makes all the difference between humanity and INhumanity!"

"Well!--you are a senator, and you ought to know!" replied Seaton--
"And if your opinion is against my offer, I will not urge you to
make it. But--as I live and stand here talking to you, you may bet
every dollar you possess that if neither the United States nor any
other government will accept the chance I give it of holding the
nations like dogs in leash, I'll hold them myself! I! One single
unit of the overteeming millions! Yes, Mr. Senator Gwent, I swear
it! I'll be master of the world!"




CHAPTER XII


Gwent was silent. With methodical care he flicked off the burnt end
of his cigar and watched it where it fell, as though it were
something rare and curious. He wanted a few minutes to think. He
gave a quick upward glance at the tall athletic figure above him,
with its magnificent head and flashing eyes,--and the words "I'll be
master of the world" gave him an unpleasant thrill. One man on the
planet with power to destroy nations seemed quite a fantastic idea--
yet science made it actually possible! He bethought himself of a
book he had lately read concerning radio-activity, in which he had
been struck by the following passage--"Radio-activity is an
explosion of great violence; the energy exerted is millions of times
more powerful than the highest explosive substance yet made in our
laboratories; one bomb loaded with such energy would be equal to