“Mr. Marek has been made an honorary member of ten learned societies, and is certain to be awarded the Nobel Prize.”

“Good!”

“There’s a rush of orders from Germany. Over five thousand Karburators wanted.”

“Aha!”

“Nine hundred orders from Japan, too.”

“Look at that now!”

“Czechoslovakia doesn’t show much interest. Three fresh inquiries.”

“Hm. That’s all one might expect. A wretched state of affairs here, you know.”

“The Russian Government wants two hundred immediately.”

“Good! What’s the total?”

“Thirteen thousand orders.”

“Good! How far have we got with the buildings?”

“The division for atomic motor-cars has got the roof on. The section for atomic flying-machines will begin work during the week. We are laying the foundations for the atomic locomotive works. One wing of the department for ships’ engines is already in operation.”

“Wait a minute. You should start calling them automobiles, atomotors and atomotives, you know. How is Krolmus getting along with the atomic cannon?”

“He’s already constructing a model at Pilsen. Our atomic cyclecar is doing its thirty thousandth kilometre on the Brussels racing-track. It has done two hundred and seventy kilometres an hour. We have had seventeen thousand orders for our half-kilo atomotors in the last two days.”

“A minute ago you told me that the total was thirteen thousand.”

“Thirteen thousand stationary atomic boilers. Eight thousand of the central-heating apparatus. Nearly ten thousand atomobiles. Sixty hundred and twenty atoplanes. Our A.7 has flown from Prague to Melbourne, Australia, without a stop; all on board safe and sound. Here is the telegram.”

Bondy drew himself up. “Why, my young friend, that’s splendid!”

“The agricultural machinery department has five thousand orders in. In the section for small power-engines, twenty-two thousand. One hundred and fifty atomic pumps. Three atomic presses. Twelve atomic blast furnaces. Seventy-five atomic wireless stations. One hundred and ten atomic locomotives, all for Russia. We have established general agencies in forty-eight different capitals. The American Steel Trust, the Berlin General Electric Company, the Italian Fiat, Mannesmann, Creusot, and the Swedish steel-works are all making us offers of amalgamation. Krupp’s are paying any price for our shares.”

“What about the new issue?”

“Thirty-five times over-subscribed. The financial papers predict a super-dividend of two hundred percent. The other papers are talking of nothing but this business; politics, sport, technology, science, everything’s Karburator. We’ve had seven tons of newspaper cuttings from our agent in Germany, four hundredweight from France, and a truckload from England. The scientific and technical literature dealing with atomotors, to be published this year, is estimated at sixty tons. The Anglo-Japanese war has been broken off owing to the lack of public interest. In England alone there are nine hundred thousand coal-miners out of work. There has been a rising in the Belgian coalfields; about four thousand killed. More than half the mines in the world have ceased working. The surplus petroleum in Pennsylvania has set the oil-fields ablaze. The fire’s still raging.”