"I suppose," Mrs. Brimble replied reluctantly. "But don't you touch anything!" she added severely.

The two entered the house, Bill feeling more and more unhappy with the way things were turning out.

"Have the lights gone out?" Winnie asked, noting that there were no electrical lights on, and that a few candles flickered uncertainly from iron candleholders on tables.

"Yes," Mrs. Brimble replied. "They ought to come on soon, though."

Bill Leyden was beginning to forget his nervousness and was starting to regain his interest once again in the old house.

"It looks rather old," he commented. "Do you happen to know when it was built?"

"I believe it's a Colonial-era place." Mrs. Brimble replied.

Bill Leyden noted the large amount of rooms there were in the house. It had evidently once been a great hotel.

"The professor's got himself a nice place here," he remarked. "Why, look at that!" he suddenly exclaimed, catching sight of an antique saloon in the kitchen. "Anyone who owned this place could make a fortune!"

Mrs. Brimble frowned, and said, "Is this all you want to see?"

"Well, I suppose I should check the basement out," Bill sighed blissfully. "This place looks perfect for what I need!"

The housekeeper opened a door that led to a flight of stairs that ended in murky blackness, lit only with a few torches.

"You may leave after you explore the basement," Mrs. Brimble muttered, and wandered off.

"What a nut!" Winnie remarked as she closed the door.

"But what a great house!" Bill exclaimed. "So what if it's small? It's perfect for a hotel!"

They went down further in the basement, when suddenly Bill tripped on something. Stumbling slightly, he glanced down and saw a corpse lying on the ground.

"Ugh!" he gulped. "What's this doing down here?"

"We'd better call the police!" Winnie said anxiously.

The two hurried out of the basement and ran down the hallway a few yards, until they ran into Mrs. Brimble who had been wandering down the hallways.

"Um, you don't happen to know where the sheriff is, do you?" Bill asked, as calmly as he could.

"He lives in the only big house in town," Mrs. Brimble returned. "You can't miss it."

"Thanks," Bill called, as he ran out of the house.

He and Winnie jumped into the blue convertible and sped off.

"'The only big house in town'!" Bill muttered furiously. "What does that woman mean?"

Suddenly, he spied off in the distance, it's silhouette strikingly visible against the unusually bright and large moon, a great Victorian mansion.

"That must be the sheriff's house!" Winnie exclaimed.

"I sure hope we can get this matter cleared up in time for me to buy that house," Bill sighed.

They parked the car outside the gate surrounding the house, and, after opening the already unlocked iron gate, climbed up the steep hillside to the mansion. A sign on the door read 'Dr. Lorencz. Justice of the Peace, Mayor, Sheriff, Coroner, Loans, Notary, Banker, Doctor, Insurance, and head of the board of directors at the Idlewilde Sanitarium.'

"Dr. Lorencz!" Bill exclaimed. "Why, isn't he the same one who owns that Colonial-era house?"

Winnie knocked on the door with the iron doorknocker. The door opened, and the couple saw a small man with large, lustrous eyes and a black hat and coat with a sheriff's star on it.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," Bill began. "At this time of night. But we heard you were the sheriff and we came to report a murder."

"A murder!" Dr. Lorencz exclaimed. "Well, come in and tell me all the details. My, my," he murmured. "We've never had a murder in Jinxville before! What a terrible event!"

"Yes, it was at Professor Nathaniel Billings' house," Winnie put in, as she stepped into the mansion. The mansion certainly was large, and the walls were entirely covered with bookshelves. There were books on law and some other books with titles in a foreign language.

Bill sat down uneasily, until he felt needle-sharp pricks on his finger and let out a yelp.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Dr. Lorencz said apologetically. "That's just Shickelina. Such a bad kitten," he added affectionately. "But also most helpful when it comes to crime-solving?"

"Crime-solving?" Bill repeated weakly, as Winnie stroked the little Siamese kitten that had emerged from behind a pillow on the chair.

"What an odd housekeeper the professor has!" Bill exclaimed, becoming momentarily sidetracked.

"Ah, yes, she is something of a 'rara avis'," Dr. Lorencz agreed. "But to the point now: you mentioned a murder."

"Well, you see, I was exploring the house because I was interested in buying it," Bill explained. "And I went in the basement and tripped on a dead body."

"Was Mrs. Brimble there with you?" Dr. Lorencz asked.

