Adventure Magazine Cover, October 1911 — page 33: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Easy Gold go past dot hil, und back of it is vot you call a ravine. On der oder side of dot little ravine is my home—der Eremit’s Mountain dey call it.”’ ‘*You live there alone?” “Ja. Dot surprises you, nicht?” Carmelita shook her head. Rarely in a mood of such treacherous softness had she felt so little necessity for bridling it. ‘“‘Do you never get lonely?” she hazarded. “TI haf my vork; a scientist is nefer lonely.”’ | “Oh!” ventured Carmelita. “You t’ought I vas a tramp, nicht?” he asked good-humoredly. ‘‘My diploma gifes me de title of chemist; aber—in der olden time dey vould haf called me an alchemist.” “How perfectly fascinating!” cried Car- melita vaguely. “‘Dot’s right, it zs fascinating. You haf heard of Paracelsus, nzcht? Den, Glauber? Nein? Bonus? Ach! mein Gott! Ishould like much to know vot dey teach you in der public schools!”’ Carmelita gave a low ripple of appre- ciation. “Don’t judge by me. I’m not a good product of the system. Who was this Bonus? Delightfully suggestive name! And this other party? Glauber, was it?” The old man’s forehead wrinkled a mo- ment in pursuit of the jest he had not caught; then he dismissed it as an immate- rial interruption. “Bonus of Ferrara? Und Johan Ru- dolph Glauber? Interesting as curiosities —noddings of scientific value to our time. Here, I villshow you somet’ings. Aber, dis ist a first edition. Mark die wunderschin typographie; dot is fine, nicht?”’ Carmelita stared gravely at the ancient, worm-eaten, calf-bound volume which he drew from his pocket, indicating with the whimsical smile of a tolerant parent a title- page that was almost falling apart. ‘““But, who—what did he write about?” “Write about? Vell, for instance, the separation of metals, the transmutation of baser metals into gold.” “Oh!” flashed Carmelita, “I thought that was just a pipe-dream!”’ “Was fiir ein traum? Dis Glauber, he vas a great character; aber Bonus, I like him not. He says dot der motif vich prompts dem all is an illiberal lofe of gold; dot der hearts are as hard as der flints vich 979 dey vish to change into precious metals. Dot isa libel! Dot is nicht wakr! Der mo- tif of a true scientist is’’— he spoke slowly, oratorically, into the ear of the amazed girl beside him—‘“‘unity and _ perfection. All which we see springs from der one seed. All are children of de same parents, some mit more of der baser characteristics, oders mit more of noble qualities. Alles in der vorld makes for perfection. Gold is der perfectest metal. Also, alles in der metals must make for gold. Ist das klar?” Although in his excitement he was grow- ing more Germanic, Carmelita had fol- lowed his argument easily enough. “It’s beautiful! It’s so perfectly logi- cal,” she hazarded. ‘“‘Ah!” exclaimed the old German, beam- ing approvingly at her. ‘‘You see dot, hein? Und der bizness vorld, der universi- ties, der Gofernment vill not see id! Dey vill gif t?ousands of tollars for der discovery of an imaginary point on der surface of der globe—und not one mark vill dey gif to de- velop der greatest spiritual possibility in matter!” Carmelita caught her breath. Her quick imagination was on fire, but the possibil- ities she saw could scarcely have been called spiritual. “It would be very wonderful—if it could be done.” “It is only a matter of time!” inter- rupted the old German. ‘Und der time grows exceeding near!” Biiie fully. ‘“Wouldn’t the throwing on ume the market of a lot of easy gold depreciate its value as currency?” she in- quired. The old German leaned back in the seat and looked at her admiringly. “Vou haf a fine mind! A goot mind, young lady, efen if you don’d know all dere is aboud machinery. Und you don’d do somet’ing presently mit dis automobile— Ah, dot’s better! You make goot your point. It vould revolutionize all der gofern- ments of der vorid. It vould oferturn der monopolies, make de laborer rich, und de capitalist poor. In time, anudder standard vould be selected, bud for de present it vould mean anarchy unleashed. Undoubt- edly de secret of alchemic gold—manu- factured gold, dot is to say—vill shortly be discovered, but it is to be hoped dot der Comicbhook C©