"Oh, yus," said Lood. "Kills all parasites. Fish, reptiles, and such."
"Thank you," said the Commissioner drily.
Mr. Lood looked at me apologetically.
"My people too small to tolerate fish," he explained. "Fish most dangerous wild beasts. Oh, yus."
"Never mind," I reassured him. "Your Honors, I feel the court will take a more favorable view of the dry-land operation, then. Taking place as it does in the bowels of the earth, there is no danger to valuable livestock. And here we can demonstrate, for example, simple aluminum extraction, by the progressive reduction and oxidation and reduction of bacteria on a molecular scale.
"I hope," I added, "this experiment will produce visible evidence of this great boon to mankind, though I must ask Your Honors to watch closely."
Lood produced another test-tube, pressed a small hole in the grass with his finger and emptied the tube. The hole darkened.
We all bent over to watch.
Nothing happened.