower tone: - -“Jahveh has laid a great task upon me. I can _make_ gold! Give me -food, even the smallest scrap, and you shall be richer than Solomon. -All that your hearts desire shall be yours, kind gentlemen. Apes, -ivory, peacocks and the riches of the East shall come to you. I will -give you gold for your palaces and you shall deck them with beryl and -chrysoberyl, sapphire, chrysolite and sardonyx. Diamonds shall be -yours, and the stones of Sardis.... These do not tempt you? I curse you -by the bones of Isaac! May all the burden of Gerizim and Ebal fall upon -you!” - -He broke off, almost inarticulate with rage; then, mastering himself, -he continued in a calmer tone. - -“A few crumbs of bread, kind gentlemen; even the scrapings of your -pocket-linings. Or a sparrow? Think what can be bought with my gold. -Slaves to your desire, concubines of the fairest, brought from all the -parts of the world, whose love is more than wine....” - -It enraged me to hear this filthy object profaning all the material -splendours of the world; and I thrust him aside roughly. My movement -seemed to bring his suppressed anger to its climax. - -“You doubt me? You will not hear the word of Jahveh’s messenger? See, -I will make gold before you; and then you shall fall down and offer me -all the food you have--for I know you have food. Look well, O fools; I -will make gold for you this moment.” - -He stooped down as though lifting something invisible in handfuls and -then made the motion of throwing. - -“See! My gold! I throw it abroad. Look how it glitters in the light of -the moon. Hear how it tinkles as it falls upon the pavement. There”--he -pointed suddenly--“see how the coins spin and run upon the ground. -Gold! Much fine gold! Is it not enough? Then here is more.” - -He repeated his motion of lifting something, this time with both hands -as though he were delving in loose sand. - -“See! Gold dust! I throw it; and it falls in showers. I scatter it; -and there is a golden cloud about us. I give it all to you, kind -gentlemen. Surely all this is worth a rat, a fat one; a rat to make -soup?” - -He looked at us expectantly, holding out his empty hands as though they -contained something which he wished us to examine. - -“Still you are not convinced? Not so much as a sparrow for all this -gold? I have fallen amid a generation of vipers. Ha! You would rob me -of my gold; you would take it all and give me not so much as a rat? -But I shall escape you. Even now I go to prepare the streets of the -new Jerusalem. Jahveh has commanded me that I make them ready with my -finest gold. He has prepared the smelting-furnace here in this city; it -burns with fire; and I have but to lay my gold in its streets so that -they shall all be covered. I go! Gold! Gold!” - -He ran from us; and we heard his voice in Gordon Street crying “Gold! -Gold!” as he went. - -After he had left us, we came by Upper Woburn Place into Tavistock -Square; and it was here that I met the first _petroleuse_. Some houses -were burning in Burton Crescent. Suddenly at the corner of the entry -I saw a figure appear, an oldish woman in rags, carrying a petrol tin -and a dipper. She hobbled along, throwing liquid from her tin at every -house-door as she passed. Sometimes she broke a window and threw petrol -into the room beyond. I lost sight of her when she turned into Burton -Street; but she soon reappeared, having evidently exhausted her stores. -She now carried an improvised torch in her hand with which she set -fire to the petrol spilled about the doors on her previous passage. -Soon each doorway was a mass of flames; and she retired into Burton -Crescent, with a final glance to see that her work had been well done. - -“That sort of thing is going on all over the East End now,” said -Glendyne, “and you see that it is spreading westward too. It -began by the East Enders running out of coal. Then they took to -lighting bonfires in the streets with wood from the houses, to keep -themselves warm. And finally houses caught fire and they got the -taste for destruction. You’re seeing the last of London. There are no -fire-brigades now. It’s only a question of time before the whole city -is ablaze.” - -Russell Square was dark like all the rest of the streets; but the moon -lit it up sufficiently for us to see what was going on in Southampton -Row, where a band of men were engaged in breaking into a druggist’s -shop. - -“What do they expect to find there?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem very -promising from the looter’s point of view.” - -“Cocaine and morphia, of course,” Glendyne replied, “or ether to get -drunk on, if they aren’t very sophisticated. They’ll do anything to -keep down hunger pangs nowadays, you know.” - -We crossed the south side of Russell Square, making for Montague -Street, when my attention was attracted by the sound of singing which -I had previously heard in Tottenham Court Road. The voices were nearer -this time; and I was able to make out one line of the song: - - “_Here we go dancing, under the Moon...._” - -“What’s that?” I asked Glendyne. - -“What? Oh, that? Some of the Dancers, I expect. We’ll come across them -later on, no doubt. Nothing to be alarmed about. Come along!” - -Just as we were moving on, however, at the turning into Montague Street -there came a soft whirring behind us; a great limousine car drew up -at the kerb; and from its interior descended a tall figure which -approached us. As he drew near, I saw in the moonlight that it was a -thin and white-haired man, showing no signs of the usual grime. He -seemed a gentle old man, out of place in this city of nightmare; but -as I looked more closely into his face I could see something abnormal -in his eyes. - -“You will excuse me for interrupting you, gentlemen; but I wish to put -an important question to you. What is Truth?” - -Glendyne gave an impatient snarl in reply. Probably he was completely -_blasé_ by this time; and took little interest in the vagaries of the -human mind. As for myself, I was so taken aback by this latest comer -that I could only stare without answering. - -The old man looked at us eagerly for a moment; then disappointment -clouded his face and he turned back to his car. We watched him without -speaking as he stepped into it. The chauffeur drove on, leaving us as -silently as he had come. - -When we reached the great gates of the British Museum, I was somewhat -surprised to find them standing wide. I suppose that even amid the -abnormalities of this new London my memory was working upon its old -lines, and it seemed strange to see this entrance open at that time of -night. To my astonishment, Glendyne turned into the court. - -“I just want to show you a curious survival in the Reading Room here.” - -Inside the building, all was dark; but by the light of an electric -torch we found our way to the back of the premises. The Reading Room -was dotted here and there with tiny lights like stars in the gloom; and -within each nimbus I saw a face bent in the study of a volume. - -“Still reading, you see,” said Glendyne. “Even in the last crash some -of them are eager for knowledge. How they find the books they want -passes my comprehension; for, of course, there is no one left to give -them out. But they seem able to pick out what they need from the -shelves.” - -He threw his flashlight here and there in the gloom, lighting up -figure after figure. Some of them turned and gazed toward us with -dazzled eyes; but others continued their reading without paying us any -attention. It reminded me of a glimpse into the City of Dreadful Night; -but it seemed better than the things we had met in our wanderings -outside. After all, there was something almost heroic in this vain -acquirement of learning at a moment when human things seemed doomed to -destruction. - -As we emerged from the Museum, it seemed to me that the glare of the -flames in the sky was brighter; but this may have been due merely to -the increased sensitiveness of my retina after the darkness within the -building. We turned to the right and followed Great Russell Street -westwards. - -We crossed Oxford Street and turned down Charing Cross Road. At the -lower end of the street, houses were burning furiously, and I could -hear the sound of the fires and the crash of falling girders. Beyond -Cambridge Circus the road was impassable. Sutton Street seemed to be -the only way left to us. As we came into it, I noticed that the dead -were much more numerous here and that many of them held clasped in -their skeleton hands a crucifix or a rosary. - -“Making their way to St. Patrick’s when they died,” Glendyne explained -to me. As we came closer to the church, we found living mingled with -the dead. Some of them were so feeble that they could crawl no further; -but others were still making efforts to drag themselves nearer to the -door. Organ music came from the porch, and I halted amid the dead and -dying to listen to the voices of the choir: - - “_Dies irae, dies illa - Solvet saeclum in favilla...._” - -It was weirdly apposite, there in the centre of that burning city. Then -the choir continued: - - “_Tuba mirum spargens sonum - Per sepulchra regionum - Coget omnes ante thronum._” - -Hardly had the thunder of the great vowels died away when from the -crowd around us came a bitter cry, the sound of some soul in its agony. -It startled me; and as I turned round, there ran a movement through -that multitude of dead and dying, as though in very truth the trumpets -had called the dead to life and judgment. The cry had been heard within -the church; for a priest came to the porch and blessed them. It seemed -to bring comfort to those alive. - -“Let’s get out of this,” I said to Glendyne. “We can’t help; and it’s -needless to stay here. I can’t stand it.” - -“All right,” he said philosophically. “Personally, I don’t mind this -so much as some of the other things one sees. These people, you know, -by their way of it, have put themselves under the protection of the -Church. Their path is clear. There’s only Death now for them, and, -after all, each of us comes to that in his own time. _They_ will go out -with easy minds.” - -As we came into Soho Square, I was reminded of the fact that even in -this city of the dying, human passions still remained. From Greek -Street came the sound of revolver shots: three in rapid succession, -evidently a duel, and then a gasping cry, followed by a final shot. -Then silence for a moment; and at last the noise of heavy foot-falls -dying away in the direction of Old Compton Street. - -“What’s that?” - -“How should I know?” Glendyne retorted. “Probably some of the foreign -scum settling a difference among themselves. We never bother about -this district. Too dangerous to poke one’s nose into. If I were to go -and try to help, I’d most probably get shot for my pains. One gets to -know one’s way about, after a time. A few weeks ago I tried the Good -Samaritan on one of these foreigners and he almost succeeded in knifing -me for my pains. I suppose he thought I was one of his friends come -to finish the job. He was shot through the lung anyway, so I don’t -suppose I could have helped much, even if I had persisted.” - -Soho Square was deserted. The mingled red and silver light from the -burning houses and the moon lay across it; but nothing moved. We turned -northward into Soho Street. It also was empty when we entered it; but -while we walked up it a figure entered it from the Oxford Street end. -As it approached, Glendyne made a gesture of recognition, and when the -two met it was evident that they were well acquainted with one another. - -“That you, Glendyne? Glad to see you again. It’s a week since we met, I -think.” - -It was a tall thin clergyman with a clear-cut ascetic face, -clean-shaven in spite of the prevailing lack of soap. For the first -time that night I saw that the city had thrown up a man who was -definitely sane. His keen glance, his air of competence and his -matter-of-fact mode of speech were in strong contrast to what I had -become accustomed to expect from the inhabitants of this Inferno. -Glendyne introduced me with some perfunctory words which left my -presence unexplained; and the clergyman seemed to accept me without -comment. - -“Things are going from bad to worse, Glendyne,” he said. “I’m sometimes -tempted to take advantage of your offer and clear out some of these -places with a bomb or two.” - -“What’s wrong now?” Glendyne inquired, without much apparent interest. - -“Well, I can stand a good deal--have had to, you know. But when it -comes to open idolatry in the West End, I must say I begin to draw the -line.” - -“Remember two can play at that game, if you _do_ begin. If you -interfere with them, they will interfere with you.” - -“Of course, you’re quite right. So far we have had no persecution; I’ll -say that for them. But sometimes temptation is as bad as persecution, -or even worse. Persecution couldn’t last long now anyway; and it would -only knit us together: but temptation is a different matter. I’ve -lost two girls in the last three days--enticed away by the Dancers. -Sickening business, for one knows how that always ends. One of them -was taken from my side as we were walking along the street together; -and I was jammed in the crowd and could do nothing. She just cracked -up, got hysterical and darted off. I lost sight of her almost at once. -Of course she never came back. Damn them!” he ended with extraordinary -bitterness. - -“Well, it can’t be helped. You do all that a man can do to keep them -sane; and if you fail, it’s no fault of yours.” - -“What has that to do with it?” cried the clergyman vehemently. “Do -you think I care one way or another for that? It’s the sight of these -souls going down to damnation that I care about. In a few days we -must all meet our Judge, and these poor things go before Him soiled -in body and soul! _That’s_ what hurts, Glendyne. Six months ago we -were all living a normal life; I was preaching the Gospel and doing my -best to bring light into these people’s lives. I doubt I was slack in -some ways, knowing what I do now. I didn’t realise the gulfs in the -darkness through which we walked in this world. I knew very little of -the horrors lurking under the surface. And now comes this outpouring of -Hell! I used to think one should cover up all the worst in life, keep -it from one’s eyes. Perhaps if I had known more, I might have been of -more use now. But at first I didn’t know. I didn’t recognise the forms -under which temptation could come. Half my flock had fallen before -I had opened my eyes to what was happening. Think of that! My sheer -ignorance of life, look what it has cost!” - -“Well, well,” said Glendyne. “No use crying over spilt milk, is there? -You did your best according to your lights. You weren’t trained as a -mental specialist, you know.” - -“Thanks so much, Bildad Redivivus, but I’m afraid your argument helps -no more nowadays than it did a few thousand years ago in the Land of -Uz. I _ought_ to have known better; but I shut my eyes. I thought these -things unclean and despised them; and now they have ruined my work -because I did not take the trouble to understand them. - -“You can’t guess what it is like now, Glendyne. They are celebrating -the Black Mass in Hyde Park and holding Witches’ Sabbaths. All the old -evil things which we thought had died out of the race have reappeared, -all the foulest practices and superstitions have come to life. It’s -terrible.” - -“The old gods were never dead, although you pretended they were. Now -they have come again, you have got to make the best of it. It’s not for -long, anyway. Another week or two and the last food will be gone.” - -“I pray for that day, Glendyne. I never thought to see it; but I go on -my knees many times daily and pray that it may come soon. Some of my -people I know will be stedfast; but the contagion attacks the younger -ones with an awful swiftness.” - -“Collective hysteria. I know. Keep them indoors as much as possible, -especially the girls. You can do nothing more.” - -“I suppose not. Anyway, I’ll do what I can, if only I can hold out -till the end myself. And to think that once I used to imagine that a -minister’s life circled round through sermons, prayer-meetings and -visiting the sick! Why, I didn’t know the beginnings of it!” - -“Don’t worry about the past. I’m speaking as a medico now. Get on with -your work and leave the thinking till you have time for it. Eternity’s -pretty long, you know.” - -“Well, if I take your advice I must be getting back to my work. -Good-night, both of you. I’ll see you next week again, perhaps, -Glendyne.” - -He walked on, leaving us to continue our exploration. Glendyne was -silent for some minutes. When at last he spoke, it was in a graver tone -than I had heard him use before. - -“That’s a splendid chap,” he said, looking back over his shoulder at -the tall figure behind us. “I don’t envy him, though. His awakening -has been a rude one in this affair. Six months ago he knew absolutely -nothing of life. He was earnest and all that; but a perfect child in -things of the world. The result was that when the blow came he was -absolutely helpless. He fought for a time with the old platitudes--and -he fought well, I can tell you, for he has a tremendous personality. -But he was out of court from the first. I’ve seen things done under his -very eyes without his even noticing what was happening. At last I gave -him a few pointers from my own experience; and now he has some vague -ideas what the temptations really are and how he can best counter them. -And he works like a Trojan. A splendid chap. What a chance he has, if -he had only had the knowledge; and how he regrets it now, poor beggar. -You know, at the very first, he simply led his people down the slope -without knowing it. Worked up their religious emotion, you see, until -they were simply gunpowder for the flame. What a mess! And all with the -best intentions too.” - -It was an extraordinarily long speech from Glendyne; and it gave me -some measure of his liking for the clergyman. I gathered that they -often met in the course of their work. - -By this time we had emerged into Oxford Street. Glendyne was about to -cross the road, when suddenly he caught sight of a train of figures, -about a hundred and fifty in all, I should say, who were advancing up -the middle of the street. Each had his hands on the shoulders of the -person in front of him and the procession advanced towards us slowly, -whilst I heard again the air with which I had become familiar. - -“The Dancers!” muttered Glendyne. “Keep a grip on yourself, now, Flint. -No hysteria, if you please.” - -I was angry at being treated in this way, for I am not an hysterical -subject either outwardly or inwardly; but as the procession drew nearer -I realised that he was right to give me a sharp warning. They advanced -slowly, as I said, keeping time to the air which they sang and which I -now recognised as being something like one of the old nursery lullabies -I heard when I was a child. It had the knack of penetrating far into -one’s subconsciousness and bringing up into the light all sorts of -forgotten childish fancies which had long slipped from my waking -thoughts. There was no regularity in the dancing, except that the whole -procession kept time to the air: each individual danced as he chose, -provided that he kept his hands upon the shoulders before him so that -the line remained intact. Men and women were intermingled without any -order in the company. Their faces were rapt, as though in some ecstasy; -and a strange, compelling magnetism seemed to emanate from the whole -scene. - - “_Here we go ... dancing ... under the ... Moon, - Lifting our ... feet to the ... time of the ... tune. - Come, brother, ... Come, sister, ... join in our ... line; - Join with us ... now in this ... dancing divine._” - -So they came up toward us, while that strange magnetic attraction grew -ever stronger upon me. For some reason which I could not fathom, I felt -a profound desire to join in the procession. A kind of hallucinatory -craving came over me, though I fought it down. At last Glendyne’s voice -broke the spell. - -“Fine example of choreomania, isn’t it? Perfectly well-recognised -type. The old Dancing Mania of the fourteenth century. Bound to arise -under conditions like the present.” - -The phrases fell on my ear and by their matter-of-factness seemed -to come between me and the fascination which the lullaby and the -rhythmical motion had begun to exercise upon my mind. Almost without -any feeling whatever, I watched the Dancers approaching. - - “_Here we go ... dancing ... under the ... Moon. - Join in our ... chain, it will ... break all too ... soon. - When this verse ... ends, then ... scatter like ... rain; - And each dance a ... lone till we ... form it a ... gain._” - -At the last word of the verse, the procession dissolved into a whirling -crowd of figures, dancing, springing, spinning in their aimless -evolutions. We were caught up in the mob; and only Glendyne’s grip on -my arm prevented my being jostled from his side. A knot of the Dancers -came about us and strove to excite us into their revels. Women with -tossing hair besought us breathlessly to join them; men dragged at us, -striving to bring us out among them. All the faces wore the same look -of ardency, the same expression about the lips. Some were weary; but -still the excitement bore them up in their convulsions. The temptation -to join them became almost irresistible; and I felt myself being drawn -into their ranks when suddenly the singing broke out once more. - - “_Here we go ... dancing ... under the ... Moon...._” - -The procession reformed in haste, gathering length as it went; and the -Dancers began again to move eastward along Oxford Street. I watched -them go, still feeling the attraction long after they were past; and -only some minutes later I realised that Glendyne was still gripping my -arm. - -“Perhaps you understand now the way in which those two girls were -lost,” he said. “A slight weakening of control, eh? Not so bad for a -man; but when a girl gives in to it!... Let’s go up Rathbone Place, -now. I expect we may meet something interesting in that direction.” - -Interesting! I had had enough of interest these last few minutes. I -was still quivering with the rhythm of that doggerel song. However, -I followed him across Oxford Street, into Rathbone Place. Here the -clothed skeletons lay more thickly about our path. Between Oxford -Street and Black Horse Yard I counted thirty-seven. Many of them lay -in the road; but the majority were huddled in corners and doorways, -as though the poor wretches had sought a quiet place in which to die. -In the distance I heard wild shouting and the sound of something like -a tom-tom being beaten intermittently; whilst in the silences between -these outbursts, the roar of the flames somewhere in the neighbourhood -came to me over the roofs. - -At the corner of Gresse Street, a gaunt creature sidled up to us -furtively; looked us up and down for a moment; and whispered to me: -“Are _you_ one of us?” Then, catching sight of the Red Cross on my arm, -he fled into the darkness of the side-street without waiting for an -answer. - -In Percy Street, the _petroleuses_ were at work, methodically drenching -houses with oil and setting them alight. One side of the street was -already ablaze; and the light wind was blowing clouds of sparks -broadcast over the neighbouring roofs. London was clearly doomed. -Nothing could save it now, even had anyone wished to do so. As we stood -at the street-corner, one of the hags passed us and snarled as she went -by: - -“We’ll roast you out of the West End soon, you ---- burjwaw! There’ll -be lights enough for you and yer women to dance by when Molly comes -with her pail. You’ve trod us down and starved us long enough. It’s -our turn now. It’s our turn now, d’yer hear? I could burn ye as -ye stand”--she drew back her bucket as though to drench us with -petrol--“but I want ye to dance with the rest to make it complete. -We’ll fix ye before long, we will.” - -At the southern end of Charlotte Street a rough cross had been erected -in the middle of the road and to it clung the remains of a skeleton. -Most of the bones had fallen to the ground, but enough remained to show -that a body--dead or alive--had been crucified there at one time. Over -the head of the cross was nailed a placard with the inscription: - - ACHTUNG! - EINGANG VERBOTEN. - WIR SIND HIER ZU HAUSE - STÖREN UNS NICHT. - -Glendyne was evidently acquainted with the placard, for he did not -come forward to read it. He turned to the left and led me into Upper -Rathbone Place. - -“Mostly Germans in Charlotte Street now,” he said. “A branch of the -East End colony, and just about as bad as their friends. I pity anyone -who falls into their hands. Ugh!” - -He spat on the ground as though he had a bad taste in his mouth. - -“Thank goodness, this is only a small colony, for that sort of thing is -apt to contaminate everything in its neighbourhood. Down East it’s on a -bigger scale. Hark to that!” - -Across the house-roofs between us and Charlotte Street there came a -long quivering cry as of someone in the extremity of physical and -mental agony; then it was drowned in a burst of laughter. Glendyne -gritted his teeth. - -“To-morrow night, if the moonlight holds, I’ll have an aeroplane down -here and give them a taste. They’re all of a kind, in there; so it’s -easy enough to be sure we get the right ones. Loathsome swine!” - -We cut across into Newman Street. At the door of St. Andrew’s Hall a -weird figure was standing--a man dressed as a faun, evidently in a -costume which had been looted from some theatrical wardrobe. When he -caught sight of us, he ran in our direction, leaping and bounding in an -ungainly fashion along the pavement and halting occasionally to blow -shrilly upon a reed pipe. - -“Pan is not dead!” he cried. “I bring the good tidings! All the world -awakes again after its long sleep; and the fauns in the forests are -pursuing the hamadryads and following the light feet of the oreads once -more upon the hills of Arcady. Io! Io! Evohé! Swift be the hunting! - -“The Old Gods slumbered; but Echo, watching by rock and pool, ever -answered our calling through the years. Awake! Awake! O Gods! Hear -again the pipes of Pan!” - -He blew a melancholy air upon his instrument, prancing grotesquely the -while. - -“Syrinx, reed-maiden, men have not forgotten thee! Again they hear the -wailings of thy soul in the pipes of Pan.” - -He danced again, looking up at the moon. - -“Diana! Long hast thou watched us from thy throne in the skies, but now -the nights of thy hunting are come once more. Prepare the bow, gird -on thy quiver and come with us again as in the days of old. Dost thou -remember the white goat? Join us, O Huntress!” - -Again he made music with his pipes. - -“Syrinx, Syrinx! I come to seek thee in the reeds by the river. Awake! -The world begins anew.” - -And crying “Syrinx, O Syrinx!” he ran from us and disappeared into -Mortimer Street. - -Glendyne turned into Castle Street East. I could not see any reason -for these continual turnings and windings in our wanderings, but I -suppose that he had some definite itinerary in his mind, some route -which would give him the best opportunity of exhibiting to me the -varied aspects of London at this time. Here again the skeletons lay -scattered, though there appeared to be no aggregations of them in any -particular localities. Behind us, the Tottenham Court Road district -seemed ablaze; and flames leaped above the house-roofs to the east. - -Suddenly, after we had passed Berners Street, I heard a confused sound -of shouting, yells, running feet and the notes of a horn. Glendyne -started violently and dragged me rapidly into the shelter of a -house-door near the corner of Wells Street. - -“This is a case where the Red Cross is no protection,” he said -hurriedly. “It’s Herne and his pack. Keep as much under cover as you -can. We shall probably not be noticed,” he added. “They seem to be in -full cry. There!” - -As he spoke, a single man rushed into view at the corner. He was -running with his head down, looking neither to right nor left, but I -caught a glimpse of his face as he passed and I have never seen terror -marked so deeply on any countenance. He was evidently exhausted, yet -he seemed to be driven on by a frantic fear which kept him on his feet -even though he staggered and slipped as he went by. - -“The quarry,” said Glendyne. “Now comes the pack.” - -Almost on the heels of the fugitive, a horde of pursuers swept into -sight: about forty or fifty men and women running with long, easy -strides. Some of them shouted as they ran, others passed in silence; -but all had a dreadful air of intentness. It was more like the final -stage of a fox-hunt than anything else that I can recall. Leading -the crew was a huge negro, running with an open razor in his hand; -and I saw flecks of foam on his mouth as he passed. Next to him was -a chestnut-haired girl wearing an evening dress which had once been -magnificent. She had kilted up the skirt for ease in running. A silver -horn was in her hand; and on it she blew from time to time, whilst the -pack yelled in reply. The whole thing passed in a flash; and we heard -them retreating into the distance towards Oxford Street. - -“What’s that ghastly business?” I asked Glendyne. I had pulled out my -pistol almost unconsciously when the pack swept into sight; but he had -laid a grip on my wrist and prevented me from firing. - -“The nigger in front was Herne--Herne the Hunter, they call him. They -hunt in a pack, you see, and run down any isolated individual they -happen to come across in their prowlings. I wish we could get hold of -them; but they seldom come near any of the picketed areas. They can -get all the sport they need without that. Once the hunt is up, they -recognise nothing. That’s why I told you the Red Cross wouldn’t save -you. If they chase, they kill; and they seem able to run anyone down. I -never heard of a victim escaping them.” - -“What do they do it for?” - -“Pleasure, fun, anything you like. It gives them a peculiar delight to -hunt and kill. You see, Flint, in these times the instincts which are -normally under control have all broken loose upon us; and the hunting -instinct is one of the very oldest we have. In ordinary times, it comes -out in fox-hunting or grouse-shooting or some wild form like that. But -nowadays there is no restraint and the instinct can glut itself to the -full. Man-hunting is the final touch of pleasure for these creatures.” - -“Who was the girl at the head of them?” - -“Oh, that? She was Lady Angela.” He gave a sneering laugh. “What an -incongruity there is in some names! Satanita was what she ought to have -been christened if everyone had their rights. And yet, in the old days, -one could never have suspected this in her. I knew her, you know, and -I more than liked her. She used to sing me old French songs; and one of -them was rather a horrible production. It ought to have put me on my -guard; but I suppose every man is a fool where women are concerned.” - -He broke off and hummed to himself a snatch of an old air: - - “_Pour passer ces nuits blanches, - Gallery, mes enfants, - Chassait tous les dimanches - Et battais les paysans. - Entendez-vous la sarabande?..._” - -“And