"Come on, Samson." "Come on, boy." "Come on, Samson." "Come on." "Come on, fellow." "Come on, boy." "Come on." "Come on up here and sit down, Samson." "There she is." "Female in the perfect state, defenseless and silent." "It's set, Madeline." "I can take you out now." "No, on the other hand, I think I'll..." "I think I'll tickle you a little first." "All right." "Okay, no more torture." "All right, now, easy." "There." "You're free." "How'd it come out?" "Just perfect." "Almost as beautiful as the original." "As beautiful as I am right now?" "Don't worry, you'll heal." "Well, there they are." "The faces of humanity." "From the very beginning to the present day." "You'll go there at the end." "Well, don't make it so final." "Humanity still has a future, you know." "Well, sometimes I wonder." "Unless we learn to control the instincts we've inherited from our apelike ancestors, the race is doomed." "Why don't you learn to control your instincts and stop being so pessimistic?" "You know, you're right." "When I look at you, the future's very bright." "Jimmy, you're back." "Have you got it?" "I've got it, professor Blake, but it's starting to thaw." "Where do you want it?" "I'll be right out." "What is it?" "The coelacanth." "It's here." "What is that?" "The fish." "The fish from Madagascar that your father let me order." "Come on and see it." "No, I don't wanna go with this stuff all over my face." "You go ahead." "All right." "Come on, boy." "Come on." "Get away from that bloody water." "Come on." "No, boy." "No." "No, I'll get you some fresh water in a minute." "Come on, stay." "The cable said it's in perfect condition." "Stay, boy." "Let's take a look at it, huh?" "Honest, professor Blake, is this fish really a million years old?" "Well, not this fish, Jimmy." "It's the species that's old." "No change in millions of years." "You see, the coelacanth is a living fossil, immune to the forces of evolution." "That's what's so remarkable about it." "primitive fish like this were living before any creatures walked the Earth." "See these..." "These fins are the beginning of legs." "This fish could walk on the ocean floor." "Donald." "Hello, Samson." "What's wrong, Samson?" "Don't you know me, Samson?" "Samson!" "Samson!" "Down!" "It's all right." "It's all right." "Okay." "Now, help me." "Donald, be careful." "He's gone mad." "It's all right." "Let's get him in the lab." "I'm taking you to Dr. Cole." "Hold the door." "It was the craziest thing I ever saw." "One minute he was wagging his tail and licking my hand, the next minute he was at my throat." "Has he gone mad, Doctor?" "I doubt it." "The symptoms don't sound like rabies." "Now, the acid, Molly." "Of course, we got to take every precaution." "It's gonna hurt a little." "Well, what about Samson?" "We'll keep him under observation." "If he doesn't have rabies, neither do you." "Will you be able to examine the dog in your laboratory, Donald?" "Yes, I will." "I'll want a sample of the saliva." "Molly can pick it up later." "pick it up before 8:00, will you?" "I'm supposed to help Madeline chaperon the dance tonight." "About 7:30, Donald?" "I'll be expecting you." "Boy, you are mean." "Come in." "Oh, Molly." "Here's the saliva sample Dr. Cole wants." "He won't want it until morning." "Is it rabies?" "No, I'm almost certain it's not." "He's not sick, he's vicious." "And he drinks water, which a mad dog won't do." "Come here." "There." "See what I mean?" "Mouth doesn't foam, no excess saliva." "But there is one thing that's very strange." "Oh?" "His teeth." "I noticed it when we took the salivary sample." "You know anything about paleontology?" "I know that very attractive men study it." "Now, you be careful." "Samson is in no position to protect you." "Look." "Come here." "Look at those teeth." "Don't!" "Don't do that!" "You see it?" "They're like the teeth of ancient wolves." "Animals that became extinct millions of years ago." "That dog is a throwback." "Oh, I'm..." "I'm sorry I frightened you, but then you..." "You rather frighten me." "Hello?" "Oh, yes, Madeline." "Yes, I can make it." "No, no, no." "The dog's in his cage." "I'm..." "I'm perfectly safe." "I'll..." "I'll have to go home and change clothes first." "I'll pick you up a little before 9:00." "Fine, darling." "Bye." "Donald, what's this?" "Oh, it's a coelacanth." "And I'd better get it in the refrigerator before it starts to spoil." "Would you get the door?" "Sure." "Thank you." "What an ugly looking creature." "Yeah, it's a close relative of our ancestors." "I'll never believe that." "Very remote ancestors." "Samson doesn't like it." "You're hurt!" "First time I was ever bitten by a fossil." "It's bleeding." "It's all right." "Better get this thing out of here." "Let me help you." "Now, take it easy, it's heavy." "Yeah." "Easy, now." "There we go." "Oh, stop it." "You know better than that." "Where's your first aid kit?" "Don't have one." "I've got one in my car, come on." "I'll be right with you." "In here somewhere." "What you need is a good nurse to take care of you." "Donald, what is it?" "What's the