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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..de86268 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65533 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65533) diff --git a/old/65533-0.txt b/old/65533-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c9b7906..0000000 --- a/old/65533-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1138 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Secret of the Painting, by Robert Moore -Williams - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Secret of the Painting - -Author: Robert Moore Williams - -Release Date: June 6, 2021 [eBook #65533] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET OF THE PAINTING *** - - - - - Secret Of The Painting - - By Robert Moore Williams - - Many men would have killed to possess the - painting--for Tom Calhoun knew it held a key to - knowledge that would rock the scientific world! - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - April 1957 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -"Hold it, buddy," this fellow said, coming along the bar toward me. "I -want to talk to you." - -The way he spoke set my teeth on edge. There was a whining, placating -tone in his voice, but under this was a growl which indicated that if -he had the chance, he would be glad to _order_ me to stop and talk to -him, instead of asking me. His clothes were expensive, but unpressed, -and he was wearing them in a way that I didn't like. There was another -thing about him that I liked even less--the slight bulge under his left -armpit. - -All in all there was only one thing that I liked about him--the way his -lower jaw stuck out ahead of the rest of his face. It was a perfect -target for a left jab. - -"You're Luke Shaw, ain't you?" he asked. - -"I am. And so what?" He looked me over carefully after I spoke. A faint -flicker of grudging respect appeared on his face as his gaze crossed -my shoulders. He measured me for a hidden gun, which he didn't find -because I wasn't wearing it. He liked this. It made his job safer, if -not easier. - -"Look, Luke, I'm not trying to stir up any trouble." The whining -tone was back in his voice. "I just wanted to know--you work for Tom -Calhoun, eh?" - -I felt my back hair begin to raise as he mentioned Tom's name. So -far as I knew--and it was my business to know--Tom Calhoun didn't -have an enemy on Earth. He had me on his payroll for two reasons, the -first being that I was the best friend he ever had, with the possible -exception of Ann Briscoe, his laboratory assistant, the second reason -being that he knew he could trust me right down to his last chip. -Sometimes it gets important to have one guy you can really trust. My -job was to shoo away all curiosity seekers, who would invade his lab -by the scores just to get a glimpse of the great scientist, thus -making certain that Tom got all the privacy he wanted, which was about -all there was of this article. Also if the commies should come prying -around, I was supposed to meet them and roll out the carpet edged in -black. They had and I had. - -Long Jaw didn't look like a commie, though in my experiences these -birds never look like what they are but always like something else. The -thing that makes them commies is inside, where it can't be seen, never -outside. - -"Whatever you've got on your mind, get it off," I said. As I spoke a -couple of new customers came into the little saloon and lined up at the -back bar. Ned Kenro, owner of the place and my good friend, went back -to serve them. - -"How would you like to make a couple of thousand bucks for yourself?" - -His question staggered me. Two thousand dollars was a lot of money. -"What do I have to do for it?" I asked. - -"Give me the key to the back door of Calhoun's laboratory," Long Jaw -said. As he spoke he watched my face. What he saw there, made him -realize he had said too much. He reached for the gun inside his coat. - -He was fast, I'll give him credit for that. But not fast enough. - -_Smack!_ My left jab caught him on the end of his protruding jaw, right -on the button. He got his feet tangled up with the bar rail and went -over backward. The gun, a nasty looking little .38, flew out of his -hand. I reached to pick it up. This movement probably saved my life. - -A beer bottle came down across the left side of my head and struck -my shoulder a numbing blow. As I went to the floor, the whole saloon -seemed to turn upside down. Dazed, I tried to sit up and bring my eyes -into focus. I couldn't see very well but what little I saw, I didn't -like. The two joes who had lined up at the bar were coming toward me. -They didn't intend to kiss me. - -I turned around to look for the gun that Long Jaw had dropped. It was -under the edge of the bar, out of reach. I tried to get to my feet. -My legs had rubber in them. Meantime Long Jaw's two pals kept coming -toward me. - -Then the first one stopped coming. A stout length of hickory billy came -over the bar and went home against the skull of the first one with a -crack that was completely satisfying to me. I knew who was on the other -end of that billy: Ned Kenro! Never in the years had he owned this -little saloon, had he had to hit a man twice. - -Nor did he have to hit this one the second time. The guy's eyes turned -upward into his skull as if he was trying to look inside his cranium -and see what had landed on his noggin. While he was trying to do this, -he fell flat. - -I got the gun into my fingers. My eyes were back into focus. There had -been two men. The second one had seen Ned go into action with the billy -and he had also seen me get possession of the gun. He changed his mind -and headed for the rear exit, fast. Ned Kenro vaulted over the bar and -helped me to my feet. - -"You hurt, Luke?" His round face beamed with concern. - -"Not much, thanks to you." - -"Don't mention it. Glad to do the same for a friend any day." He -hesitated, his delicacy preventing him from intruding into what might -be a private fight. "But would you mind telling me what this is all -about? Watch it, Luke!" Ned's voice grew tight with alarm. - - * * * * * - -I turned. Long Jaw wasn't coming toward me. He was heading out the -front door and he was in a hurry. I could have shot him, and perhaps I -should have smoked him, but I hate to shoot a running man. I followed -him outside just in time to see him jump into a car and roar away. - -Perhaps I should have gone back into the saloon and kicked the truth -out of the third man, but all I could think of at that moment was that -Tom had to know about this. Yelling at Ned to take care of the third -man, I jumped into my own car and burned rubber getting out to the edge -of town where the lab was located. A car was parked in the driveway -and a man was coming out the door. Picking up Long Jaw's gun from the -seat beside me, I braked to a stop. - -"Who are you and what the hell--" I got this far before I recognized -him. Samuel Herker, president of the company that had been organized to -develop Tom's inventions commercially. He had gotten rich off of Tom's -discoveries, but his main ambition in life was to get richer. "Sorry, -Mr. Herker," I called out. - -He came across the drive to me. He was hot. "I want to tell you one -thing, Shaw!" His voice grated like a dull file being drawn across -tough metal. "Either this criminal expenditure of company funds comes -to a stop or I'm going into court and ask for the appointment of a -referee to conserve the assets of the company, then I'm going to ask -for a lunacy hearing to determine if Calhoun is mentally fit to order -equipment on company credit without my prior authorization!" - -His feet kicked gravel as he stalked across the drive to his own car. -The door slammed. The rear wheels spun as he jammed the accelerator to -the floorboard. I headed into the lab. - -Tom and Ann were there. Their heads close together, they were so -deeply engrossed in the papers spread all over the big lab table that -they did not hear me enter. How many times had I come in and found -them like this, deep in some problem? The sight always made me feel -good. Here were two people who were doing their dead-level best to -solve some of the problems that confront the human race. All day long -and as far into the night as he wanted her, Ann was always in the lab -with him, slipping away to steal a few hours of badly needed sleep so -that she could return to work bright-eyed and eager the next morning. -She was head over heels in love with Tom, and had been since the first -day she came to work. So far as I had been able to see, he had never -even discovered that she was a woman. A competent research worker, a -thorough technician with a keen brain, yes; but a woman, no. He had not -noticed that. - -"Tom, I didn't want to interrupt, but I just met Herker outside--" - -He looked up. A grin came over his face at the sight of me. "Would you -like to see what Sam is so upset about?" Without waiting for an answer, -he rose and moved to the back wall. New drapes had been hung there. -With an