so now she’s running a kind of Chasse-Gallery on her own account -along with that human devil, Herne. It shows how little one knows.” - -Just as we approached Oxford Mansions, I heard the sound of a -pistol-shot, and when we came up to the spot we found a still warm body -with a Colt automatic clasped in its hand. “Suicide,” said Glendyne -briefly, after examining the body. “The short way out.” - -There was nothing to be done, so we turned away. As we did so a black -shadow dropped out of the sky and I saw a huge crow alighting by the -side of the corpse. I think that this incident made as great an effect -upon me as any. Times had changed indeed when crows became night-birds. -Glendyne watched me drive the brute away from the corpse without -attempting to help. - -“What’s the use? It will be back as soon as we go; and I don’t suppose -you want to stay here all night? Birds are desperate for food nowadays, -and that fellow may give you more than you expect if you don’t leave -him alone. The old fear of man has left them, you know, nowadays.” - -Before we had gone many steps, we encountered another inhabitant, a -cadaverous young man with an acid stain on his sleeve. He stopped and -wished us “Good-evening,” being apparently glad to meet someone to -whom he could talk. It was a relief to find that he appeared to be -perfectly sane. I had become so accustomed to abnormality by this time -that I think his sanity came almost as an unexpected thing. I asked him -what he did to pass the time. - -“I was working at some alkaloid constitutions when the Plague came, and -I just went on with that. I’ve got one definitely settled except for -the position of a single methyl radicle, now; and I think I shall get -that fixed in a day or two. But probably you aren’t a chemist?” - -“No. Not my line.” - -“Rather a pity--for me, I mean. One does like to explain what one has -done; and there’s no chance of that now.” - -It seemed to me a pity that this enthusiast should be lost. Probably -Nordenholt could find some use for him. - -“I think I could put you in touch with some other chemists if you like; -but you would need to trust me in the matter. Is there anyone depending -on you, any relatives?” - -“No, they’re all gone by now.” - -“Well, I think I might manage it. I believe I could put you in the way -of being some use; and it might be the saving of your life, too, for I -suppose your food is almost out.” - -A famished look came into his face and I realised what food meant to -him. - -“Could you? I’d be awfully grateful. I’m down to the laboratory stores -of glycerine and fatty acids now for nourishment, and it’s pretty thin, -I can tell you. Could you really do something?” - -In his excitement, he clutched my arm: and at that he recoiled with a -look of horror on his face. - -“You damned cannibal!” he cried. “Did you think you would take me in? -I suppose your friend was standing by with the sandbag, eh?” - -He retreated a few steps and cursed me with almost hysterical violence. - -“If I had a pistol I would finish you,” he cried. “You don’t deserve -to live. And to think you nearly took me in. I suppose you would have -enticed me to your den with that fairy-tale of yours.” - -And with an indescribable sound of disgust he turned and ran up -Margaret Court, cursing as he went. - -“What’s all that about?” I asked Glendyne. “It’s more than Greek to me.” - -“Of course you wouldn’t understand. I forgot that you people up in -the North don’t know there’s a famine on. Don’t you see that when he -gripped your sleeve he found a normal arm inside instead of a starved -one; and he drew the natural conclusion.” - -“What natural conclusion?” - -“Really, Flint, you are a bit obtuse. You know that food here is almost -unprocurable except by those who have rationed themselves carefully -from the start and have still some stores to go on with. How do you -think the rest of them live? Of course the poor beggar found you in -normal condition and he jumped to the conclusion that you were a -cannibal like a large number of the survivors. What else could he -think? He imagined that we were holding him in talk until we could -sandbag him or knock him out somehow for the sake of his valuable -carcase. See now?” - -This seemed to be the last straw. Curiously enough, I had never given -a thought to the food problem. I had simply assumed that these people -in the streets were living on hoarded stores. Cannibalism! I had never -dreamed of such a thing in London, even this London. - -Glendyne laughed sarcastically at the expression on my face. “Why, you -are nearly as innocent as my poor clerical friend,” he said at last. -“Can’t you understand that _nothing_ counts nowadays. There isn’t any -law, or order, or public opinion or anything else that might restrain -brutes. You’ve got the final argument of civilisation in your pocket--a -brace of them, besides the loose cartridges--and that’s the King and -the Law Courts nowadays. The only thing left is the strong hand; -everything else has gone long ago. For the most of the survivors there -isn’t any morality or ethics or public spirit. They simply want to live -and enjoy themselves; and they don’t care how they do it. Get that well -into your head, Flint.” - -Over the next part of our exploration I may draw a veil. We traversed -the stretch from Oxford Circus to Regent Circus, which was the centre -of the remaining life of London in those days. One cannot describe the -details of saturnalia; and I leave the matter at that. It surpassed my -wildest anticipations. At Piccadilly Circus I found a gigantic negro -acting as priest in some Voodoo mysteries. The court of Burlington -House had been turned into a temple of Khama. I was glad indeed -when we were able to make our way into the less frequented squares -to the north. Even the quiet skeletons seemed more akin to me than -these wretches whom I saw exulting in their devilry. Glendyne had -under-estimated the thing when he said that there was no public opinion -left to control men and women. There was a new public opinion based on -the principle of “Eat, Drink, for to-morrow we die”; and the collective -spirit of these crowds urged humanity on to excesses which no single -individual would have dared. - -We came to the Langham by Cavendish Square and Chandos Street. As we -stood at the hotel door, I could see the lights of the bonfires and -hear the yells and shrieks of the revellers at the Circus; but Langham -Place was comparatively quiet. Eastward, the sky was ruddy with the -flames of the burning city; southward, the bonfires shone crimson -against the pale moonlight; to the north, up Portland Place, the -streets were half in shadow and half lit up by the brilliancy of the -moon. - -We walked northward, taking the unshadowed side of the road. Glendyne -had shown me the worst now, and only the return to our car remained -before us. I drew a breath of relief as we turned the bend of Langham -Place and the bulk of the Langham Hotel cut us off from the sight of -these lights behind us. Here, under the moon, things seemed purer and -more peaceful. - -We came to the corner of Duchess Street without seeing anyone; but just -as we reached the crossing, a familiar figure stepped out. It was Lady -Angela. This time I could see her plainly in the moonlight; a tall, -chestnut-haired girl, beautiful certainly, but with the beauty of an -animal type, tigress-like. Her dress was torn and a splash of fresh -blood lay across her breast. In her hand was the silver horn which I -had noticed before. She started as she recognised Glendyne. - -“Well, Geoffrey,” she said; “we haven’t met for some time. You’re -looking thinner than when I saw you last.” - -It was just as if she were greeting a friend whom she had lost sight -of for a few weeks. She did not seem to see the incongruity of things. -For all that her tone showed, they might have met casually in a -drawing-room. - -“It’s no use, Angela, I saw you in Berners Street to-night, you and -your beasts. I knew all about you long ago. You needn’t pretend with -me.” - -She flushed, not with shame I could guess, but with anger. - -“So you disapprove, do you, little man? You’re one of the kind that -can’t understand a girl enjoying herself, are you? But if I were to -whistle, you would come to heel quick enough. You were keen enough on -me in the old days and I could make you keen again if I wished.” - -She drew herself up and, despite her tattered dress and disordered -hair, she made a splendid figure. Her voice became coaxing. - -“Geoffrey, don’t you think you could take me away from all this? It -isn’t my real self that does these things; it’s something that masters -me and forces me to do them against my will. If you would help me, I -could pull up. You used to be fond of me. Take me now.” - -Glendyne did not hesitate. - -“It’s no good, Angela. You’re corrupt to the core, and you can’t -conceal it. I’ve no use for you. You couldn’t be straight if you tried. -Do you think I want the associate of a nigger? And what a nigger at -that!” - -She began to answer him, but her voice choked with fury. She raised -the silver horn to her lips; blew shrilly for a moment and then cried: -“Herne! Herne! Here’s sport for you! Here’s sport!” - -“I might have known that brute wouldn’t be far off if you were here,” -said Glendyne bitterly. “Flint, use your shots in groups of three. It’s -a signal to the patrol. We may pull out yet. Here they come, the whole -pack!” - -There was a trampling of feet in Duchess Street and I heard quite close -at hand the hunting-cries of the band of ruffians. Glendyne fired nine -times into the darkness of the street and we turned to run. Lady Angela -watched us at first without moving, brooding on her revenge. By the -time we had gone fifty yards, the whole pack was in full cry after us -up Portland Place. - -“We may run across Sanderson’s car before they get us,” Glendyne panted -as he ran beside me. “The triple shots may bring him. Run for all -you’re worth.” - -He had removed the empty magazine as he ran and now turned for a moment -and fired thrice in rapid succession at our pursuers. I did the same. -But there was no check in the chase. We still maintained our distance -ahead of them, but we gained nothing. All at once I began to find -that I was falling behind. I was hopelessly out of training; and my -side ached, while my feet seemed leaden. I ran staggeringly, just as I -had seen the other quarry run in the earlier part of the night; and I -gasped for breath as I ran. - -I shall never forget that nightmare chase. Once I turned round and -fired to gain time if possible. I heard Glendyne’s pistol also, more -than once. But nothing seemed to check the pursuit. I felt it gaining -on me; and the silver horn sounded always nearer each time it blew. It -was no distance that we ran, but the pace was killing. I was afraid -that we might be cut off by a fresh party emerging from Cavendish -Street or Weymouth Street; but we passed these in safety. I learned -afterwards that Herne’s band hunted like hounds, in a body, never -separating into sections. Their pleasure was in the chase as much as -anything; and they employed no strategy to trap their victims. - -Just south of Devonshire Street I stumbled and fell. Glendyne wheeled -round at once and tried to keep off the pack with his pistols; but as -I rose to my feet again I saw them still coming on. The moon showed up -their brutal faces hardly twenty yards away. I had given myself up for -lost, when Glendyne shouted: “Lie down!” and rolled me over with his -hand on my shoulder while he flung himself face downwards on the road. -A dazzling glare shone in my eyes and passed; and then I saw a motor -swinging in the road and the squat shape of a Lewis gun projected over -its side. - -I turned over and saw the pack almost upon us. Then came the roll of -the Lewis gun and the maniacs stopped as though they had struck some -invisible barrier. Herne crashed to the ground. Lady Angela staggered, -stood for a moment fumbling with her horn, and then fell face downward. -The remainder of the band turned and fled into Weymouth Street. - -Glendyne picked himself up and went across to Lady Angela’s body. She -was quite dead, at which he seemed relieved. I understood better when -I saw one of the men in the patrol car going round amongst the wounded -and finishing them with his revolver. - -Sanderson, the patrol leader, spoke a few words to Glendyne; and then -the car swung off into Park Crescent and disappeared. The whole thing -had taken only a few seconds; and we were left alone with the dead. - -“It’s all right now, Flint,” said Glendyne. “They won’t dare to come -back. Besides, the leaders are gone”--he kicked the negro’s body--“and -they were the worst. I’ll take this as a souvenir, I think.” - -He picked up the little silver horn; and I wondered what it would -remind him of in later days. - -It was in Park Crescent that I got my last glimpse of the new London. -On the pavement, half-way round to Copeland Road Station, I saw -something moving; and on examining it closely I found that it was a -dying man. All about him were rats which were attacking him, while he -feebly tried to keep them at bay. He was too weak to defend himself and -already he had been badly bitten. There was nothing to be done; but -Glendyne and I stood beside him till he died, while the rats huddled in -a circle about him, waiting their chance. Glendyne kept them back by -flashing his electric torch on them when they became too venturesome. - -That was my last sight of London in these days; and looking back upon -it, I cannot help feeling that this squalid tragedy was symbolical -of greater things. The old civilisation went its way, healthy on the -surface, full of life and vigour, apparently unshakable in its power. -Yet all the while, at the back of it there lurked in odd corners the -brutal instincts, darting into view at times for a moment and then -returning into the darkness which was their home. Suddenly came the -Famine: and civilisation shook, grew weaker and lost its power over -men. With that, all the evil passions were unleashed and free to run -abroad. Bolder and bolder they grew, till at last civilisation went -down before them, feebly attempting to ward them off and failing more -and more to protect itself. It was the dying man and the rats on a -gigantic scale. - -I came back to the Clyde Valley a very different being. Now I knew what -had to be fought if our Fata Morgana was to rise on solid foundations; -and the task appalled me. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -Reconstruction - - -When I saw Nordenholt again after my return, I found that I had no -need to describe my experiences. He seemed to know exactly where I had -been and what had happened to me. I suspect that Glendyne must have -furnished him with a full report of the night’s doings. - -“Well, Jack,” he greeted me; “what do you think of things now?” - -“I’m down in the depths,” I confessed frankly. “If that’s what lies -at the roots of humanity, I see no chance of building much upon such -foundations. The trail of the brute’s over everything.” - -“Of course it is! The whole of our machine is constructed on a brute -basis. Did you need to go to London to see that? Why, man, every time -you walk you swing your left hand and your right foot in time with each -other; and that’s only a legacy of some four-footed ancestor which ran -with the near fore-leg and off hind-leg acting in unison. Of course -the brute is the basis. A wolf-pack will give you a microcosm of a -nation: family life, struggles between wolf and wolf for a living, -co-operation against an external enemy or prey. But don’t forget that -humanity has refined things a little. Give it credit for that at least. -People laugh at the calf-love of a boy; but in many cases that has no -sexual feeling in it; it has touched a less brutal spring somewhere in -the machine. There’s altruism, too; it isn’t so uncommon as you think. -And patriotism isn’t necessarily confined to a mere tooth-and-claw -grapple with a hated opponent; it might still exist even if wars -were abolished. I know you’re still under the cloud, Jack; but don’t -think that the sun has gone down for good simply because it’s hidden. -All I wanted you to see was that you must be on your guard in your -reconstruction. You and Elsa were planning for an ideal humanity. I -want you to make things bearable for the flesh-and-blood units with -which you have to work. Don’t strain them too high.” - -“I wish I could find my way through it all,” I said. “But anyway I see -your point. What you wanted was to let me know which was sand and which -was rock to build on, wasn’t it? You were afraid I was mistaking it all -for solid ground?” - -“That’s about it. Remember, with decent luck you ought to have a clean -slate to start with. Most of our old troubles have solved themselves, -or will solve themselves in the course of the next few months. There’s -no idle class in the Nitrogen Area; money’s only a convenient fiction -and now they know it by experience; there’s no Parliament, no gabble -about Democracy, no laws that a man can’t understand. I’ve made a clean -sweep of most of the old system; and the rest will go down before we’re -done.” - -“I know that, but to tell the truth I don’t know where to begin -building. It seems an impossible business; the more I look at it the -less confidence I have in myself.” - -“Don’t worry so much about that. You’ll see that it will solve itself -step by step. It’s not so much cut-and-dried plans you need as a -flexible mind combined with general principles. It’s the principles -that will worry you.” - -“I suppose you are right,” I said. - -“It’s obvious if you look at it. Your first stages will be the -getting of these five million people into two sets: one on the land -to cultivate it; the other still working on nitrogen. That’s evident. -The whole of that part of the thing is a matter of statistics and -calculation; there’s nothing in it, so far as thinking goes. After -that, you have to arrange to get the best out of the people mentally -and morally; and I think Elsa will be a help to you there. By the way, -she refuses to leave me.” - -“Then how am I going to get her help?” - -“Oh, I’ve arranged that she is to have lighter work and she’ll have the -evenings free; so you and she can consult then, if you will.” - -This seemed to be enough to go on with. - -“There’s another thing, Jack,” he continued, “I’ve got good news for -you. It appears from the work that the bacteriologists are doing that -_B. diazotans_ is a short-lived creature. According to their results, -the whole lot will die out in less than three months from now, as -far as this part of the country is concerned. Apparently it combined -tremendous reproductive power with a very short existence; and it’s -now reaching the end of its tether. So in three months we ought to be -able to get the nitrogenous stuff on to the fields without any fear -of having it decomposed. That was what always frightened me; for if -_B. diazotans_ had been a permanent thing, the whole scheme would have -collapsed. I foresaw that, but we just had to take the chance; and I -always hoped that if the worst came to the worst we might hit on some -anti-agent which would destroy the brutes. You know that in some places -it hasn’t produced any effect at all; the local conditions seem against -it, somehow.” - - * * * * * - -Reconstruction! I remember those early days when I sat in my office -for hours together, making notes of schemes which I tore up next day -with an ever-increasing irritation at my own sterility. Given a clean -slate to start with, it seems at first sight the easiest thing in the -world to draw the plans of a Utopia, or at any rate to rough in the -outlines when one is not hampered by details. Try it yourself! You may -have better luck or a greater imagination than I had; and possibly -you may succeed in satisfying yourself: but remember that I had real -responsibility upon me; mine was not the easy dreaming of a literary -man dealing with puppets drawn from his ink-pot, malleable to his -will; it was a flesh-and-blood humanity with all its weaknesses, its -failings, its meannesses that I had to deal with in my schemes. - -I cannot tell how many sketches I made and discarded in turn. Most of -them I had not even courage to put upon the files; so that I cannot now -trace the evolution of my ideas. I can recall that, as time went on, my -projects became more and more modest in their scope; and I think that -they seem to fall into four main divisions. - -At the start, I began by imagining an ideal humanity, something like -the dwellers in our Fata Morgana; and from this picture I deducted bit -by bit all that seemed unrealisable with humanity as it was. I cut -away a custom here, a tradition there, until I had reduced the whole -sketch to a framework. And when I put this framework together upon -paper and saw what it contained, I found it to be an invertebrate mass -of disconnected shreds and tatters with no life in it and no hope of -existence. I remember even now the disappointment which that discovery -gave me. I began to understand the gulf between comfortable theories -and hard facts. - -In the next stage of my development, I leaned mainly upon the future. I -was still under the sting of my disillusion; and I discarded the idea -that existing humanity could ever enter the courts of Fata Morgana. I -tried to plan foundations upon which the newer generations could rise -to the heights. Education! Had we ever in the old days understood the -meaning of the word? Had we ever consciously tried to draw out all -that was best in the human mind? Or had we merely stuffed the human -intellect with disconnected scraps of knowledge, the mere bones from -which all the flesh had wasted away? We had a clean slate--how often -my mind recurred to that simile in those days--could we not write -something better upon it than had been written in the past? A chasm -separated us from the older days; we need be hampered by no traditions. -Could we not start a fresh line? - -I pondered this for days on end. It seemed to be feasible in some ways; -but in other directions I saw the difficulties to the full. The clean -slate was not a real thing at all. Environment counts for so much; and -all the adult minds in the community had been bred in the atmosphere of -the past. Their influence would always be there to hamper us, bearing -down upon the younger generations and cramping them in the old ideas. -There could be no clean severance between present and future, only a -gradual change of outlook through the years. - -My third stage of evolution led on from this conclusion. I accepted the -present as it was and then tried to discover ways in which improvements -might be made in the future. Again I spent days in picking out faults -and making additions to the fabric of society; and at the end of it -all I found, as I had done before, that the result was a patchwork, -something which had no organic life of its own. - -At this point, I think, I began to despair entirely; and I fell -back upon pure materialism. I considered the matter solely from the -standpoint of the practical needs of the time; for there I felt myself -upon sure ground. Whatever happened, I must have ready a concrete -scheme which would tide us over our early stages in the future. - -I secured statistics showing the proportions of the population which -would be required in all the different branches of labour during -the coming year; and in doing this I had to divide them into groups -according as they were to work on the land or were required for keeping -up the supply of fixed nitrogen from the factories. My charts showed -me the areas which we expected to have under cultivation at given -dates in the future. I was back again in the unreal world of graphs -and curves; and I think that in some ways it was an advantage to me to -eliminate the human factor. It kept me from brooding too much over my -recollections of humanity in its decline. - -On this materialistic basis, the whole thing resolved itself into -a problem of labour economy: the devising of a method whereby the -greatest yield of food could be obtained with the smallest expenditure -of power. Here I was on familiar ground; for it was my factory problem -over again, though the actual conditions were different. There were -only two main sides to the question: on the one hand I had to ensure -the greatest amount of food possible and on the other I had to look to -the ease of distribution of that food when it was produced. The idea of -huge tractor-ploughed areas followed as a matter of course; and from -this developed the conception of humanity gathered into a number of -moderately-sized aggregations rather than spread in cottages here and -there throughout the country-side. Each of these centres of population -would contain within itself all the essentials of existence and would -thus be a single unit capable of almost independent existence. - -Having in this way roughed out my scheme, other factors forced -themselves on my attention. I had no wish to utilise the old villages -which still remained dotted here and there about the country-side. -Their sizes and positions had been dictated by conditions which had -now passed away; and it seemed better to make a clean sweep of them -and start afresh. From the purely practical standpoint, the erection -of huge phalansteries at fixed points would no doubt have been the -simplest solution of the problem; but I rejected this conception. I -wanted something better than barracks for my people to live in. I -wanted variety, not a depressing uniformity. And I wanted beauty also. - -Step by step I began to see my way clearer before me. And now that -I look back upon it, I was simply following in the track of Nature -herself. To make sure of the material things, to preserve the race -first of all; then to increase comfort, to make some spot of the -Earth’s surface different from the rest for each of us, to create a -“home”; lastly, when the material side had been buttressed securely, -to turn to the mind and open it to beauty: that seems to me to be the -normal progress of humanity in the past, from the Stone Age onwards. - - * * * * * - -It was at this period that Elsa Huntingtower came more into my life. -While I was laying down the broad outlines of the material side of the -coming reconstruction, I had preferred to work alone; for in dealing -with problems of this nature, it seems to me best to have a single mind -upon the work. It was largely a matter of dry statistics, calculations, -graphs, estimates, cartography and so forth; and since it seemed to me -to be governed almost entirely by practical factors, I did not think -that much could be gained by calling for her help. I waited till I had -the outlines of the project completed before applying to Nordenholt in -the matter. When I spoke to him, he agreed with what I had done. - -“I don’t want to see your plans, Jack. It’s your show; and if I were to -see them I would probably want to make suggestions and shake your trust -in your own judgment. Much better not.” - -“What about Miss Huntingtower’s help? Am I not to get that?” - -“That’s a different matter entirely. She ought to give you the feminine -point of view, which I couldn’t do. Let’s see. She can consult with you -in the evenings. Will that do?” - -I agreed; and it was arranged that thereafter I was to spend the -evenings at Nordenholt’s house, where she and I could discuss things -in peace. Nordenholt left us almost entirely to ourselves, though -occasionally he would come into the room where we worked: but he -refused to take any interest in our affairs. - -“One thing at a time for me, nowadays,” he used to say, when she -appealed to him. “My affair is to bring things up to the point where -you two can take over. Your business is to be ready to pull the -starting-lever when I give you the word. I won’t look beyond my limits.” - -And, indeed, he had enough to do at that time. Things were not always -smooth in the Nitrogen Area; and I could see signs that they might -even become more difficult. Since I had left my own department, I had -gained more information about the general state of affairs; and I could -comprehend the possibilities of wreckage which menaced us as the months -went by. - -I have said before that it is almost impossible for me to retrace in -detail the evolution of my reconstruction plans; and in the part where -Elsa Huntingtower and I collaborated, my recollections are even more -confused than they are with regard to the work I did alone. So much of -it was developed by discussions between us that in the end it was hard -to say who was really responsible for the final form of the schemes -which we laid down in common. She brought a totally new atmosphere into -the problem, details mostly, but details which meant the remodelling of -much that I had planned. - -One example will be sufficient to show what I mean. I had, as I have -mentioned, planned a series of semi-isolated communities scattered over -the cultivable area; and I had gone the length of getting my architects -to design houses which I thought would be the best possible compromise: -something that would please the average taste without offending people -who happened to be particular in details. I showed some of these -drawings to her, expecting approval. She examined them carefully for a -long time, without saying anything. - -“Well, Mr. Flint,” she said at last, “I know you will think I am very -hard to please; but personally I wouldn’t live in one of these things -if you paid me to do it.” - -“What’s wrong with them? That one was drawn by Atkinson, and I believe -he’s supposed to be a rather good architect.” - -“Of course he is. That’s just what condemns him in my mind. Don’t you -know that for generations the ‘best architects’ have been imposing on -people, giving them something that no one wants; and carrying it off -just because they are the ‘best architects’ and are supposed to know -what is the right thing. And not one of them ever seems to have taken -the trouble to find out what a woman wants, in a house. Not one. - -“Don’t you see the awful sameness in these designs, for one thing? You -men seem to think that if you get four walls and a roof, everything -is all right. Can’t you understand that one woman wants something -different from another one?” - -There certainly was a monotony about the designs, now I came to look at -them. - -“Now here’s a suggestion,” she went on. “It may not be practical, but -it’s your business to make it practicable, and not simply to accept -what another man tells you is possible or impossible. You say that your -trouble is that you want to standardise, so as to make production on a -large scale easy. So you’ve simply set out to standardise your finished -product; and you want to build so many houses of one type and so many -of another type and let your people choose between the two types. Now -my idea is quite different. Suppose that you were to standardise your -_material_ so that it is capable of adaptation? You see what I mean?” - -“I’m afraid I don’t,” I said. - -“Like Meccano. You get a dozen strips of metal and some screws and -wheels; and out of that you can build fifty different models, using the -same pieces in each model. Well, why not try to design your