"No," Winnie replied. "Anyway, we left the house immediately after that."

"A quite understandable thing to do," Dr. Lorencz said. "But there is one thing I don't quite understand: why didn't you tell Mrs. Brimble what you had discovered?"

"Well," Bill replied. "As you said, she is an 'odd bird'. We were afraid that somehow she might have been involved." Dr. Lorencz rose solemnly. "Well, I had better go to the crime scene at once. Unless, of course, there is any more you have to tell me?" he added hopefully.

Bill thought for a moment. "No, not really," he said slowly, and then exclaimed. "But aren't you the one who owns the real estate to that nice house?"

"Oh, you mean Professor Billings' house?" Dr. Lorencz asked. "Why, yes, I do. Perhaps," he added sadly. "We can discuss such down-to-earth things at another time. Anyway, I had better go see what's going on at that place."

As Winnie Slade and Bill Leyden followed the doctor out of the parlour to the front door, Bill remarked, "I wonder what the professor could possible want with a corpse!"

"'Sic transit Gloria mundi'!" Dr. Lorencz said grandly. "Which means, er, what I wanted to say! One never knows the secret of his neighbor's brain."

Bill felt that he had heard that phrase used in quite a different context and with quite a different meaning somewhere else, but since he couldn't very clearly remember the circumstances, he thought it best not to argue.

"Oh, dear!" Dr. Lorencz exclaimed suddenly. "I forgot poor Shickelina!"

"You mean your Siamese kitten?" Winnie asked. "She's just in the parlour; you don't need to worry about her."

"That isn't the problem!" Dr. Lorencz insisted, as he retraced his steps back into the parlour, and called Shickelina. The little Siamese kitten came running and the sheriff cooed to her in German and put her in his coat pocket.

"Oh, so you're taking her with you?" Bill gaped.

"I never go on patrol without her," Dr. Lorencz declared. "Why, she has the most amazing instinct for crime and corruption!"

"Well," Bill muttered as the sheriff climbed into his black sedan. "I do hope you get this matter cleared up in a hurry."

"Never fear!" Dr. Lorencz exclaimed.

"Oh, by the way," Winnie put in. "I noticed that you seem to have a lot of positions here in Jinxville."

"Well," Dr. Lorencz smiled modestly. "I'm the mayor, the sheriff, the coroner...as well as a few other things..."

"Doesn't anyone else do anything in Jinxville?" Bill asked.

"Oh, they vote once a year!" Dr. Lorencz said cheerfully, and drove off towards Professor Billings' home.

Dr. Lorencz arrived at Professor Nathaniel Billings' house in no time at all. Knocking on the door, he was greeted by a sour-eyed Mrs. Brimble, who glared menacingly at him. The sheriff smiled nervously, wondering whether the housekeeper was at the bottom of the crime.

"Is the professor in?" he asked, hanging his hat on the hat rack by the door.

"Yes," Mrs. Brimble replied.

Dr. Lorencz still felt a good deal uncomfortable with the whole affair, and was annoyed because he liked to think that he was always in charge of the situation.

"Er, where is he?" Dr. Lorencz asked the housekeeper, looking about for signs of the absent professor.

"In the basement," Mrs. Brimble replied, and wandered off somewhere.

"Good heavens!" Dr. Lorencz murmured. "So he must be the perpetrator!"

"Who must be the perpetrator?" a deep voice suddenly asked, causing Dr. Lorencz to start with surprise (something else that greatly annoyed him) and turn to find himself staring at an old man with a white toothbrush moustache and a pair of dark glaring eyes.

"Perpetrator?" Dr. Lorencz stammered. "Professor, were you down in the basement a moment ago?"

Professor Billings, for that was who the person was, glowered at the small sheriff. "So what if I was?" he growled.

"Well, er, I heard that there was an, er-" Dr. Lorencz sidled towards the front door.

"Now wait just a minute!" Billings said angrily, seizing the sheriff by the collar. "What is the meaning of this intrusion? Am I late for my rental bills or something? Or are you still trying to sell me your bogus hair restorer?"

"No, not at all!" Dr. Lorencz protested. "It's just that," he sighed resignedly. "It's just that there's a corpse in your basement."

He waited nervously for Billings' reaction.

"Oh, really?" Billings finally said. "And who told you this?"

