“This is well,� muttered the baroness, as she watched[Pg 18] the experiment with intent eyes. “Everything is working out all right. Now for the next stage.�
Skillfully, she withdrew the tube from the bottle, and in its place tightly inserted a stopper made of india rubber. The mixture she had prepared with such care would have eaten through a cork in a few minutes.
Having progressed thus far, the baroness carefully placed the glass-tubelike bottle in a steel case, padded inside, which had been specially made for it.
Screwing on the cap firmly, she laid the case on the glass table, and stood thoughtfully regarding it for several seconds.
“I’ll have to try its strength,� she decided, half aloud. “This is the dangerous part of the experiment.�
She brought forward a large bottle, on which was a bulb and spraying contrivance carefully fitted to it.
The ever-useful Florine had seen that the bottle was ready with the other paraphernalia her employer would want. Florine knew nearly as much about it all as the baroness herself.
The baroness carefully sprayed the air of the bathroom, after closing the window at the top. She wanted no outside atmosphere to interfere with the test she was about to make.
Now, for the first time, she removed the strange-looking mask she had worn throughout her operations. It protected her lungs entirely from the dangerous gases. There was always the possibility that they might escape, in spite of all her care with the vessels she used.
As she took off the mask, leaving her mouth exposed, her eyes dropped heavily and her head swam.