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obscure volcanic action was taking place over there. Little attention was paid to it, because there were thought to be no Occidentals there except a few who were considered to have been killed at the time of the conquest. Therefore, what happened in Japan was deemed of little real concern to us, especially after we were signally unsuccessful in attacking the curious new metal fortifications erected along the shores by those unknown peoples out of Asia.
    “The beating and hammering of the earth was not really a cause for serious thought in this country until some scientist discovered that it no longer appeared to be located on the surface at the other side of the globe, but at or near the center. This, I need hardly say, was a most unusual discovery, for hitherto earth shocks have all been supposed to originate somewhere near the surface; at least within that outer envelope of hard crust known as the lithosphere, which for convenience’ sake is generally supposed to extend into the earth about ten miles.
    “Beyond that depth we know nothing of the earth except what we have guessed and calculated. It was thought safe to conclude, however, that the interior was continually subjected to pressure enormous beyond human comprehension, and that while probably not molten, due to the great pressure, it would be so tremendously hot that the hardest stones would be instantly melted, and perhaps rendered gaseous, should the pressure suddenly be removed.
    “Under such conditions, it seems likely that there could be no natural cavities at the center of the earth, and consequently no movement of strata. Accordingly, when tremors were reported to be originating in this hot and compressed region, it caused a sensation. Most scientists immediately set it down to miscalculations or imperfections in the instruments. A few speculated, but got nowhere.”
    The Secretary nodded comprehendingly.
    “The tremors we now experience first began to cause alarm a few months ago,” Dr. Scott went on. “At that time they first assumed their present regular and rhythmic aspect. Before that they were frequent, but irregular. They varied greatly in intensity and duration. Now they have become so standardized that they can be forecast and measured in advance. Whatever change has taken place in the earth, it is certain that these manifestations have entered a new and terrifying phase, no longer to be confused with earthquakes or ordinary mechanical or chemical phenomena.”
    The scientist paused for a moment, dramatically. Dr. Angell, the Secretary of War of the Pan-Americas, was sitting forward in his chair, deeply interested, and for the first time understanding the problem in its scientific light. His attendants, neither of them learned men, were also interested. In the face of the clerk, who had been taking down Dr. Scott’s remarks in shorthand, there was a peculiar expression of horror as if he had already grasped the significance of the words and the conclusion to which they must inevitably lead.
    The professor continued, sure of his ground. He emphasized with his pointer as he went on with the explanation.
    “I need hardly show you samples of the seismographic readings,” he said. “No doubt you already have plenty of them in your office, for I understand that you have earlier interested yourself in this problem. But I must make certain comparisons with typical readings to show you the purpose of this model earth here and what it proves.”
    He touched the button. Instantly there flashed upon a screen above the model a banded chart, with the spidery scrawling of a seismograph clearly marked upon it.
    “This is one of the readings, which have often been duplicated in the last few months, as it appeared in Washington. Now if you will notice, I have placed one of my miniature seismographs on the model at Washington. I have built this earth as accurately as I know how, to reproduce the actual conditions as far as that would be possible. The inside