"I would prefer to keep them anonymous," Dr. Lorencz murmured.

"Yes, well, I have a sneaking suspicion," Billings growled. "That it was that Bill Leyden and Winnie Slade who came here a few minutes ago. My housekeeper told me that they left in something of a hurry."

"Oh, well, I better be going," Dr. Lorencz said briskly, once again glancing apprehensively at the front door.

"Oh, no you don't," Billings glared at him. "If you're so interested in the basement, why don't you go down there yourself? After all, you have to investigate the scene of the crime, don't you?"

"Ordinarily, yes," Dr. Lorencz agreed. "Though, I didn't want to bother you while you were working. Still though, if you insist," he added quickly, seeing the look on Billings' face. "I'll go check it out."

The basement door was old and worn. Billings produced a rusty key and unlocked it.

"Was it unlocked when Mr. Leyden and Ms. Slade came here?" Dr. Lorencz enquired.

"Oh, yes, I must have forgotten to lock it," Billings replied. "Well, go on in."

Dr. Lorencz didn't like the idea of going down in the basement alone with Billings, but he didn't want to raise the ire of the already irritable professor.

"It's rather dark, isn't it?" he said nervously.

"Well, here's a lantern," Billings muttered, lighting an old-fashioned lantern and handing it to the sheriff. "Watch your step!" he added. "I still haven't cleaned this place, so it's a little dusty."

Dr. Lorencz glanced cautiously down at the ground and noticed a corpse.

"So that's the corpse." He said, more to himself than to Billings.

"It isn't a corpse, though," Billings returned. "You're a doctor. Look and see for yourself."

Dr. Lorencz advanced slowly towards the 'corpse', and saw that it was a man and on closer examination noticed that the person was breathing faintly.

"Hmmm," he assumed a professional air. "Well, that's that then," and he turned to leave hastily before Billings pulled him back.

"You silly little fellow," he glared at the sheriff. "Don't you want to know what's going on?"

"Do you realize to whom you are addressing your childish remarks?!" Dr. Lorencz demanded furiously. "And I would like to point out to you that if you run around rendering individuals unconscious and leaving them in my basement," he repeated emphatically. "My basement, then you will have to answer to me."

Billings sighed in exasperation. "Look, let me explain myself," he said, sitting down in a chair next to a table on which various scientific instruments were placed. "You may sit there," he added, pointing to another chair. Dr. Lorencz sat down, and eyed Billings apprehensively.

"I suppose you know about the war," Billings began. "And how we are trying to defeat the Nazis."

"Yes..." Dr. Lorencz said.

"Oh, do you want some tea?" Billings asked abruptly.

"Yes, thank you," Dr. Lorencz replied. "That is, if it isn't too much trouble."

"Not at all," Billings said. "I happen to have a tea pot right here as a matter of fact. I drink tea while I work," he added by way of explanation, as he handed the sheriff a china teacup.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Billings continued. "You know how everyone's doing their part to help out in the war cause."

"Yes," Dr. Lorencz said. "But I don't quite see what this has to do with that fellow," he motioned to the unconscious man on the ground.

"I am making super humans," Billings replied. "Simply put, it is an endeavor of the highest order. Think of it: a soldier who would be ten times stronger than his opponents and need ten times less food!"

Dr. Lorencz stared at the professor, realizing the impact of his statement. "But-but-that's impossible!" he stammered.

"No, I am very close to making a superhuman," Billings insisted. "Very close indeed."

Dr. Lorencz breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," he murmured. "You know, for a moment, I actually was afraid you were a crackpot."

Billings beamed at the sheriff. "You know, maybe you could help me," he suggested. "Since it seems that you are interested in my work.

Dr. Lorencz thought for a moment.

"Perhaps," he agreed. "With such a weighty endeavor, a joint venture is certainly mandatory. Still though, I can't help but say 'cui bono'? That is 'who is the gainer'?"

"Oh, I see," Billings glared sourly at him. "I'll tell you what: in return for your help, I'll give you a substantial sum, and, yes," he added irritably. "I'll buy your hair restorer."

"Well, it's settled then!" Dr. Lorencz smiled brightly. "I suppose, though, that you'll need more super humans?"

"Yes, actually," Billings nodded. "In fact, I think I know who I'll choose next..."

