"Or," burst forth Gary Lane with a sudden comprehension, "hypnotized! Doctor, could that have been it?"
Bryant stared at the younger man confusedly.
"Why—why, I don't know, Gary. It is possible. I remember now that months ago, when Anjers first came to the observatory, one evening we discussed hypnotism at great length. He claimed some small faculty along that line. I laughed and told him it was impossible for a mesmerist to gain control over a strong minded person. Why—he experimented, with me as the subject. His efforts were a complete failure. Later he acknowledged as much, and we never broached the subject again."
"You didn't have to," grunted Lark O'Day. "That experiment wasn't the failure you thought it, Doctor. On the contrary, it must have been a complete success. At that time, with your cooperation, Borisu established a control over your brain. One which he has never relinquished."
"With my cooperation? But I concentrated upon rejecting his mental suggestions—"
"That," interrupted Dr. Kang gently, "is the explanation, my good friend. You erred in saying strong wills cannot be hypnotized. Research indicates that quite the opposite is true. It is only the strong-willed who make good hypnotic subjects. Never the dolts, morons, the weak of brain. For in order to accept hypnotic influence, one must be able to concentrate solely upon a single thought to the exclusion of all others. And only the highly intellectual have this power. I fear it is true you have been an unwitting partner to Borisu."
"I know you have," cried Gary. "There has been one thing which bothered me all along. It was not satisfactorily explained after Borisu admitted he was the one who attacked Muldoon in the observatory. You alibied him at that time, Doctor. You said you and he were together in your office. Had it not been for this we should have discovered long ago who was the traitor in our midst."
"He," moaned the aged scientist, "must have compelled me to say that. And this time he forced me to come below, open his prison cell, and permit his escape. But what are we going to do?"
"It's not what we're going to do," fumed Flick, "but what we should have done. I told you we ought to have conked that—"