Argosy All-Story Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 3 — page 159: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

HOW MANY doggedly. “I’m 1 taking no chances with Terhune and his devilments!” McCarty shrugged. | ‘It’s little worry you need to have about Mr. Terhune; ’tis only the brain he tries his little experiments on, so you’re perfect- ly safe!” Dennis sniffed and pocketed the offend- ing gloves, but made no reply, and in si- ‘lence they started for the apartments of the criminologist. » An angular young man with the face of a student opened the door to them and smiled pleasantly. ‘“Mr. Terhune told me that he was ex- pecting you and your friend, Mr. McCarty. He is just completing the arrangement of his apparatus, and he said that you were - both to go to the consulting-room.”’ . “ Are we the first, Mr. Basset?’ Den- nis hung back, deliberately making conver- sation with the laboratory assistant. “Yes, Mr. Riordan. There will only be a small gathering this evening, I under- stand.” ‘“Come on!” McCarty ordered impa- tiently. ‘‘ I want to see what’s doing!” They found Terhune emerging from the - familiar screen in one corner-of the great bare room which now was furnished mere- ly with a row of chairs facing what .ap- peared to be a motion-picture screen, and a single chair set forward and: well at one side, like that of a teacher. before a class. “T thought you might come a little. earlier, my dear McCarty, but there will still be time for me to explain our experi- ment this evening to you.”’ Terhune shook hands in high good humor. “I see by the papers that you and Inspector Druet have followed the obvious course; I warned you against it, but I should have known how futile my effort would be. Take my word for it, McCarty, you will have to let the valet, Hill, go within twenty-four hours.” “Td not be surprised, sir,”” McCarty responded quietly, but there was a sudden twinkle in his eye. Dennis tugged surreptitiously at his sleeve. ‘“ What is it, moving pictures?” he asked in a rasping whisper. “Yes, of a sort, Riordan.” Terhune -Shriek. CARDS? Doo himself answered with a smile. ‘ You will merely see a series of numbers projected on the screen, but I will explain them to . you later. I am using the old association test, McCarty, but In connection with a new and improved tonoscope called the vi- bratoscope. Do you see this drum?” He moved the screen aside as he spoke, and displayed a large cylindrical case mounted upon a platform with supports at either end, and a scale like a double foot- rule projected across but not touching its rounded side, which was perforated with slanting rows of almost infinitesimal holes. Before it an upright brass arm held a nee- dle pointer tipped with a tiny flickering flame. ‘Look at that, now!” exclaimed Dennis, impressed. ‘‘ And this vibrant—what you said, sir—what does it do?” ‘“It projects ‘the vibrations of the hu- man voice upon the screen out there, much in the manner of the motion-picture ma- chine,” responded Terhune. ‘“ The orig- inal tonoscope merely registered the tonal quality, showing by a standardized scale. whether it was sharp or flat, but with this amplified vibratoscope the vocal manifes- tations of emotion may be measured down to an accuracy of a hundredth of a tone or even finer. “ The vibrations of the voice, as you see now while I am speaking, cause that little flame on the needle to flicker, diminishing with the lowered degrees of a single tone and rising with its upward trend. Inside that cylindrical case is a large drum which contains some thirty-six thousand holes ar- ranged in rows so as to represent a series of tone shadings covering the entire range of the human voice from a murmur to a In a tonoscope there are only eighteen thousand holes which form merely an octave. Do you follow me?”’ McCarty was studying the' apparatus closely, but Dennis nodded. “ Yes, sir,” he said somewhat uncertain- ly. ‘I’m quite a ways behind, but I mis- doubt I’ll catch up when I see it actually working on the screen. And we don’t have to hold any little bulbs nor wires nor any- thing?” ‘““No, merely to listen and watch. Il COUMIUC AOOLK Colin