Snickering, he drove for an hour away from the city, going really nowhere in particular. He drove by a city sign, but he didn't really pay attention to what it said, and had no idea at all what town he was in, as a result.

Suddenly, his car ran out of gas.

"Really," he muttered, peering this way and that, hoping to catch sight of a service station. "I always run out of gas at the worst times!"

He caught sight of a couple driving by in a blue convertible. "Hey!" he yelled. "You don't happen to know where a nearby gas station is, do you?"

"Sorry," the young man in the car replied. "We've only been in this town since last night, so we're kind of exploring the place ourselves."

"Oh," Max looked crestfallen. "Well, could you give me a lift so that I can see someone who can tell me where I an get gas?"

Bill Leyden and Winnie Slade, for it was indeed them, exchanged glances. "Dr. Lorencz would know," Winnie said finally.

They drove Max over to the doctor's office. It was a small building compared to Dr. Lorencz's mansion, really no more than a house, but immaculately clean. At that moment, Dr. Lorencz was speaking to a woman, saying, "And, you know, all you wives and girlfriends must remember to have a balanced diet while you're waiting for your husbands to come back. So easy to forget," he added sadly. "But extremely important."

"Yes, doctor," the woman said in monosyllabic tones.

"And if you ever need anything like, er, medical attention, or fire insurance, or marriage proposals, or a loan perhaps, hmmm? I shall be delighted to oblige!"

"Yes, doctor," the woman repeated, and left the office.

"Excuse me," Max said abruptly. "You are Dr. Lorencz, right?"

"Oh, yes," Dr. Lorencz eyed the traveling salesman dubiously. "And you are...?"

"I am Max Rosenbloom," Max replied. "My car ran out of gas, you see, and I was wondering where the nearest gas station was."

"Oh, just go down this road and turn left," Dr. Lorencz said absent-mindedly.

"Are there any hotels around here?" Max asked.

"Yes, there's Mr. Fink's hotel," Dr. Lorencz replied. "Are you thinking of staying here for an abnormally long period of time?"

"Well, I'm a traveling salesman," Max said. "I might be able to sell some of my wares to the citizens here."

"And what, may I ask, do you sell?" Dr. Lorencz glanced at him shrewdly.

"Um, medicine?" Max said uncomfortably.

"Ah," Dr. Lorencz smiled toothily in a way that Max found discombobulating. "Do you have a license?"

"A license?" Max repeated weakly.

"Yes, a license," Dr. Lorencz smiled in a disconcerting way. "Because if you don't, you could be liable for arrest."

"Oh?" Max gulped.

"Yes," Dr. Lorencz smiled once again. "Which is why you had better be careful."

Max nodded numbly and stumbled out of the doctor's office. "I've never been so terrified in my life!" he gulped.

Winnie and Bill were surprised to see Max suddenly rush out of the doctor's office looking worried.

"I wonder what the problem with him is," Bill muttered. "Oh, that reminds me: I completely forgot to ask the sheriff if that matter with the corpse has been cleared up."

At that moment, the couple saw Dr. Lorencz himself leaving the doctor's office to begin his patrol around the town.

"Excuse me, sir!" Bill ran up to him. "Is that matter with the corpse cleared up?"

"Corpse?" Dr. Lorencz blinked innocently at Bill. "But there was no corpse in the basement!"

"But you went there, didn't you?" Bill asked.

"Yes," Dr. Lorencz replied. "I searched the place quite thoroughly, in fact, and I can tell you straightaway that there was no corpse there."

"But we saw it," Winnie put in. "We both saw it! It must be there!"

Dr. Lorencz shifted his gaze uneasily to her. "Sorry, my dear young lady, but there was absolutely no corpse there."

"Perhaps the murderers took it," Bill suggested.

"Well, it's rather difficult," Dr. Lorencz told him. "You see, without the 'corpus delicti'-"

"'Corpus delicti'?" Bill repeated.

"The substance of the crime or offense," Dr. Lorencz said patiently. "Without that, well, it's rather difficult. I'll keep an eye out, though," he added, before getting into his car and driving off.

"Now how do you like that?" Bill groaned. "Coming to Jinxville was the worst decision I ever made in my life!"

"Now don't say that," Winnie returned. "That Dr. Lorencz sounds like a decent person. If he didn't see the corpse he didn't."

"You know," Dr. Lorencz said. "Everyone knows I'm a decent person. But if word gets around, I could become quite disreputable."