expression on his face that said Earth's last secret was about -to be revealed, he pulled the drapes aside. - -I don't know what I was expecting, but I guess my jaw dropped. Behind -the drapes was a painting, of a girl. Her features were even and -regular, her eyes looked upward, and her face had a slightly oriental -cast. What held my gaze was the haunting quality of her smile. Leonardo -Da Vinci had gotten something of this same haunting quality in the Mona -Lisa. The girl in this painting smiled out at the world as if she knew -everything that had ever been, or ever would be--and was laughing at -the efforts of mere mortals to fathom her secret. - -"I see it's getting you too," Tom said. - -"It's a good job," I said. "But what is there about it to upset Herker?" - -"The price I paid for it." - -"What was that?" - -"One hundred thousand dollars!" - - * * * * * - -I rocked back on my heels and whistled softly. At that moment, I was of -the opinion that maybe Herker had something when he said Tom had gone -nuts. - -"Did you ever hear of the Dead Sea Scrolls?" Tom asked. - -"Um. Yes. Manuscripts a couple of thousand years old that have been -discovered near the Dead Sea in the last few years." I felt pleased -that I knew the answer to his question. "But what do they have to do -with this, if anything?" - -"This painting came from a sealed jar hidden inside a cave in the same -region," Tom answered. "It was sold to a dealer in Egypt. I learned -about it from a friend." - -"So far so good," I said. - -"You sound like Sam," he answered. "Honest, Luke, I'm not nuts." A -strained expression crossed his face. "At least I don't think I am." - -"To me, whatever you say is right," I said, loyally. "But what's the -pitch on this painting? Why is it worth so much money?" - -"Because there is a secret hidden in it," he answered. "And I'm trying -to re-discover it." - -"Ah?" I said. - -"Luke, you mustn't think that science came into existence this -generation," he said. "There were men ahead of us who were just as -interested in solving Nature's secrets as we are. Some of them came -close to doing it. I think the man who painted this girl was one of -them. I think he hid his knowledge in this painting, hid it because he -did not dare reveal it. It is my hope that if I can discover his secret -and perhaps add it to the knowledge of modern science, I can come up -with something that may be as startling as the atom bomb, only in a -different way." He frowned and a far-away look crept into his eyes. I -knew he was dreaming of the future as he saw it, a better, healthier, -happier world. He was just the man to make that dream come true! - -"I've already uncovered part of the secret." He nodded toward the pages -of paper on the big table. "Enough to know that the man who painted -that picture was a real genius even if recorded history has no record -of him! The geometry of the painting itself has meaning, the distance -between the eyes, the angle of the chin, the way the hair is dressed--" -He went on at some length but I had stopped listening. I knew nothing -of the more obscure aspects of cryptography but I knew enough to know -that Tom could be right. I had never seen such a glow in his eyes or -such an eager expression on his face during all the years I had known -him. If he was dreaming, I hoped his dream came true. - -I interrupted him long enough to tell him about the men in the saloon. - -"You take care of all such intruders, Luke. That's your job," he told -me. - -Ann followed me outside, to ask further questions. "He had some -visitors a few days ago, but I don't know who they were," she said. - -"What do you think of this secret of the painting?" I asked. - -"I think it's real," she answered, turning back toward the lab. -Wistfully, I watched her go. Someday, maybe, I would be lucky enough -to find a woman as loyal to me as Ann was to Tom. When this happened, I -would notice that she existed! In the meantime, my job was to check the -spacious grounds. - -_Wham!_ - -The length of garden hose with the lead in the end of it came at -me from behind a wide hedge I was passing. I saw both it and the -arm holding it, but I didn't see either soon enough. It came down -across my skull with enough force to have addled an elephant. I saw -constellations of stars as I went down. - -I recovered consciousness with the thought in mind that dozens of -smallsized devils were jabbing me with red-hot needles. Trying to move, -I discovered the source of the devils. I had been tossed into the -middle of the wide hedge and the thorns were sticking me. My hands were -tied behind my back and my feet were pulled up behind me and tied to my -hands. Also, the sun was rising. I could see the glow of dawn in the -sky. I had been unconscious all night! - -"If I ever catch that Long Jaw!" I thought. - -Then I realized that the light I was seeing wasn't coming from the -rising sun. The main building of the lab was on fire! Tom and Ann might -be in there! - -The cords that bound my hands snapped like so many threads as I hunched -my shoulders. Putting my hands in front of my eyes, I rolled out of the -hedge. Thorns tore at my flesh. I didn't care. I hit the ground with a -jolt that rattled every bone in my body, then tore the cords from my -feet. - - * * * * * - -Smoke was pouring upward into the night sky. Off in the distance a -siren was screaming. The police or the fire department, I couldn't -tell which. Heat seared my face and I ran toward the lab. Looking -inside, I saw a figure moving against the flames. Ann! As I stared, she -went down. Pulling my coat over my face, I dived into the lab. Flames -crackled in my ears. I sensed rather than felt my clothes begin to -smoke. Ann stumbled to her feet and went down again. Reaching her side, -I saw that she had been trying to drag Tom out of the building. The -task had been beyond her strength. - -One under each arm, I carried them out of the inferno. Most of Ann's -clothes were gone, burned off. Her flesh, raw and red, was exposed. - -"They--they burst in. When Tom tried to stop them, they slugged him. -They also hit me." - -"They left both of you there after setting the lab on fire?" - -"Yes. I think they hoped the fire would cover up their theft." - -"And that it would also cover up you and Tom." In my mind's eyes, I was -thinking what I would do to Long Jaw if I ever caught him again. "What -did they take?" - -"The painting." - -I didn't have time to wonder what there was about the painting that was -valuable enough to justify murder and theft. Fire engines with bells -clanging were screeching to a halt in the drive. Men in rubber coats -began yanking hose from the truck. They worked as if they knew exactly -what to do and how to do it. They also wanted to talk to me, but I -didn't have time to tell them anything except that it was their fire -from here on. Putting Tom and Ann into my car, I mashed the accelerator -to the floorboard. - -The doctor in the emergency receiving room of the hospital didn't waste -any time on diagnosis. He took one look at the man I was carrying and -a second look at the woman leaning on my arm, and went to work. He had -Tom and Ann in separate rooms, with plasma and oxygen flowing into -them, within minutes, and before I knew what was happening a nurse -had thrown me out. I paced up and down the corridor for the two hours -before I was able to get hold of Dr. Crane again. - -"The woman has third degree burns," he told me when I cornered -him. "The man has only first degree. However, he has a slight brain -concussion." - -"Will they be all right?" - -Down inside, he was a good joe. He didn't want to give me the news, so -he put on his professional smile. Both of us knew he was lying. "We -will do everything we can. The man will probably recover. As to the -woman--" - -"You've got to fix her up too, Doc," I begged him. "He doesn't know it, -but he'll die without her." - -I left the hospital with the memory of his professional smile lingering -in my mind. It was a sad smile. It said that in the face of some -conditions, even the doctors were helpless. - -Reaching the lab, I found that the fire had been extinguished. A deputy -sheriff was on guard, to protect the property, and--Herker was there. - -"You're hired as a guard for this laboratory." Herker told me. "You're -supposed to be on duty at all times, instead of out on all-night -drunks. A lot of money went up in smoke because of your negligence. -What do you have to say?" - -I never wanted to clobber a man as much in my life, but I held my -temper in check. I told him what had happened, and explained that the -painting was gone. - -"You utter fool! Don't you know the company paid a hundred thousand -dollars for that daub?" - -"I don't care what it cost," I answered. "There's more at stake now -than a damned painting, namely Ann's and Tom's life." I walked away -from him then. If I had stayed any longer, I would have hit him. - -Reports had to be made to the sheriff's office and to the insurance -people. Since the lab was outside the city limits, we had a bona-fide -sheriff. He was willing