Amazing Stories, Vol. 2, No. 2 — page 86: what you’re looking at

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

190 corresponding serums, the analysis of toxic sub- stances—these and kindred activities kept him in touch with current medical problems. vivisection and other practical tests he witnessed ‘the progress and effect of disease upon living or- ganisms, and studied the action of drugs and chemicals upon the various bodily organs, being thereby enabled to formulate their prescription for human treatment, with the result that his con- clusions were accepted as the expression of the highest medical authority. Supervision over this large health plant, which: occupied several floors of one of the large office buildings, was a man’s full-sized job. The estab- lishment was overwhelmed with work. It was a sort of clearing house for the world’s ailments where the battle against disease was being waged by the leaders of the medical profession. At this juncture, however, when he had attained unques- tioned supremacy, the scientific world was mysti- fied by the announcement that Doctor Grant had withdrawn from the active management of the institution, and retired to his country home, where he would conduct secret experimentation upon a matter of vital interest to medical science. There was much speculation among his profes- Sional intimates concerning his action. Contrary to his custom, there were no invited guests at his country home, no dinner parties, no festivities of any. kind; a mysterious solitude surrounded him. However, it was rumored that he spent much time trapping living animal specimens, and the conclu- sion grew that this apparent diversion was in reality an important link in some new scientific chain he was forging. The seclusion in which he conducted his experiments only added to the world’s expectancy. Was that expectancy a mere fancy? Was his voluntary isolation a dedication to science through love of science, or was it merely a chapter in the romance of life? Personal intimacy had given Doctor Grant an insight into the motivating forces of Richard’s life, which forbade even the suspicion of guilt. “The deed of which he is accused is incompatible with his character,” said the Doctor, “and, there- fore, some other person is the criminal.” The logic of the conclusion was self-satisfying, but even logic must yield to the force of judicial decrees, and when the fateful news came that a new trial had been denied and the Governor indicated his hostility to clemency, Doctor Grant resolved to throw the full force of his personality into the fight for life—or rather, the fight against death! He would fight with every instrument within his reach. He would suspend the very laws of Nature, if it were within the possibilities of scientific achievement, to defeat such manifest miscarriage of justice. The proximity of his country home to the great penal institution at Sing Sing, a three hours’ drive from the State Capitol—where he made frequent trips as an intercessor, made it the logical center of his intended operations. Remote from traveled thoroughfares and under private guard, it afforded greater privacy for research work than the crowded rooms of his city laboratory. What took place within its secret chambers, however, can only be . guessed from subsequent disclosures; but certain Through ~ AMAZING STORIES it is that Doctor Grant felt that he was on the eve of the most colossal discovery of the ages—a discovery so prodigious in possibilities, for evil as well as for good, that it was difficult for him to determine which he most feared—failure or success ! Governor Manning was not hard-hearted, but he was decidedly hard-headed when confronted by duty. He refused to yield to his own sympathetic impulses with an air of finality that no longer left open to doubt the ultimate fate of the accused. “There must be finality to the courts’ decisions,” he said, “if the criminal element is to be curbed, and this cannot be realized as long as governors use their powers of clemency to nullify the verdicts of juries and judgments of our courts, thereby causing prospective criminals to hope for leniency in case of their detection and conviction. The door of hope must be closed to the man who plans crime.” Further efforts for leniency seemed futile, as not a single incriminating circumstance pointed to the door of the real murderer, if Richard had not com- mitted the crime, and faint hope remained for the discovery of new evidence within the thirty days left before the execution. Only a miracle could save him, and while wife and friends fervently prayed for that miracle to come to pass, the in- genuity of the medical profession was being se- cretly pitted against the genius of the law. Which was destined to win? III. Preparing for Death HE remainder of Richard’s life was unevent- ful, except as a fruitful topic for speculation on account of its association with the activi- ties of Doctor Grant, whose secretive methods had caused him to become known as the Man of Mys- tery. The changed mental attitude of Richard, heretofore noted, added to the sense of mystery. His sudden and almost buoyant optimism became a source of much philosophizing among students of criminology. If he entertained any bitterness of heart on account of his fate, he successfully con- cealed it. Significant also was the utter lack on his part of that spiritual preparation which is com- mon among occupants of the death cell. Doctor Grant was his only comforter and it was notice- able that after each visit Richard was exuberant in spirit. Had the stern reality of death become to him the “greatest adventure of life,” to which he looked forward with pleasurable anticipation? Or, did he share with his adviser some secret that might still rescue him? Was his indifference a mere mask—his calmness an expression of hope? One might have inferred such to be his state of mind, had it not been for the amazing announce- ment that followed. A few days previous to his execution, Richard made known the provisions of his will, which left his estate in equal shares to his widow, child and brother. He was content with its provisions, but expressed a desire to add a codicil thereto, relating to the disposition of his body. As a convicted criminal, known in the law as civiliter mortuus, meaning that he was ciraloyjp\icdojors) shear)