"Don't worry," Billings yawned in boredly. They were both in Billing's basement trying to figure out what to do next. "No one will find out. Besides, that's not the problem right now. The problem is that we need another person to become a superhuman."

"I thought you said you knew who you wanted to use," Dr. Lorencz said.

"Oh, yeah," Billings frowned slightly. "You know, you seem like a patriotic person. Someone who wouldn't mind sacrificing for his country."

Dr. Lorencz shifted nervously, not really liking where the conversation seemed to be headed.

"You know," Billings said, taking a menacing step towards him. "Maybe you could be the superhuman-"

"Oh, but," Dr. Lorencz stammered. "There are so many things wrong with me! Flat feet, a weak heart-!"

When Billings didn't answer, he continued frantically, "What about that, er, Max Rosenbloom person? All he does is sell bogus medicine; he doesn't help anyone out. This could be his chance to finally do something! What do you think?"

Billings thought for a moment. "Perhaps," he agreed. "Where is he right now?"

"Oh, at the gas station," Dr. Lorencz said quickly.

"We can try him," Billings nodded. "But if he doesn't work out..."

"Oh don't worry," Dr. Lorencz assured him. "He's much bigger and heftier than me; you'll see he's the much better choice."

"Well, we'll try him," Billings said. "We'd better go to the gas station now, though, so he doesn't get away."

Max Rosenbloom had just finished filling his car up with gas when he happened to look up and see Dr. Lorencz and some old geezer with a white toothbrush moustache coming towards him.

"Not that doctor again!" Max gulped.

The old geezer glared suspiciously at him. "So this is the guy?" he asked Dr. Lorencz.

"What's this all about?" Max demanded. "First, you almost scare me out of my wits, and then you get this old geezer to come over here and say 'is this the guy'?"

Dr. Lorencz smiled sweetly and said, "This is Professor Nathaniel Billings."

"Do I know you?" Max asked, wishing that he wasn't all of a sudden surrounded by a bunch of doctors and professors. At this rate, he thought, someone's going to test my medicine and discover that it's bogus.

"No, I don't believe we have met," the professor replied. "But Dr. Lorencz here tells me that you sell medicine. Now that's very interesting. I was wondering if you could bring some of your medicine down to the laboratory so I could test it."

Max groaned inwardly. "Oh, but there's nothing special about it," he gulped.

"Be that as it may," Billings said sternly. "I would like to look at it."

Max sighed resignedly. "Very well," he said glumly. "There's some in the back of my car. Say, wait a minute," he stopped. "Why do I have to let you test this anyway?"

"Because," Dr. Lorencz replied. "If you don't, we will be forced to have you arrested on grounds of selling medicine without a license and without having it tested by the proper authorities."

"Oh." Max saw that he was stuck. "All right, then."

After getting out his black box full of solutions of different shapes, sizes, and colors, out of his trunk, he followed the two away from the gas station.

"Um, where is your house, professor?" he asked.

"Oh, it's on Tinker Rd.," Dr. Lorencz replied for him. "Rather a nice Colonial-era place, in fact."

"Hmmm," Max muttered. "Well, I hope this doesn't take too long."

Dr. Lorencz giggled maniacally until Professor Billings gave him a sharp look and he quickly stopped.

"It won't take long at all," Billings assured the traveling salesman.

Dr. Lorencz glanced with interest at the metal apparatus that Billings had down in his basement.

"Is this really going to work?" he asked nervously, glancing at Max who was inside the apparatus with only his head protruding.

"Naturally," Billings glowered at the sheriff. "Now I would advise you to keep your comments to yourself, since this is a rather difficult operation, and I can't be disturbed."

"What are you going to do?" Dr. Lorencz asked anxiously.

Billings pressed a yellow button, then a red button.

"What does that blue button do?" Dr. Lorencz asked curiously.

"Don't you touch that button!" Billings cautioned. "Until the last minute!"

"You know," Dr. Lorencz remarked. "After you pushed those buttons, it seemed like his head changed a little."

Billings frowned slightly. "Well, that's good," he said. "That means he's already starting to become a superhuman!"

He quickly pressed another button.

"Am I unconscious yet?" Max suddenly asked.

"Fascinating!" Dr. Lorencz murmured. "So he actually survives while all of this is going on!"

