"One----Two----Three----" he called out.
Bernard felt the floor give way beneath his feet and he shot down with terrific speed.

He nerved himself for the shock that was to tear his limbs from his body, but, strange to say, he felt the speed lessening as he fell and his feet eventually struck a floor with not sufficient force to even jar him severely.

"Was this death?
Was he dead or alive ?" he was thinking within himself, when suddenly the mask was snatched from his face and he found himself in a large room containing desks arranged in a semi-circular form.

There were one hundred and forty-five desks, and at each a person was seated.
"Where was he?
What did that assemblage mean?
What did his strange experiences mean ?" he asked himself.

He stood there, his hands tied, his eye wandering from face to face.
Within a few minutes Belton entered and the assemblage broke forth into cheers.