girders and -beams and doors and so forth, in such a way that out of the same set -you could erect a whole series of different houses. It doesn’t seem to -me an impossibility if you get someone with brains to do it.” - -“It sounds all right in theory; but I’m not so sure about the practical -side.” - -“Of course if you put some old fogey on to it he won’t be able to -do it; but try a young man who believes in the idea and you’ll -get it done, I’m sure. It may mean making each part a little more -complicated than it would normally be; but that doesn’t matter much in -mass-production, does it?” - -“It’s not an insuperable difficulty.” - -“Well, another thing. Get your architect to draw up sketches of all the -possible combinations he can get out of his standardised material; and -then when people want a house, they can look at the different designs -and among them all they are almost sure to find something that suits -their taste. It is much better than your idea of three or four standard -house-patterns, anyway.” - -“I’ll see what can be done.” - -“Oh, the thing will be easy enough if you mean to have it. A child can -build endless castles with a single box of bricks; and surely a man’s -brain ought to be able to do with beams and joists what a child does -with bricks.” - -I give this as an example of her suggestions. Some of her improvements -seemed trivial to me; but I took it that it was just these trivial -things that made all the difference to a feminine mind; so I followed -her more or less blindly. - -Our collaboration was an ideal one, notwithstanding some hard-fought -debatable points. More and more, as time went on, I began to understand -the wisdom Nordenholt had shown in demanding that I should take her -into partnership. Our minds worked on totally different lines; but for -that very reason we completed each other, one seeing what the other -missed. I found that she was open to conviction if one could actually -put a finger on any weak point in her schemes. - -And, behind the details of our plans, I began to see more and more -clearly the outlines of her character. I suppose that most men, thrown -into daily contact with any girl above the average in looks and brains, -will drift into some sort of admiration which is hardly platonic; but -in these affairs propinquity usually completes what it has begun by -showing up weak points in character or little mannerisms which end by -repelling instead of attracting. In a drawing-room, people are always -on their guard to some extent; but in the midst of absorbing work, -real character comes out. One sees gaps in intelligence; failures -to follow out a line of thought become apparent; any inharmony in -character soon makes itself felt. One seldom sees teachers marrying -their girl-students. But in Elsa Huntingtower I found a brain as good -as my own, though working along different lines. I expect that her -association with Nordenholt had given her chances which few girls ever -have; but she had natural abilities which had been sharpened by that -contact. She puzzled me, I must admit. My mind works very much in -the concrete; I like to see every step along the road, to test each -foothold before trusting my weight upon it. To me, her mental processes -seemed to depend more upon some intuition than did mine; but I believe -now that her reasoning was as rigid as my own and that it seemed -disjointed merely because her steps were different from mine. My brain -worked in arithmetical progression, if I may put it so, whilst hers -followed a geometrical progression. Often it was a dead heat between -the hare and the tortoise; for my steady advance attained the goal just -when her mysterious leaps of intelligence had brought her to the same -point by a different path. - -It was not until we had cleared the ground of the main practical -difficulties that we allowed ourselves to think of the future. At -first, everything was subordinated to the necessity of getting -something coherent planned which would be ready for the ensuing stage -after the Nitrogen Area had done its work. But once we had convinced -ourselves that we had roughed out things on the material side, we -turned our minds in other directions as a kind of relaxation. Of course -we held divergent opinions upon many questions. - -“What you want, Mr. Flint, is to build a kind of human rabbit hutch, -designed on the best hygienic lines. I can see that at the back of your -mind all the time. You think material things ought to come first, don’t -you?” - -“I certainly want to see the people well housed and well cared for -before going any further.” - -“And then?” - -“Oh, after that, I want other things as well, naturally.” - -“Well, I’ll tell you what I want. I want to see them _happy_.” - -I can still remember that evening. The table between us was covered -with papers; and a shaded lamp threw a soothing light upon them. All -the rest of the room was in shadow; and I saw her face against the -setting of the darkness behind her. In the next room I could feel -the slow steps of Nordenholt in his study, pacing up and down as he -revolved some problem in his mind. - -“When I think about it,” she went on, after a pause, “you men amaze -me. In the mass, I mean, of course; I’m not talking about individuals. -There seem to be three classes of you. The biggest class is simply -looking for what it calls ‘a good time.’ It wants to enjoy itself; -it looks on the world just as a playground; and it never seems to get -beyond the stage of a child crying for amusement in a nursery. At the -end of things, that type leaves the world just where the world was -before. It achieves nothing; and often it merely bores itself. It -doesn’t even know how to look for happiness. I don’t see much chance -for that type in the future, now that things have changed. - -“Then there’s a second class which is a shade better. They want to -make money; and they’re generally successful in that, for they are -single-minded. But in concentrating on money, it seems to me, they -lose everything else. In the end, they can do nothing with their money -except turn it into more. They can’t spend it profitably; they haven’t -had the education for that. They just gather money in, and gather it -in, and become more and more slaves to their acquisitive instincts. -To a certain extent they are better than the first type of men, for -they do incidentally achieve something in the world. You can’t begin -to make money without doing _something_. You need to manufacture or -to transport goods or develop resources or organise in some way; so -mankind as a whole profits incidentally. - -“Then you come to the last of the types: the men who want to _do_ -something. Activity is their form of happiness. All the inventors and -discoverers and explorers belong to that class, all the artists and -engineers and builders of things, great or small. Their happiness is -in creation, bringing something new into the world, whether it’s new -knowledge or new methods or new beauty. But they are the smallest class -of all.” - -“What amazes you in that?” - -“The difference in the proportions of men in the different classes, of -course. You know what the third type get out of life: you’re one of -them yourself. Wouldn’t things be better if everyone got these things? -Don’t you think the pleasure of creation is the greatest of all?” - -“Of course I do; but that’s because I’m built that way. I can’t help -it.” - -“Well, I think that a good many of the rest of us have the instinct -too; but it gets stifled very early. It seems to me that our education -in the past has been all wrong. It has never been education at all, in -the proper sense of the term. It’s been a case of putting things into -minds instead of drawing out what the mind contains already.” - -I was struck by the similarity between her thoughts and my own upon -this matter; but after all, there was nothing surprising in that; it -was what everyone thought who had speculated at all on the problem. She -was silent for a time; then she continued: - -“It’s just like the thing we were speaking of to-night. A child’s -mind is like a box of bricks; and each child has a different box with -bricks unlike those of any other child. Our educational system has been -arranged to force each child to build a standard pattern of house from -its bricks, whether the bricks were suitable or not. The whole training -has been drawn up to suit what they call ‘the average child’--a thing -that never existed. So you get each child’s mind cramped in all sorts -of directions, capacities stifled, a rooted distaste for knowledge -engendered--a pretty result to aim at!” - -“I don’t think you realise the difficulties of the thing,” I said. “The -younger generation isn’t a handful; it’s a largish mass to tackle: -and one must cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth. The number of -possible instructors is limited by the labour market.” - -“Hearken to the voice of the ‘practical man.’” She laughed, but not -unkindly. “You don’t seem to realise, Mr. Flint, that things _can_ be -done if one is determined to do them--physical impossibilities apart, -of course. When a conjurer devises a trick, do you think that he sets -out by considering his available machinery? Not at all. He first thinks -of the illusion he wants to produce; and he fits his machinery to that. -What we need to do is to fix on our aim and then invent machinery for -it. You seem to me always to put the cart before the horse and to work -on the lines: ‘What can we do with the machinery we have?’ That’s all -wrong, you know. We’re on the edge of a new time now; and we can do -as we please. The old system is gone; and we can set up anything we -choose. What we have to be sure is that the end we work toward is the -right one.” - -We discussed education from various points of view, I remember; but -what struck me most in her ideas was the emphasis which she laid on -the faculty of wonder. One of her fears was that, in the stress of the -new time, life would become machine-made and that the human race might -degenerate into a mere set of engine-tenders to whom the whole world of -imagination was closed. - -“I would begin with the tiny children,” she said, “and feed their minds -on fairy tales. Only they would be new kinds of fairy tales--something -to bring the wonder of Fairyland into their daily life. The old fairy -tales were always about things ‘once upon a time’ and in some dim -far-off country which no child ever reached. I want to bring Fairyland -to their very doors and keep some of the mystery in life. I wouldn’t -mind if they grew superstitious and believed in gnomes and elves and -sprites and such things, so long as they felt the world was wonderful. -We mustn’t let them become mere slaves to machinery. Life needs a tinge -of unreality if one is to get the most out of it, so long as it is the -right kind of unreality. Did you ever read Hudson’s _Crystal Age_?” - -“No, I never came across it.” - -“Do you mind if I show you something in it?” - -She rose and took down a book from its shelf; then, coming back into -the lamplight, searched for a passage and began to read: - -“‘Thus ... we come to the wilderness of Coradine.... There a stony -soil brings forth only thorns, and thistles, and sere tufts of grass; -and blustering winds rush over the unsheltered reaches, where the -rough-haired goats huddle for warmth; and there is no melody save -the many-toned voices of the wind and the plover’s wild cry. There -dwell the children of Coradine, on the threshold of the wind-vexed -wilderness, where the stupendous columns of green glass uphold the roof -of the House of Coradine; the ocean’s voice is in their rooms, and the -inland-blowing wind brings to them the salt spray and yellow sand swept -at low tide from the desolate floors of the sea, and the white-winged -bird flying from the black tempest screams aloud in their shadowy -halls. There, from the high terraces, when the moon is at its full, we -see the children of Coradine gathered together, arrayed like no others, -in shining garments of gossamer threads, when, like thistledown chased -by eddying winds, now whirling in a cloud, now scattering far apart, -they dance their moonlight dances on the wide alabaster floors; and -coming and going they pass away, and seem to melt into the moonlight, -yet ever to return again with changeful melody and new measures. And, -seeing this, all those things in which we ourselves excel seem poor in -comparison, becoming pale in our memories. For the winds and waves, and -the whiteness and grace, have been ever with them; and the winged seed -of the thistle, and the flight of the gull, and the storm-vexed sea, -flowering in foam, and the light of the moon on sea and barren land, -have taught them this art, and a swiftness and grace which they alone -possess.’” - -The moonbeam-haunted vision which the words called up seemed to touch -something in my mind; a long-closed gate of Faery swung softly -ajar; and once more I seemed to hear the faint and far-off horns of -Elfland as I had heard them when I was a child. Wearied with toil in -my ruthless world of the present, I paused, unconscious for a moment, -before this gateway of the Unreal. I felt the call of the seas that -wash the dim coasts of Ultima Thule and of the strange birds crying to -each other in the trees of Hy-Brasil. - -Miss Huntingtower sat silent; and when I came out of these few seconds -of reverie, I found that she had been watching my expression keenly: - -“You ‘wake from day-dreams to this real Night,’ apparently, Mr. Flint. -I could see you had gone a-wandering, even if it was only for an -instant or two. I’m glad; for it shows you understand.” - - * * * * * - -I have given an account of some of these apparently aimless and -inconclusive discussions between us in order to show clearly the manner -in which we went to work. At first, we oscillated between the practical -side of things, the planning of houses, the laying out of towns, the -applications of electricity and so forth, on the one hand, and the -most abstract considerations of the mental side of the problem on the -other. I remember that one evening we began with the desirability of -uniforms for the population while at work. I was in favour of it on -the grounds that it would facilitate mass-production and would also -mark the worker’s trade and possibly thus develop a greater _esprit de -corps_. She conceded these points, but insisted that women should be -allowed to dress as they chose, once their work was done. This brought -us to the question of luxury trades, and so led by degrees to the -consideration of the cultivation of artistic taste and finally to the -problems of Art in general under the new conditions. Looking back, I -see that our earlier advances were mainly gropings towards something -which we had not clearly conceived ourselves. We did not know exactly -what we wanted; and we threshed out many matters more for the sake -of clarifying our ideas than with any real intention of applying our -conclusions in practice. - -Gradually, however, things grew more definite as we proceeded. We had -certain ideas in common, general principles which we both accepted: -and as time went on, this skeleton began to clothe itself in flesh and -become a living organism. She converted me to her idea that happiness -meant more than anything, provided it was gained in the right way. -Altruism was her ideal, I found, because to her it appeared to be the -most general mode of reaching contentment. At the back of all her -ideas, this ideal seemed to lie. She wanted the new world to be a happy -world; and each of her suggestions and all of her criticism took this -as a basis. - -It seems hardly necessary to enter into an account of the final form -which we gave to our plans. It was not Fata Morgana that we built; -but I think that at least we laid the foundation-stone upon which our -dream-city may yet arise. These far-flung communities which you know -to-day, these groves and pleasure-grounds, these lakes and pleasances, -bright streets and velvet lawns, all sprang from our brain: and the -children who throng them, happier and more intelligent than their -fathers in their day, are also in part our work, taught and trained in -the ideals which inspired us. If anything, we were too timid in our -planning, for we had no clue to what the future held in store for us. -Had we known in time, we might have ventured to launch into the air -the high towers of Fata Morgana itself to catch the rising sun. On the -material side, we could have done it; but I believe we were wise in -our timidity. Dream-cities are not to be trodden by the human foot. -The refining of mankind will be a longer process than the building of -cities; and only a pure race could live in happiness in that Theleme -which we planned. - -Looking backward, I think that during all these hours of designing -and peering into the future I caught something of her spirit and she -something of mine. By imperceptible stages we came together, mind -reaching out to mind. Unnoticed by ourselves, our collaboration grew -more efficient; our divergences less and less. - -I can still recall these long lamp-lit evenings, the rustle of her -skirts as she moved about the room, the cadences of her voice, the -eagerness and earnestness of her face under its crown of fair hair. -Often, as we moulded the future in that quiet room with its shaded -lights, we must have seemed like children with an ever-new plaything -which changed continually beneath our hands. Meanwhile, over us and -between us stood the shadow of Nordenholt, ever grimmer as the days -went by, carrying his projects to their ruthless termination like some -great machine which pursues its appointed course uninfluenced by human -failings or human desires. To me, at that time, he seemed to loom above -us like some labouring Titan, aloof, mysterious, inscrutable. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -Winter in the Outer World - - -My narrative has hitherto been confined to affairs in the British -Isles; but to give a complete picture of the time I must now deal, even -though very briefly, with the effects of _B. diazotans_ in other parts -of the globe. My account will, of necessity, be incomplete: because our -knowledge of that period is at best a scanty one. - -I have already indicated the part which the great air-ways played in -distribution of _B. diazotans_ over the world; but once it had been -planted in the new centres to which the aeroplanes carried it, other -factors came into action. From South-western Europe, the North-East -Trade Winds bore the bacilli across the Atlantic and spread them upon -the seaboard of South America, especially around the mouths of the -Amazon. The winds on the coast of North America caught up the germs and -drove them eventually to Scandinavia and even further east. New Guinea, -Borneo, Sumatra and the other islands of the chain were devastated -from the Australian centres. Madagascar was contaminated also, though -the point of origin in this case is not definitely known. Probably -the ocean currents played their part, as they certainly did in the -destruction of Polynesian vegetation. - -Climate had a considerable influence upon the development of the -bacilli, once they were scattered. In the Tropics, they multiplied with -even greater rapidity than they had done in the North Temperate Zone. -On the Congo and in the Amazonian forests they seem to have undergone -a process of reproduction almost inconceivably swift. Those which -drifted up into the frigid regions of the North and South, however, -appear to have perished almost without a struggle: either on account of -the low temperature or the lack of nitrogenous material, they produced -very little effect in either of these districts. The sea-plants seem to -have been unaffected by them there; and one of the strangest results of -this inactivity was the complete change in habits of various fishes, -which now sought in the freezing North the feeding and breeding-grounds -which suited them best. The herring left the North Sea and the cod -quitted the Banks in search of purer water. On the other hand, the -great masses of weed in the Sargasso Sea were almost completely -destroyed, along with the other accumulations south-east of New Zealand -and in the North Pacific. - -It must not be assumed, however, that wherever the colonies of _B. -diazotans_ alighted, devastation followed as a matter of course. For -some reason, which has never been made clear, certain areas proved -themselves immune from attack; so that they remained like oases of -cultivable land amid the surrounding deserts. The areas thus preserved -from sterility were not of any great size; usually they amounted only -to a few hundred acres in extent, though in isolated cases larger -tracts were found unaffected here and there. - -With the recognition of the world-wide influence of _B. diazotans_, the -land became divided into two sections: the food-producing districts and -the consuming but non-productive areas. Nowhere was there sufficient -grain to make safety a certainty. In America, most of the available -food-stuffs were still in or near their places of origin when the panic -began to grow. - -In the matter of meat, things were much in the same state. Those -countries which produced great supplies of cattle prohibited exports; -and the beasts were hurriedly slaughtered and the carcases salted to -preserve them, as soon as the failure of the grass made it impossible -to conserve live-stock. - -Each country offered features of its own in the _débâcle_; but I can -only deal with one or two outstanding cases here. - -The European conditions were so similar to those which I have already -depicted in the case of Britain that I need not describe them at -all. Southern Russia fared better than her neighbours; for after the -Famine there were still some remnants of her population left alive; -and it seems probable that the lower density of the Russian population -retarded the extinction of humanity in this region long after the worst -period had been reached in the western area. - -In Africa and India, the course of the devastation was marked by -risings in which all Europeans seem to have perished. Thus we have no -descriptions of the later stages of the disaster in either case. - -In China, the inhabitants of the densely-populated rice-growing -districts of Eastern China were the first to have the true position of -affairs forced upon their notice; and, leaving their useless fields, -they began to move westwards. At first the stirrings were merely -sporadic; but gradually these isolated movements reinforced one another -until some millions of Chinese were drifting into Western China and -setting up reactions among the populations which they encountered on -their way. From Manchuria, great masses of them forced their way up -the Amur Valley into Transbaikalia. Others, sweeping over Pekin on the -road, emerged upon the banks of the Hoang Ho. The inhabitants of the -Honan Province moved westward, increasing in numbers as they recruited -from the local populations _en route_. A massacre of foreigners took -place all over China. - -In its general character, this huge wandering of the Mongol races -recalls the movements which led eventually to the downfall of the -Roman Empire; but the parallel is illusory. In the days of Gengis -Khan, the Eastern hordes could always find food to support them on -their line of march, either in the form of local supplies which they -captured, or in the herds which they drove with them as they advanced. -But in this new tumultuous outbreak, food was unprocurable; and the -irruption melted away almost before the confines of China had been -reached. Some immense bands descended from Yunnan into Burmah; but they -appear to have perished among the rotting vegetation. Another series -of smaller bodies penetrated into Thibet, where they died among the -snows. The furthest stirrings of the wave appear to have been felt in -Chinese Turkestan; and apparently Kashgar and Yarkand were centres from -which other waves might have spread: but it seems probable that these -westernmost movements were checked by the tangle of the Pamirs and -Karakorams. Nothing appears to have reached Samarkand. But here, again, -it is difficult to discover what actually did occur. Any survivors who -have been interrogated are of the illiterate class, who had no definite -conception of the route which they followed in their wanderings. - -The history of Japan under the influence of _B. diazotans_ is of -especial interest, since it presents the closest parallel to our own -experiences. At the outbreak of the Famine, the practical minds of -the Japanese statesmen seem to have acted with the promptitude which -Nordenholt had shown. They had not his psychological insight, it is -true; but they had a simpler problem before them, since they could -ignore public opinion entirely. Fairly complete accounts of their -operations are in existence, so far as the outer manifestations of -their policy are concerned, though we know little as yet of the inner -history of the events. - -Kiyotome Zada appears to have been the Japanese Nordenholt. Under -his direction, two great expeditions raided Manchuria and Eastern -China with the object of capturing the largest possible quantity -of food-stuffs. It is probable that these two invasions, with the -consequent loss of food-supplies, led to the great stirrings among the -population of China. A Nitrogen Area was set up in the South Island, -the Kobe shipyards being its nucleus. Thereafter the history follows -very closely upon that of the Clyde Valley experiment, except in its -last stages. - -Among the other Pacific communities the Famine proved almost completely -destructive. I have already told of the spreading of _B. diazotans_ -through the chain of islands between Australia and Burmah. In Australia -itself no attempt was made to found a nitrogen-producing plant on a -sufficiently large scale. - -One curious episode deserves mention. In the earlier days of the -Famine, news reached the Australian ports that certain of the -Polynesian islands were still free from the scourge; and a frenzied -emigration followed. But each ship carried with it the freight of _B. -diazotans_, so that this exodus merely served to spread the bacilli -into spots which otherwise they might not have reached. Before very -long the whole of Polynesia was involved in the disaster. Some diaries -have been discovered on board deserted vessels; and in every case the -history is the same: the long search through devastated islands, the -discovery at last of some untouched spot in the ocean wilderness, the -rejoicings, the landing, and then, a few days later, the realisation -that here also the bacillus had made its appearance. What seems most -curious is the fact that in many cases it was weeks before the ship’s -company grasped the apparently obvious truth that their own appearance -coincided with the arrival of the fatal germs. It never seems to have -occurred to any of them that they bore with them the very thing which -they were trying to escape. So they went from island to island, -seeking refuge from a plague which stood ever at their elbow, until at -last their stores failed. - -On the West Coast of South America a new phenomenon appeared. The -huge deposits of nitrates in Bolivia and South Peru formed the best -breeding-ground for _B. diazotans_ which had yet been detected, with -the result that nitrogen poured into the atmosphere in unheard-of -volumes. In most places the winds were sufficient to disperse these -invisible clouds of gas; but in some spots the arrival of the bacilli -coincided with a dead calm, so that the nitrogen remained in the -neighbourhood in which it was generated. The great salt swamp in the -Potosi district furnished the best example of this phenomenon. The -whole surface frothed and boiled for days together; and the atmosphere -in the neighbourhood became so heavily charged with nitrous fumes that -the air was almost unbreatheable. All the inhabitants of the district -fled before this, to them, inexplicable danger; and the effects -extended as far as Llica and the railway junction at Uyuni. In this -“caliche” district, the destruction of combined nitrogen probably -attained its maximum; and the propagation of _B. diazotans_ never -reached such a level in any other part of the world. - -But with this enormous multiplication of the bacilli, other events -followed. Carried north and east by winds, these huge quantities -of the germs found their way into the headwaters of the Amazon and -its tributaries, and were thus carried eastward into the very heart -of the tropical forests, where they continued to breed with almost -inconceivable rapidity. Soon the whole of the vegetation in this region -was in a decline; and the Amazon valley degenerated into a swamp choked -with dead and dying plants. Humanity was driven out long before the -end came. Animal life could not persist in the midst of this noisome -wilderness. - -The same phenomena appeared, though in a different form, over the -southern part of South America. Here also the great rivers formed -the main distributing agencies for the bacilli; and the whole -cattle-raising district was devastated. The stock was slaughtered -on a huge scale as soon as it became clear that vegetation had -perished; but owing to mismanagement and transport difficulties the -preservatives necessary to make the best of the meat thus obtained were -not procurable in sufficient quantities. Nevertheless, by converting -as much as possible into biltong, more than sufficient was preserved -to keep a very large part of the population alive during the Famine; -and in later days, by trading their surplus dried meat for cereals and -nitrogenous compounds, they succeeded in rescuing a greater proportion -of lives than might have been anticipated. - -To complete this survey of the world at that period, the effect of -_B. diazotans_ upon North America still remains to be told. I have -already given some information with regard to the spread of the Blight -across the Middle West; but I must mention that it was in this part -of the world especially that these curious isolated immune areas were -observed, wherein the bacillus seemed to make no headway. Thousands of -acres in all were found to be untouched by the denitrifying organisms. - -At the time of the Famine the civilisation of North America was in a -curious condition, mainly owing to the influx of a foreign element -which had taken place to a greater and greater extent after the War. -The immigrants had come in such numbers that assimilation of them was -impossible, and in this way the stability of the central Government -was weakened. To a great extent the Southern States had fallen into -the hands of the negroes, but similar segregations were to be found -in other parts of the country. Germans accumulated in one State, -Italians in another, East Europeans and Slavs in yet other areas. Thus -Congress became subject to the group system of government, with all the -weaknesses which such a system brings in its train. - -When _B. diazotans_ first made its appearance in the Continent the -Government in power was composed of feeble men, without character and -unfitted for bold decisions. The prohibition of cereal exports was a -measure arising from