Billings tried to hide his own excitement as he finally pushed the blue button.

"There!" he said triumphantly.

Dr. Lorencz glanced at Max. It looked like he was in a deep sleep.

"What's wrong with him now?" he asked in alarm.

"Nothing," Billings assured him. "He's just in a deep trance. He will remain in that condition until we ship him to Germany."

"Oh, I see," Dr. Lorencz said. "Well, now what?"

"Winnie!" Bill stammered. "Do-do you know what I just saw?"

Winnie glanced from a beautiful antique chair in the hallway, to Bill who was crouched next to the basement door of Billings' house staring with a look of horror on his face.

"Now what's the problem?" she demanded. She was a little annoyed with Bill because she hadn't really felt like returning to the Billings' house to check it out again until the sheriff had figured out what that matter with the corpse had been all about.

Bill, though, was devoid of speech, so great was his horror, and could only gesticulate helplessly towards the basement. Winnie peered through a chink in the door, and saw Max in some sort of metal apparatus with Billings walking slowly up the steps. Suddenly, the door to the basement opened, and Bill and Winnie were banged soundly on the heads as whoever-it-was entered the hallway. Winnie and Bill gaped at Dr. Lorencz who stared back at them in surprise.

"Dr. Lorencz!" Bill stammered. "What are you doing down there!"

At that moment, Billings emerged from the basement and glowered at the two people.

"Spying, eh?" he snarled, as Dr. Lorencz glanced timidly at the front door. "Eavesdropping, eh? Well, well, now you two have made a fine mess of things!"

"Murdering people-" Winnie began.

"We were not murdering anyone!" Dr. Lorencz protested, rather hysterically.

"No, the so-called corpse you saw was only in a trance," Billings glowered. "So is Max right at this moment."

"Still though," Bill said. "We can't let you get away with this."

Billings was about to say something, but thinking fast, both Winnie and Bill ran down the hallway, through the front door and down the street.

Dr. Lorencz glanced at Billings nervously. "Now what do we do?" he moaned.

"We have to follow them!" Billings said resolutely, and dashed out the front door after them. Dr. Lorencz followed at a considerably slower pace.

"Where are they going?" he called out.

"Looks like they stopped at Mr. Fink's hotel!" Billings called back.

Bill and Winnie raced into the hotel, and Bill searched frantically for a pay phone.

"There's one!" he exclaimed, and raced over to a black dial-up phone. Picking it up, he inserted some change and then dialed 9-1-1. There was no ring.

"Don't these people have a police department?" he groaned.

"They probably do," Winnie said. "But remember: Dr. Lorencz is the sheriff."

Bill scanned the phone directory on the wall desperately, and then said, "The Idlewilde Sanitarium! I'll try them."

He was dialing the number just as Billings and Dr. Lorencz rushed into the room.

"Stop!" Billings commanded.

"Hello?" the person on the other end of the phone said.

"Hi, my name is Bill Leyden, and Dr. Lorencz and Professor Nathaniel Billings are both maniacs-" Bill was saying before Dr. Lorencz snatched the phone out of his hand.

"Hello?" he said quickly, trying to speak calmly.

"Hi, this is Dr. Seward," the voice on the other end sounded worried. "What's going on? What's this about you being a maniac?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Dr. Lorencz said briskly.

Dr. Seward sounded alarmingly skeptical. "I think I'd better visit Billing's house and see what's going on myself."

"Oh, no, don't do that!" Dr. Lorencz said quickly.

"Will you give me that phone back, please?" Bill demanded, as Billings cast a menacing glance on him. Winnie looked exasperated as the three watched the sheriff speak into the phone.

"It's in the basement!" Bill managed to say loudly, before Dr. Lorencz bonked him on the head with the phone.

"What's that about the basement?" Dr. Seward asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Dr. Lorencz said, glaring at Bill.

"I think it's high time," Seward continued. "That the Idlewilde Sanitarium went over to Billings' house for their next meeting. People have been mighty curious these past few weeks about what's been going on there. There's been talk of strange things going on."

"Funny, I never heard any of those rumors," Dr. Lorencz muttered.

"They've got Max Rosenbloom!" Bill yelled loudly, before he was hit soundly on the head with a phonebook by an irate Dr. Lorencz.

"Max Rosenbloom?" Dr. Seward repeated. "Who's that saying 'they've got Max Rosenbloom'?"

"Oh, er, no one, no one," Dr. Lorencz said quickly.

"Who is Max Rosenbloom anyway?" Dr. Seward asked.

"I really have no idea," Dr. Lorencz murmured.

"I was meaning to tell you," Dr. Seward continued. "That a terrible thing has happened. One of our representatives has been murdered."

"Oh, but that's dreadful!" Dr. Lorencz whispered, eying everyone else nervously.

"Yes, it is, rather," Seward said dryly. "So you can see why we're rather eager to see what's up at Billing's manse. Especially," he added. "Since you're the head of the board of directors at this Sanitarium."

"Oh, but must you come?" Dr. Lorencz pleaded. "Why, we didn't murder that fellow! We're only trying to make super humans!"

There was a slight pause on the other end as Seward said something.

"Yes, but we're perfectly sane," Dr. Lorencz assured him. "That is 'compos mentis' which means 'of sound mind'."

"Well, then what was that fellow Mr. Leyden talking about when he said that you and the professor were maniacs?" Seward asked.

"'Quid firi constumto' which means 'what can you do with a screwball'?" Dr. Lorencz said, eying Bill venomously.

"Well, I can see that you'll have a lot of explaining to do," Seward said. "Goodbye."

Dr. Lorencz hung up. "'Utinam logica falsa tuam philosophiam totam suffodiant'," he said sneeringly at Bill. "Which means 'may faulty logic undermine your entire philosophy'!"

And with that pronouncement, both Dr. Lorencz and Professor Nathaniel Billings headed back to Billings' manse.

The two coconspirators walked down the road feeling glum.

"'Raptum regaliter'," Dr. Lorencz muttered. "Which means 'royally screwed'."

"That idiot!" Billings fumed. "Our whole conspiracy could be ruined because of him!"

The two continued down the road, feeling grimmer.

"I just suddenly thought of something!" Dr. Lorencz announced.

"What?" Billings asked.

Dr. Lorencz told him his plan.

"Yes, it could work," Billings agreed.

"There's only one thing I still don't understand," Dr. Lorencz frowned. "Who killed that representative?"

Bill Leyden and Winnie Slade stared after the two coconspirators as they stalked out of the hotel.

"I suppose that we should go back to Billings' residence when the representatives come," Winnie remarked.

"Yes," Bill agreed. "They'll probably arrive in a half hour."

Dr. Lorencz and Professor Billings had just finished getting everything ready in the house to receive the representatives. The lights had gone out again, so there were candles and lanterns on the tables.

"Contractum sanctum pactum," Dr. Lorencz said briskly. "Which means 'done and dished up'."

"Yeah, I just hope those idiots like what's on the menu," Billings muttered.

The doorbell rang.

"That'll be them," Billings said, and they both hurried out of the basement.

Bill and Winnie followed the representatives into Billing's residence.

"Now remember," Bill heard Dr. Lorencz whisper to the professor. "Fortiter in re, suaviter in moro, which means 'forcibly in deed, gently in manner'."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Billings said testily. "Let's just hope your idea works."

Bill and Winnie sat down on a sofa in the living room, while the representatives sat down in the remaining chairs; though, because of the lack of chairs, most of them had to stand. As a result, Bill was unable to see Dr. Lorencz at all while he made his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began. "If any of you has a weak heart, I advise you to leave this room; because," he paused. "You are about to witness a phenomenon which will flabbergast," he paused again. "Yes, flabbergast the imagination of everyone here," his voice rose slightly. "Bar none! I thank you."

The representatives gaped, clearly not expecting this sort of introduction and Bill waited impatiently. At that moment, Billings suddenly came up to Dr. Lorencz and said, "He's missing."

Dr. Lorencz glared at him. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"May we know," a representative suddenly called out. "What the nature is of what you're about to show us?"

Dr. Lorencz was about to reply, when suddenly another one said, "Is it anything illegal?"

"Well, er," he began, when another one suddenly asked:

"Are you an active participant?"

"Do I look like a quiz kid?" Dr. Lorencz said irritably.

Suddenly, the door to the house burst open and Bill turned to see a figure with a bunch of wires around him laughing maniacally.

"Is this what we're supposed to be seeing, doctor?" one of the representatives asked.

"No..." Dr. Lorencz glanced nervously at the unexpected guest. "And who, may I ask, are you?"

