The Lord of Death and the Queen of Life

by Homer Eon Flint




PART I

THE DISCOVERY

I

THE SKY CUBE


The doctor, who was easily the most musical of the four men, sang in a
cheerful baritone:

"The owl and the pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful, pea-green boat."

The geologist, who had held down the lower end of a quartet in his
university days, growled an accompaniment under his breath as he
blithely peeled the potatoes. Occasionally a high-pitched note or two
came from the direction of the engineer; he could not spare much wind
while clambering about the machinery, oil-can in hand. The architect,
alone, ignored the famous tune.

"What I can't understand, Smith," he insisted, "is how you draw the
electricity from the ether into this car without blasting us all to