instruments. They were more like dentists' tools than machinists', yet
plainly were intended for mechanical use.

One drawer held what appeared to be a roll of drawings. Smith did not
want to touch them; with infinite care he blew off the dust with the aid
of his oxygen pipe. After a moment or two the surface was clear, but it
offered no encouragement; it was the blank side of the paper.

There was no help for it. Smith grasped the roll firmly with his pliers
--and next second gazed upon dust.

In the bottom drawer lay something that aroused the curiosity of all
three. These were small reels, about two inches in diameter and a
quarter of an inch thick, each incased in a tight-fitting box. They
resembled measuring tapes to some extent, except that the ribbons were
made of marvelously thin material. Van Emmon guessed that there were a
hundred yards in a roll. Smith estimated it at three hundred. They
seemed to be made of a metal similar to that composing the machines.
Smith pocketed them all.

It was the builder who thought to look under the bench, but it was Smith
who had brought a light. By its aid they discovered a very small
machine, decidedly like a stock ticker, except that it had no glass
dome, but possessed at one end a curious metal disk about a foot in
diameter. Apparently it had been undergoing repairs; it was impossible
to guess its purpose. Smith's pride was instantly aroused; he tucked it
under his arm, and was impatient to get back to the cube, where he might
more carefully examine his find with the tips of his fingers.

It was when they were about to leave the building that they thought to