"My name is Signor Silvio," the person cackled in a guttural Italian accent.

"Aha!" Billings exclaimed. "An Axis member!"

"I will blow this whole house down in only a few moments," he continued. "With this bomb."

"But-but then you'd get killed also!" Dr. Lorencz protested.

"So?" the Italian sneered. "I learned as a prisoner-of-war that a man can still be dead even when he's alive. Dead to hope."

"Hmmm, that's something they certainly don't teach you in medical school," Dr. Lorencz muttered.

"So now everyone in this house will die, heh heh!" snickered Silvio. "Just like that representative!"

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Max Rosenbloom of all people appeared outside the front door directly behind Silvio. Everyone froze.

"What's everyone staring at?" he yawned. Then suddenly he noticed the Italian standing in front of him preparing to push the button with the bomb on it.

But Bill Leyden wasn't watching the Italian. He was staring at the new-and-improved Max Rosenbloom. Max was much bigger and heftier than he had been before; the odd thing was, he didn't seem to know it!

"Smash the box he's holding!" Bill yelled at Max, pointing to a black box that the bewildered Italian was holding.

Max automatically grabbed the box out of the Italian's hand and smashed it with his own bare hands.

The representatives of the Idlewilde Sanitarium were, as Dr. Lorencz put it, completely flabbergasted. The Italian gave a stunned ejaculation before racing out the door.

Dr. Lorencz regained control of himself. "After him!" he stammered, and waited for someone else to start running.

Billings leapt to his feet. "We'd better hurry." He said, as he, Dr. Lorencz, Bill, and Winnie raced out of the house after the retreating figure. "This fellow's obviously unhinged if he murdered that representative!"

"But how," Dr. Lorencz gasped. "Did he come to Jinxville?"

"Who knows?" Billings muttered.

They saw the Italian disappear into an old, abandoned warehouse. Bill, who was quite close to him now, tried to grab hold of him and was rewarded with a sharp kick that sent him flying back in the direction of Dr. Lorencz, Billings, and Winnie.

"Ugh!" he moaned. "I think every bone in my body is broken!"

Dr. Lorencz eyed him. "Yes, a jab in the lassitude," he concluded in a hushed whisper after making sure that there actually weren't any broken bones. "Now we had better resume our chase."

They left Bill nursing his injured leg and raced into the warehouse. There the Italian was again.

"Now, heh heh," he sneered. "You silly people will die after all, because you walked right into the warehouse?"

"What's wrong with the warehouse?" Dr. Lorencz asked, before noticing that there was yet another bomb plugged into wall.

The Italian, smiling triumphantly, pushed the button to the bomb that was plugged into the wall. Nothing happened. Dr. Lorencz was confused, until he remembered something.

"Oh, of course!" he exclaimed. "The power's gone out! That's why the bomb isn't working-because it's plugged into the wall!"

At that moment, Dr. Seward and the rest of the representatives poured into the warehouse and managed to subdue the Italian and take him to the police.

"Well, that's over with," Dr. Lorencz mused. "Now, I suppose, we'll have to see about that Max Rosenbloom character!"

"What did happen to him?" Billings frowned.

The two conspirators dashed back to Billings' manse, hoping that Max would still be there.

"That's it," Bill groaned outside the warehouse. "I'm leaving this town. This is too much."

"But what about your hotel?" Winnie asked. "Aren't you going to buy that house from Dr. Lorencz?"

"Are you kidding?" Bill exclaimed as he hobbled into his blue convertible. "I wouldn't invest anything in this town!"

"He's gone!" Billings groaned as the two skidded to a stop in the living room. "Now what are we going to do?"

"I suppose we'll have to put a search warrant out for him," Dr. Lorencz said dubiously.

"A superhuman on the loose!" Billings moaned. "And I was hoping those representatives would have the sense to keep an eye on him!"

"Oh, well," Dr. Lorencz sighed. "I suppose it's a case of 'quis custodi ipsos custodes' which means 'who will watch the watchers'?"

Billings glowered at the little sheriff. "Could you please can it with the Latin phrases?" he snarled. "Just for once?"

"Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur, which means," Dr. Lorencz continued as Billings eyed him testily. "Was I speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips out!"

© Copyright 2003 by Colin Azariah-Kribbs
All rights reserved.