and honest and he promised to do everything he -could to locate the thieves but both of us knew that this was locking -the stable after the horse had been stolen. When I finished with the -insurance people and reached my room, the phone was ringing. "To hell -with it." I thought. Fatigue was on me in layers. The phone kept right -on ringing. Prepared to blister the guy on the other end, I jerked it -off the cradle. Tom's voice came over the wire. - -"Come and get me," he said. - -"What?" I gasped. "You won't be released from the hospital for days!" - -"Come and get me," he answered. And hung up. - - * * * * * - -There was a flurry of nurses in Tom's room when I arrived. In addition, -there were two big orderlies of the type and size who are used when -patients become obstinate. As soon as I entered the room, the orderlies -measured me for size. I repaid the compliment and thought what a good -time we were going to have. Tom, wearing a hospital nightgown and a -dressing robe, his face almost covered with bandages, was on his feet. -Dr. Crane, looking very serious, was present. - -"Here's the man to drive me home," Tom said. "Bring me my bill." - -Dr. Crane cupped his chin in his hands. "You ask me to accept a serious -responsibility in discharging you when you are not ready." - -"I agree with you," Tom said. "That's why I'm going home." - -"Do you intend to resume your work?" - -"I don't have any choice," Tom answered. - -Dr. Crane's mouth became a knife line. Tom crooked his finger at me. I -moved to his side. The two orderlies looked at me. I looked right back -at them. Dr. Crane studied the situation. On the one hand, he didn't -want a patient to leave before treatment was finished. On the other -hand, by this time he had probably learned who Tom was. And on the -third hand--well, he could see that my shoulders were broad and that I -was willing. Finally, he nodded his agreement. "With the proviso that -you will report back for treatment in case it becomes necessary." - -Tom nodded as if he did not know he was lying. With the two orderlies -looking very relieved, we left the hospital. "What about Ann?" I asked -outside. - -Tom shook his head. "Take me to the lab." - -"But--" - -"Shut up, Luke. I know what I'm doing." - -I wish I could have said the same for myself. - -In the lab, Tom surveyed ruefully the damage the fire and water had -done. He stood for a long time staring at the spot on the wall where -the painting had hung, then sighed and shook his head. I had the -impression that he was sorry for the whole human race. - -"I want you to pick up all the scraps of paper that were on the big -table," he said. "It doesn't matter if they are scorched or soaked. -Enough will remain for me to reassemble my own equations that I -developed from the painting. Bring these to the old lab. Then I want -you to make certain that I have all the black coffee on hand I can -drink. Then--" He hesitated. "Do you think they will be back?" he said -at last. - -"I hope so." I said. - -I collected the scraps of paper and took them to the old lab and set -up an electric coffee maker that would keep the black brew hot at all -times. Digging a folding cot out of the basement, I put it across the -door. Putting my gun within easy reach, I lay down on the cot. The last -glimpse I had of Tom before I went to sleep, he was frowning at the -pieces of paper on the table in front of him. With the bandages on his -face, he looked like a mummy in grave clothes risen from the tomb to -try to solve the riddle of the Sphinx, and not doing very well with the -problem. - -During the night I awakened. Tom was still at the table. When morning -came, he was still there, but his head was beginning to droop. When I -tried to coax him to take a turn on the cot, he glared at me as if I -were crazy. - -"I can't afford to sleep. Go get me some benezedrine." - -From the drug store, I called the hospital. "Miss Briscoe is very low," -Dr. Crane told me. "How is my other patient?" - -"Alive," I answered. Returning to the lab with the benezedrine tablets, -I didn't tell him about Ann. I spent the morning throwing out Herker -and more inspectors from the insurance companies. I didn't want any of -Long Jaw's pals to slip in under the pretense that they were insurance -adjustors. - -In the late afternoon Tom yelled, "I've got it, Luke. Here! Get these -items for me." Hastily scribbling what he wanted, he handed the slip -of paper to me. "Burn up the road, Luke. Move!" I moved. - -When I returned with the parts he wanted, he got busy assembling the -weirdest-looking gadget I have ever seen. It seemed to be electronic -in nature but it also seemed to include elements that started where -electronics left off. All night long, he continued to work on it. -Dozing on my cot, I awakened once to find him pacing the floor. -"Uh-huh," I thought. "He hasn't got all the bugs out of it yet." -Sometime during the night the unlisted phone rang. "What the hell?" I -wondered, getting up to answer it. Nobody knew this number. - -Dr. Crane was on the wire. "Miss Briscoe gave me this number," he said. -"She asked me to call Mr. Calhoun and tell him that she needs him." - -"I'll tell him," I said. - -"You might also tell him that she can't possibly last out the night." -Crane's dry objective voice went into quiet silence as he replaced the -phone on its cradle. - - * * * * * - -Tom hadn't heard the phone ring. I had to shake him to get his -attention. When I told him what Crane had said, he nodded as if this -was exactly what he had been expecting. "Okay, Luke, we'll go to her." -He picked up the breadboard on which his gadget was mounted. - -"What are you taking that with you for?" I demanded. - -"Ann worked hard helping me solve the secret of the painting," he -answered. "She deserves to see its first performance. Get yourself into -over-drive, Luke." - -At the hospital, a nurse took us directly to Ann's room. Lying on the -bed, swathed in bandages, she was a mummy that did not move. Deep in -sedation now, she did not know we were present. On the far side of her -bed, whole blood was being dripped into her arm. Dr. Crane looked up -from checking her pulse as we entered. "Everything we could do to give -her strength has failed," he said. - -"What about infection?" Tom asked. - -The doctor gave him a sharp look as if to ask what he meant by hinting -that infection could exist in a properly run hospital. "There is no -serious infection. Her burns were so severe that she simply lacks the -strength to rally." His voice was as grim as my thoughts. - -Tom set his breadboard on the foot of the bed and ran an extension cord -to an electric outlet. - -"What do you have there?" Crane asked. - -"A way to give her strength," Tom answered. - -The doctor leaned back on his heels. He looked at the instrument, which -certainly did not impress him, and started to shake his head. Then he -looked at Tom. The headshake turned into tightly clenched lips. "I am -familiar with your reputation, Mr. Calhoun, but this--" The headshake -came back. - -"There was a first time for a hypodermic injection, a time when -somebody first gave blood, a time when somebody took the first -antibiotic," Tom said. - -Dr. Crane hesitated. A struggle was going on within his mind. He -moved to the bed and felt Ann's pulse. A thin trace of perspiration -appeared on his forehead. "She's dying," he whispered. "Under any other -circumstances, I would say no. But--Oh, hell, Mr. Calhoun, if you know -a way to give her strength, go ahead." - -Tom closed a switch. A soft hum came from the instrument. A cone -that looked like a small transmitting antennae was mounted on the -breadboard. Tom lined up the cone so that it pointed at Ann's body. He -glanced at me. Sweat was visible on his face too. Without a word, I lit -a cigarette and gave it to him. The sweat was very clear on his face -now. Or was it tears? - -"You knew all the time that Ann had no chance to get well?" I asked. -"That's why you worked so hard, on this?" - -"Yes," he answered. "It was a race against time. It still is." He -turned his attention to his instruments. - -I shut up. It got very still in that hospital room. In the corridor -outside feet lisped on tip-toe as a nurse hurried on an errand of -mercy. In the far distance a car hooted impatiently as somebody bucked -for his place in the emergency receiving room. Dr. Crane stood without -moving. His eyes went from Tom to the instrument, then on to Ann, then -retraced their course. Tom closed another switch. A white radiation -leaped from the cone. It touched Ann's body at the knees. Part of it -seemed to dive through the bandages there and flow inward. The rest -of it passed upward along the body, penetrating where it touched. It -turned the bandages the color of old silver, well polished. - -"What is that?" Dr. Crane asked. His voice was a taut whisper. - -"The white light that you see is the visible component of invisible -radiations," Tom answered. "It means my generator is not working -properly. Otherwise, there would be nothing to see." - -"Is this the bug you were worrying