Read Ebook: The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Ebert to Estremadura Volume 4 Part 2 by Various

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 572 lines and 120826 words, and 12 pages

"Another man? General Margrave, I'm not incapacitated. The situation is under complete control--"

"It is, is it? I understand you've got still another casualty. What's happened to your defensive capabilities?"

"That was an accident, sir. The jeep--"

"We'll review that matter at a later date. What I'm calling about is more important right now. The code men have made some headway on that box of yours. It's putting out a sort of transmission."

"What kind, sir?"

"Half the message--it's only twenty seconds long, repeated--is in English. It's a fragment of a recording from a daytime radio program; one of the network men here identified it. The rest is gibberish. They're still working over it."

"What--"

"Bryant tells me he thinks there may be some sort of correspondence between the two parts of the message. I wouldn't know, myself. In my opinion, it's a threat of some sort."

"I agree, General. An ultimatum."

"Right. Keep your men back at a safe distance from now on. I want no more casualties."

Straut cursed his luck as he hung up the phone. Margrave was ready to relieve him, after he had exercised every precaution. He had to do something fast, before this opportunity for promotion slipped out of his hands.

He looked at Major Greer. "I'm neutralizing this thing once and for all. There'll be no more men killed."

Lieberman stood up. "General! I must protest any attack against this--"

Straut whirled. "I'm handling this, Professor. I don't know who let you in here or why--but I'll make the decisions. I'm stopping this man-killer before it comes out of its nest, maybe gets into that village beyond the woods. There are four thousand civilians there. It's my job to protect them." He jerked his head at Greer, strode out of the room.

Lieberman followed, pleading. "The creature has shown no signs of aggressiveness, General Straut--"

"With two men dead?"

"You should have kept them back--"

"Oh, it was my fault, was it?" Straut stared at Lieberman with cold fury. This civilian pushed his way in here, then had the infernal gall to accuse him, Brigadier General Straut, of causing the death of his own men. If he had the fellow in uniform for five minutes....

"You're not well, General. That fall--"

"Keep out of my way, Professor," Straut said. He turned and went on down the stairs. The present foul-up could ruin his career; and now this egghead interference....

With Greer at his side, Straut moved out to the edge of the field.

"All right, Major. Open up with your .50 calibers."

Greer called a command and a staccato rattle started up. The smell of cordite and the blue haze of gunsmoke--this was more like it. He was in command here.

Lieberman came up to Straut. "General, I appeal to you in the name of science. Hold off a little longer; at least until we learn what the message is about."

"Get back from the firing line, Professor." Straut turned his back on the civilian, raised the glasses to observe the effect of the recoilless rifle. There was a tremendous smack of displaced air, and a thunderous boom as the explosive shell struck. Straut saw the gray shape jump, the raised lid waver. Dust rose from about it. There was no other effect.

"Keep firing, Greer," Straut snapped, almost with a feeling of triumph. The thing was impervious to artillery; now who was going to say it was no threat?

"How about the mortars, sir?" Greer said. "We can drop a few rounds right inside it."

"All right, try that before the lid drops."

And what we'll try next, I don't know, he thought.

The mortar fired with a muffled thud. Straut watched tensely. Five seconds later, the object erupted in a gout of pale pink debris. The lid rocked, pinkish fluid running down its opalescent surface. A second burst, and a third. A great fragment of the menacing claw hung from the branch of a tree a hundred feet from the ship.

Straut grabbed up the phone. "Cease fire!"

Lieberman stared in horror at the carnage.

The telephone rang. Straut picked it up.

"General Straut," he said. His voice was firm. He had put an end to the threat.

"Straut, we've broken the message," General Margrave said excitedly. "It's the damnedest thing I ever...."

Straut wanted to interrupt, announce his victory, but Margrave was droning on.

"... strange sort of reasoning, but there was a certain analogy. In any event, I'm assured the translation is accurate. Here's how it reads in English...."

Straut listened. Then he carefully placed the receiver back on the hook.

Lieberman stared at him.

"What did it say?"

Straut cleared his throat. He turned and looked at Lieberman for a long moment before answering.

"It said, 'Please take good care of my little girl.'"

?COLE POLYTECHNIQUE , a school in Paris established with the purpose of giving instruction in matters connected with the various branches of the public service, such as mines, roads and bridges, engineering, the army and the navy, and Government manufactures. It was founded in 1794, and is under the direction of the Minister of War. Candidates are admitted only by competitive examination, and have to pay for their board 1000 francs a year. The pupils who pass satisfactory examinations at the end of their course are admitted to that branch of public service which they select.

ECONOMICS is the name applied, in substitution for the older one of political economy, to the scientific study of men in relation to the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of wealth. The origin of both names lies in the analogy between provision for the needs of a household and for those of a State. To the former the term 'economy' was originally applied, as in Xenophon's treatise on the subject. But it was soon adopted to describe that branch of the art of government which dealt with public revenue and expenditure, and a matter intimately connected therewith, the enrichment of the community as a whole.

?CRASEUR is a wire loop or chain for amputating a growth suitably situated for such an instrument. The chain is passed round the base or pedicle of the growth, and gradually tightened by a screw till the growth falls off. Its application in surgery is limited.

ECTOCARPACEAE, a family of Brown Algae, section Phaeosporeae. The typical genus is Ectocarpus, comprising small, branched, filamentous plants of salt or brackish water. According to the species, growth of the filaments may be apical, intercalary, or common to all cells, whereas among the more advanced members of the Brown Algae either apical or intercalary growth is characteristic of entire families. The gametes show every gradation from complete similarity to a condition like that of Cutleria.

ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, a general ecclesiastical council regarded as representing the whole Christian world or the universal Church; specially applied to the general councils of the early Christian Church, beginning with that of Nicaea in 325, and later to those of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the most recent was the Vatican Council at Rome in 1870.

EC?ZEMA is a skin eruption marked by the appearance of papules or vesicles and accompanied by irritation of the affected part, frequently very severe. The characteristic watery discharge of the disease is produced by the bursting of the vesicles. There is difference of opinion among dermatologists as to whether or not it is primarily caused by germs. Various predisposing causes, like digestive disturbances, anaemia, and nervous disorders are important factors in determining the course of the disease. Eczema may affect practically any part of the skin, but is most frequently seen on the scalp, ears, face, hands, nipples, armpits, and the genital regions.

ED?AM, a town of North Holland, near the Zuider Zee, 12 miles N.N.E. of Amsterdam, noted for its cheese markets; but 'Edam cheese' is mostly made elsewhere. Pop. 6623.

EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE, a lighthouse in the English Channel, erected to mark a group of rocks lying in the fair-way from the Start to the Lizard. The rocks are covered only at the flood. The first lighthouse was of wood, and built by Henry Winstanley in 1696. It was carried away in the storm of 1703. Another lighthouse, also of wood, was built in 1709 by Rudyerd, but was burned down in 1755. It was succeeded by one built by Smeaton between 1757 and 1759, a circular tower 85 feet high; but, as the foundations on which it stood became much weakened, a new structure, designed by Sir J. N. Douglass, was built between 1879 and 1882 on the neighbouring reef. Its light is visible 17 1/2 miles.

EDEN, a river in England, in Westmorland and Cumberland, falling into the Solway Firth after a course of 65 miles.--Also, a river in Fifeshire, Scotland.

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet