I will retain ownership of the patent, and the right to terminate the contract should your production fall below a minimum of two thousand per day. I will further require an initial payment of a nominal amount—ten thousand dollars will be satisfactory, and you may if you wish check this against future royalties. Finally, I will myself draw the contract.”

“Those terms are impossible!” exclaimed the president.

“Very well,” said Edmond, and waited.

“Are you a lawyer?” asked Mr. Thwaites.

“No,” said Edmond, “nevertheless the contract will be binding.” He stared silently at the group before him, his incredible hands clasped over me handle of his cane. There was an aura of tension about the group. Each member felt an inexplicable aversion to his curious presence, and Edmond knew it. He smiled his saturnine and supremely irritating smile.

The president looked at him with a weary somberness.

“Will you listen to our offer?”

“I consider my terms equitable,” said Edmond. “May I point out what you doubtless realize—that you have no choice? The concern to which I grant this tube will immediately possess a monopoly, since all other types are instantly obsolete. You are compelled to accept my proposal.”

The four stared silently back at him. Bohn opened his square jaw and inserted a pipe. He lit it, and puffed a moment.

“May I ask some questions?” he snapped.

“Yes.”

“What’s the source of your electron flow?”

“It is a disintegration product. The energy used is atomic.”

“What’s the material you use in your filament?”

“Radio-active lead.”

“There’s no lead that active.”

“No,” said Edmond, “I created it.”

“How?”

“That,” said Edmond, “I will not answer.”

“Why not?” Bohn’s voice crackled with enmity.

“Because the explanation is beyond your understanding.”

The engineer gave a contemptuous snort at the insult, and fell silent, eyeing Edmond coldly. Edmond turned to Hoffman, who seemed on the point of speech, by the blinking of his eyes behind their lenses.

“May I ask what is the life of your filament?” he queried mildly.

“It has a half-period of about eight thousand years.”

“What?”

“I say that it will dissipate half its activity in eight thousand years.”

“Do you mean the thing’s eternal?”

Edmond gave again his irritating smile with its intolerable undertone of superiority and contempt.

“You asked me the life of the filament. The useful life of the tube is very much shorter. Inasmuch as the emission is constant whether or not the device is in use, certain radiations other than the electronic, produce effects. There is a tendency for the plate and grid to become active under the influence of alpha and gamma rays; this sets up a secondary opposing electron stream from them which will gradually weaken the conductive effect of the primary flow from the filament. The loss of efficiency will become noticeable in about seven years.”

“But man, even that’s too long!” exclaimed the president. “It practically destroys the replacement market!”

“That need not worry a concern the size of yours. It will take many decades to saturate the market.”

Mr. Thwaites spoke for the second time. “We are simply inviting legal trouble. The Corporation will never permit an independent to ruin its market without a fight.”

“I will trust you to carry through the courts,” said Edmond. “You will win, for the principle and the process of manufacture are both basic and new.” He paused a moment, surveying the group. “Should it appear necessary, you may call upon me.” His intonation implied contempt; the intolerable scathing smile returned to his lips. It amused him that none of the four had questioned his ability to oppose the rich and powerful Corporation, owner of most of the basic electrical patents. He noted Bohn’s irritation and a certain tenseness in his jaw as he bit his pipe. “Your confidence is a high compliment, Gentlemen. Is there anything further?”

“Yes!” snapped Bohn. “I think this thing is a hoax!” He rose excitedly from his chair. “This man has bought or stolen some radium from a hospital or laboratory, and he’s alloyed it with lead to make his filament! He’s selling you about fifteen hundred dollars worth of radium for the cash payment of ten thousand dollars.