about?" I asked. - -"Yes. I didn't have time to clean it up." - - * * * * * - -The doctor stepped forward and took Ann's wrist in his fingers. A -startled expression appeared on his face. "Her pulse is getting -stronger," he said. - -"She is receiving energy, her whole body is being bathed in it," Tom -said. "Seen from one viewpoint, energy is all that exists." His voice -suddenly had the dry tones of a professor addressing a class in atomic -physics. "Energy in motion at one rate of speed we call light. Energy -whose motion has been slowed to a crawl, we call matter. The two -are interchangeable. Even the human body, with all of its marvelous -glands, its nervous system, and its wonderful brain, falls into the -last category. If we could see our bodies as they actually exist, we -would be aware of an infinite number of dancing points of light, the -infinitesimally minute particles of energy that compose it." He paused. -The doctor stood absolutely motionless. "So there is energy--and -something else." Tom continued. His voice seemed to come from miles -away. - -"What is this something else?" the doctor asked. - -"I call it _mind_," Tom answered. "It works with energy, directs it, -and moulds it into a thousand different shapes and forms." His voice -was soft with awe and reverence. - -The doctor reached forward to check Ann's pulse. An exclamation of -surprise came from his lips. He lifted her arm, then snapped on a -light. His surprise grew greater. Snatching a pair of scissors, he cut -swiftly through the bandages that swathed her arm. - -"New flesh!" the doctor gasped. "Where there was only burned meat, -now there is new flesh. And n--new skin!" A stutter appeared in the -doctor's voice. A glaze came into his eyes. His chest heaved. "Medicine -knows nothing like this." His voice was heavy with wonder. - -"It knows something like this now," Tom said. "Remove the rest of the -bandages." - -The doctor's fingers shook as he applied the scissors. Her body was -revealed. The burns had vanished. Instead there was the warm pink flesh -of a child, built there by the energy flowing from the cone. - -She stirred sleepily on the bed. "I have been having the most wonderful -dream--that I have a new body." - -Under heavy sedation, she knew nothing that had been going on. She -thought she was having a dream. The three of us in that room knew how -wonderful that dream really was. - -Cool air breathed across my neck. I don't know how I knew what had -happened but I knew. As I turned, my eyes confirmed my hunch. The door -was open. Three men were coming through it. Long Jaw was in the lead. - -I hit with all my strength. The protruding jaw was within range. My -fist landed full on the button with a thud that I felt all the way -through my body. Never in my life had I hit a man that I enjoyed -hitting as much. Long Jaw went over backwards. - -I found myself looking at guns in the hands of the two men who were -following him. "Get your hands up!" the first one said. Since I had no -choice, I obeyed. As my hands went up, the second man stepped forward -and slugged me in the pit of the stomach. As I doubled up from the -pain, he hit me in the jaw. - -At that moment, I would cheerfully have destroyed both of them with my -bare hands. All I could do was glare at them. As I fell back against -the wall, I saw that Dr. Crane was looking at them. Judging from the -expression on his face, I think he would gladly have used his best -surgical knives to cut their hearts out, if he had had the chance. He -started to move. A gun swung to cover him. "Just stand pat, doc," he -was advised. - -Tom, at the foot of Ann's bed, did not even look around. His attention -was completely engrossed in his gadget. - -"You can't get away with this," I said. "This man is working on a -project that is vital to national defense. The FBI will hound you to -Siberia." I was bluffing and I knew it. So did they. - - * * * * * - -Long Jaw got slowly to his feet. "Is that so?" he said. He moved toward -Tom. "Come on. We want you--and your machine." - -For the first time, Tom looked up. "I'll come with you in just a few -minutes," he said, nodding toward Ann. "Her life is not quite out of -danger yet." - -"To hell with that," a new voice spoke from the doorway. "Get the -machine--and the inventor." - -I didn't have to turn to know that voice. Herker! He was standing in -the doorway waving a bunch of papers. - -"I always knew you had the makings of a crook," I said. "You at least, -ought to have the sense to know that you can't get away with it." - -"These men are in my employ." Herker waved his fingers toward the -three. "I have a court order here empowering me to seize any and all -company property in order to conserve the assets of the corporation." -His face was very smug and self-assured. "It's all legal. There's -nothing you can do about it." - -I would have rocked back on my heels if the wall hadn't already been -behind me. "What about Tom?" I finally managed to say. "Have you got a -court order to seize him too, as a company asset?" - -Herker fingered through his papers. "Yes," he said. "I have an order -here empowering me to bring him before a lunacy commission." - -For the first time, Tom looked up. "What you are really trying to say -is that these men came to you and offered you more millions than you -can count for my discovery and for the chance to force me to tell them -how it works." - -Herker acted as if somebody had slugged him in the throat. He gulped -and tried to find words. "How--how did you know?" - -"They approached me first," Tom answered. "I refused to talk to them." - -"But why? There's millions in it!" In all his life, he had never been -able to see anything more important than a dollar. - -"Enough of this," Long Jaw said, taking command of the situation. "We -want you and your invention." - -He moved toward the bed, but Tom held up his hand. "There on the bed -you see proof of what this invention can do in the way of saving life. -Doesn't that mean anything to you?" - -"Sure, sure," Long Jaw answered. "You'll be well taken care of. Just as -soon as you demonstrate it to the big boys, your future will be safe." - -"I'll demonstrate it now," Tom said. - -He swung the cone so that the radiation from it would strike Long Jaw, -then closed a switch. - -A burst of blackness leaped from the cone. It struck Long Jaw. -Instantly it seemed to flow over his body, engulfing him. I heard him -scream, once, a sound that seemed to get farther and farther away. - -Then the space he had occupied was empty. - -Moving with the speed of light, the blackness leaped on to engulf the -other two men. They went as Long Jaw had gone, into the blackness, -swallowed up in an instant. - -Herker dropped the papers. The black light hit him. He screamed and was -gone into the darkness, gone instantly, gone forever. - -The wall behind started to vanish as Tom cut the switch. - -"The energy that heals can also destroy," Tom said. He turned the cone -back to Ann and changed the switch again. Again the white light flowed -out. I stepped forward and picked up the papers. The doctor, who had -stood rooted to the floor, roused himself with a jerk. "I swear I saw -four men come in here. Where did they go? What happened? Somebody tell -me what happened!" His voice was rising. - -"Perhaps your nerves are a little overstrained," Tom said, his voice -very kind. "A mild sedative might help." - -Without a word the doctor went from the room. - -Tom switched off the light and moved to the edge of the bed. "Ann..." -he whispered. "Ann..." - -Even under sedation, she heard his voice. The smile that came over her -face seemed to light the whole room. - -I went outside and closed the door and stood guard over it. They had -some things to talk about which didn't need my presence, or they would -have some things to talk about as soon as Ann regained consciousness -and found that her dream was true. - -In time the world of tomorrow would have something to talk about too, a -secret that some scientist of the long-gone time almost found, and hid -in a painting in the hope that in some future day some unborn genius -would discover his secret again, and perfect it, and give it to the -world. Awe was in me, at the wonders of the world in which I lived, and -gratitude, that such men as Tom Calhoun inhabited it. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET OF THE PAINTING *** - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Secret of the Painting</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Robert Moore Williams</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 6, 2021 [eBook #65533]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET OF THE PAINTING ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>Secret Of The Painting</h1> - -<h2>By Robert Moore Williams</h2> - -<p>Many men would have killed to possess the<br /> -painting—for Tom Calhoun knew it held a key to<br /> -knowledge that would rock the scientific world!</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -April 1957<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Hold it, buddy," this fellow said, coming along the bar toward me. "I -want to talk to you."