but had a separate bottom, upon which the stumplike chair was set. Also,
they found that, thanks to the reduced pull of the planet, it was not
hard for the three of them to lift the cabinet bodily, despite its
weight of almost a thousand pounds. They left the tools lie there,
discarded as much weight as they could, and proceeded to carry that
ages-old superman out into the light.

Here they could see that the great man was all but a negro in color. It
was equally clear, however, from an examination of his mammoth cranium
and extraordinary expression, that he was as highly developed along most
mental lines as the greatest men on earth. It was the back of his head,
however, so flat that it was only a continuation of his neck, or,
rather, shoulders, that told where the flaw lay. That, together with the
hardness of his eye, the cruelty of his mouth, and the absolute lack of
softness anywhere in the ironlike face or frame--all this condemned the
monster for what he was; inhuman.

It was not easy to get him down the two flights of stairs. More than
once they had to prop the case on a step while they rested; and at one
time, just before they reached that curious heap of rubbish at the foot
of the upper stairs, Jackson's strength gave way and it looked as though
the whole thing would get away from them. Van Emmon saved it at the cost
of a bruised shoulder.

Once at the bottom of the lower flight, the rest was easy. Within a very
few minutes the astonished face of the engineer was peering into the
vestibule; he could hardly wait until the air-tight door was locked
before opening the inner valves. He stared at the mammoth figure in the
case long and hard, and from then on showed a great deal of respect for
his three friends.