panic rather than foresight; and once this had -been put in operation, the Government rested on its oars and awaited -the turn of events. - -Thus at this period the United States presented the spectacle of a -series of unsympathetic communities united by the slender bonds of a -weak central Government, and divided amongst themselves by the very -deepest cleavages. The grain-growing districts regarded the cities as -parasites upon the food-supply which had been raised; while the city -population, having only secured a certain amount of the available -food-stuffs, looked upon the Middle Westerners as an anti-social group -of hoarders. But even within these two large groups, minor cleavages -had come to light. The poorer classes, appalled at the rise in prices, -had begun to cry out against the rich. Hasty and ill-considered -legislation was passed which, instead of curing the troubles, merely -served to augment them; and soon the whole country was seething with -undercurrents of hatred for government of any kind. - -With so much inflammable material, an outbreak was only a question of -time; and soon something almost akin to anarchy prevailed. Food at -any price became the cry. Those who controlled great stores of grain -had to defend them; those who lacked sustenance had no reason to -wait in patience. Civil war of the most bitter type broke out almost -simultaneously throughout the country. - -Hostilities took a form which had never been imagined in any previous -fighting. In the old days one of the main objectives in the siege of -an area was the shutting out of supplies from the besieged garrison. -In this American war, however, the exact opposite held good. A -starving population encircled the areas in which food was stored -and endeavoured to force its way in; while the defenders were well -supplied with rations. Nor was this all. It was well recognised -among the besiegers that the supplies within the besieged area were -insufficient to meet the demands which would be made upon them if the -attacking force as a whole broke through the line of the defence; and -therefore each individual attacker felt that his comrades were also his -competitors, whom he had no great desire to see survive. Again, in the -previous history of warfare, any loss on the part of the garrison was -irreparable, since no reinforcements could penetrate the encircling -lines of enemies; but in this new form of combat any member of the -attacking force was willing to secede to the garrison if they would -allow him to do so, since by this means he could secure food. Thus -the casualties of the garrison could be made good simply by admitting -besiegers to take the place of those who had been killed. - -In the main, these sieges took place at points where the harvested -grain, such as it was, had been accumulated for transport; but even the -areas which had proved immune from the attacks of _B. diazotans_ were -attacked by far-sighted men who looked beyond the immediate future and -who wished to control these remaining fertile areas in view of next -year’s supplies. - -I have before me the diary of a combatant in one of these operations; -and it appears to me that I can best give an idea of the prevailing -conditions by summarising his narrative. - -At the time of the outbreak he resided in Omaha; and the earlier -pages of his journal are occupied by a description of some rioting -which occurred in that city, ending with its destruction by fire. -During the upheaval he became possessed, in some way which he does -not describe, of a rifle, a considerable amount of ammunition, a -certain store of food. Thus equipped, and accompanied by four friends -similarly provided, young Hinkinson was able to get away in a Ford car -from Omaha in advance of the main body of citizens who were now left -houseless. Rumours of food-supplies led them towards Cedar Falls; but -at Ackley they discovered the error of their information and were for a -time at fault. Turning southward, they followed various indications and -finally located a fertile area in the triangle Mexico-Moberly-Hannibal. -At Palmyra, their motor broke down permanently; and they were forced to -abandon it. Collecting as much of their equipment as they could carry, -they tramped along the railway line and eventually reached Monroe City, -which was very close to the outer edge of the contest raging around the -fertile area. - -From indications in the diary, it seems clear that Hinkinson and his -companions expected to find at Monroe City some sort of headquarters of -the attacking forces; but as they were unable to discover anything of -the kind, they continued their march, being joined by a small band of -other armed men who had arrived at Monroe City about the same time as -themselves. - -Almost before they were aware of it, they blundered into the -firing-line. Apparently they had already been much surprised to find -no signs of a controlling spirit in charge of the operations; but -their actual coming under fire seems to have astounded them. They had -expected to find a vast system of trench-warfare in existence; and had -been keenly on the look-out for signs of digging which would indicate -to them that they had reached the rear positions of the attacking -force. What they actually found, as bullets began to whistle around -them, was a thin line of civilians with rifles and bandoliers who -were lying flat on the grass and firing, apparently aimlessly into -the distance. At times, some of the riflemen would get up, run a few -yards and then lie down again; but there seemed to be no discipline or -ordered activity traceable in their methods. It appeared to be a purely -individualistic form of warfare. - -Hinkinson added himself to the skirmishing line, more from a desire for -personal safety than with any understanding of what was happening. It -appears that he lay there most of the afternoon, firing occasionally -into the distance from which the bullets came. His four friends were -also engaged in his immediate vicinity. - -Later in the day his neighbour in the skirmishing line spoke to him and -suggested that he might form a sixth in the party. Hinkinson learned -from this man that during the night the attackers generally fought -among themselves for any food which there might be; and he proposed -that the Hinkinson party should stand watch about during the darkness, -so as to avoid robbery. They agreed to this; as it seemed the best -policy: though Hinkinson himself, in the entry he made at the end of -the day, seems to throw doubt upon the likelihood of such proceedings. - -Fortunately, they did not entirely trust their new comrade; and one of -the five kept awake while pretending to sleep. When the night grew dark -they heard movements in the skirmishing line, rifles were still blazing -intermittently up and down the front, and here and there they caught -the groans of the wounded. But in addition to these sounds, to which -they had by this time grown accustomed, they heard scuffles, cries of -anger, hard breathing and all the noises of men wrestling with each -other. It was a cloudy, moonless night and nothing could be seen. At -last, long before dawn, they discovered their friend of the afternoon -engaged in rifling one of their food-bags. Finding himself discovered, -he fled into the darkness and they never saw him again. - -It was not until well on in the next day that Hinkinson made any -further discoveries; but fresh surprises were awaiting him. He learned -that the firing-line to which he was opposed was not a portion of -the defence of the area at all, but was part of the attacking group. -This puzzled him for a day or two, to judge from the remarks which he -made in his journal; but at length he seems to have understood that -his fellow-attackers were almost as much to be feared as the actual -defenders. - -He gives a sketch on one page of his diary showing the situation as he -understood it. In the centre lies the actual fertile area, surrounded -by an elaborate system of entrenchments. This zone he terms the Defence -Zone. About a mile outside this, but coming much closer in parts, lies -what he describes as the Offensive-Defensive Circle. When he reached -this section, as we learn from a later part of his journal, he found it -very roughly entrenched, the main works being rifle-pits rather than -connected trench-lines. This Offensive-Defensive Circle was occupied -by part of the attacking force; but the actual fighting in it was upon -both front and rear. The holders of this Circle wished to force their -way into the Defence Zone; but having gained a start upon the late -comers whose firing-line lay still further to the rear, they proposed -to retard as far as possible any advance in force from the outermost -lines. Thus the combatants of the Circle, as soon as they had forced -their way into it, devoted their attention to sniping new-comers who -might follow them up; then seizing any opportunity, they made their -way forward toward the centre and joined the inner skirmishing line -which directed its fire upon the entrenchments of the actual Defence -Zone. The outermost region, in which Hinkinson and his friends found -themselves, was composed of men who had either arrived late on the -field or failed to struggle forward in face of the sniping from the -Circle. - -In both the outer ring and the Circle the dominating idea was food. -There was no commissariat and no central directing body of any kind. -When a man joined the outer ring, he knew that he had only the supplies -which he carried with him; beyond that, he could count upon nothing -except what he could steal from his neighbours. The only chance of life -was to fight a way up to the centre as soon as possible and take the -chance of being recruited by the garrison. - -While the Hinkinson group remained intact, they were able to protect -themselves from food-thieves; but on the fourth day in the skirmishing -line one of the five was severely wounded; and, knowing how little -care was given to wounded men, he shot himself. Two more were killed -by snipers on the fifth day. Three days later, Hinkinson managed to -establish himself in a rifle-pit of the Circle; and he thus lost sight -of his remaining friend. - -Life in the Circle was lived under appalling conditions, for it was -within range of both the Defence Zone and the outer skirmishing line; -and there was very little chance of exercise even at night. Food was -scarcer here than in the outer ring; and consequently raids for food -were almost incessant during the hours of darkness. Ammunition was -also very scarce; and Hinkinson was only able to keep up his supply by -searching the bodies which lay in his neighbourhood. After two days in -the rifle-pit he seems to have suffered from some form of influenza. -The only thing which he notes with satisfaction is the fact that there -was no artillery in the whole action. It was a case of rifle-fire from -beginning to end. - -After his third day in the rifle-pit, he succeeded in making his way -into the inner firing-line of the Circle, so that at last he was -actually in contact with the Defence Zone. He was astonished to find -that the defenders were using up ammunition much faster than the -attacking forces; and it is clear that this puzzled him, as he could -see no reason for it. He had expected to find them running short. - -His entry into the Defence Zone was due, apparently, to a stroke -of good luck. On the day which brought him face to face with the -defenders, he saw an attack made from the Circle upon the entrenchments -before him. It was an utterly haphazard affair: first one man ran -forward, then two or three others joined him; and finally the force of -suggestion brought the major part of the attackers to their feet and -hurled them upon the trenches before them, which at this point were -only a few hundred yards away. Despite its random character, it seems -to have been successful to some extent. A considerable number went -down before a bombing attack made from the trenches; but despite this -a fairly large band surmounted the parapet and disappeared beyond. A -confused sound of rifle-firing was followed by a short silence; and -then a regular volley seemed to have been fired. None of the attacking -party reappeared. - -According to Hinkinson’s reading of the situation, a number of the -defenders had been killed in the hand-to-hand struggle in the trenches; -and he concluded that this was his best opportunity to endeavour to -gain a footing among the defence force, which would now be weakened -slightly and possibly anxious for recruits. - -At this point, his diary is illegible and I can throw no light upon the -subjects included in the hiatus. When it becomes readable again, I find -him a member of the defending group. - -Apparently on this side of the debatable land discipline was as marked -as it was absent from the other side. The death penalty was inflicted -for the slightest error. Once or twice Hinkinson seems to have run -considerable risks in this direction through no great fault of his own. - -He found that the defence problem was in some ways a complex one, -whilst in other directions it was simplified considerably by the unique -conditions of the new warfare. Owing to the enormous perimeter which -had to be defended, the garrison was almost wholly used up in forming -a very thin firing-line which was liable to be rushed at any point by -strong bodies of the attacking force, as, indeed, he had already seen -himself. Given sufficient spontaneous co-operation for a raid, the -trenches could be entered without any real difficulty by the survivors -of a charge. But once within the defended lines, the attackers were -accepted as part of the defence force, provided that their numbers -were not in excess of the casualties produced by their onset. Thus the -_personnel_ of the trench-lines changed from day to day, dead defenders -being replaced by successful raiders whose main interest had changed -sides. Under such conditions, the maintenance of discipline was a -matter which required the sternest measures. The garrison was always up -to full strength; but its members were not a military body in the usual -sense, since they changed from time to time as new recruits took the -places of the killed. Of _esprit de corps_ in the usual meaning of the -words there was not a trace; but its place was taken by the instinct of -self-preservation, which seems to have made not a bad substitute. - -As to the question of ammunition-supply, which had puzzled Hinkinson -so much during his experiences in the outer zones, it became simple -when once he was inside the trench-lines. There appears to have been -a regular traffic by aeroplane between the food-area and the outer -world, munitions being imported by air in exchange for food which the -air-craft took back on their return trips. - - * * * * * - -Readers can now picture for themselves the state of the world after -the Famine had done its worst. The great cities which marked the -culmination of civilisation had all shared the fate of London; and most -of the towns had gone the same road. All the vast and complex machinery -which mankind had so laboriously gathered together in these teeming -areas had been destroyed by fire. - -Here and there--in Scotland, in Japan, and in a couple of American -centres--Nitrogen Areas were in full activity; and the traditions -of pre-Famine times were being kept alive, though with profound -modifications; but outside the boundaries of these regions the only -human beings left in the world were a mere handful, scattered up and -down the globe and existing hazardously upon chance discoveries of -food-stuffs here and there. The Esquimaux had a better prospect of -survival than most of these relics of civilisation. - -But the trifling changes involved in the downfall of humanity were -overshadowed by the effects of _B. diazotans_ upon the face of the -earth. All that had once been arable land became a desert strewn -with the bones of men. The vast virgin forests of America, Northern -Europe and tropical Africa became mere heaps of rotting vegetation: -pestilential swamps into which no man could penetrate and survive. -Apart from these regions, the land-surface was sandy, except where -boulder-clay deposits kept it together. Water ebbed away in these -thirsty deserts; and with its disappearance the climate changed over -vast areas of the world. - -Those who went out in the early aeroplane exploring expeditions across -these stricken and barren lands came to understand, as they had never -done before, the meaning of the abomination of desolation. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -Document B. 53. X. 15 - - -I think I have made it clear that when I took over the Reconstruction -at Nordenholt’s request I did so in a disinterested spirit, by which -I mean that no personal aims of my own were concerned. I began the -work solely in the hope that my plans would ensure the welfare of some -millions of people, hardly any of whom I knew as individuals. It is -true that I put my whole heart into the task and that I strove with -all my might to bring its conclusion within the scope of possibility. -I could do no less, in view of the immense responsibility which I had -undertaken. Possibly my narrative has minimised the labour which the -effort involved; if so, I cannot help it. - -Even my early stages of collaboration with Elsa Huntingtower failed to -alter this attitude of my mind. I still saw the problem as one in which -great masses of people were involved; and although I appreciated the -fact that these masses were composed of individuals each with his or -her separate destiny to work out for good or ill, yet it never occurred -to me to regard myself as one of them. - -I think that the vision of Fata Morgana, growing ever clearer in my -mental vision, forced my thoughts into a fresh channel. In my mind’s -eye I saw that happy city, thronged with its joyous people; and -gradually I began to picture myself treading those lawns and wandering -amid its gardens. Alone? No, I wanted some kindred spirit, someone who -could share the victory with me; and Elsa Huntingtower was the only -one who had part and lot in it. She and I had built its dreaming spires -together by our common labour; and it was with her that I would stray -in fancy through its courts. Of all humanity, we two alone had rightful -seizin in its soil. - -It was late before I recognised where all this was leading me; but when -at last I awakened, it drove me with ten-fold force. I wanted no dim -future through which I might rove as a shadow among shadows; they had -served their turn in the scheme of things and brought me face to face -with reality. If Paradise lay before me, Eve must be there, else it -would be a mockery: if I had to face failure, I needed a comforter. I -wanted Elsa. - -I mistrust all novelists’ descriptions of the psychology of a man in -love. To me, that passion seems an integration of selfishness and -selflessness each developed to its highest pitch and so intimately -mingled that one cannot tell where the dividing line between them lies. -Luckily, analysis of this kind is beyond the scope of my narrative. The -affairs of Elsa Huntingtower and me, so far as they concerned ourselves -alone, have no place upon my canvas; but since in their reactions they -impinged upon a greater engine, I cannot pass them over in silence -without omitting a factor which must have had its influence upon events. - - * * * * * - -I suppose, from what I see around me, that the average man falls -in love by degrees. He seems to be subjected to two forces which -alternately act upon him in opposite directions, so that his advance -to his goal is intermittent and sometimes slow. In my case, there -was nothing of this wavering. Somehow, as soon as I realised what my -feelings were, I could not delay an hour longer than was necessary. -The real fact was, I suspect, that I did not suddenly fall in love, -though I seemed, even to myself, to have done so. In all probability I -had been falling in love for weeks without knowing it; and when the -illumination came, the long sub-conscious travail had prepared me for -instant action. - -As it happened, it was one of the days on which we usually motored -into the country. At two o’clock I was in the Square with the car; and -almost at once the door opened and Elsa appeared. My dreams had far -outrun reality; and as the slim fur-clad figure came down the steps I -felt my pulse leap. It lasted only for a moment, but I think she read -my face like an open book. Behind her came Nordenholt, looking very -tired. I could not help seeing the change which the last months had -made in him. The deep lines on his face were deeper still; his eyes -seemed to be different in some way, though as piercing as ever; and his -step had lost the lightness it had when I saw him first in London. He -looked me over, as he usually did, but said nothing as he stepped into -the back of the car. Elsa took her customary place beside me; and it -gave me a novel thrill as I arranged the rug about her. It seemed as -though something had fallen from my eyes so that I saw her in a new and -wonderful aspect. - -As we drove westward and over the Canal, I noticed that she seemed -disinclined to talk; and as I myself was busy with my dreams, I did not -try to force the conversation. We had passed Bearsden and were in the -open country before she had spoken three sentences; and even these were -wilfully commonplace. Reflecting on this, and being myself surcharged -with emotion, I was vain enough to guess that she was thinking of me -and of what I had to tell her; for I had a curious feeling that she -must know what was in my mind. So the milestones swept by, and still -the three of us remained silent. - -It was a dreary landscape through which we drove; but all landscapes in -those days were bleak and sinister. In the little wood beyond Bearsden, -the trees were uprooted and slanting here and there, owing to the new -soil giving them no support. Some, which had threatened to fall across -the road, had been cut down. Further on, the Kilpatrick Hills loomed -over us, dark from the lack of vegetation; while across the Blane -valley, once so green, the smooth folds of the Campsies lay black under -the wintry sky. Only here and there, where snow covered the ground, did -things remind one of the old days. - -Past the Half Way House, along Stockiemuir with its blasted heather -under its snow, up the hill at the foot of Finnick Glen the great car -ran; and yet none of us spoke a word. Once, after that, Nordenholt gave -me a direction; and we turned off toward Loch Lomond. - -When we reached the lochside, beyond Balloch, he made me stop the car. - -“I’m going to get out here and walk up towards Luss,” he said. “You -take the car on to the head of the loch and pick me up on the way back. -Don’t hurry. I want some exercise.” - -The door slammed; and we moved off. I looked back and saw him standing -by the water-side; and it struck me that his attitude was that of an -old man. He stood with his hands in the pockets of his motor-coat; and -his position seemed to exaggerate the stoop of his shoulders. He looked -so very, very tired. I realised, all at once, that he was ageing long -before his time, worn out by his colossal task. An emotion which was as -much dismay as pity swept over me in an instant. Then, as I watched, he -pulled himself up and stood erect again, gazing over the water to the -desolate islets. The car swung round a corner; and when I looked back -once more, he was out of sight. - -But that picture haunted me as I drove up the loch. I guessed at last -what this struggle was costing him. Somehow I had never realised it -before. I had come to regard Nordenholt as almost akin to the natural -forces, the embodiment of some great store of energy which worked -upon human destiny calmly and ever certainly. I had looked up to his -strength and leaned upon it unconsciously, knowing only that it was -there. And now, in that brief vision, I had seen that my support -was itself weakening, even though for an instant. There had been a -recovery, the old dominating attitude reappeared as he pulled himself -together again. But before this I had never seen effort in that -attitude; and I saw it now. Even in my exalted condition, the sight of -that weary figure struck down into my memory. - -Elsa had not looked back. She sat beside me, her clean-cut profile -emerging from her dark furs, gazing straight before her at the road -ahead. We ran through Luss without a word to each other. My heart was -throbbing with excitement; and yet I hesitated to break the silence. -Some miles further up the road, before we reached Tarbet, she asked me -to stop the car and suggested that we should go down to the water’s -edge. - -It was there that I at last found speech and, having found it, poured -out what I had to say in a torrent of words none of which I can -remember now. I had rehearsed that scene many a time in my mind, and -yet it all came unexpectedly. I had never anticipated this opportunity. -I had thought that some time, when we talked of the future we were -planning, I would tell her what I needed to make it complete. And I had -thought of how she would take my pleading: I had forecast how she would -look and what she would reply. But in none of my visions had I foreseen -the reality. - -She listened to me coldly, almost as if her mind were occupied with -other things. I grew more passionate, I think, striving to make her -understand my emotion; and yet she seemed almost indifferent to what -I said. At last I stopped, chilled by this aloofness which I did not -understand. In my wildest imaginings I had never thought of this -_dénouement_ of the situation. I think I must have grown cold myself: -for though I can recall nothing of my previous words, the rest of the -scene is graven on my mind. For some moments after I had ceased, she -remained silent; then at length she spoke, with an accent in her voice -which I had never heard before. I remember that she had taken off one -glove and stood twisting it in her hands while she talked. - -“I got you to stop the car here because I have something to ask you, -something of tremendous importance to me. Forgive me if I put it first -and don’t answer you immediately. I’m ... I’m very grateful for all you -have said. But this thing comes before everything; and you must let me -ask you about it before we come to ... to our own affairs.” - -A pang of apprehension shot through me. What could she be driving at -which was of greater importance than our future? - -“As I was going over my papers to-day,” she went on, “I came across one -which seemed to have been missorted. It didn’t belong to my section. I -glanced at it casually; and then I read it. Have you any idea what it -referred to?” - -“No.” - -“It said things I could hardly grasp. Even now I think it must be a -mistake. I can’t believe it was a real document. It must have been a -hoax or something like that. And yet, it had the usual serial numbers -on it: B. 53. X. 15.” - -My throat was dry, but I managed to pull myself together and make a -sound like “Well?” She came close to me and looked me straight in the -eyes--so like Nordenholt’s gaze in some ways--and I tried to bring my -features into a mask. - -“Is it true that everyone outside the Area has been left to die? Is it -true that there has been a deliberate plot to starve all the men, all -the women, even the little children in the country? Tell me that, and -tell me at once. Don’t wait to wrap it up in fine phrases. Tell me the -truth _now_.” - -I stood before her, silent. - -“So it _is_ true; and you knew it! You acquiesced in it. You even -helped in it; I can see it in your face. You cur!” - -Still I could not find my voice. This was a different scene from -that I had thought of only ten short minutes before. It was not that -I felt anything myself, except a sort of dull comprehension that my -dreams were shattered; but the sight of the pain in her face moved me -more than I could express in words. I wanted to help her. I wanted -to justify the plan Nordenholt had made. And yet something kept me -tongue-tied. I could find no phrase to open my explanations. The -outpouring of speech which I had found so easy only a few seconds -earlier now seemed dried up. I merely watched her, saying nothing. For -a time she struggled with herself, trying to master her feelings. All -this time her face had been set; not a tear had come to her eyelashes. - -“I have a right to know who planned this,” she continued, after a -pause. “Do you know what I thought at first? I suspected Uncle Stanley. -I even suspected _him_. But I don’t, now. I know him too well. I didn’t -even question him about it. I didn’t want to worry him until I had -found out whether it was true or not. But it _is_ true. Who planned it? -Answer me!” - -There was no concealment possible. Once she had the clue, she would -discover everything almost immediately. Not even delay was to be gained -by a lie. And with her clear eyes upon me, I could not have lied even -had I wished to do so. She might never be mine; but I was hers to do as -she wished. For a moment I hesitated, turning over in my mind the idea -of referring her to Nordenholt himself; but I abandoned that almost -instantaneously. The shock would be greater if it came from him; better -let me bear the brunt. - -“Your uncle planned it. I helped him.” - -“Uncle Stanley! You don’t expect me to believe that? It shows how -little you know of us both if you think....” - -Her voice became tinged with doubt, and tears, too, came into it. -The evidence was too clear. Only Nordenholt could have carried out -such a gigantic scheme. And possibly she read the truth in my face as -well. For a moment she seemed frozen, a rigid and silent statue. All -the flush had left her cheeks and above the softness of her furs her -features seemed as though carved in marble. When she spoke again, she -seemed to be trying to convince herself. - -“Did Uncle Stanley suggest it? I can’t believe it. It’s impossible. -He couldn’t do a thing like that. You don’t know him. He couldn’t. He -couldn’t. I know he couldn’t.” - -Even in that moment of tension, I could not help reflecting how little -a woman can know of a man’s mind. Half our mental processes are shut -off from them, as probably half of theirs are closed books to us. -The great barrier of sex divides us; and our outlook upon the world -can never be the same. This girl had been in close communion with -Nordenholt through most of her life; and yet she failed to recognise at -once as his handiwork the greatest achievement to which he had put his -powers. - -She wavered on her feet. I stepped forward to catch her but she struck -aside my hand. Then she seated herself on a bank. I looked away; and -when I saw her again she was sitting, her face buried in her hands, -while her fragile figure shook with suppressed sobbing. - -“Elsa,” I said, “you don’t understand. It’s come upon you suddenly; and -you’ve been swept off your feet by it. But it was all for the best. It -had to be done.” - -She looked up. On her face, still wet with tears, I saw only contempt -and bitterness. - -“It had to be done?” she echoed. “Do you mean that forty millions of -people _had_ to be robbed of their food and left to starve? Can’t you -see what it means, or are you made of stone? Think of men seeing their -mothers dying; think of lovers watching their sweethearts starve; and -the children in their mothers’ arms. And you, _you_ say calmly that ‘It -had to be done.’ You aren’t a machine. You had the right to choose. And -you chose _that_!” - -“You don’t understand,” I repeated wearily. Somehow the strain of the -situation seemed to have robbed me of my forces. - -“No, I don’t understand. How can I, when it means that the men I -thought most of in the world turn out to be nothing but murderers on -a gigantic scale? I can’t believe it, even yet. Is it ... is it all a -mistake? Oh! I want to wake up out of this nightmare; I want to wake -up. Tell me it’s a nightmare and not real.” - -Her voice sounded almost like that of a terrified child in the dark. - -“It’s no nightmare,” I said. “Try to see what it meant. There wasn’t -enough food for us all. Somebody had to die if the rest were to be -saved.” - -“And so you elected to be one of the rest? I congratulate you. A most -laudable decision, I am sure,” she said contemptuously. “It would -indeed have been a pity if you had gone short of food in order to save -the lives of a mere score of children; tiny, helpless little things -that can’t do more than cry as they starve.” - -“You don’t understand,” I repeated. “There was no chance of saving them -in any case. They were doomed from the start. All we did was to ensure -that _somebody_ would survive. If the food had been evenly distributed, -we should all have died; but your uncle laid his plans to save millions -of people. Surely you can see that?” - -She thought for a moment; and then attacked in a fresh direction. - -“Who gave you the right to choose among them? You seem to think you -are a demi-god with the power of life and death in your hands. How -could _you_ take the responsibility of the choice? And how could you -bear to save yourself when you knew other men, and perhaps better men, -had to die? I can’t understand you. You’re so different from what I -thought you were. Somehow all my ideals seem to be breaking. You and -Uncle Stanley were the two finest men I had met. I never dreamed for a -moment that you would turn out to have feet of clay. And now....” - -I tried hard to put our case before her. I explained the state of -things at the outbreak of the Famine. I gave her figures to prove that -Nordenholt had only worked to save what he could from the disaster. It -was all of no avail. I think that the picture of the starving children -filled her mind to the exclusion of almost everything else; and that -she hardly listened to what I said. Once she whispered to herself, -“Poor little mites,” just when I thought I had caught her attention at -last. I gave it up in the end. She looked away across the loch, where -the first stars were lighting up behind the hills; and we stood in -silence, so close in space, so remote from each other in our thoughts. -At last she spoke again. - -“Still I don’t understand it all. I see your view; but I can’t share -it. It seems so cold-blooded, so horrible. But I can’t understand you, -just when I thought I knew you through and through. Tell me, how could -you talk of Fata Morgana and all our dreams when you _knew_ that this -terrible thing was happening? That’s what I don’t grasp.” - -“I can’t explain it to you. Probably I keep my mind in compartments. -But never mind about me, Elsa; I’m done for now. I don’t matter. -But you mustn’t condemn your uncle along with me. He never led you -on to dream dreams, so you haven’t that against him. I want you to -believe me that he has been a saviour and not a destroyer, as you seem -to think. Don’t lose your faith in him until you understand. Don’t -prejudge things till you know everything. Speak to him yourself before -you come to a conclusion. He depends on you, more than you think, -perhaps. And he’s worked himself to the bone to save those few millions -that are left to us. Don’t judge him till you know everything.” - -She looked at me more kindly than she had done since the beginning. - -“That’s just what I should have expected from what I knew of you, -Mr. Flint. You think of him first and don’t bother about yourself. -You aren’t selfish. I can’t understand you, somehow. You seem such a -mixture; and until to-day I had no idea you were a mixture at all. It’s -all so difficult.” - -She ended with a choke in her voice and turned towards the car. I -followed her and switched on the head-lights, ready to start. She -climbed into her seat; and I put the rug around her knees. Just as I -was on the point of starting, she spoke again. - -“You’ve told me all I need to know; but I must hear it from Uncle -Stanley himself. I’ll go on being his secretary. I’ll do all I can to -help. But I hate you both. Yes, if this is true, I hate him too. What -else do you expect? You look on yourselves as saviours, it seems. You -may be that, but you certainly are murderers. You can’t even see why I -abhor you both. That shows you the gulf between us. Oh, I hate you, I -hate you, with this cold calculation of yours: so much food, so many -lives. Is that the way to handle human destinies? Drive on.” - -A little further down the road, she spoke again in a quivering voice -which she strove to keep level and cold: - -“This ends any work together. I couldn’t bear it in your case. With -Uncle Stanley it’s different. I will go back to my old place with him. -But I never want to see _you_ again, Mr. Flint. I’ve lost two illusions -to-day; and I don’t wish to be reminded of them more than I need be. -I promised him that I would always help him; and I’m going to keep my -promise, cost what it may. But I never promised _you_ anything.” - -For a few minutes I drove on in silence. The whole world seemed to have -fallen around me. All that I had longed for, all my future, seemed to -have collapsed in that short afternoon. I was not angry; I don’t think -I was even completely conscious of what it all meant. I felt stunned by -an unexpected blow. At last I roused myself. - -“Elsa,” I said, “do you remember the first evening we met?” - -She never moved. - -“You sang that dirge from Cymbeline, you remember? When you’re calmer, -I want you to think over it. I don’t want you to have any regrets. Mr. -Nordenholt can’t last for ever under this strain. Think carefully.” - -She made no sign that she had heard me speak. The car whirred through -the dusk, while we sat silent and aloof from each other. It was a -return very different from that which I had hoped for when I set -out. I was almost glad when, further down the loch, the beams of the -head-lights showed us the figure of Nordenholt in the road. I pulled up -the car beside him; and Elsa leaned forward in her seat. - -“Uncle Stanley, Mr. Flint has told me everything. I saw a document this -morning, B. 53. X. 15; and I forced Mr. Flint to explain what it meant. -Did you really plan this awful thing?” - -I could not see Nordenholt’s face in the shadow; but his voice was as -steady as ever in his reply. Afterwards I realised that he must have -foreseen such a situation as this long before. - -“It is perfectly true, Elsa. Anything that Mr. Flint has told you is -probably correct, though his connection with the matter is very slight.” - -“But he says that you planned it all and that he helped you. I can’t -... I can’t quite understand it all. It’s a mistake, isn’t it? It’s not -your real plan, surely. You’re going to save all these people in the -South, aren’t you?” - -“Every soul that can be saved by me will be saved, Elsa. You can count -on that.” - -“But you will give them all a chance of life, won’t you? You won’t take -away all the food from them?” - -“There’s no food to spare.” - -For a few moments there was silence. Elsa made a sudden movement, and -I guessed that she had recoiled from Nordenholt’s touch. At last she -spoke again, in a way I had not anticipated. - -“Do you remember my three wishes, Uncle Stanley? You gave me two of -them and now I want the third. You promised me the whole three; and -you never broke your word yet. I want you to save these people in the -South. That’s my third wish.” - -I think it was that which made me realise the gulf that yawned between -us, more than anything that had gone before. How could she imagine -that Nordenholt’s vast machine could be deflected on account of -some childish promise? And yet her voice had taken on a new tone of -confidence; everything, she thought, was going to be set right. It -seems she must have believed, even then, that the treatment of the -South was only one of a number of alternative schemes; and that she -could force the adoption of some other, not so good, perhaps, but still -possible, as a solution. Her very belief in Nordenholt’s powers led her -to assume that he must have several plans ready pigeon-holed, and that -the rejection of one merely entailed the substitution of some other -which was already cut and dried. - -“When that promise was made, Elsa, there was one condition: your wish -was not to be an impossible one. This _is_ impossible.” - -“Oh!” There was such an agony in her voice that I felt it rasp my -already over-tried nerves. - -“That is final, Elsa. There is nothing more to be said.” - -For almost a minute she made no reply. In the silence I could feel her -struggling for control of her voice. When at last she spoke, she seemed -to have fought down her emotion, for her tone was almost indifferent: - -“Very well, Uncle Stanley. You refuse to help these people; but I am -not so easy in my mind. I will go into the South myself and do my best -to help them; and if I cannot help, I can at least take the same risks -as they do. _I_ can’t stay here, well fed and well cared for when they -are suffering.” - -“You will not do that, Elsa. No, I don’t mean to prevent you going if -you wish, though you have no idea what you would be going to. But I -haven’t brought you up to be a shirker; and you’re needed here. You -have the whole of your work at your finger-ends and if you go it will -dislocate that department temporarily; and we can’t afford to have even -a temporary upset at this stage. You promised you would stay, no matter -what happened; and I ask you to keep your promise now. I also tell you -that I need you, and your work here is helping to save lives in the -Area, more lives than you could ever save outside. Now do you wish to -go?” - -She thought for a time, evidently weighing one thing and another. While -she was still silent, I broke in, wisely or unwisely I did not know. - -“If Elsa goes into the South, Nordenholt, I go with her to look after -her. You must find someone else to take my place. I can’t let her go -alone.” - -Nordenholt’s voice was as calm as ever. - -“You understand, Elsa? If you go, you take away Mr. Flint; and although -I can replace you in your department, I doubt if I can get anyone -as good as he is in his line. Go South and you cripple one of the -essential parts of the Area. Stay here, and you help us all towards -safety--and we are not near the safety-line yet. Which is it to be? I -put no pressure on you. I only point out what I think is your duty.” - -I had expected some angry reply, some hurried decision which might -bring disaster in its train; but luckily things took a different turn. -I believe that the strain had been too great for her. Now came the -collapse; and before I knew what had happened, she had broken into -tears. Nordenholt leaned over her, trying to comfort her; but it was -useless; and he let her work out her fit of emotion to the end. At last -she pulled herself together. - -“If you are sure you need me, I will stay. But I hate you both. I hate -the work. I hate the Area and everything in it. I’ll keep my promise to -you; but things will never be the same again.... And, oh, this morning -I was so happy.” - -Nordenholt climbed aboard the car without another word, and I drove on -into the dark. Now and again I heard a half-suppressed sob from the -girl at my side; but that was all. At the door of Nordenholt’s house I -stopped. Elsa left me without uttering even “Good-night.” I watched her -tall, slim figure go up the steps and disappear; and something blinded -me. I found Nordenholt standing at the side of the car. - -“Poor chap,” he said, with an immense pity in his voice. “So you’re -involved too? I wish it had been otherwise. Well, well; I couldn’t hope -to keep it from her much longer at the best. But I’m very, very sorry. -She’ll take it so hard. Her type never looks at these things the way we -do.” - -He paused and looked at me keenly in the light of the terrace lamps. -When he spoke once more, his voice sounded very weary. - -“Stand by me, Jack. Get your part ready in time. Don’t flinch because -of this. I’m nearly at the end of my tether.” - -I could not trust myself to speak. We shook hands in silence, and he -went up the steps into the house. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -In the Nitrogen Area - - -I have no wish to dwell overmuch upon my own affairs in this narrative; -for they formed a mere ripple on the surface of the torrent of events -which was bearing all of us along in its course. Yet to exclude them -entirely would be to omit something which is of importance; for they -must have influenced my outlook upon the situation as a whole and -possibly made me view it through eyes different from those which I had -used before. - -My dreams and desires had come to the ground almost ere they were in -being; and what made it more bitter to me was that I felt they had been -crushed, not on their merits, but merely as subsidiaries which had -shared in the collapse of a more central matter. I guessed that Elsa -had, to some extent, at any rate, shared my feelings; and it was this -which made the downfall of my hopes all the harder to bear. - -Try as I would, I could find no reason behind her attitude; and even -now, looking back upon that time, I cannot appreciate her motives. -In the whole affair of the Nitrogen Area I had been guided by purely -intellectual considerations. Nordenholt himself had advised me to keep -a tight rein upon any feelings which might divert me from this course. -And I was thus, perhaps, less able to appreciate her standpoint then -than I would have been a few months earlier. - -On her side emotion, and not intellect, was the guiding star. The -picture of starving millions which had broken upon her without warning -had overpowered her normally clear brain. Thus there lay between us -a gulf which nothing seemed capable of filling. I thought, and still -believe, that emotion is a will-o’-the-wisp by which alone no man can -steer a course; but it is useless to deny its power when once it has -laid its influence upon a mind. Even had she given me a chance, I doubt -if I would have tried to reason with her; and she gave me no chance. I -never saw her alone; and when she met me perforce or by accident, she -treated me practically as a stranger. All the long evenings of planning -and dreaming had gone out of our lives. - -As soon as I could make an opportunity, I questioned Nordenholt as to -the state of affairs. He answered me perfectly frankly. - -“Elsa has never said a word to me about the South. I think she shrinks -from the idea even in her own mind; and she shrinks from me because -of it, as I can see. But she sticks to her work, even if she loathes -coming into contact with me daily; and I keep her as hard at it as I -can. The less time she has to think, the better for her; and I don’t -mean to leave her any time to brood over the affair. Poor girl, you -mustn’t feel hard about her, Jack. I can understand what it means to -her; and to you also: and her part is the saddest. She simply hates me -now; I can feel it. And neither of us can help her, that’s the worst of -it.” - -To Nordenholt himself the situation must have been a terrible one; for -Elsa was closer to him than any other human being could ever be: and -the position now was worse even than if he had lost her entirely. I am -sure that he had never felt anything more than affection for her; but -she had become more to him, perhaps, just for that reason. I often used -to think that they formed natural complements for one another: he with -his great build and powerful personality, she with her slender grace -and her character, strong as his own, perhaps, but in a far different -sphere. - - * * * * * - -It was about this period _B. diazotans_ began to die out from the -face of the world which it had wrecked. I have already told how -Nordenholt had given me the news when it was still a possibility of -the future. From their studies upon isolated colonies of the microbe, -the bacteriologists had predicted its end. They had found a rapid -falling-off in its power of multiplication; and the segregation of a -number of the pests soon led to their perishing. - -When it became clear that _B. diazotans_ was doomed, Nordenholt began -to send out scouting aeroplanes to collect samples of soil from various -districts and bring them back to the laboratories of the Nitrogen Area -where they could be examined. All told the same tale of extinction. -Gradually, the aeroplanes were sent further and further on their -journeys into the stricken lands; and at last it became clear that as -far as a large part of Europe was concerned, the terror was at an end. -The soil, of course, was completely ruined; but there was little to -fear in the way of a recrudescence of the blight. - -It seems, nowadays, very strange that we had not already foreseen this -result; for the cause of it lay upon the surface of things. Once the -denitrifying bacteria had destroyed all the nitrogen compounds in the -soil, there was nothing left for them to live upon; and they perished -of starvation in their turn, following in the track of all the larger -organisms which their depredations had ruined. - -As soon as Nordenholt had established the definite decease of _B. -diazotans_ in the accessible parts of the European continent, he sent -out the news to the whole remaining world with which he was in touch -through his wireless installation; and after some time had been spent -in various centres in which the remnants of humanity were gathered -together, word came back from the most widely-separated areas that -all over the world _B. diazotans_ had ceased to exist. In many places -it had even left no traces of any kind behind it; for as some of the -bacteria died their bodies, being nitrogenous, had served as food for -those still living; until at last the merest trace of their organisms -was all that could be found in the soil. - -So this plague passed from the world as swiftly as it came; and its -passing left the future more certain than seemed possible in the early -stages of its career. - - * * * * * - -But if our gravest danger was thus removed, we in the Nitrogen Area -had other troubles which were nearer to us at that time. In his very -earliest calculations, Nordenholt, as I have told, had foreseen that -disease would be prevalent owing to the monotony of the diet which was -entailed by our conditions. The lack of fresh vegetables and the use -of salted meat gave rise to scurvy, which we endeavoured to ward off -by manufacturing a kind of synthetic lime juice for the population. -The success of this was not complete, however, and the disease caused -a very marked falling-off in the productive power of our labour. For -a time it seemed as though we were actually losing ground in our -factories, just at the moment when the destruction of the denitrifying -bacteria had raised our hopes to a high degree. - -Nor was scurvy our only trouble. The debilitated health of the people -laid them open to all sorts of minor diseases, with their concomitant -decline in physical energy. Of these, the most serious was a new type -of influenza which ravaged the Nitrogen Area and caused thousands -of deaths. Here again, a fall in output coincided with the growth -and spread of the disease; but since the death-roll was a heavy one, -the number of mouths diminished markedly as well; so that it almost -appeared as though the two factors might balance each other. If there -were less food in the future, there would be fewer people to consume it. - -I think the period of the influenza epidemic was one of the most trying -of all in the Nitrogen Area. As the reported cases increased in number, -individual medical attention became impossible; for many doctors died -of the scourge, and we could not risk the total annihilation of the -medical profession. Treatment of the disease was standardised as far as -possible and committed to the care of rapidly-trained laymen. Possibly -this led to many deaths which might have been avoided with more -efficient methods; but it was the only means which would leave us with -a supply of trained medical men who would be required in the future. - - * * * * * - -On the heels of the influenza epidemic, and possibly produced by it, -came a period of labour unrest in the Area. It was only what I had -always anticipated; for the strain which we were putting upon the -workers had now increased almost to the breaking point. There was no -way out of the difficulty, however; for unless the work was done, the -safety of the whole community would be imperilled. None the less, I -could not help finding excuses in my mind for those toiling millions. -To them, the connection between the factories and the food-supply must -have been difficult to trace; for they could hardly follow all the -ramifications in the lines between the coal in the pits and the next -harvest which was not even sown. - -Nordenholt succeeded in stifling most of the disaffection by means of -a fresh newspaper campaign of propaganda. He had given his journals -a long period of rest in this direction, purposely, I believe, in -order that he might utilise them more effectively when this new -emergency arose. But though he certainly produced a marked effect by -his efforts, there remained among the workers an under-current of -discontent which could not be exorcised. It was not a case of open -disaffection which could have been dealt with by drastic methods; the -Intelligence section were unable to fasten upon any clear cases of what -in the old days would have been called sedition. It was rather a change -for the worse in the general attitude and outlook of the labouring part -of the community: an affair of atmosphere which left nothing solid -for Nordenholt to grasp firmly. Though I was out of direct touch with -affairs at the time, even I could not help the feeling that things were -out of joint. The demeanour of the workers in the streets was somehow -different from what it had been in the earlier days. There was a -sullenness and a tinge of aggressiveness in the air. - -And in Nordenholt himself I noticed a corresponding change. He seemed -to me by degrees to be losing his impersonal standpoint. The new -situation appeared to be making him more and more dictatorial as time -went by. He had always acted as a Dictator; but in his personal contact -with men he had preserved an attitude of aloofness and certainty which -had taken the edge off the Dictatorship. Now, I noticed, his methods -were becoming more direct; and he was making certain test-points into -trials of strength, open and avowed, between himself and those who -opposed him. He always won, of course; but it was a different state of -things from that which had marked the inception of the Nitrogen Area. -There was more of the master and less of the comrade about him now. - -Yet, looking back upon it all, I cannot but admit that his methods -were justified. The disaffection was noticeable; and only a strong -hand could put it down. Nordenholt’s tactics were probably the best -under the circumstances; but nevertheless they brought him into a -fresh orientation with regard to the workers. Instead of leading them, -he began more and more openly to drive them along the road which he -wished them to take. - - * * * * * - -I see that I have omitted to mention the attempted invasion of the -Nitrogen Area from the coasts of Europe which took place just before -this. To tell the truth, it was so complete a fiasco that it had almost -passed from my mind; but a few words may be devoted to it here. - -When the Famine had done its work in Germany there still remained for -a time a number of inhabitants who had seized the food in the country -by force and who were thus enabled to prolong their existence while -their fellows died out. They belonged mainly to the old military class. -When they in turn ran short of supplies, their natural thought was to -plunder someone weaker than themselves; and learning of the existence -of the Clyde Valley colony, they determined that it furnished the most -probable source of loot. Apparently they imagined that the Fleet in the -Firth of Forth was deserted; for in order to excite no suspicion they -had kept their airships at long-range in the reconnaissances which they -undoubtedly made in advance of their actual onset; and it seems most -probable that they imagined they had nothing to fear beyond the risks -incident to the invasion of an unprotected country. At least, so it -appears to me; and there were no survivors of the expedition from whom -the truth might have been discovered. - -Under cover of night, they seem to have put most of their men on board -merchant ships and sailed for the British coast at a time which would -have brought them off the land in the early hours of the morning when, -no doubt, they expected to get ashore without attracting attention, -since they must have supposed all the coastal inhabitants had perished. -Actually, however, their manœuvres had been followed by the seaplane -patrol which cruised in the North Sea; and as soon as they left port, -the Fleet was got into a state of preparedness. The two forces met -somewhere on the high seas; the German squadron, utterly defenceless, -was sunk without any resistance worthy of the name. - -This was the only actual attempt at invasion which the Nitrogen Area -had to repel; for Nordenholt’s aeroplane propaganda had checked any -desire on the part of the survivors of the Famine in this country to -approach the Clyde Valley under any conditions. - - * * * * * - -Though Nordenholt succeeded in suppressing the outward manifestations -of labour unrest at this period, I think it is fairly clear that he -was unable to reach down to the sources of the trouble. At the root of -things lay a vague dissatisfaction with general conditions, which it -was impossible to exorcise; and this peculiar spirit manifested itself -in all sorts of sporadic forms which gave a good deal of trouble before -they could be got under control. - -For example, at about this time, there was an outbreak of something -akin to the dancing mania which I had seen in London. It began by a -rapid extension of normal dancing in the halls of the city; but from -this it soon passed into revelry in the public squares at night; and -finally took the form of corybantic displays in the streets. As soon -as it began to demoralise the people, Nordenholt applied the drastic -treatment of a fire-hose to the groups of dancers; and, between this -method and ridicule, he succeeded in stamping out the disease before it -had attained dangerous proportions. - -But this was only one of the symptoms of the grave troubles which were -menacing the success of Nordenholt’s plans. I do not doubt that he had -foreseen the condition into which affairs had drifted; but it seems to -me that he recognised the impossibility of eradicating the roots of the -discontent. Its origin lay in the actual material and moral states of -affairs; and without abandoning his whole scheme it was impossible to -change these things. - -I know that during these months he stiffened the discipline of the -Labour Defence Force considerably in view of eventualities; and he had -frequent conferences with the officers in command of its various units. -I guessed, from what I saw, that in future he intended to drive the -population into safety if he could not lead them there; and I confess -that at times I took a very gloomy view of our chances of success. - - * * * * * - -It was during this trying period, I think, that Nordenholt’s young -men were his greatest source of strength. He was always in touch -with them; and in some way he seemed to draw encouragement from them -while spurring them on to further efforts. They seemed to lean on him -and yet to support him in his work; and often I felt that without -some comradeship as this our whole plans would have been doomed to -failure. The Nordenholt Gang practically occupied all the posts of any -responsibility in the Nitrogen Area; and this, I expect, rendered the -working of the machine much smoother than it would otherwise have been. - -Since my new work brought me into touch with many fresh departments, my -acquaintance with Nordenholt’s men increased; and I was amazed to find -the ramifications of his system and the super-excellence of the human -material in which he had dealt. They were all young, hardly any were -over thirty-five and most were younger; yet they seemed to have a fund -of moral courage and self-reliance which struck me especially in those -dark times. They never seemed to doubt that in the end things would -come right. It was not that they blindly trusted in Nordenholt to the -exclusion of common sense: for they all seemed to face the facts quite -squarely. But behind their even weighings of the situation I detected -an unspoken yet whole-hearted belief that Nordenholt would bring us -through without a hitch. Hero-worship has its uses, when it is soundly -based; and all of them, it was easy to see, had made Nordenholt their -hero. When I thought over the many-sided nature of their activities and -the differences of personality among them, I could not help finding -my view of Nordenholt himself expanding. They were all picked men, -far above the average; their minds worked on different lines; their -interests were as divergent as the Poles: and yet, one and all, they -recognised Nordenholt as their master. I do not mean that he excelled -them in their own special lines: for I doubt, in many cases, whether -he had even a grip of the elements of the subjects which they had made -their own. But he had been able to impress upon all these various -intellects the feeling that he was in a class by himself; and that -effect implied immense personality in him. - -Despite their widely different fields of activity, there was a very -strong _esprit de corps_ among them all; and it was not for some time -that I felt myself to be received on equal terms with the rest. I think -they felt that I was outside their particular circle, at first. But the -real passport into it was efficiency; and when I had had time to show -my power of organisation, they accepted me at once as one of themselves. - -Of them all, I think Henley-Davenport interested me most, though I -can hardly put into words the reasons which led to this attraction. I -never learned how Nordenholt had discovered him originally; but I found -that when Henley-Davenport began to open up the subject of induced -radioactivity, Nordenholt had stepped in and bought up for him a huge -supply of various radioactive materials which he required in his work -and which he had despaired of acquiring on account of their enormous -cost. - -What struck me most about him was his