</p> - -<p>The way he spoke set my teeth on edge. There was a whining, placating -tone in his voice, but under this was a growl which indicated that if -he had the chance, he would be glad to <i>order</i> me to stop and talk to -him, instead of asking me. His clothes were expensive, but unpressed, -and he was wearing them in a way that I didn't like. There was another -thing about him that I liked even less—the slight bulge under his left -armpit.</p> - -<p>All in all there was only one thing that I liked about him—the way his -lower jaw stuck out ahead of the rest of his face. It was a perfect -target for a left jab.</p> - -<p>"You're Luke Shaw, ain't you?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"I am. And so what?" He looked me over carefully after I spoke. A faint -flicker of grudging respect appeared on his face as his gaze crossed -my shoulders. He measured me for a hidden gun, which he didn't find -because I wasn't wearing it. He liked this. It made his job safer, if -not easier.</p> - -<p>"Look, Luke, I'm not trying to stir up any trouble." The whining -tone was back in his voice. "I just wanted to know—you work for Tom -Calhoun, eh?"</p> - -<p>I felt my back hair begin to raise as he mentioned Tom's name. So -far as I knew—and it was my business to know—Tom Calhoun didn't -have an enemy on Earth. He had me on his payroll for two reasons, the -first being that I was the best friend he ever had, with the possible -exception of Ann Briscoe, his laboratory assistant, the second reason -being that he knew he could trust me right down to his last chip. -Sometimes it gets important to have one guy you can really trust. My -job was to shoo away all curiosity seekers, who would invade his lab -by the scores just to get a glimpse of the great scientist, thus -making certain that Tom got all the privacy he wanted, which was about -all there was of this article. Also if the commies should come prying -around, I was supposed to meet them and roll out the carpet edged in -black. They had and I had.</p> - -<p>Long Jaw didn't look like a commie, though in my experiences these -birds never look like what they are but always like something else. The -thing that makes them commies is inside, where it can't be seen, never -outside.</p> - -<p>"Whatever you've got on your mind, get it off," I said. As I spoke a -couple of new customers came into the little saloon and lined up at the -back bar. Ned Kenro, owner of the place and my good friend, went back -to serve them.</p> - -<p>"How would you like to make a couple of thousand bucks for yourself?"</p> - -<p>His question staggered me. Two thousand dollars was a lot of money. -"What do I have to do for it?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"Give me the key to the back door of Calhoun's laboratory," Long Jaw -said. As he spoke he watched my face. What he saw there, made him -realize he had said too much. He reached for the gun inside his coat.</p> - -<p>He was fast, I'll give him credit for that. But not fast enough.</p> - -<p><i>Smack!</i> My left jab caught him on the end of his protruding jaw, right -on the button. He got his feet tangled up with the bar rail and went -over backward. The gun, a nasty looking little .38, flew out of his -hand. I reached to pick it up. This movement probably saved my life.</p> - -<p>A beer bottle came down across the left side of my head and struck -my shoulder a numbing blow. As I went to the floor, the whole saloon -seemed to turn upside down. Dazed, I tried to sit up and bring my eyes -into focus. I couldn't see very well but what little I saw, I didn't -like. The two joes who had lined up at the bar were coming toward me. -They didn't intend to kiss me.</p> - -<p>I turned around to look for the gun that Long Jaw had dropped. It was -under the edge of the bar, out of reach. I tried to get to my feet. -My legs had rubber in them. Meantime Long Jaw's two pals kept coming -toward me.</p> - -<p>Then the first one stopped coming. A stout length of hickory billy came -over the bar and went home against the skull of the first one with a -crack that was completely satisfying to me. I knew who was on the other -end of that billy: Ned Kenro! Never in the years had he owned this -little saloon, had he had to hit a man twice.</p> - -<p>Nor did he have to hit this one the second time. The guy's eyes turned -upward into his skull as if he was trying to look inside his cranium -and see what had landed on his noggin. While he was trying to do this, -he fell flat.</p> - -<p>I got the gun into my fingers. My eyes were back into focus. There had -been two men. The second one had seen Ned go into action with the billy -and he had also seen me get possession of the gun. He changed his mind -and headed for the rear exit, fast. Ned Kenro vaulted over the bar and -helped me to my feet.</p> - -<p>"You hurt, Luke?" His round face beamed with concern.</p> - -<p>"Not much, thanks to you."</p> - -<p>"Don't mention it. Glad to do the same for a friend any day." He -hesitated, his delicacy preventing him from intruding into what might -be a private fight. "But would you mind telling me what this is all -about? Watch it, Luke!" Ned's voice grew tight with alarm.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I turned. Long Jaw wasn't coming toward me. He was heading out the -front door and he was in a hurry. I could have shot him, and perhaps I -should have smoked him, but I hate to shoot a running man. I followed -him outside just in time to see him jump into a car and roar away.</p> - -<p>Perhaps I should have gone back into the saloon and kicked the truth -out of the third man, but all I could think of at that moment was that -Tom had to know about this. Yelling at Ned to take care of the third -man, I jumped into my own car and burned rubber getting out to the edge -of town where the lab was located. A car was parked in the driveway -and a man was coming out the door. Picking up Long Jaw's gun from the -seat beside me, I braked to a stop.</p> - -<p>"Who are you and what the hell—" I got this far before I recognized -him. Samuel Herker, president of the company that had been organized to -develop Tom's inventions commercially. He had gotten rich off of Tom's -discoveries, but his main ambition in life was to get richer. "Sorry, -Mr. Herker," I called out.</p> - -<p>He came across the drive to me. He was hot. "I want to tell you one -thing, Shaw!" His voice grated like a dull file being drawn across -tough metal. "Either this criminal expenditure of company funds comes -to a stop or I'm going into court and ask for the appointment of a -referee to conserve the assets of the company, then I'm going to ask -for a lunacy hearing to determine if Calhoun is mentally fit to order -equipment on company credit without my prior authorization!"</p> - -<p>His feet kicked gravel as he stalked across the drive to his own car. -The door slammed. The rear wheels spun as he jammed the accelerator to -the floorboard. I headed into the lab.</p> - -<p>Tom and Ann were there. Their heads close together, they were so -deeply engrossed in the papers spread all over the big lab table that -they did not hear me enter. How many times had I come in and found -them like this, deep in some problem? The sight always made me feel -good. Here were two people who were doing their dead-level best to -solve some of the problems that confront the human race. All day long -and as far into the night as he wanted her, Ann was always in the lab -with him, slipping away to steal a few hours of badly needed sleep so -that she could return to work bright-eyed and eager the next morning. -She was head over heels in love with Tom, and had been since the first -day she came to work. So far as I had been able to see, he had never -even discovered that she was a woman. A competent research worker, a -thorough technician with a keen brain, yes; but a woman, no. He had not -noticed that.</p> - -<p>"Tom, I didn't want to interrupt, but I just met Herker outside—"</p> - -<p>He looked up. A grin came over his face at the sight of me. "Would you -like to see what Sam is so upset about?" Without waiting for an answer, -he rose and moved to the back wall. New drapes had been hung there. -With an expression on his face that said Earth's last secret was about -to be revealed, he pulled the drapes aside.</p> - -<p>I don't know what I was expecting, but I guess my jaw dropped. Behind -the drapes was a painting, of a girl. Her features were even and -regular, her eyes looked upward, and her face had a slightly oriental -cast. What held my gaze was the haunting quality of her smile. Leonardo -Da Vinci had gotten something of this same haunting quality in the Mona -Lisa. The girl in this painting smiled out at the world as if she knew -everything that had ever been, or ever would be—and was laughing at -the efforts of mere mortals to fathom her secret.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"I see it's getting you too," Tom said.