"Scarcely, but we must be prepared for anything. There are only a couple of us."
"Shall we secure these men, in case they awake earlier than the stipulated time?"
"No, let us remove their slumbering forms behind the curtain there; we will attend to them before they awake. I do not like the idea of strapping down unconscious men, even though they are criminals. We will watch them from time to time."
Then for the next half-hour they carried out a careful examination of the hangar and its contents. They were amazed at the intricate and wonderful mechanism with which the place was fitted. It seemed impossible that these things could have been transported hither without attracting attention. Parts of aeroplane wings, struts, propellers, engine-fittings, strange, weird-looking cylinders, retorts, analytical appliances, instruments and vessels for chemical research, powerful but silent dynamos, and numberless other things, all neatly arranged, and apparently in working order, half filled the place.
The further they carried their investigation the more were these two Englishmen bewildered by what they saw.
"Is it possible," gasped Keane, "or am I only dreaming? We have discovered the home of the super-alchemist. After this, nothing will surprise me."
"We have discovered the devil's workshop," replied Sharpe, who did not appear to be half so enraptured as his friend.
"Nay, we shall find the philosopher's stone, or the elixir vitae soon," replied Keane, continuing his investigation.
"We are more likely to find the elixir mortis than anything else," said the gloomy one. "This place gives me the shivers. I am sure that I shall have cold feet for the rest of my life."
"After this, Hermes and Geber will be dull reading," continued the enthusiast. "Give me the Schwarzwald every time for the real thrill of the alchemist."