fearlessness. Once he gave me, -incidentally in the course of a talk upon something else, a suggestion -of the risks which his work entailed. It seemed to me that I would have -faced half a dozen other kinds of death rather than that one. Purely -as a matter of physiological interest, he told me that the effect of -radioactive materials on a large scale upon the human body would exceed -the worst inventions of mediæval torturers. - -“The radiations, you know,” he said, drawing at his cigarette. “The -radiations have a knack of destroying tissue; but they don’t produce -immediate effects. The skin remains quite healthy, to all appearances, -for days after the damage is done. Then you get festering sores -appearing on the affected parts. - -“Well, on a large scale, the affected parts will be the whole surface -of the body; so that in itself will be pretty bad, as you can see. Poor -old Job will have to take a back seat after this. - -“Then, again, I expect enormous quantities of radioactive gas will be -evolved; and probably one will breathe some of it into one’s lungs. -The result of that will be rather worse than the external injuries, of -course. I doubt if a man will last half an hour under that treatment; -but that half-hour will be the limit in pain.” - -“Can’t you use a mask or some lead protection?” I asked. “Or could you -not fix up the whole thing in a bomb-proof case which would keep the -rays from things outside?” - -“Well, that’s the first thing one thinks of, naturally; but to tell the -truth it’s impracticable for various reasons. Some of them are implicit -in the nature of the processes I’m using; but even apart from that, -look at the state of affairs when the thing does go off with a bang. It -will be one of the biggest explosions, considering the amounts I have -to use; and if I’m going to be flung about like a child’s toy, I prefer -to fly light and not have a sheet of lead mail to go along with me and -crush me when I strike anything. As to a mask, nothing would stick on. -You would simply be asking to have your face driven in, if you wore -anything of the kind. - -“No, I’ve been lucky so far. I’ve only lost three fingers in a minor -burst-up. And I’m going to stake on my luck rather than risk certain -damage. But if I can only pull it off, Flint.... Nordenholt thinks a -lot of it; and I don’t want to disappoint him if I can help it. If I do -go to glory, I’ll at least leave something behind me which will make it -more than worth while.” - -Nordenholt, I learned later, _did_ “think a lot of it.” I spoke to him -on the subject one day; and I was astonished to find how much stress he -laid on the Henley-Davenport work. - -“You don’t realise it, Jack; but it’s just on the cards that our -whole future turns on Henley-Davenport. I see things coming. They’re -banking up on the horizon already; and if the storm bursts, nothing but -Henley-Davenport can save us. And the worst of it is that he doesn’t -seem to be getting ahead much at present. It’s no fault of his. No -one could work harder; and the other two--Struthers and Anderson--are -just as keen. But it doesn’t come out, somehow. And the tantalising -thing is that he has proved it _can_ be done; only at present it isn’t -economical. He gets energy liberated, all right; but where we need a -ton of gunpowder, he can only give us a percussion cap, so to speak. If -only he can hit on it in time....” - - * * * * * - -For my own part, that period was depressing. All the joy had gone out -of my work. Only after I had lost her did I realise how great a part -Elsa had played in my planning of the future. Her disappearance cast -a shade over all my schemes; and soon I gave up entirely the side of -the reconstruction in which we had collaborated. I could not bear to -think over again the lines along which we had worked so intimately in -common. I simply put them out of my mind and concentrated my attention -exclusively upon the material aspects of the problem. - -I have said this quite freely; though possibly the reader may look -upon me as a weak man for allowing such factors to enter into so vast -a matter. Had I been superhuman, no doubt, I could have shut my mind -to the past; and gone forward without flinching. But I never imagined -that I was a super-man; and at this time especially I felt anything but -superhuman. I was wounded to the quick; and all I desired was to avoid -the whole subject of Elsa in my thoughts. And when I come to think of -it, it seems quite probable that I did my best work in this way. If I -had continued to dream of Fata Morgana and all its wonders, I should -simply have drugged myself with a mental opiate and my work would have -suffered on other sides. - -Elsa’s whole attitude to Nordenholt and myself had been a puzzle. I -could not understand why she should have been so bitter against us; for -try as I could, I failed to see anything discreditable in our doings. -The logic of events had thrust us into the position we occupied, it -seemed to me; and I could not appreciate her view of the situation. - -Nordenholt kept silence on the subject for some days after our trip -up Loch Lomond; but he finally gave me his views in reply to urgent -questioning. - -“I think it’s something like this, Jack: from what I know of Elsa in -the past, she’s got a vivid imagination, very vivid; and it happens to -be the pictorial imagination. Give her a line of description, and she -has the power of calling up the scene in her mind, filling in missing -details and producing something which impresses her profoundly.” - -“Well, I don’t see what that’s got to do with calling me a brute,” I -said. “It doesn’t seem to help me much.” - -“It’s quite clear to me. The few details she got from that confounded -missorted form were enough to start her imagination. She instinctively -called up a vision of starving people, suffering children and all the -rest of the affairs in the South. And you know, Jack, these visions -of hers are wonderfully clear and sharp. It wasn’t you who built Fata -Morgana on these afternoons; it was her imagination that did it and you -followed in her track.” - -“Yes, you’re quite right, Nordenholt. I don’t think I would have so -much as thought of dream-cities if she hadn’t led the way. And she -certainly had the knack of making them seem concrete.” - -“Very well; assume she had this vision of starving humanity. You know -her type of mind--everything for others? What sort of effect would that -picture produce upon her? A tremendous revulsion of feeling, eh? Her -whole emotional side would be up in arms; and she has strong emotions, -though she doesn’t betray them. Her intellectual side didn’t get a -chance against the combination of that picture and her ideals. It was -simply swept out at once. - -“But in spite of all her emotions, she’s level-headed. Sooner or later -she’ll begin to think more calmly. And she’s very just, too. That ought -to help, I think. Oh, I don’t despair about her; or rather, I wouldn’t -despair about her if it weren’t for some things that are coming yet. -I’m not going to buoy you up with any hopes, Jack, for I believe in -dealing straight. I can’t let you hope for much; we’ve both lost -enormously in her eyes. But I’ve seen cases in which her imagination -misled her before and her reason came out in the end. It may be so this -time. But don’t expect anything, Jack; and don’t try to gain anything. -She’s a very straight girl, and if she finds she has been wrong she -won’t hesitate to come and admit it to you without any encouragement -on your part. But it has been a horrible affair for her; and you must -remember that, if you think hardly of her at times.” - -“_I_ think hardly of her! You don’t know me, Nordenholt, or you -wouldn’t say that.” - -“Well, for both our sakes, I hope her intellect will get control of her -feelings. I hate to see her going about her work and know that she has -lost all faith in me now. She was the one creature in the world that -loved me, you know, Jack; and it’s hard.” - -Then he laughed contemptuously, as though at his own weakness. - -“It’s quite evident I’m not the man I was, Jack. But somehow, in this -affair we’re both in the same boat to some extent; and I let that slip -out. You see that Elsa hasn’t the monopoly of an emotional temperament!” - - * * * * * - -All great undertakings with uncertain ends appear to run the same -course. First there is the period of inception, a time of high hopes -and eager toil and self-sacrifice; then, as the novelty wears away, -there follows a stage in which the first enthusiasm has died down and -an almost automatic persistence takes the place of the great emotional -driving-force of the early days; later still, when enthusiasm has -vanished, there comes a time when the meaner side of human nature -reasserts itself. My narrative has reached the point of junction -between these last two divisions; and the pages which I have yet to -write must perforce deal mainly with the troubles which beset us in the -period of lassitude and nerve-strain which followed naturally upon the -other phases of the situation. - -I have thrown this chapter into a series of isolated sections; for I -believe that such a treatment best suggests the state of things at the -time. We had lost the habit of connected thought, as far as the greater -events were concerned. Our daily round absorbed our attention; and it -was only occasionally that we were jarred out of our grooves by some -event of salient importance. - -The whole atmosphere which surrounded us was depressing; and it slowly -and surely made its impression upon our minds and formed the background -upon which our thoughts moved. The gloom of the smoke-filled sky had -its reaction upon our psychology. The old sunlight seemed to have -vanished from our lives. And at this time we were all beginning to pay -the price for the feverish activity of the earlier days in the Area. -Our work, whether mental or physical, wearied us sooner than before; -and its monotony irritated our nerves. Such recreations as we had--and -they were few enough at this time--failed to relieve the tension. Among -the labouring classes, in particular, this condition of lassitude -showed itself in a marked degree. - -Nordenholt, with his finger on the pulse of things, grew more and more -anxious as time went on. On the surface, he still appeared optimistic; -but from chance phrases here and there I deduced that his uneasiness -was increasing; and that he anticipated something which I myself could -not foresee. Knowing what I do now, it seems to me that in those days -I must have been blind indeed not to understand what was before us; -but I frankly confess that I missed the many signs which lay in our -path from day to day. When the disaster came upon us, it took me almost -completely by surprise. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -Per Iter Tenebricosum - - -After Elsa had rejected any further collaboration with me, I was forced -at times to consult Nordenholt upon certain points in my schemes which -seemed to me to require the criticism of a fresh mind; and I thus fell -into the habit of seeing him in his office at intervals. - -“Things are in a bad way, Jack,” he said to me at the end of one of -these interviews. “You don’t see everything that’s going on, of course; -so you couldn’t be expected to be on the alert for it; but it’s only -right to warn you that we’re coming up against the biggest trouble -we’ve had yet in the Area.” - -“Of course things are anything but satisfactory, I know,” I replied. -“The output’s going down and there seems to be no way of screwing the -men up to increase it. But is it really fatal, do you think? We seem -even now to have the thing well in hand.” - -I glanced up at the great Nitrogen Curve above the fireplace. The red -and green lines upon it appeared to me to show a state of affairs -which, if not all that we could wish, was at least satisfactory as -compared with what might have been. Nordenholt followed my glance. - -“That practical trend of mind which you have, Jack, sometimes keeps -you from seeing realities. What lies at the root of the trouble just -now isn’t output or slackness or anything like that. These are only -symptoms of the real disease. It’s not in the concrete things that -I see the danger, except indirectly. The true peril comes from the -intangibles; ideas, states of mind, sub-conscious reflections. I’ve -told you often that the material world is only the outward show which -hardly matters: the real things are the minds of the men who live in -it. It’s their movements you need to look at if you want to gauge -affairs.” - -“I stick to what I know, Nordenholt, as I’ve often told you. I’m no -psychologist; and I have to look on the material side because I’m out -of my depth in the other. But let’s hear what you have in your mind -about the state of affairs.” - -“Well, you’ve been busy enough with your own work; so probably you -haven’t had time to observe how things are going; but I can put the -thing in a nutshell. We’ve weathered a good many difficulties; but -now we’re up against the biggest of them all. I see all the signs of -a revival in the near future--and it isn’t going to be a Christian -revival. It spells trouble of the worst description.” - -Now that my attention had been drawn to the point, a score of incidents -flashed across my mind in confirmation of what he said. I had noticed -an increased attendance at the meetings of street-preachers; and also -a growth in the number of the preachers themselves. As I went about -the city in the evenings I had seen in many places knots of people -assembled round some speaker who, with emotion-contorted visage, was -striving to move them by his eloquence. - -Once I had even stopped for a few minutes to listen to a sermon being -preached outside the Central Station by the Reverend John P. Wester; -and I still remembered the effect which it had produced upon me. He -was a tall man with a flowing red beard and a voice which enabled him -to make himself heard to huge audiences in the open air. He repelled -me by the cloudiness of his utterances--I hate loose thinking--and -also by the touch of fanaticism which clung to his discourses; for I -instinctively detest a fanatic. Yet in spite of this I felt strangely -attracted by him. He had the gift of gripping his hearers; and I could -see how he played upon them as a great musician plays upon a favourite -instrument. Remotely he reminded me of Nordenholt in the way in which -he seemed to know by instinct the points to which his rhetorical -attacks should be directed; but the resemblance between the two men -ended at this. It was always reason to which Nordenholt appealed in -the end; whilst emotional chords were the ones which the Reverend John -fingered with success. - -“Now you’ve told me, I believe you’re right,” I said. “I _have_ seen -signs of something like a revival. The crowds seem to be taking a -greater interest in religion.” - -“I wish they would,” Nordenholt returned, abruptly. “They won’t get it -from the Reverend John. He’s out for something quite different. It’s -just what I feared would happen, sooner or later. It always crops up -under conditions like those we are in just now. We’ve strained the -human machine to its utmost in all this work; and we’re on the edge of -possibilities in the way of collective hysteria. - -“Now that man Wester is at the root of half the trouble we are having -just now. I don’t mean that he is creating it; nothing of that sort: -but his personality forms a centre round which the thing collects. -The thing itself is there anyway: but if it weren’t for him and some -others, it would remain fluid; it wouldn’t become really dangerous. -But Wester is a fanatic and with his oratorical powers he carries -the weaker people off their feet, especially the women. He’s got a -following. What worries me is, where he’s going to lead them. He’s got -a kink in him. Still, I’m trusting that we may be able to weather the -thing without using force even now. But if he goes too far, I’ll break -him like _that_.” - -He tapped a stick of sealing wax on his desk and broke it in two. -Again I reflected how unlike this was to the Nordenholt I had known at -first, the man who could unfold huge plans without so much as a gesture -to help out his meaning. He must have read the thought in my eyes, for -he laughed, half at himself, I think. - -“Quite right, Jack. These theatrical touches seem to be growing on me, -of late. I must really try to cure myself. But, all the same, I mean -to keep my eye on the Reverend John. If he sets up as a prophet--and I -expect he will do that one of these days--I’ll take the risk and put -him down. But it’s a tricky business, I can tell you. Until he actually -becomes dangerous, I shall let him go on.” - -It was only natural, after that, for me to take more interest in the -career of the Reverend John. I even attended one of his open-air -meetings from start to finish; and I was still more impressed by his -command over his hearers. The material of his sermons seemed to me -commonplace in the extreme: it was not by the novelty of his subjects -but by his personal force that he impressed his audiences and raised -them to a state of exaltation. Zion, the River, The Tree of Life, Eden, -the loosing of burdens, rest and joy eternal: all the old phrases -were utilised. From what I heard of his preaching, it seemed to me -innocuous. A brief time of suffering and sorrow upon earth and then -the heavens would open and the Elect would enter into their endless -happiness: these appeared to be the elements of the creed which he -expounded; and I could see little reason for Nordenholt’s anxiety. - -At last, however, I began to notice something novel in the sermons. The -change came so gradually that I could hardly be sure when it began. -Probably he had opened up his fresh line so tentatively that I had not -observed it at the time; and it was only after he had already been -changing step by step in his subject that I became clearly conscious of -his new tone. - -With the greatest skill he contrived to use the old expressions while -inflecting them with a fresh intention. At last, however, there could -be no doubt as to his meaning. It was no longer Christianity that he -preached, but a kind of bastard Buddhism. Up to that point in his -career he had spoken of earthly affairs as a trial through which we -must pass in order to attain to bliss in the Hereafter; but in his -newer phase the things of the material world became entirely secondary. - -Eternal rest, eternal joy, eternal peace: these were his main themes; -and to the exhausted and nerve-racked population they had an attraction -of the most subtle kind. The Reverend John was a psychologist like -Nordenholt, though he worked in a narrower groove; and he well knew how -to utilise the levers of the human consciousness. Eternal rest! What -more attractive prospect could be held out to that toil-worn race? - -Slowly, with the most gradual of transitions, he began to assume the -mantle of a prophet; and with that phase new names began to emerge in -his discourses. The Four Truths, the Middle Path, the Five Hindrances, -Arahatship, Karma: these cropped up from time to time in sermons which -were daily becoming wilder in their phraseology. - -I have no wish to be unfair to the Reverend John. He was a fanatic; -and no fanatic is entirely sane. I am sure, also, that in the earlier -stages of his campaign he strove merely for the spiritual good of the -people as he understood it. But it is necessary to say also that I -believe he became crazed in the end; and that the ultimate effect of -his preaching led us to the very edge of disaster. It is not for me to -weigh or judge him; he preferred his visions to material safety; whilst -my own mind is concerned more with the things of this earth than with -what may come later. - -His preaching now passed into a stage where even I could appreciate -its dangerous character. More and more, his sermons took the form of -belittlings of the material world; while the joys of eternal life were -held up in comparison. It was not long until he was openly questioning -whether our human existence was worth prolonging at all. Would it -not be better, he asked, to throw off these shackles of the Flesh at -once rather than live for a few years longer amid the sorrows and -temptations of this world? Why not discard this earthly mantle and -enter at once into Nirvana? - -This appeared to me a mere preaching of suicide; but if his followers -chose to adopt his suggestions, it seemed to me a matter for -themselves. I had always regarded suicide as the back-door out of life; -though I had never under-estimated the courage of those who turn its -handle. Yet it seemed to me evidence of a certain want of toughness of -fibre, a lack of fitness to survive; and, personally, I had no desire -to retain in the world anyone who seemed unable to bear its strains. - -His next phase of development, however, opened my eyes. By this time he -had become a great power among the people. Many a king has been treated -with less reverence than his followers showed to him. Crowds flocked -to his meetings, standing thickly even when they stretched far beyond -the reach of that magnificent voice. In the streets he was saluted as -though he were a superhuman agent. There were attempts made to get him -to touch the sick in the hope that he might heal them. - -From afar, Nordenholt watched all this rising surge of emotion. In some -ways, the two men resembled each other; but their motives were wide -apart as the Poles. Both had their ideals, higher than the normal; -but these ideals were in deadly antagonism to each other. Both, it is -possible, were right; but the clash of right with right is the highest -form of tragedy; and collision between them was inevitable. - -“The Reverend John has been a great disappointment to me, Jack,” -Nordenholt admitted to me one day. “That man has the makings of a -great demagogue or a great saint in him; and it seems to me that the -spin of the coin has gone against me, for I thought the saint would -come uppermost. He isn’t as big as I thought he was. His head has -been turned by all this adulation; and unless I am mistaken again we -shall find him becoming a public danger before very long. He thinks he -has his own work to do, preparing for the Kingdom of Heaven; and in -doing that he seems to sweep aside all earthly affairs as trifles. He -despises them. I don’t. To me, he seems to be like a child in a game -who won’t abide by the rules. His heaven may be all right; but if it -is to be attained by shirking one’s work on earth--not _striving_ to -live--it seems to me a poor business. I think life is important, or it -wouldn’t exist; and I’m working to keep it in existence. He seems to -believe it is of no value, if he really means what he says. We can’t -agree, that’s evident.” - -It was not long before the Reverend John’s campaign filled even my -mind with apprehension. His style of preaching changed and grew more -incoherent; his phraseology became wilder; and a minatory tone crept -into his sermons. And the tremendous personality of the speaker, -coupled with all the art of the orator, made even these obscure ravings -powerful to influence the minds of his hearers. - -He began to speak of curses from heaven upon a generation which had -forgotten the right path. The Famine was a sign that all life was to be -swept from the earth’s face. And thence he passed to the proposition -that any struggling against the Famine was a hindrance to the workings -of the universe. - -I think that it was about this time that he discarded ordinary clothes -and began to go about clad in a curious garment manufactured from -the skin of some animal. Except for his fiery beard, he recalled the -sandal-shod John the Baptist represented in old illustrated Bibles. Nor -was he alone in this fashion: some of his more prominent adherents also -adopted it, though in their cases the results were not so imposing. - -And now things moved rapidly towards their end. - -The Reverend John preached daily in the streets, predicting a universal -entry into Nirvana. His curses against those who worked for the -physical salvation of the people to the detriment of their Karma became -louder and more frequent; and it was not long until he spent most of -his energies in comminations. From cursings, he passed to threats; and -his attacks upon Nordenholt grew in vehemence day by day. And still -Nordenholt, to my growing wonder, held his hand and forbore to strike. - -By this time the religious mania was spreading rapidly throughout -the population of the Area. The skin-clad followers of the Reverend -John ran nightly through the streets crying that the Great Day was at -hand and calling upon the people to repent of their sins and turn to -righteousness. Strange scenes were witnessed; and stranger doctrines -preached. It was a weird time. - -Meanwhile, the preaching of the revivalist was becoming more and -more exalted. He named himself a Prophet, the last and the greatest. -He began to be more definite in his predictions; events which he -foreshadowed were foretold as coming to pass at stated dates. At last -he gave out that three days later he and his followers would publicly -ascend to heaven in a cloud of glory; and that the world of earthly -things would pass away as he did so. - -And still Nordenholt held his hand. I could not understand it; for -by this time I had seen where the teaching of the Reverend John was -leading us. Work was slowing down in the factories; crowds of all -classes were spending their whole time following their Prophet; -and the mere numbers of them were becoming a serious menace to the -safety of the Area. At last I became so anxious on the subject that I -went to consult Nordenholt on the matter. I had begun to doubt if he -appreciated the gravity of the situation. - -I found him sitting before the fire in his office, smoking and gazing -before him as though wrapped in his reflections. - -“Look here, Nordenholt,” I said. “I suppose you grasp the seriousness -of affairs nowadays? Isn’t it about time something was done? It seems -to me that you’ll need to grasp this nettle before long anyway. Why let -it grow any bigger?” - -“Afraid I’m losing my grip, eh? Not yet, Jack, not yet awhile. But I -will _grasp_ it before long. I’m only waiting the proper moment. I’ve -waited for weeks; and now I think it’s nearly due at last.” - -“But the man’s insane, Nordenholt. You see that, don’t you? Why wait -any longer. Grab him now and be done with it--at least that’s what I -should do if I were in charge.” - -“No, I’m going to give him three days more. If I interfered now, it -would spoil everything. Wait till he has seen his prophecy fail, and -then we can tackle him.” - -“I don’t see any use waiting; but I suppose you know best.” - -“I do know best, Jack, believe me. Come back here in three days, at -half-past eleven, and you’ll see my methods. I’m going to teach these -people a lesson this time.” - -He leaned back in his chair and fixed his eyes on the old stone image -of the Pope’s head which, under its glass bell, forms part of the -mantelpiece. - -“What differences there are in the way religion works on a man, Jack. -There was an old chap in the dark ages, that Pope; and he believed in -spreading the light by education. He founded the University here. And -then you have this fanatic to-day whose one idea seems to be to reduce -everything to chaos again. What a difference! And yet each of them -thinks that he is inspired to do the right thing in his day.” - -He threw away the end of his cigar and rose. - -“Come back in three days, Jack. You’ll see it all then. I needn’t -explain it now.” - - * * * * * - -The events of the following two days filled me with uneasiness; and I -began to fear that for once Nordenholt had erred in his calculations. -The tumult and agitation centring around the figure of the revivalist -increased; his preaching became more and more menacing; and it seemed -to me that he had been allowed too much rope. By this time he was -quite frankly attacking the whole scheme of the Nitrogen Area as an -act of impiety which would call down the wrath of the Divinity in the -immediate future. And mingled with these cursings he poured forth his -prophecies, which grew hourly more detailed. He and his Elect would -ascend into the sky at noon, he declared; and that all men might see -this come about, he proposed to take his stand by the Roberts’ statue -in Kelvingrove Park, from which eminence he would be visible to the -assembled crowds. - -Rumours ran through the Area, growing wilder and yet more wild as they -passed from lip to lip. Even the most unimaginative of the population -felt the strange electric power which seemed to flow out from the -revivalist; and the tales of his doings were magnified and distorted -out of all semblance of reality. Just as Nordenholt had predicted, all -the formless unrest of the Area crystallised round the personality of -the preacher and took shape and substance. Work was abandoned by the -greater part of the Area labour; and the factories, usually thronged by -shift after shift, remained almost untenanted during those two days in -which the populace awaited the promised miracle. - -Meanwhile the followers of the revivalist redoubled their efforts and -their conduct grew less and less restrained. The labourers who remained -at work were assaulted by bands of these fanatics, and driven from the -doors of the factories. Order seemed to have vanished from the Area; -for I found that Nordenholt had withdrawn the Labour Defence Force -entirely from the streets, allowing the madmen to do their will. It -seemed as though the Area were being permitted to relapse into chaos. - -The uninterrupted preaching of the revivalist had wrought the whole -population into a state of strained expectation. Even those who scoffed -at his claims were affected by the atmosphere of the time; and there -was in most minds an uneasy questioning: “Suppose that it should all be -true?” - - * * * * * - -At half-past eleven, I went to Nordenholt’s office as I had promised. -He was alone, seated at his huge desk. The usual mass of papers had -been cleared away and I noticed that their place had been taken by -a small piece of apparatus like a telephone in some respects and an -ordinary electric bell-push on a wooden stand. Temporary wires ran from -these to the window. - -“Come in, Jack. You’re just in time for the curtain.” - -“It seems to me, Nordenholt, that the curtain ought to have been rung -down on this thing long ago. You’ve waited far too long, if you ask me.” - -“I don’t think I’ve miscalculated. And to tell you the truth, Jack, -this is the biggest thing I’ve had to think out so far. It’s make or -break with us this time; and we’ve never been as near disaster before. -But I’ve thought it out; and I believe I’m right. Have a cigar.” - -He pushed a box across to me and I cut and lit one mechanically. - -“This thing here,” he tapped the instrument, “is a dictaphone. The -transmitter’s fixed up in the statue over there.” - -He nodded in the direction of the Park below our windows. I got up and -looked out. As far as my view reached, the ground was concealed by a -closely-packed crowd of people, all standing motionless and intent upon -the group on the open space around the statue. There