</p> - -<p>"It's a good job," I said. "But what is there about it to upset Herker?"</p> - -<p>"The price I paid for it."</p> - -<p>"What was that?"</p> - -<p>"One hundred thousand dollars!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I rocked back on my heels and whistled softly. At that moment, I was of -the opinion that maybe Herker had something when he said Tom had gone -nuts.</p> - -<p>"Did you ever hear of the Dead Sea Scrolls?" Tom asked.</p> - -<p>"Um. Yes. Manuscripts a couple of thousand years old that have been -discovered near the Dead Sea in the last few years." I felt pleased -that I knew the answer to his question. "But what do they have to do -with this, if anything?"</p> - -<p>"This painting came from a sealed jar hidden inside a cave in the same -region," Tom answered. "It was sold to a dealer in Egypt. I learned -about it from a friend."</p> - -<p>"So far so good," I said.</p> - -<p>"You sound like Sam," he answered. "Honest, Luke, I'm not nuts." A -strained expression crossed his face. "At least I don't think I am."</p> - -<p>"To me, whatever you say is right," I said, loyally. "But what's the -pitch on this painting? Why is it worth so much money?"</p> - -<p>"Because there is a secret hidden in it," he answered. "And I'm trying -to re-discover it."</p> - -<p>"Ah?" I said.</p> - -<p>"Luke, you mustn't think that science came into existence this -generation," he said. "There were men ahead of us who were just as -interested in solving Nature's secrets as we are. Some of them came -close to doing it. I think the man who painted this girl was one of -them. I think he hid his knowledge in this painting, hid it because he -did not dare reveal it. It is my hope that if I can discover his secret -and perhaps add it to the knowledge of modern science, I can come up -with something that may be as startling as the atom bomb, only in a -different way." He frowned and a far-away look crept into his eyes. I -knew he was dreaming of the future as he saw it, a better, healthier, -happier world. He was just the man to make that dream come true!</p> - -<p>"I've already uncovered part of the secret." He nodded toward the pages -of paper on the big table. "Enough to know that the man who painted -that picture was a real genius even if recorded history has no record -of him! The geometry of the painting itself has meaning, the distance -between the eyes, the angle of the chin, the way the hair is dressed—" -He went on at some length but I had stopped listening. I knew nothing -of the more obscure aspects of cryptography but I knew enough to know -that Tom could be right. I had never seen such a glow in his eyes or -such an eager expression on his face during all the years I had known -him. If he was dreaming, I hoped his dream came true.</p> - -<p>I interrupted him long enough to tell him about the men in the saloon.</p> - -<p>"You take care of all such intruders, Luke. That's your job," he told -me.</p> - -<p>Ann followed me outside, to ask further questions. "He had some -visitors a few days ago, but I don't know who they were," she said.</p> - -<p>"What do you think of this secret of the painting?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"I think it's real," she answered, turning back toward the lab. -Wistfully, I watched her go. Someday, maybe, I would be lucky enough -to find a woman as loyal to me as Ann was to Tom. When this happened, I -would notice that she existed! In the meantime, my job was to check the -spacious grounds.</p> - -<p><i>Wham!</i></p> - -<p>The length of garden hose with the lead in the end of it came at -me from behind a wide hedge I was passing. I saw both it and the -arm holding it, but I didn't see either soon enough. It came down -across my skull with enough force to have addled an elephant. I saw -constellations of stars as I went down.</p> - -<p>I recovered consciousness with the thought in mind that dozens of -smallsized devils were jabbing me with red-hot needles. Trying to move, -I discovered the source of the devils. I had been tossed into the -middle of the wide hedge and the thorns were sticking me. My hands were -tied behind my back and my feet were pulled up behind me and tied to my -hands. Also, the sun was rising. I could see the glow of dawn in the -sky. I had been unconscious all night!</p> - -<p>"If I ever catch that Long Jaw!" I thought.</p> - -<p>Then I realized that the light I was seeing wasn't coming from the -rising sun. The main building of the lab was on fire! Tom and Ann might -be in there!</p> - -<p>The cords that bound my hands snapped like so many threads as I hunched -my shoulders. Putting my hands in front of my eyes, I rolled out of the -hedge. Thorns tore at my flesh. I didn't care. I hit the ground with a -jolt that rattled every bone in my body, then tore the cords from my -feet.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Smoke was pouring upward into the night sky. Off in the distance a -siren was screaming. The police or the fire department, I couldn't -tell which. Heat seared my face and I ran toward the lab. Looking -inside, I saw a figure moving against the flames. Ann! As I stared, she -went down. Pulling my coat over my face, I dived into the lab. Flames -crackled in my ears. I sensed rather than felt my clothes begin to -smoke. Ann stumbled to her feet and went down again. Reaching her side, -I saw that she had been trying to drag Tom out of the building. The -task had been beyond her strength.</p> - -<p>One under each arm, I carried them out of the inferno. Most of Ann's -clothes were gone, burned off. Her flesh, raw and red, was exposed.</p> - -<p>"They—they burst in. When Tom tried to stop them, they slugged him. -They also hit me."</p> - -<p>"They left both of you there after setting the lab on fire?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I think they hoped the fire would cover up their theft."</p> - -<p>"And that it would also cover up you and Tom." In my mind's eyes, I was -thinking what I would do to Long Jaw if I ever caught him again. "What -did they take?"</p> - -<p>"The painting."</p> - -<p>I didn't have time to wonder what there was about the painting that was -valuable enough to justify murder and theft. Fire engines with bells -clanging were screeching to a halt in the drive. Men in rubber coats -began yanking hose from the truck. They worked as if they knew exactly -what to do and how to do it. They also wanted to talk to me, but I -didn't have time to tell them anything except that it was their fire -from here on. Putting Tom and Ann into my car, I mashed the accelerator -to the floorboard.</p> - -<p>The doctor in the emergency receiving room of the hospital didn't waste -any time on diagnosis. He took one look at the man I was carrying and -a second look at the woman leaning on my arm, and went to work. He had -Tom and Ann in separate rooms, with plasma and oxygen flowing into -them, within minutes, and before I knew what was happening a nurse -had thrown me out. I paced up and down the corridor for the two hours -before I was able to get hold of Dr. Crane again.</p> - -<p>"The woman has third degree burns," he told me when I cornered -him. "The man has only first degree. However, he has a slight brain -concussion."</p> - -<p>"Will they be all right?"</p> - -<p>Down inside, he was a good joe. He didn't want to give me the news, so -he put on his professional smile. Both of us knew he was lying. "We -will do everything we can. The man will probably recover. As to the -woman—"</p> - -<p>"You've got to fix her up too, Doc," I begged him. "He doesn't know it, -but he'll die without her."</p> - -<p>I left the hospital with the memory of his professional smile lingering -in my mind. It was a sad smile. It said that in the face of some -conditions, even the doctors were helpless.</p> - -<p>Reaching the lab, I found that the fire had been extinguished. A deputy -sheriff was on guard, to protect the property, and—Herker was there.</p> - -<p>"You're hired as a guard for this laboratory." Herker told me. "You're -supposed to be on duty at all times, instead of out on all-night -drunks. A lot of money went up in smoke because of your negligence. -What do you have to say?"</p> - -<p>I never wanted to clobber a man as much in my life, but I held my -temper in check. I told him what had happened, and explained that the -painting was gone.</p> - -<p>"You utter fool! Don't you know the company paid a hundred thousand -dollars for that daub?"</p> - -<p>"I don't care what it cost," I answered. "There's more at stake now -than a damned painting, namely Ann's and Tom's life." I walked away -from him then. If I had stayed any longer, I would have hit him.</p> - -<p>Reports had to be made to the sheriff's office and to the insurance -people. Since the lab was outside the city limits, we had a bona-fide -sheriff. He was willing and honest and he promised to do everything he -could to locate the thieves but both of us knew that this was locking -the stable after the horse had been stolen. When I finished with the -insurance people and reached my room, the phone was ringing. "To hell -with it." I thought. Fatigue was on me in layers. The phone kept right -on ringing. Prepared to blister the guy on the other end, I jerked it -off the cradle. Tom's voice came over the wire.