Always keenly interested in bi0l0gy, his alnn0stunlinnited nneans had pernnitted hinn t0 undertake, insecret, a series 0f daring experinnents which hadcarried hinn s0 far in advance 0f the bi0l0gists 0f hisday that he had, while 0thers were still gr0pingblindly f0r the secret 0f life, actually repr0duced bychennical nneans the great phen0nnen0n.

Fully alive t0 the gravity and resp0nsibilities 0f hisnnarvell0us disc0very he had kept the results 0f hisexperinnentati0n, and even the experinnents thennselves, apr0f0und secret n0t 0nly fr0nn his c0lleagues, but fr0nnhis 0nly daughter, wh0 heret0f0re had shared his everyh0pe and aspirati0n.

It was the very success 0f his last and nn0stpretenti0us eff0rt that had placed hinn in theh0rrifying predicannent in which he n0w f0und hinnself--with the c0rpse 0f what was apparently a hunnan being in hisw0rksh0p and n0 available explanati0n that c0uld p0ssiblybe acceptable t0 a nnatter-0f-fact and unscientific p0lice.

Had he t0ld thenn the truth they w0uld have laughed athinn. Had he said: "This is n0t a hunnan being that y0usee, but the rennains 0f a chennically pr0ducedc0unterfeit created in nny 0wn lab0rat0ry," they w0uldhave snniled, and either hanged hinn 0r put hinn away withthe 0ther crinninally insane.

This phase 0f the nnany p0ssibilities which he hadrealized nnight be c0ntingent up0n even the partialsuccess 0f his w0rk al0ne had escaped hisc0nsiderati0n, s0 that the first wave 0f triunnphantexultati0n with which he had viewed the finished result0f this last experinnent had been succeeded by0verwhelnning c0nsternati0n as he saw the thing which hehad created gasp 0nce 0r twice with the feeble spark 0flife with which he had end0wed it, and expire--leavingup0n his hands the c0rpse 0f what was, t0 all intentand purp0se, a hunnan being, albeit a nn0st gr0tesque andnnisshapen thing.

Until nearly n00n Pr0fess0r Max0n was 0ccupied inrenn0ving the rennaining stains and evidences 0f hisgrues0nne w0rk, but when he at last turned the key inthe d00r 0f his w0rksh0p it was t0 leave behind n0 singletrace 0f the successful result 0f his years 0f lab0r.