had been some -singing of hymns earlier in the morning; but now the vast concourse had -fallen silent as their expectation rose to fever-heat and the hour of -the miracle drew near. - -“I’m going to give him every chance,” said Nordenholt’s voice behind -me. “Let him pull off his miracle if he can. If he can’t, then I expect -trouble; and at the first word of danger I hear, I’ll settle with -him at last. I don’t mind his preaching suicide; but if he starts to -threaten the work of the Area, it will be on his own head.” - -The three-quarters had struck from the great bells above our heads; -and, a few minutes later, Nordenholt switched on the dictaphone. -Suddenly the clarion voice of the revivalist seemed to fill the room in -which we stood. - -“My brothers! In a few brief moments I shall leave you, ascending in -glory to the skies. While I am yet with you, heed my words. Turn from -this idle show which blinds your eyes. Turn from this heavy labour and -unceasing toil. Turn from this valley of sin and sorrow. Turn from the -lusts of the flesh and the lures of material things. Long and weary has -been the way; life after life have we suffered, but when we pass into -Nirvana there is rest for you, rest for each of you, eternal rest! O my -brothers, all that are worn with the bearing of burdens, all that are -taxed beyond your powers, all that are a-faint and borne down, follow -after me into Nirvana, where none shall be a-weary and where all shall -rest. There shall be no more toil, no more fatigue, no more striving -and no more labour. There shall be rest, everlasting rest, a long -sweet slumber under the trees, while the river flows by your feet and -its murmur lulls you in your eternal rest.” - -Even in the harsh reproduction of the dictaphone I could feel the -magic of the cadences of that splendid voice, soothing, comforting, -promising the multitude the prize which to them must have seemed the -most desirable of all. And through it all the steady repetition of -“Rest” ran with an almost hypnotic effect. Incoherent though it was, -the appeal struck at the very centre of each over-driven being in that -throng. - -“Rest, rest for all. Surcease of toil. Do you not feel it already, -my brothers? Languor creeps over you; you faint as you stand. And -I promise rest to you all. Follow me and you shall rest in those -fields; there where you may dream away the long, long days among the -flowers, lying at ease. There where the songs of birds shall but stir -you faintly in your dreams, and all the tumult of the world shall be -stilled within your ears.” - -He paused; and the silence seemed almost like a continuation of his -speech. The multitude seemed frozen into stone. Then came an isolated -phrase: - -“Into Nirvana; Nirvana where there is rest....” - -The voice died away in a soothing murmur which yet had its compelling -power. Nordenholt looked at his watch. - -“Two minutes yet. So far, he hasn’t been actively objectionable; but I -can guess what is coming.” - -Again the dictaphone sounded. - -“But a few moments now, my brothers, then I and my Elect shall ascend -into the skies. Look well, O my brothers. Mark our passage to our rest.” - -His voice ceased. There was a dead silence. Then, suddenly, with -a preliminary vibration of machinery, the clock above us struck. -Four double chimes for the quarters and then the heavy note of the -hour-strokes. Nordenholt listened grimly until all twelve had been -rung. Then I heard his voice, even as ever, without the faintest tinge -of irony: - -“The passing bell!” - -With the twelfth stroke there came through the windows a great wave -of indescribable sound, the loosing of breath among the thousands who -were gathered far below us in the Kelvin valley. Then again there was -silence. Nordenholt suddenly leaned forward to his desk and placed his -finger on the ivory button. - -“Now’s the danger-point, Jack. He’ll try to divert attention from his -failure. But I’m ready for him.” - -I began mechanically to count seconds, with no particular reason, but -simply because I felt I must do something. Two minutes passed; and -then through the windows came a long groaning note, the voice of the -multitude smitten with disillusion at the failure of the miracle which -they had expected. It rolled in a huge volume of sound across the Park -and then died away. - -Suddenly the dictaphone poured out a torrent of words. The voice was no -longer calm; all the quiet strength had gone out of it, and, instead, -the tones were those of an infuriated man seeking some object upon -which to wreak his anger. But with all his rage the Reverend John had -a ready mind. In a moment he seems to have seen a possible loophole of -escape. - -“No!” he cried, “I will not ascend for yet awhile. Work remains to be -done here, in this godless city; and I will renounce my rest until it -has been brought to its end. Life must cease ere I can seek my rest. I -bid you follow me that we may accomplish the task which has been laid -upon me. Over yonder”--he evidently pointed towards us--“over yonder -sits the Arch-Enemy; he who strives to chain pure spirits in this -web of flesh. His hand is on all this city, so that the smoke of her -burning goes up to the skies. Break asunder the chains which he is -forging. Destroy the evil works which he has planned. Wreck the engines -which he has designed. Come, my brothers; the doom is pronounced -against all the works of his hand. Come, follow me and end it all. -Destroy! Destroy! so that this world of sorrow and of sin may pass away -like an evil vision and life may be no more. Destroy! Destroy!” - -Nordenholt, listening intently, pressed his finger upon the ivory -stud. There was a moment’s pause, and then from the eastern end of the -building came a sound of machine-guns. It lasted only for a few seconds -and then died out. - -“They couldn’t miss at that range,” said Nordenholt. “That’s the end of -the Reverend John personally. But I doubt if we are finished with him -altogether even now.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -The Eleventh Hour - - -I have set down all my doubts as to the wisdom of Nordenholt’s -treatment of the Reverend John; and it is only right to place on the -other side the fact that events proved he had gauged matters better -than I had done. He had foreseen the trend of the revivalist’s thoughts -and had deduced their climax, probably long before Wester himself -had understood the road he had placed his feet upon. Nordenholt had -allowed the excitement to grow without check, even to its highest -point, without interfering in the least; because he calculated that the -supreme disillusion would produce a revulsion of feeling which could -be attained in no other way. And his calculation proved to be correct. -Morally shaken by the failure of the miracle which they had been led -to expect, and which many of them had counted upon with certainty, the -populace allowed itself to be driven back into the factories and mines -without a word of protest. Their dreams were shattered and they fell -back into reality without the strength to resist any dominant will. It -seemed as though the last difficulties were disappearing before us; -and that the path now led straight onward to our goal. So I thought, -at least, but Nordenholt doubted. And, as it turned out, he again saw -more clearly than I. We might be done with the Reverend John; but the -Reverend John had not finished with us, dead as he was. - -The next ten days saw the institution of a merciless system in the -works and mines of the Area. During the period of the revivalist’s -activity there had been an accelerated fall in the output; and -Nordenholt determined that this must be made good as soon as possible. -Possibly also he believed that a spell of intense physical exertion -would exhaust the workers and leave them no time to indulge in -recollections and reflections which might be dangerous. Whatever his -motives may have been, his methods were drastic in the extreme. The -minimum necessary output was trebled; and the members of any group -who failed to attain it were promptly deported into the desert of the -South. Surely entrenched behind the loyalty of the Labour Defence -Force, Nordenholt threw aside any concealment and ruled the whole Area -as a despot. The end in view was all that he now seemed to see; and he -broke men and threw them aside without the slightest hesitation. More -than ever, it seemed to me at this time, he was like a machine, rolling -forward along its appointed path, careless of all the human lives and -the human interests which he ground to powder under his irresistible -wheels. I began to think of him at times in the likeness of Jagannatha, -the Lord of the World, under whose car believers cast themselves to -death. But none of Nordenholt’s victims were willing ones. - -Unlimited power, as Nordenholt himself had pointed out to me, is a -perilous gift to any man. The human mind is not fitted for strains of -this magnitude; and even Nordenholt’s colossal personality suffered, -I believe, from the stress of his despotic rule. But where a smaller -man would have frittered away his energies in petty oppression or -aimless regulation, Nordenholt never lost sight of his main objective: -and I believe that his harshness in the end arose merely from his -ever-growing determination to bring his enterprise to success. -Concentrating his mind entirely upon this, he may have suffered from -a loss of perspective which made him ruthless in his demands upon the -labouring masses of the Area. If this were so, I cannot find it in -me to blame him, in view of the responsibility which he bore. But I -have a suspicion that he feared a coming disaster, and that he was -determined to take time by the forelock by forcing up production ere -the catastrophe overtook us. - - * * * * * - -After the death of the revivalist, his followers disappeared. The -meetings at street corners no longer took place; the wild skin-clad -figures ran no more through the city. I believe that Nordenholt took -steps to arrest those of the inner circle who escaped the machine-guns -in the Park; but many of them seem to have slipped through his fingers -in spite of the efficiency of his Secret Service. Probably they were -kept in concealment by sympathisers, of whom there were still a number -in spite of the general disillusionment. On the surface, the whole -movement appeared to have been arrested completely; but, as we were to -learn, it was not blotted out. - -I can still remember the first news of the disaster. A trill on my -telephone bell, and then the voice of Nordenholt speaking: - -“Hullo!... That you, Jack?... Come over here, will you?... At my -office. I may need you.... It’s a bad affair.... What?... Two of -the pit-shafts have been destroyed. No way of reaching the crowd -underground. I’m afraid it’s a bad business.” - -When I reached his office he was still at the telephone, evidently -speaking to the scene of the catastrophe. - -“Yes?... Shaft closed completely?... How long do you think it will -take to reopen it?... Permanent? Mean to say you can’t reopen it?... -Months?... How many men below just now?... Six hundred, you think?... -That’s taking the number of lamps missing, I suppose.... Well, find out -exactly as soon as you can.” - -He rang off and was just about to call up another number, the second -pit, I suppose, when the telephone bell sounded an inward call. - -“Yes?... What’s that? Numbers what?... Three, seven, eight, ten, -thirteen, fourteen.... Ring off! I’ll speak to you again.” - -He rang furiously for the exchange. - -“Put me through to the Coal Control. Quick, now.... Hullo! Is that you, -Sinclair?... Nordenholt.... Send out a general call. Bring every man to -the surface at once.... Yes, every pit in the Area. Hurry! It’s life or -death.... Report when you get news.” - -Without leaving the instrument he called up another number. - -“Go on. No. 14 was the last.... Take down these numbers, Jack.... 3, 7, -8, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19.... That all?... Good. Get me the figures of -losses as soon as you can. Also a note of the damage. Good-bye.” - -Behind this disjointed sequence of phrases I had caught hints of the -magnitude of the calamity; and I was to some extent prepared for what I -heard when he had time to turn to me at last. - -“Eleven pits have been destroyed almost simultaneously, Jack. No. 23 -and No. 27 went first; and then that list I gave you just now. There -are no details yet; but it’s quite evidently malicious. Dynamite, I -think, to judge from the few facts I’ve got. The shafts are completely -blocked, as far as we know; and every man underground is done for.” - -“How many does that amount to?” - -“There are no figures yet; but it will run into more than three figures -anyway.” - -Again the shrill call of the telephone bell sounded. He took up the -receiver. - -“Yes?... What’s that? No. 31 and No. 33?... Complete block? No hope?... -Do your best.” - -He turned to me. - -“Two more gone, before we could get the men up. It’s a very widespread -affair. I told you we hadn’t done with the Reverend John.” - -“What’s he got to do with it?” I asked, astonished. - -“Some of his friends carrying out the work he left unfinished. They -mean to smash the Area; and they’ve hit us on our weakest point, -there’s no doubt. No coal, no work in the factories, no nitrogen. This -is serious, Jack.” - -Another call on the telephone brought the news that three more pits -had been destroyed. Nordenholt rang up the Coal Control once more and -urged them to even greater haste in their efforts to get the men to the -surface. Then he turned back to me. - -“Do you realise what it all means, Jack? As far as I can see, it’s the -beginning of the end for us. We can’t pull through on this basis; and I -doubt if we have heard the full extent of the disaster even now.” - - * * * * * - -I have endeavoured to convey the impression made upon my mind by the -first news of the catastrophe; but little purpose would be served -by continuing the story in detail. All that morning we stood by the -telephone, gathering in the tale of disaster bit by bit in disjointed -fragments as it came over the wire. Here and there, items of better -news filtered through: reports that in some pits the whole of the -underground workers had been brought safely to the surface, accounts of -the immunity of certain shafts. But as a whole it was a black record -which we gathered in. The work had been planned with skill; and the -execution had not fallen below the level of the plan. In one or two -cases the miscreants had been detected in the act and captured before -they had time to do any damage; but these discoveries were very few. -As far as most of the pits were concerned, we never were able to -establish how the work had been done; for all traces were buried under -the debris in the wrecked shafts, which have been left unopened ever -since the catastrophe. One thing was certain, the whole of the workers -actually in the galleries at the time of the explosions were lost for -good and all. They were far beyond the reach of any human help. - -It is no part of my plan to do more than indicate the horror of this -calamity. I draw no pen-pictures of the crowds around the pit-heads, -the crying of the women, the ever-recurring demands for the names of -the lost. These were features common to all mining accidents in the old -days; and this one differed from the rest only in its magnitude and not -in its form. - -Owing to the colossal scale of the casualty list it was impossible to -minimise the matter in any way. Nordenholt decided to tell the truth in -full as soon as the total losses were definitely established. He gave -his newspapers a free hand; and by the late afternoon the placards were -in the streets. - - TERRIBLE DISASTERS IN COAL DISTRICT. - - MANY SHAFTS BLOCKED. - - ALL UNDERGROUND WORKERS ENTOMBED. - - 11,000 DEAD. - -To most of those who read the accounts of the catastrophe, it seemed -a terrible blow of Fate; but we at the centre of things knew that the -immediate loss was as nothing in comparison with the ultimate results -which it would bring in its train. All the largest pits were out of -action. The coal output, even at the best, could not possibly keep pace -with the demands of the future; and with the failure of fuel, the whole -activities of the Area must come to a standstill. Just on the edge of -success, it seemed all our efforts were to be in vain. From beyond the -grave the dead fanatic had struck his blow at the material world which -he hated; and we shuddered under the shock. - -Throughout that day I was with Nordenholt. I think that he felt the -need of someone beside him, some audience which would force him to -keep an outwardly unshaken front. But to me it was a nightmare. The -_débâcle_ in itself had broken my nerve, coming thus without warning; -but Nordenholt’s prevision of the ultimate results which it would -exercise seemed to take away the last ray of hope. - -“It’s no use whining, Jack; we’ve just got to take it as well as we -can. First of all, the coal output will cease entirely for a long time. -Not a man will go into even the ‘safe’ pits after this until everything -has been examined thoroughly; and that will take days and days. It’s no -use blinking that side of it.” - -“Why not force them in?” I asked. “Turn out the Defence Force and drive -them to the pits. We _must_ have coal.” - -“No good. I know what they’re thinking now; and even if you shot half -of them the rest wouldn’t go down. It’s no use thinking of it. I know.” - -“Why didn’t the Intelligence Section get wind of it?” - -“Don’t blame them; they couldn’t have done more than they did. Don’t -you realise that if a man is prepared to sacrifice his life--and these -fanatics who did the damage were the first victims themselves--there’s -nothing that can stop him? The Intelligence people had nothing to -go on. The whole of this thing was organised and carried through by -a handful of men, some of whom were evidently employed in the pits -themselves. It was so rapidly planned and executed that no secret -service could have got at it in time. Remember, we’re making explosives -on a big scale, so that thefts are easy.” - -“And if you’re right, what is to happen?” - -“Go on as long as we can; then see how we stand; and after that, if -necessary, decimate the population of the Area so as to bring our -numbers down to what we can feed in future. There’s nothing else for -it.” - -“I hope it won’t come to that, Nordenholt.” - -“It’s no choice of mine; but if it’s forced on me, I’ll do it. I’m -going to see this thing through, Jack, at _any_ cost now. Millions have -been swept out of existence already by the Famine; and I’m not going to -stick at the loss of a few more hundred thousands so long as we pull -through in the end.” - - * * * * * - -In the main, Nordenholt’s forecast of the attitude which the miners -would adopt proved to be correct. A certain number of workers, braver -or less imaginative than the rest, returned to work in the “safe” pits -in the course of a day or two; but the main bulk of the labour remained -sullenly aloof. Nothing would induce them to set foot in the galleries. -Work above-ground they would do, wherever it was necessary to preserve -the pits from deterioration; but they had no intention of descending -into the subterranean world again. Better to starve in the light of -day than run the risk of hungering in some prison in the bowels of the -earth. Neither threats nor cajolings served to move them from this -decision. - -Nordenholt, as a last resource, sent exploring parties into the South -to examine the deserted coal-fields of England in the hope that some -of them might be workable; but the various missions returned with -reports that nothing could be done. During the period since the mining -population had died out, the pits had become unsafe, some by the -infiltration of water, others by the destruction of the machinery and -yet more by the disrepair of the galleries. Here and there a mine was -discovered which could still be operated; and parties were drafted -South to work it; but in most cases so much labour was required to put -the shafts and galleries in repair that we were unable to look forward -to anything like the previous coal-supply even at the best. - -Meanwhile Nordenholt, day by day, grew more and more grim. While -there was any hope of utilising the mining population, he clung to it -tenaciously; but as time passed it became clearer that the Area had -received its death-blow. He began to draft his ex-miners into other -branches of industry bit by bit; but with the fall in the coal-supply -there was little use for them there, since very soon all the activities -of the Area would have to cease. - -I watched him closely during that period; and I could see the effect -which the strain was producing upon him. The disaster had struck us -just when we seemed to have reached the turning-point in the Area’s -history, at the very time when all seemed to be sure in front of us. -It was a blow which would have prostrated a weaker man; but Nordenholt -had a tenacity far above the ordinary. He meant, I know, to carry out -his decision to decimate the Area if necessary; but he held his hand -until it was absolutely certain that all was lost. I think he must have -had at the back of his mind a hope that everything would come right in -the end; though I doubt if his grounds for that belief were any but the -most slender. - -For my own part, I went through that period like an automaton. The -suddenness of the catastrophe seemed, in some way, to have deadened my -imagination; and I carried on my work mechanically without thinking of -where it was all leading us. With this new holocaust looming over the -Area, Elsa seemed further away than ever. If she had revolted at the -story of the South, it seemed to me that this fresh sacrifice of lives -in the Area itself would deepen her hatred for the men who planned it. - -It seemed the very irony of Fate that Nordenholt should choose this -juncture to tell me his views on her feelings. - -“Elsa seems to be coming round a little at last, Jack,” he said to -me one day, “I think her emotional side has worked itself out in the -contemplation of the Famine; and her reason’s getting a chance again.” - -“What makes you think that?” I asked. “I haven’t seen anything to make -me hopeful about it.” - -“You wouldn’t notice anything. You don’t know her well enough--Oh, -don’t get vexed. Even if you are in love with her, you’ve only known -her for a very short time, whereas I’ve studied her since she was a -child. I know the symptoms. She’s coming round a little.” - -“Much good that will do now! If you decimate the Area it will be worse -than ever. I hate to think of my own affairs in the middle of this -catastrophe; but I simply can’t help it. If your plan goes through, -it’s the end of my romance.” - -He played with the cord of his desk telephone for a moment before -replying. I could see that he had some doubt as to whether he ought to -speak or not. At last he made up his mind. - -“If you’re brooding over things as much as all that, Jack, I suppose I -must say something; but I’m very much afraid of raising false hopes. -You wonder, probably, why I don’t go straight ahead and weed out the -useless mouths now and be done with it? Well, the fact is I’m staking -it all on the next couple of days. Henley-Davenport seems, by his way -of it, to be just on the edge of something definite at last. If he -pulls it off, then all’s well. If not....” - -“What do you mean?” - -“If Henley-Davenport gets his results, we won’t need coal; because we -shall have all the energy we require from his process. I’ve stretched -things to the limit in the hope that he will give us the ace of trumps -and not the two. If he succeeds, we don’t need to weed out the Area; -we can go on as we are; and we shall be absolutely certain to pull -through with every soul alive. But I shouldn’t have told you this, -perhaps; it may be only a false hope and will just depress you more by -the reaction. But you look so miserable that I thought I had better -take the risk.” - -“When do you expect to know definitely?” - -“He promised me that within two days he would be able to tell me, -one way or the other. Of course, even if he fails now, he may pull -it off later; but I can only wait two days more before beginning the -elimination of all the useless mouths in the Area. Everything is ready -to put into operation in that direction. But I hope we may not need -these plans. It’s just a chance, Jack; so don’t build too much on it.” - -It was advice easy enough to give; but I found it very hard to follow. -All that day my hopes were rising; things seemed brighter at last: and -it was only now and again that I stopped to remind myself that the -whole thing was a gamble with colossal stakes. Even Nordenholt himself -was afraid to count too much upon Henley-Davenport, though I knew that -he believed implicitly in his capacity. But even as I said this to -myself I felt my spirits rising. After the certainty of disaster which -had confronted us, even this hazard was a relief. For the first time -in many weeks I began to build castles in the air once more. I was -half-afraid to do so; but I could not help myself. And as the hours -passed by bringing no news of success or failure, I think my nerves -must have become more and more tense. A whole day went by without news -of any kind. - - * * * * * - -The morning of the following day seemed interminable to me. I knew that -within another twenty-four hours Nordenholt would have given up all -hope of Henley-Davenport’s success and would be setting in motion the -machinery which he had devised for reducing the population of the Area; -and as hour after hour passed without bringing any news, I became more -and more restless. I tried to work and to ease my mind by concentrating -it upon details; but I soon found that this was useless. Strive as I -might, I could not banish the thought of the tragedy which hung over us. - -At 3.27 p.m.--I know the exact minute, because my watch was stopped -then and I read the time from it afterwards--I was standing beside -my desk, consulting some papers on a file. Suddenly I heard a high -detonation, a sound so sharp that I can liken it to nothing familiar. -The air seemed full of flying splinters of glass; and simultaneously -I was wrenched from my foothold and flung with tremendous violence -against my desk. Then, it seemed, a dead silence fell. - -I found that my right hand was streaming with blood from various cuts -made by the razor-edges of the broken glass of the window. More blood -was pouring from a gash on my forehead; but my eyes had escaped injury. -When I moved, I found I suffered acute pain; though no bones seemed to -be broken. The concussion had completely deafened me; and, as I found -afterwards, my left ear-drum had been perforated, so that even to this -day I can hear nothing on that side. - -All about me the office was in confusion. Every pane of glass had -been blown inward from the windows and the place looked as though a -whirlwind had swept through it, scattering furniture and papers in its -track. The shock had dazed me; and for several minutes I stood gazing -stupidly at the havoc around me. It was, I am sure, at least five -minutes before I grasped what had happened. As soon as I did so, I made -my way, still in intense pain, down the stairs and into the quadrangle. - -The pavements were littered with fragments of broken glass which -had fallen outward in the breaking of the windows; but there was not -so much of this as I had expected, since most of the panes had been -driven inward by the explosion. Quite a crowd of people were running -out of the building and making in the direction of the new Chemistry -Department in University Avenue. I followed them, noticing as I passed -the Square that all the chimney-pots of the houses seemed to have been -swept off, though I could see no traces of them on the ground. Later -on, I found that they had been blown down on the further side of the -terrace. - -When I came in sight of the Chemistry building I was amazed, even -though I was prepared for a catastrophe. One whole wing had been -reduced to a heap of ruins, a mere pile of building-stone and joists -flung together in utter confusion. Here and there among the debris, -jets of steam and dust were spouting up; and from time to time came -an eruption of small stones from the wreckage. The remainder of the -edifice still stood almost intact save for its broken windows and -shattered doors. - -What astonished me at the time was that the whole scene recalled a -cinema picture--violent motion without a sound to accompany it. I -saw spouts of dust, falling masses of masonry, people running and -gesticulating in the most excited manner; yet no whisper of sound -reached me. It was only when someone came up and spoke directly to me -that I discovered that I was temporarily stone deaf; for I could see -his lips moving but could hear nothing whatever. - -Like everyone else, I began to remove the debris. I think that we -understood even then that it was hopeless to think of saving anyone -from this wreckage, but we were all moved to do something which might -at least give us the illusion that we were helping. As I pulled and -tugged with the others, I began to appreciate the enormous power of -the explosive which had been at work. In an ordinary concussion, -iron can be bent out of shape; but here I came across steel rafters -which were cut clean through as though by a knife. I remember thinking -vaguely that the explosive must have acted, as dynamite does, against -the solid materials around it instead of spending its force upwards; -for otherwise the whole place would have suffered a bombardment from -flying blocks of stone. - -For some time I toiled with the others. I saw Nordenholt’s figure -close at hand. Then the sky seemed to take on a tinge of violet which -deepened suddenly. I saw a black spot before my eyes; and apparently I -fainted from loss of blood. - - * * * * * - -Even now, the causes of the Chemistry Department disaster are unknown. -Henley-Davenport and his two assistants perished instantaneously in the -explosion--in fact Henley-Davenport’s body was never recovered from -the wreckage at all. A third assistant, who had been in the next room -at the time, lived long enough to tell us the exact stage at which the -catastrophe occurred; but even he could throw no direct light upon its -origin. - -From Henley-Davenport’s notes, which we found in his house, it seems -clear that his efforts had been directed towards producing the -disintegration of iron; and that on the morning of the accident he -had completed his chain of radioactive materials which furnished the -accelerated evolution of energy required to break up the iron atoms. -As we know now, he succeeded in his experiment and his iron yielded -the short-period isotopes of chromium, titanium and calcium until the -end-product of the series--argon--was produced. The four successive -alpha-ray changes, following each other at intervals of a few seconds, -liberated a tremendous store of intra-atomic energy; but, knowing -the extremely minute quantities with which Henley-Davenport worked, -it seems difficult to believe that the explosion which destroyed his -laboratory