</p> - -<p>"Come and get me," he said.</p> - -<p>"What?" I gasped. "You won't be released from the hospital for days!"</p> - -<p>"Come and get me," he answered. And hung up.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was a flurry of nurses in Tom's room when I arrived. In addition, -there were two big orderlies of the type and size who are used when -patients become obstinate. As soon as I entered the room, the orderlies -measured me for size. I repaid the compliment and thought what a good -time we were going to have. Tom, wearing a hospital nightgown and a -dressing robe, his face almost covered with bandages, was on his feet. -Dr. Crane, looking very serious, was present.</p> - -<p>"Here's the man to drive me home," Tom said. "Bring me my bill."</p> - -<p>Dr. Crane cupped his chin in his hands. "You ask me to accept a serious -responsibility in discharging you when you are not ready."</p> - -<p>"I agree with you," Tom said. "That's why I'm going home."</p> - -<p>"Do you intend to resume your work?"</p> - -<p>"I don't have any choice," Tom answered.</p> - -<p>Dr. Crane's mouth became a knife line. Tom crooked his finger at me. I -moved to his side. The two orderlies looked at me. I looked right back -at them. Dr. Crane studied the situation. On the one hand, he didn't -want a patient to leave before treatment was finished. On the other -hand, by this time he had probably learned who Tom was. And on the -third hand—well, he could see that my shoulders were broad and that I -was willing. Finally, he nodded his agreement. "With the proviso that -you will report back for treatment in case it becomes necessary."</p> - -<p>Tom nodded as if he did not know he was lying. With the two orderlies -looking very relieved, we left the hospital. "What about Ann?" I asked -outside.</p> - -<p>Tom shook his head. "Take me to the lab."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>"Shut up, Luke. I know what I'm doing."</p> - -<p>I wish I could have said the same for myself.</p> - -<p>In the lab, Tom surveyed ruefully the damage the fire and water had -done. He stood for a long time staring at the spot on the wall where -the painting had hung, then sighed and shook his head. I had the -impression that he was sorry for the whole human race.</p> - -<p>"I want you to pick up all the scraps of paper that were on the big -table," he said. "It doesn't matter if they are scorched or soaked. -Enough will remain for me to reassemble my own equations that I -developed from the painting. Bring these to the old lab. Then I want -you to make certain that I have all the black coffee on hand I can -drink. Then—" He hesitated. "Do you think they will be back?" he said -at last.</p> - -<p>"I hope so." I said.</p> - -<p>I collected the scraps of paper and took them to the old lab and set -up an electric coffee maker that would keep the black brew hot at all -times. Digging a folding cot out of the basement, I put it across the -door. Putting my gun within easy reach, I lay down on the cot. The last -glimpse I had of Tom before I went to sleep, he was frowning at the -pieces of paper on the table in front of him. With the bandages on his -face, he looked like a mummy in grave clothes risen from the tomb to -try to solve the riddle of the Sphinx, and not doing very well with the -problem.</p> - -<p>During the night I awakened. Tom was still at the table. When morning -came, he was still there, but his head was beginning to droop. When I -tried to coax him to take a turn on the cot, he glared at me as if I -were crazy.</p> - -<p>"I can't afford to sleep. Go get me some benezedrine."</p> - -<p>From the drug store, I called the hospital. "Miss Briscoe is very low," -Dr. Crane told me. "How is my other patient?"</p> - -<p>"Alive," I answered. Returning to the lab with the benezedrine tablets, -I didn't tell him about Ann. I spent the morning throwing out Herker -and more inspectors from the insurance companies. I didn't want any of -Long Jaw's pals to slip in under the pretense that they were insurance -adjustors.</p> - -<p>In the late afternoon Tom yelled, "I've got it, Luke. Here! Get these -items for me." Hastily scribbling what he wanted, he handed the slip -of paper to me. "Burn up the road, Luke. Move!" I moved.</p> - -<p>When I returned with the parts he wanted, he got busy assembling the -weirdest-looking gadget I have ever seen. It seemed to be electronic -in nature but it also seemed to include elements that started where -electronics left off. All night long, he continued to work on it. -Dozing on my cot, I awakened once to find him pacing the floor. -"Uh-huh," I thought. "He hasn't got all the bugs out of it yet." -Sometime during the night the unlisted phone rang. "What the hell?" I -wondered, getting up to answer it. Nobody knew this number.</p> - -<p>Dr. Crane was on the wire. "Miss Briscoe gave me this number," he said. -"She asked me to call Mr. Calhoun and tell him that she needs him."</p> - -<p>"I'll tell him," I said.</p> - -<p>"You might also tell him that she can't possibly last out the night." -Crane's dry objective voice went into quiet silence as he replaced the -phone on its cradle.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tom hadn't heard the phone ring. I had to shake him to get his -attention. When I told him what Crane had said, he nodded as if this -was exactly what he had been expecting. "Okay, Luke, we'll go to her." -He picked up the breadboard on which his gadget was mounted.</p> - -<p>"What are you taking that with you for?" I demanded.</p> - -<p>"Ann worked hard helping me solve the secret of the painting," he -answered. "She deserves to see its first performance. Get yourself into -over-drive, Luke."</p> - -<p>At the hospital, a nurse took us directly to Ann's room. Lying on the -bed, swathed in bandages, she was a mummy that did not move. Deep in -sedation now, she did not know we were present. On the far side of her -bed, whole blood was being dripped into her arm. Dr. Crane looked up -from checking her pulse as we entered. "Everything we could do to give -her strength has failed," he said.</p> - -<p>"What about infection?" Tom asked.</p> - -<p>The doctor gave him a sharp look as if to ask what he meant by hinting -that infection could exist in a properly run hospital. "There is no -serious infection. Her burns were so severe that she simply lacks the -strength to rally." His voice was as grim as my thoughts.</p> - -<p>Tom set his breadboard on the foot of the bed and ran an extension cord -to an electric outlet.</p> - -<p>"What do you have there?" Crane asked.</p> - -<p>"A way to give her strength," Tom answered.</p> - -<p>The doctor leaned back on his heels. He looked at the instrument, which -certainly did not impress him, and started to shake his head. Then he -looked at Tom. The headshake turned into tightly clenched lips. "I am -familiar with your reputation, Mr. Calhoun, but this—" The headshake -came back.</p> - -<p>"There was a first time for a hypodermic injection, a time when -somebody first gave blood, a time when somebody took the first -antibiotic," Tom said.</p> - -<p>Dr. Crane hesitated. A struggle was going on within his mind. He -moved to the bed and felt Ann's pulse. A thin trace of perspiration -appeared on his forehead. "She's dying," he whispered. "Under any other -circumstances, I would say no. But—Oh, hell, Mr. Calhoun, if you know -a way to give her strength, go ahead."</p> - -<p>Tom closed a switch. A soft hum came from the instrument. A cone -that looked like a small transmitting antennae was mounted on the -breadboard. Tom lined up the cone so that it pointed at Ann's body. He -glanced at me. Sweat was visible on his face too. Without a word, I lit -a cigarette and gave it to him. The sweat was very clear on his face -now. Or was it tears?</p> - -<p>"You knew all the time that Ann had no chance to get well?" I asked. -"That's why you worked so hard, on this?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," he answered. "It was a race against time. It still is." He -turned his attention to his instruments.</p> - -<p>I shut up. It got very still in that hospital room. In the corridor -outside feet lisped on tip-toe as a nurse hurried on an errand of -mercy. In the far distance a car hooted impatiently as somebody bucked -for his place in the emergency receiving room. Dr. Crane stood without -moving. His eyes went from Tom to the instrument, then on to Ann, then -retraced their course. Tom closed another switch. A white radiation -leaped from the cone. It touched Ann's body at the knees. Part of it -seemed to dive through the bandages there and flow inward. The rest -of it passed upward along the body, penetrating where it touched. It -turned the bandages the color of old silver, well polished.</p> - -<p>"What is that?" Dr. Crane asked. His voice was a taut whisper.</p> - -<p>"The white light that you see is the visible component of invisible -radiations," Tom answered. "It means my generator is not working -properly. Otherwise, there would be nothing to see."