"I am glad," he said, "that it has gone no further, for it
must not be. I have other, nobler aspirations for my daughter.
She must wed a perfect man--none such now exists.
It remains for me to bring forth the ideal mate for her--
nor is the time far distant. A few more weeks and we
shall see such a being as I have long dreamed."
Again the queer light flickered for a moment
in the once kindly and jovial eyes of the scientist.

Von Horn was horrified. He was a man of
little sentiment. He could in cold blood
have married this girl for the wealth he knew
that she would inherit; but the thought that
she was to be united with such a THING--
"Lord! It is horrible," and his mind pictured
the fearful atrocity which was known as Number One.

Without a word he turned and left the campong. A moment
later Sing's knock aroused Professor Maxon from the reverie
into which he had fallen, and he stepped to the trap door
to receive his evening meal.


3

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST


One day, about two weeks later, von Horn and the