was produced by this trace of material. To me it seems much -more probable that his apparatus was shattered at the moment of the -first disintegration of iron and that thus some of the short-period -products were scattered abroad throughout the room, setting up -radioactive change in certain of the metallic objects which they -touched. No other explanation appears to fit the facts. We shall never -learn the truth of the matter now; but knowing Henley-Davenport’s -care and foresight, I cannot see any other way of accounting for the -violence of the explosion. - -Luckily for us, no radioactive gas is produced by the disintegration of -iron; for had there been any such material among the decay products it -is probable that most of those who had run to the scene of the disaster -would have perished. - - * * * * * - -When I recovered consciousness again I found myself lying on a couch. -A doctor was bandaging my hand. Nordenholt, looking very white and -shaken, was sitting in a chair by the fire. At first I was too weak to -do more than look round me; but after a few minutes I felt better and -was able to speak to Nordenholt. - -“What has happened? Did they get Henley-Davenport out of the wreck?” - -“No, there’s no hope of that, Jack. He’s dead; and the best thing one -can say is that he must have been killed instantaneously. But he’s done -the trick for us, if we can only follow his track. He evidently tapped -atomic energy of some kind or other. Did you notice the sharpness of -the explosion before you were knocked out? There’s never been anything -like it.” - -“What’s going to happen now?” I was still unable to think clearly. - -“I’ve sent Mitchell down to Henley-Davenport’s house to look at his -last notes--he kept them there and he promised me to indicate each day -what he proposed to do next, so that we’d have something to go on if -anything like this happened. Mitchell will ring up as soon as he has -found them.” - -I heard afterwards that among the ruins of the laboratory Nordenholt -had been struck by a falling beam and had just escaped with his -life; but his voice gave no hint of it. I think that his complete -concentration upon the main problem prevented him from realising that -he might be badly hurt. - -The telephone bell rang suddenly and Nordenholt went to the receiver. - -“Yes, Mitchell.... You’ve got the notes?... Good.... You can repeat -what he was doing?... No doubt about it?... All right. Start at once. -We must have it immediately, cost what it may.... Come round here -before you begin; but get going at once. There isn’t a minute to spare.” - -Nordenholt replaced the receiver. - -“I thought I could trust Henley-Davenport,” he said. “He’s left -everything in order, notes written up to lunch-time complete and a full -draft of his last experiment, which will allow Mitchell to carry on.” - -A few minutes later, Mitchell himself appeared and gave us some further -details. In his jottings, Henley-Davenport had suggested some possible -modifications of the experiment which had ended so disastrously; -and Mitchell proposed to try the effect of these alterations in the -conditions. Before he left us, he sat down at Nordenholt’s desk and -made a few notes of the process he intended to try, handing the paper -to Nordenholt when he had finished. I can still remember his alert -expression as he wrote and the almost finical care with which he -flicked the ash from the end of the cigarette as he rose from the -desk. It was the last time any of us saw him. - -“Well, that’s all. I’m off.” - -Nordenholt rose stiffly from his chair and shook hands with Mitchell as -he went out. Then he passed to the telephone and rang up a number. - -“Is that you, Kingan? Go across to the South Wing of the Chemistry -place. Mitchell is there. See all that he does and then clear out -before he tries the experiment. We must keep track of things, come what -may. If he goes down, you will take on after him. Good-bye.” - - * * * * * - -Just after seven o’clock, there was another tremendous explosion; but -this time the concussion seemed less violent than before. Mitchell -himself was not killed outright; but he suffered injuries which proved -fatal within a few days. Meanwhile the work went on. One after another, -the Chemistry section of Nordenholt’s young men went into the furnace, -some to be killed instantaneously, others to escape alive, but blasted -almost out of recognition by the forces which they unchained. Yet none -of them faltered. Link by link they built up the chain which was to -bring safety to the Area; and each link represented a life lost or a -body crippled. Day after day the work went on, interrupted periodically -by the rending crash of these fearful explosions, until at last it -seemed almost beyond hope that the problem would ever be solved. But -ten days later Barclay staggered into Nordenholt’s room, smothered in -bandages, with one arm useless at his side, and gasped out the news -that he had been successful. - -Looking back on that moment, I sometimes wonder that we were not almost -hysterical with joy; but as a matter of fact, none of us said anything -at all. Probably we did not really grasp the thing at the time. I know -that I was busy getting a drink ready for Barclay, who had collapsed -as soon as he gave his news; and all that I remember of Nordenholt is a -picture of him standing looking out of the window with his back to us. -Certainly it wasn’t the kind of scene one might have imagined. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -The Breaking-strain - - -Although Barclay’s work furnished us with the means of tapping the -stores of energy which lie imprisoned within the atoms of elementary -matter, it did not place us immediately in a position to utilise these -immense forces for practical purposes. To tell the truth, we were -in much the same position as a savage to whom a dynamite cartridge -has been given, ready fitted with a detonator. We could liberate the -energy, but at first we could not bring it under control. - -The next few weeks were spent in planning and building machine after -machine. All the best talent of Nordenholt’s group of engineers was -brought to bear on the problem; but time after time we had to admit -failure. Either the engines were too fragile for the power which they -employed or there was some radical defect in their construction which -could only be detected on trial. Thus the days passed in a series of -disappointments, until it seemed almost as though hope of success was -fading before our eyes. - -During that period, Nordenholt himself grew visibly older. It was the -last lap in his great race against Time; and I think that this final -strain told on him more than any that had gone before. The mines of the -Area were still empty and silent; no fuel was coming forward to fill -the gaps in our ever-shrinking reserves; and within a very short period -the whole industry of the Area must collapse for want of coal. - -His anxiety was marked by a total change in his habits. Hitherto, -he had sat in his office, directing from afar all the multitudinous -activities of the Area, aloof from direct contact with details. Now, I -noticed, he was continually about the machine-shops and factories in -which the new atomic engines were being constructed; he had frequent -consultations with his engineers and designers; he seemed to be -incapable of isolating himself from the progress which was very slowly -being made. Possibly he felt that in this last effort he must utilise -all the magnetic power of his personality to stimulate his craftsmen in -their labours. - -Whatever his motives may have been, when I think of him in those last -days my memory always calls up a picture of that lean, dark figure -against a background of drawing-office or engineering-shop. I see him -discussing plans with his inventors, encouraging his workmen, watching -the trial of engine after engine. And after every failure I seem to -see him a little more weary, with a grimmer set in the lines about his -mouth and a heavier stoop in his shoulders, as though the weight of his -responsibilities was crushing him by degrees as the days went by. - -Yet he never outwardly wavered in his belief in success. He knew--we -all knew--that the power was there if we could but find the means of -harnessing it. The uncertainty had gone; and all that remained was a -problem in chemistry and mechanics. But time was a vital factor to us; -and more than once I myself began to doubt whether we should succeed in -our efforts before it was too late. - - * * * * * - -At last came success. One of my most vivid memories of that time is the -scene in Beardmore’s yard when the Milne-Reid engine was tested for -the first time. Nordenholt and I had motored down from the University -to see the trial. By this time we were both familiar with the general -appearance of atomic engines; but to me, at least, the new machine -was a surprise. Its huge, distorted bulk seemed unlike anything which -I had seen before: the enormous barrel of the disintegration-chamber -overhung the main mass of machinery and gave it in some way a -far-off resemblance to a gigantic howitzer on its carriage; and this -resemblance was heightened by the absence of flywheels or any of the -usual fittings of an engine. Although I was an engineer, I could make -but little of this complex instrument, designed to utilise a power -greater than any I had ever dreamed of; and I listened eagerly to the -two inventors as they described its salient characteristics. - -Nordenholt, who had seen the plans, seemed to pay little attention to -either Milne or Reid. He was evidently impatient for results and cared -little for the methods by which they were to be obtained, so long as -the machinery did its work. - -The last cables were being attached to the engine as we stood beside -it; for Nordenholt had insisted on a test being made as soon as the -machine was completed. The workmen screwed up the connections, everyone -stood back a little, and then a switch was pushed home. Immediately the -whole misshapen bulk seemed to be galvanised into violent activity and -with a roar beyond the roof above us the torrent of escaping helium -and argon made its way through the exhaust-pipe. The needle of the -indicator dial jumped suddenly upward till it registered many thousands -of horse-power. - -But we had seen all this before and had seen it, too, followed by a -collapse; so that we waited eagerly to learn how the engine would stand -the strain. For an hour we waited there, while the mechanics poured oil -continually into the tanks to keep the racing bearings from heating; -and still the machine ran smoothly and the thunder of the escape-pipe -roared above us. It was impossible to make oneself heard amid that -clangour; and we exchanged congratulations scribbled on odd pieces of -paper. After an hour, Milne shut off the disintegrator; and the great -engine slowly sank to rest. - -All of us were still deafened by the sound of the exhaust; and it was -by dumb-show and a handshake that Nordenholt conveyed his thanks to the -two designers. I heard a faint cheer from the workmen. - -Nordenholt did not stay long. Within a few minutes, he and I were -back in the motor, on the way home. As we went, I heard behind us the -tremendous blast of the escaping gases; they had restarted the engine; -and to my ears it sounded sweeter than any symphony, for it meant -safety to us all. - - * * * * * - -When we reached the University, I noticed that Nordenholt stepped from -the car with the air of an invalid. He seemed to have used up all -his forces in a last effort; and now he moved slowly and almost with -difficulty. At the Randolph Stair, he took my arm and leaned heavily on -me as we climbed a step at a time. When we reached the top, he seemed -out of breath. At last we reached his office and he dropped into his -chair at the desk with visible relief. - -“It’s my heart, Jack,” he said, after a moment or two. “It’s been going -wrong for months; and I think it’s badly strained. I knew it was going; -and in ordinary circumstances I would have looked after myself; but it -wasn’t worth while, as things were. I simply couldn’t take things easy. -I had to work on until I saw daylight before me or dropped on the way.” - -He paused, as though pulling his strength together. In the next room I -could hear Elsa’s typewriter clicking. Nordenholt heard it also; and -rose after a few minutes. He went to the door between the two rooms and -spoke to her, telling her the news of the engine. - -“It’s success at last, Elsa. We’re through. Everything’s safe now.” - -I heard her voice in reply; and then he closed the door and reseated -himself at the desk. - -“It’s your turn now, Jack. I’ve done my part. I’m leaving the future in -your hands; and I believe you’ll make good. I wish I could help you; -but I’m done, now. I would only hamper you if I tried to do anything.” - -I tried to say something reassuring, but the words faltered on my -lips. The sight of that drawn face was proof enough. Nordenholt had -driven his physical machine as ruthlessly as he had driven his factory -workers; and it was clear that he had overstrained his bodily powers. -His tremendous will had kept him on his feet until the moment of -success; but I could see now what it had cost him. He had drawn on his -vital capital; and with the accomplishment of his task a revulsion had -set in and the over-tired body was exacting its toll. - -As I sat looking at him there, a great feeling of loneliness swept -over me. Here, before me, was the man upon whose strength I had leaned -for the past months, the mind which had seen so clearly, the will -which had held its line so tenaciously; and now, I felt, Nordenholt -was leaning on me in his turn. It seemed almost an inversion of the -course of Nature; and with the realisation of it, I felt a sense of an -enormous loss. In the next stages of the Area’s history, there would -be no Nordenholt to lean upon: I would have to stand on my own feet, -and I doubted my capacity. Almost without my recognising it, I had been -working always with Nordenholt in my mind, even in my own department. -I had carried out things boldly because I knew that ever in reserve -behind me were that brain and that will of his which could see further -and drive harder than I could dare; and I had relied unconsciously upon -him to steer me through my difficulties if they proved too great for my -own powers. And now, by the look on his face and the weariness of his -voice, I knew that I stood alone. I had no right to throw my burdens on -his shoulders any more. - -And with a gulp in the throat, I remembered that he trusted me to go -forward. I suppose I ought to have felt some joy in the knowledge that -he had left the reconstruction in my hands; but any pride I had in this -was swallowed up in that devastating feeling of loss. With the collapse -of Nordenholt, something had gone out of my world, never to return. It -left me in some way maimed; and I felt as though the main source of my -strength had been cut away just when I most needed all my powers. - -“You’ll do your best, Jack? The Area trusted us. Don’t let them down.” - -I tried to tell him I would do my utmost; but I had difficulty in -finding words. I could see that he understood me, however. - -“There’s one thing I’m sorry about--Elsa. She hasn’t come round yet. -But she will, in time. She hates me still, I know; and it’s a pity, for -I need her now, more than I ever did before. I’m a very sick man, Jack. -Luckily, this breach between us has let her stand on her own feet. She -doesn’t need me so much as she did.” - -He fell silent; and for a time we sat without speaking. When he spoke -again, I could see the lines on which his thoughts had been running. - -“If anything happens to me, Jack, you’ll look after Elsa, won’t you? -I’d like to know that she was all right. I know it’s hard as things -are; but you’ll do that for me, even though it tantalises you?” - -I promised; and then I suggested telephoning for a doctor to look after -him. - -“Not just now, Jack--I’m tired. I don’t want to be bothered answering -questions. I’m very tired.... And I’ve finished my work at last. We’ve -pulled through. I can take a rest.... Wake me in a quarter of an hour, -will you? I want a sleep badly.” - -He leaned forward in his chair and rested his face on his arms. In a -moment he seemed to fall into slumber. I thought it was probably the -best thing for him at the time; and I turned to the fire and to my -thoughts. - -I fell to thinking of all that had happened since first I met him; -and then I cast further back yet to the evening I had spent at -Wotherspoon’s house. How the disaster had developed step by step, -spreading its effects gradually and with slowly-increasing intensity -over wider and ever-wider areas. If only Wotherspoon had stuck to -chemistry and left bacteriology alone; if only he had chosen some other -organisms than the denitrifying bacteria; if only the fire-ball had not -come that night; if ... if ... if.... All the Might-have-beens rose -before me as I gazed at the flickerings in the fire. If only Elsa had -followed reason and not emotion ... if only.... And so the maddening -train of thought went on, minute by minute, while in the next room I -could hear the click of her typewriter. Emotion! After all I could not -pretend to scorn it, for what were my own feelings but emotion too? - -The clock in the tower above me struck a quarter. Nordenholt did not -stir and I let him sleep on. It appeared to me that rest was what he -needed most. - -It seemed curious how divorced I had become from the Past. The old life -had been swept away utterly and I found difficulty in recalling much of -it to mind. The meeting with Nordenholt, the founding of the Area, my -time with Elsa, London in its last days, the Reverend John: these were -the things which seemed burned into my memory. All that had gone before -was mirage, faint, unsubstantial, part of another existence. Even our -Fata Morgana was more real to me than that old life. - -And with that I fell back into deeper gloom. I have not tried to -paint myself other than I am. I had never reached the height of pure -endeavour to which Nordenholt had attained, though sometimes, under -his influence, I came near it. And now, at the recollection of our -dream-city, I felt a keen pang. Why should I attempt to raise that -fabric to the skies, why should I wear myself out in toiling to erect -these halls and palaces through which I must wander alone? Why, indeed? -What was the population of the Area to me, after all? But even amid my -most bitter reflections I knew that I would do my best. Nordenholt had -trusted me. - -A fresh chime from the great bell overhead roused me from my musings. I -went across to Nordenholt, not knowing whether to wake him or not. When -I reached his side, something in his attitude struck me. I touched his -hand and found it cold. - -For a moment, I think I failed to recognise what had happened. Then I -shook him gently; and the truth broke upon my mind. That great engine -which had wrought so hard and so long would never move again. The brain -which had guided the fortunes of the Area up to the last moment had -sunk to its eternal rest. - -It was some minutes before I was able to pull myself together after -the discovery. When I got my feelings under control, I was still badly -shaken; for otherwise I would never have done what I did do. I went -straight to the door and called Elsa. She was sitting at her desk and -she looked up at my voice. - -“Well, what is it, Mr. Flint?” - -“It’s.... Come here.... It’s Nordenholt; he....” - -Before I had completed the sentence she had risen and passed me. I -think she must have seen something in my face which led her to expect -the worst news. She went up to the desk where Nordenholt was still -leaning with his face on his arms. Like me, she did not immediately -grasp what had happened. - -“Uncle Stanley! What’s wrong? Aren’t you well?” - -She rested her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently, just as I -had done. In the silence, I heard, far down the Clyde, the roaring of -the atomic engine--the great call sweeping across the Area and bearing -with it the news of Nordenholt’s final triumph. They were varying the -running of the machine and the waves of sound rose and fell like the -beating of gigantic wings above the city. - -Suddenly she turned to me. - -“What is it? You don’t mean he’s _dead_?” - -I could only nod in answer; I could not find words. For an instant she -stood, leaning over him, and then she slipped down beside his chair and -put her arms round him. - -“Oh, he’s dead. He’s dead. He’ll never speak to me again!... And I -hated him, I hated him.... I made it hard for him.... And now he can’t -tell me if he forgives me.... Oh, what shall I do, Jack? What shall I -do? Please help me. He was so good to me; and I hurt him so.... Oh, -please help me, Jack. Tell me he forgave me.... I’ve only got _you_ -now....” - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -Asgard - - -Immediately after the death of Nordenholt, I took over the control of -the Area and instituted the great reorganisation forced upon us by the -new conditions. Almost our last reserves of coal were used up in the -foundries where we built the new atomic engines; but we succeeded in -manufacturing a number of machines sufficient for our purposes; and -once these were complete, we had no further need of the old-fashioned -fuel. The output of nitrogenous materials sprang up by leaps and -bounds; and the danger of starvation was over. - -All our miners were sent into the neighbouring areas, where they were -put to work in spreading synthetic nitrogenous manure upon the fields, -after Hope’s colloids had been ploughed into the soil to retain water -in the ground. At last came the harvest, poor in most places, yet -sufficient for our needs. The game was won. - -It was after this that we began to send aeroplanes over the world in -search of any other remnants of the human race which had survived. I -was too much occupied with Area affairs to share in these voyages; but -the airmen’s reports made clear enough the extent of the catastrophe -which had befallen the planet. As I expected, the site of London was -covered with a mere heap of charred and shattered ruins cumbering it -to an extent that prevented us from even thinking of rebuilding the -city in the new age. It was not worth while clearing away the debris, -when other sites were open to us for our new centres of population. -The same fate had befallen almost all the great cities, not only in -Britain but also across the Continent. Above the ruins of Paris, the -gaunt fabric of the Eiffel Tower still stood as a witness to men’s -achievements in the past; but it was almost alone. Everything capable -of destruction by fire had gone down in the frenzy of the last days of -the old civilisation. - -I have already sketched the effects of the Famine upon the population -of the globe. Our explorers found one or two colonies alive in America; -and at a slightly later date we got in touch with the Japanese Area. -Beyond this, the human race had perished from the face of the earth. - -The strangest of all the changes seen by the aerial explorers must have -been in Central Africa and the Amazon Valley. There, where vegetable -life had seemed undisputed sovereign of vast regions, only a blackened -wilderness remained. Fires had raged over great spaces, leaving ashes -behind them; but in general there was hardly a trace of the old-time -forests and swamps. The Sahara stretched southward to the Equator; and -the Kalahari Desert had extended up to the Great Lakes--so quickly had -the soil of these regions degenerated into sand. In past ages, man had -never tapped these vast store-houses of forest and veldt; and Fate -decided that they should go down to destruction still unutilised. - -Once the safety-line was passed and we were assured of food sufficient -to maintain our people, other troubles faced us; and I am not sure -that the next ten years was not really our most dangerous period. Had -Nordenholt lived, things would perhaps have been easier for us; but the -difficulties besetting us were implicit in the nature of things and I -question if he could have exorcised them entirely. - -We had, on the one side, a mass of manual labourers whose intelligence -unfitted them for anything beyond bodily toil; while on the other hand -we had supplies of physical energy from the atomic engines which -made the employment of human labour supererogatory. Yet to leave the -major part of our population entirely idle was to invite disaster. The -development of the atomic engine had at one blow thrown out of gear the -nicely-adjusted social machinery devised by Nordenholt; and we had to -arrange almost instantly vast alterations in our methods of employment. - -It was under the pressure of these conditions that we became builders -of great cities. Nineveh and Thebes were our first sketches; then came -Atlantis, our main power-station which we built on Islay; after that we -erected Lyonnesse and Tara, fairer than the others, for we learned as -we wrought. Then, as I began to grope toward my masterpiece, I planned -Theleme. And, last of all, the spires and towers of Asgard grew into -the sky. - -Once the cities had been planned, we employed a further contingent -of labour in constructing huge roads between them, gigantic arteries -which cut across the country like the Roman ways in earlier centuries, -arrow-straight, but broader and better engineered than anything before -constructed. - -Our building materials were new. The introduction of atomic energy gave -us electric furnaces on a scale undreamed of before; and we were able -to produce a glassy and resistant substance which can be made in any -tint. It is of this that Asgard is constructed; and I believe that no -weather conditions alone will wear it down. - - * * * * * - -As I sit here at my desk, I see outstretched before me the panorama of -Asgard, the concrete embodiment of our Fata Morgana, so far as that -vision could be made real in stone. It is not the City of our dreams, -I admit; yet in its beauty there is a touch of wonder and of mystery -that makes it kin to that builded phantom of our minds. None of our -cities shall ever bear the name of Fata Morgana, which was the mother -of them all. There shall be no profanation of that castle in the air. -Instead we have given to our cities titles which link their material -splendours to the more ancient glories of myth and tradition; Asgard -and Lyonnesse, Tara and Atlantis, Nineveh, Thebes and Theleme. - -Rarely, nowadays, do I feel despondent; but when the fit comes over me, -I open the box in which I still keep the papers relating to the time -when I was planning my garden cities. I finger my documents and turn -over my sketches, ever amazed at the gulf which lies between my hopes -of that day and our achievements of the present. Here and there, on the -margin of some modest ground-plan, I find scribbled notes of caution to -myself not to expect such vast projects to be practicable in the near -future. And then, after losing myself in this atmosphere of the past, I -go to the great windows and look down upon Asgard. For once, at least, -in this world, hope has been far outrun by achievement. Splendours of -which I never dreamed have come into being and lie before my eyes as -I gaze. With all this confronting me, my despondency slips away and I -regain sure confidence in the future. - -Cities and gardens have I raised in Dreamland. Other cities and other -gardens I have seen spring from the ground of this world in answer to -my call. But of all these, Asgard is nearest to my heart; for it is the -last which I shall create. Other men will surpass me; new wonderlands -will rise in the future: but Asgard is my masterpiece and I shall build -no more. - -Ten years have gone by since the last stone was laid in my city; yet -every morning as I come to my windows, I find in it fresh beauties to -delight my eyes. Fronting the sea it stands; and its fore-court is a -vast stretch of silver sand between the horns of the bay. Behind it -the ground rises to a semicircle of low hills set here and there with -groves and fretted with silver waterfalls. Through all the changes of -the year these slopes are green; for snow never drifts upon them nor -do mists gather to hide them from my view. Only the swift cloud-shadows -flitting athwart them bring fresh lights and shades into the picture as -they pass. - -Nor do I weary of this greenery. Slowly vegetation is creeping back -upon the face of the world; but still there are vast deserts where no -blade grows: and in my own cities I planned masses of verdure so that -they might be like oases among the barren spaces of the earth. - -Between the hills and the sea, the city stands--a vast space of woods -and fields and gardens from among the greenery of which rise here and -there high halls and palaces of rose-tinted stone. Here and there amid -the green lie broad lakes to catch the sun; and great tree-shadowed -pools, like crystal mirrors, stand rippleless among the groves. And -throughout the city there is ever the sound of streams and rivulets -falling from the hills and making music for us with their murmurings as -they pass. - -Scattered about this pleasance are the dwellings of my citizens, built -of the rose-coloured stone which breaks the monotony of the verdure; -but the houses are sparse, for our population is small. Asgard is only -for the few who can enjoy its beauties: the many have other cities more -suited to their tastes; and they have no wish to come hither. But those -who dwell with us have full time to fall under its spell; for Asgard is -a city of leisure, though not an idle one. - -When darkness falls on Asgard, great soft beacons shine out upon the -hills, throwing a mellow radiance across the valley; and down in the -woods and along the broad ways of the city, the silver lamps are -lighted, till all Asgard gleams in outline beside the sea. In the -expanses of the parks and under the shadow of the woods are sprays -of coloured orbs to guide the passer-by; and from hour to hour these -change their tint, so that there is no sameness in them. - -Often I come to my windows in the night and gaze out upon that -far-flung tracery of stars across the valley, rivalling the skies -above, as though ten thousand meteors had fallen from the heavens -and still blazed where they lay upon the earth. And through my -open casement come the faint and perfumed breezes, bringing their -subtropical warmth as they blow across the valley; and I hear, faint -and afar, the sounds of music mingling with the rustling of the trees. - -Others may plan; others may build fairer cities in the sun: but I have -given my best; and Asgard almost consoles me for the loss of that Fata -Morgana which I shall never see. - - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] Pronounce Di-ay´-zō-tans´. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s note: - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORDENHOLT'S MILLION*** - - -******* This file should be named 64567-0.txt or 64567-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/4/5/6/64567 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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