</p> - -<p>"Is this the bug you were worrying about?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"Yes. I didn't have time to clean it up."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The doctor stepped forward and took Ann's wrist in his fingers. A -startled expression appeared on his face. "Her pulse is getting -stronger," he said.</p> - -<p>"She is receiving energy, her whole body is being bathed in it," Tom -said. "Seen from one viewpoint, energy is all that exists." His voice -suddenly had the dry tones of a professor addressing a class in atomic -physics. "Energy in motion at one rate of speed we call light. Energy -whose motion has been slowed to a crawl, we call matter. The two -are interchangeable. Even the human body, with all of its marvelous -glands, its nervous system, and its wonderful brain, falls into the -last category. If we could see our bodies as they actually exist, we -would be aware of an infinite number of dancing points of light, the -infinitesimally minute particles of energy that compose it." He paused. -The doctor stood absolutely motionless. "So there is energy—and -something else." Tom continued. His voice seemed to come from miles -away.</p> - -<p>"What is this something else?" the doctor asked.</p> - -<p>"I call it <i>mind</i>," Tom answered. "It works with energy, directs it, -and moulds it into a thousand different shapes and forms." His voice -was soft with awe and reverence.</p> - -<p>The doctor reached forward to check Ann's pulse. An exclamation of -surprise came from his lips. He lifted her arm, then snapped on a -light. His surprise grew greater. Snatching a pair of scissors, he cut -swiftly through the bandages that swathed her arm.</p> - -<p>"New flesh!" the doctor gasped. "Where there was only burned meat, -now there is new flesh. And n—new skin!" A stutter appeared in the -doctor's voice. A glaze came into his eyes. His chest heaved. "Medicine -knows nothing like this." His voice was heavy with wonder.</p> - -<p>"It knows something like this now," Tom said. "Remove the rest of the -bandages."</p> - -<p>The doctor's fingers shook as he applied the scissors. Her body was -revealed. The burns had vanished. Instead there was the warm pink flesh -of a child, built there by the energy flowing from the cone.</p> - -<p>She stirred sleepily on the bed. "I have been having the most wonderful -dream—that I have a new body."</p> - -<p>Under heavy sedation, she knew nothing that had been going on. She -thought she was having a dream. The three of us in that room knew how -wonderful that dream really was.</p> - -<p>Cool air breathed across my neck. I don't know how I knew what had -happened but I knew. As I turned, my eyes confirmed my hunch. The door -was open. Three men were coming through it. Long Jaw was in the lead.</p> - -<p>I hit with all my strength. The protruding jaw was within range. My -fist landed full on the button with a thud that I felt all the way -through my body. Never in my life had I hit a man that I enjoyed -hitting as much. Long Jaw went over backwards.</p> - -<p>I found myself looking at guns in the hands of the two men who were -following him. "Get your hands up!" the first one said. Since I had no -choice, I obeyed. As my hands went up, the second man stepped forward -and slugged me in the pit of the stomach. As I doubled up from the -pain, he hit me in the jaw.</p> - -<p>At that moment, I would cheerfully have destroyed both of them with my -bare hands. All I could do was glare at them. As I fell back against -the wall, I saw that Dr. Crane was looking at them. Judging from the -expression on his face, I think he would gladly have used his best -surgical knives to cut their hearts out, if he had had the chance. He -started to move. A gun swung to cover him. "Just stand pat, doc," he -was advised.</p> - -<p>Tom, at the foot of Ann's bed, did not even look around. His attention -was completely engrossed in his gadget.</p> - -<p>"You can't get away with this," I said. "This man is working on a -project that is vital to national defense. The FBI will hound you to -Siberia." I was bluffing and I knew it. So did they.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Long Jaw got slowly to his feet. "Is that so?" he said. He moved toward -Tom. "Come on. We want you—and your machine."</p> - -<p>For the first time, Tom looked up. "I'll come with you in just a few -minutes," he said, nodding toward Ann. "Her life is not quite out of -danger yet."</p> - -<p>"To hell with that," a new voice spoke from the doorway. "Get the -machine—and the inventor."</p> - -<p>I didn't have to turn to know that voice. Herker! He was standing in -the doorway waving a bunch of papers.</p> - -<p>"I always knew you had the makings of a crook," I said. "You at least, -ought to have the sense to know that you can't get away with it."</p> - -<p>"These men are in my employ." Herker waved his fingers toward the -three. "I have a court order here empowering me to seize any and all -company property in order to conserve the assets of the corporation." -His face was very smug and self-assured. "It's all legal. There's -nothing you can do about it."</p> - -<p>I would have rocked back on my heels if the wall hadn't already been -behind me. "What about Tom?" I finally managed to say. "Have you got a -court order to seize him too, as a company asset?"</p> - -<p>Herker fingered through his papers. "Yes," he said. "I have an order -here empowering me to bring him before a lunacy commission."</p> - -<p>For the first time, Tom looked up. "What you are really trying to say -is that these men came to you and offered you more millions than you -can count for my discovery and for the chance to force me to tell them -how it works."</p> - -<p>Herker acted as if somebody had slugged him in the throat. He gulped -and tried to find words. "How—how did you know?"</p> - -<p>"They approached me first," Tom answered. "I refused to talk to them."</p> - -<p>"But why? There's millions in it!" In all his life, he had never been -able to see anything more important than a dollar.</p> - -<p>"Enough of this," Long Jaw said, taking command of the situation. "We -want you and your invention."</p> - -<p>He moved toward the bed, but Tom held up his hand. "There on the bed -you see proof of what this invention can do in the way of saving life. -Doesn't that mean anything to you?"</p> - -<p>"Sure, sure," Long Jaw answered. "You'll be well taken care of. Just as -soon as you demonstrate it to the big boys, your future will be safe."</p> - -<p>"I'll demonstrate it now," Tom said.</p> - -<p>He swung the cone so that the radiation from it would strike Long Jaw, -then closed a switch.</p> - -<p>A burst of blackness leaped from the cone. It struck Long Jaw. -Instantly it seemed to flow over his body, engulfing him. I heard him -scream, once, a sound that seemed to get farther and farther away.</p> - -<p>Then the space he had occupied was empty.</p> - -<p>Moving with the speed of light, the blackness leaped on to engulf the -other two men. They went as Long Jaw had gone, into the blackness, -swallowed up in an instant.</p> - -<p>Herker dropped the papers. The black light hit him. He screamed and was -gone into the darkness, gone instantly, gone forever.</p> - -<p>The wall behind started to vanish as Tom cut the switch.</p> - -<p>"The energy that heals can also destroy," Tom said. He turned the cone -back to Ann and changed the switch again. Again the white light flowed -out. I stepped forward and picked up the papers. The doctor, who had -stood rooted to the floor, roused himself with a jerk. "I swear I saw -four men come in here. Where did they go? What happened? Somebody tell -me what happened!" His voice was rising.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps your nerves are a little overstrained," Tom said, his voice -very kind. "A mild sedative might help."</p> - -<p>Without a word the doctor went from the room.</p> - -<p>Tom switched off the light and moved to the edge of the bed. "Ann..." -he whispered. "Ann..."</p> - -<p>Even under sedation, she heard his voice. The smile that came over her -face seemed to light the whole room.</p> - -<p>I went outside and closed the door and stood guard over it. They had -some things to talk about which didn't need my presence, or they would -have some things to talk about as soon as Ann regained consciousness -and found that her dream was true.</p> - -<p>In time the world of tomorrow would have something to talk about too, a -secret that some scientist of the long-gone time almost found, and hid -in a painting in the hope that in some future day some unborn genius -would discover his secret again, and perfect it, and give it to the -world. Awe was in me, at the wonders of the world in which I lived, and -gratitude, that such men as Tom Calhoun inhabited it.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SECRET OF THE PAINTING ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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