The Sword and the Atopen, Page 2

excellent artificial fare. They will begrateful, I know!"

  "Exactly my object, general," Dr. Rutledge replied. He continuedimpressively: "You have until now relied upon me largely in the wagingof this war to save the white race from the menace of the yellow. Sinceall is lost at any rate, grant me one last effort in behalf of mycountry. At all costs, Loomis, hold your present lines for two days,preparing to suddenly retire to the west bank of the Mississippi. Ileave it to your strategy to make a sudden retreat (which should extendover a period of at least ten days) appear as if enforced by the enemythemselves."

  "There should be no difficulty in that direction," General Loomisinterpolated, smiling wryly on the television screen.

  "Once on the west bank," went on Dr. Rutledge seriously, not noticingthe interjection, "make a stand for a day or two and then suddenlyretreat across the river to the east bank as if again forced to do so.Now, General, two days from this time--before your retreat begins--Ishall, I trust, have your armies all along the lines supplied with mynew artificial, foreign protein flour. This you will leave in theenemy's hands, which, you have intimated, will be much to their delight.You will do the same at the stand which for a while you held on the westbank. But, mind you, let none of your men use any of this perfectlyharmless food. I will personally see to it that you will receive it insuch containers that none will come in contact with your persons."

  "Doctor," Loomis said after staring at the old scientist some time inastonishment, "except for years of personal acquaintance, I would saythat you were suffering a mental shock. Knowing you as I do, however, Ipray to God you're making no mistake this time. I'll do as you wish."His figure faded from the screen.

  The next fortnight was one of black despair. I myself doubted onoccasions whether or not the old doctor was mentally accountable--even Iwho had trusted him so long. General Loomis and his staff called updaily to inquire if Dr. Rutledge had any change of plans. As for thearmy and the populace, they were one in calling on the President to maketerms with the enemy. The allies truly were on the point of collapse.All that kept up what morale was left in the chemical division was theunrelenting demands made on us by Dr. Rutledge to continue to ferret outthe electronic detonator. Until then, he had scarcely bothered with ourwork; now he would hear of nothing else. "Today's the Day!" was theslogan he had displayed above every bench.

  Finally the fatal day arrived. The retreat across the Mississippi wasconsummated. This time it was not feigned. The Mongols were hungry, andtheir appetites were whetted for more flour such as had sustained themfor the past twelve days. Moreover, new electronic bombs were beginningto be supplied them.

  My name leapt at me across the room: I was being called by that almosthuman instrument, the television 'phone. Both my superior and I hurriedto the cabinet. It was, as we had guessed, Loomis. "It's all up," hesaid wretchedly. "The fresh supply of atomic degenerating bombs, forwhich the enemy has been holding back, has now arrived. They matched andneutralized our electric field defense screen just an hour ago, leavingus at their mercy. You've had your chance, Doctor, and failed. I adviseyou both to make your way north and wait until these fiends forget theinconvenience you both have caused them. As for me, I'm leaving thisinstant to offer unconditional surrender in the name of all the allies."

  * * * * *

  It was about ten o'clock in the morning, just after he had transportedall his forces hurriedly to the east bank, and as the Mongols wereoccupying the old entrenchments on the west, that General Loomis closedhis conversation with the Chemical Laboratory. He turned to an aerialofficer who stood at attention beside him. "Major Maniu," he said,"trail a white banner of truce on your plane and tell the enemy I willparley with them. Tell them that we will serve rations presently to ourmen who have worked all night without food or rest, and that if it isagreeable to them, both sides shall simultaneously discontinue activityat one o'clock. At that time I shall cross the river to offer them ourterms of surrender."

  The officer saluted and hastened to his near-by plane. General Loomisascended into his helicopter to confer with his staff to draw up indocumentary form the surrender, and give the necessary orders relativeto lowering of fire that afternoon. He also spoke to the President andto the crowd outside the White House, and then began nervously waitingthe crucial moment. About twelve-thirty, however, a remarkable factforced itself on his attention. Whereas the allied batteries continuedto thunder away, the fire from the Orientals became irregular andsporadic. "Celebrating their victory beforehand," the French commanderremarked bitterly to his chief. Loomis nodded. "And getting careless,too," another of the Staff added as he saw one of the enemy's detonatorbombs disintegrate three or four hundred acres of a Mongolian baseencampment fifty miles to the northwest and shoot it a monstrous blazingrocket twenty or thirty miles into the midday sky.

  By twelve forty-five the enemy's barrage had fallen completely all alongthe line. Our battery nevertheless continued until the set time butelicited no answer. Exactly at one General Loomis with two aides steppedinto his air-car. He was a picture of grief and despair. Three minuteslate the party landed forty miles across the river before theheadquarters and armored dining hall of the Oriental General Staff.

  Loomis and his officers stepped out of their car and looked about. Noone was in sight. Not even a sentry guarded the mess room door. TheGeneral paced back and forth a few minutes in indecision.

  "Evidently they mean to make us feel our defeat," he said. "Theyapparently do not even think it further necessary to observe rudimentarydiplomatic courtesy. Come on, boys, beggars can't be choosers, as theantique saying goes." He led the way to the dining hall through a windowof which a light was seen shining.

  "Perhaps if we find his xanthic highness after a good meal he will beinclined to be a bit more lenient," Loomis whispered with a forcedlaugh, trying to cheer his glum companions.

  He opened the unguarded door of the hall. An instant later he reeledback horror-stricken. Instead of a feasting gathering of officersattached to the Mongolian Staff he saw before a feast of men contortedin grotesque shapes by some violent death. Many lay beside the table,some on it, their faces blotched with great, unsightly wheals, theirchests bloated until they seemed about to burst. Only one poor wretchhad any life left in him--he lay exhausted on the floor with greatstreams of frothy mucous pouring from his nose and throat.

  A possibility dawned in Loomis' mind. He dashed away to search the othermess tents, shouting to his aides to follow suit. It was as he guessed:they had landed in a camp of dead and dying; stricken by some mysteriouspower. Hope suddenly surged back into his soul. He felt dizzy and faint.Could a similar fate have caused the unaccountable silence of theenemy's cannonade? Even as the thought came to him, he knew it must beso. His marvelous old friend, Dr. Rutledge, had risen to the need of theworld and crushed the yellow menace.

  * * * * *

  Such, truly, had been the case. In a single hour, through the agency ofa harmless food, the subtle scientist had crushed a nation. Theprinciple involved had been discovered nearly two centuries before, whenit was well-known that if an animal were injected with a small quantityof a protein foreign to his body, a subsequent dose a hundred milliontimes as weak would cause its immediate and violent death. Even thequantity that might be flying in the atmosphere and become dissolved inthe fluids of the nose or eyes would act as the most virulent of knownpoisons. Through the ages, however, the human race had more or less comein contact with all the proteins in their world and hence rarely becamehighly sensitized to any protein occurring in nature. The terribletoxicity of a protein which had never before occurred in nature and towhose power mankind had never been even partially desensitized had up tothe time of Dr. Rutledge only entered the minds of a few scientists. Hisstrategy was the working out of a new maxim: Nature is terrible, but manmakes it more so.

  * * * * *

  Foreign protein sensitization or anaphylaxis was the basis of Dr.Ru
tledge's coup. The laws governing this reaction had been more or lessworked out by a group of scientists in the twentieth century. They haddemonstrated that if a guinea-pig or rabbit were injected with the bloodserum of another species, a subsequent dose of an infinitely smallquantity of this substance would cause convulsions, collapse and rapiddeath. Inasmuch as there were many proteins in the atmosphere at thattime due to the unrestrained pollination of plants of every description,it was not surprising that they found as many as ten per cent of thewhite race afflicted with a slight pollen sensitivity which showed upseasonally by causing spasms of the smooth muscle of the respiratorysystem, a disease popularly called "hay-fever."

  Since, however, the proteins of the world had always been present, thehuman race had, by constantly