matter?" "Molly, honey, I think you'd better take me home." "Of course." "Come on." "Donald, you're home." "Donald?" "Oh, dear." "Is Dr. Cole there?" "This is Miss Riordan." "Will you call him, please?" "It's very important." "I'll wait." "Donald?" "Oh, hello, Father." "Hello, dear." "Still here?" "I thought you were chaperoning the dance." "Well, I should be there right now." "I'm waiting on your future son-in-law." "It's not every day that a Science Department gets a coelacanth." "I was right, you know." "About what?" "The fish." "The board members said it was a waste of money, particularly Dr. Cole, but every paper in the country is carrying the story of how Dunsfield brought that fish from Madagascar." "It'll pay off 1,000%%% in alumni donations." "Will it pay off scientifically?" "Well, it'll pay off in school growth, and that's the same thing." "An institution is like a living organism." "The moment it stops growing, it starts degenerating." "So, anything that promotes growth is all for the good." "Hello?" "Oh, Sylvia?" "Really?" "Well, I'll be right over." "Bye-bye." "Well, the couples have started arriving already and the house mother isn't there yet." "I think I'll go on over, Father." "Would you tell Donald to meet me over there?" "Why don't you drive by the Science Building?" "He's probably poring over some problem and has forgotten you." "That's a flattering thought." "Oh, the dog." "Dog?" "Samson." "He turned vicious this morning." "Oh?" "I think I'll go see about him, Father." "I'm sorry." "Oh, Mr. Townsend." "It's Miss Howard, isn't it?" "Yes." "I was just wondering about this truck." "Well, I'm looking for Dr. Blake." "Oh, Dr. Blake." "Well, I expect he's still working." "Let's go see." "All righty." "Donald?" "I'll open this other door." "Well, well, well." "Well, look who we've got here." "Don't put your hand in the cage." "He's vicious." "Vicious." "He's a nice dog." "Just this morning..." "I know, but I've got a way with a dog." "They say a dog has got a way of knowing an honest man from anybody that's planning to do wrong." "They all like me." "Well, Mr. Townsend, Dr. Blake isn't here, so thank you so much for letting me in." "I'm glad to be of help." "I think he wants out." "Well, we have no right to release him." "No." "Come on." "Well, isn't he a pretty dog?" "Come on now, can you speak?" "Speak." "Speak." "That's a boy." "Donald!" "Donald!" "Operator, I'd like the police at once." "The residence of Donald Blake, 4072 College Way." "Donald Blake, 4072 College Way." "please hurry, Operator." "Donald?" "Donald?" "Donald?" "Donald?" "Donald, are you all right?" "Donald, what happened?" "What happened, Donald?" "Madeline." "Back of the house." "Come on." "...how I got here." "I don't know how she got here." "I don't know." "You call the police?" "Give me a hand." "What?" "Oh, yeah." "Yeah, sure." "powell, Meadowbrook, the whole crew are here." "What?" "No, I haven't taken his complete statement yet." "I'm doing it now." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Yeah, sure." "Okay." "Now, you say Miss Riordan went to your laboratory." "Yes, yes, yes." "You can check with Dr. Cole." "Miss Riordan came to the laboratory to pick up a salivary sample." "I gave it to her, and then Miss Howard called." "Then I put the coelacanth back in the refrigerator." "Coelacanth?" "The fish." "I..." "I cut my hand on its teeth." "See?" "And Molly..." "She..." "She had a first aid kit in the car." "We left the laboratory and..." "That's all I can remember." "I blanked out." "Or I was knocked out." "Head hurt?" "No." "No, it's..." "It's more as though I've been poisoned." "I suppose anyone would feel sick after what's happened, though." "Especially the man who was with Molly when she died." "I told you, I was unconscious." "I don't know who killed her." "We ought to know about that in a few seconds now." "Mike, found this in the girl's hand." "She must have grabbed it while she was struggling with the killer." "Tie clasp." "Recognize this?" "Yes." "Yes, I recognize it." "It's mine." "No, darling." "I've never seen you wear this." "Thanks, honey, but the truth is, you gave it to me yourself last Christmas." "And I suppose you were unconscious all during the struggle." "Eddie, take him down to headquarters." "Come on." "Don't tell them anything, Donald." "Wait until you have a lawyer." "It's all right, Madeline." "I did nothing." "I know that, Donald." "He was unconscious when I found him." "Would he wreck his own house?" "He'll have every opportunity to explain things, Miss Howard." "Lieutenant Stevens." "Lieutenant, can you come in here a minute?" "please wait, Miss Howard." "What is it?" "Look at this." "Whoever tore that photograph in half had to leave some fingerprints." "I dusted it, and there they are." "That's a print of somebody's right thumb." "Now, compare that with this thumbprint of Blake's I got a few minutes ago." "See?" "No resemblance." "Then there was a third person here." "By the looks of things, somebody who hated Blake." "More than that." "Come here." "Whoever he was, he never even tried to cover up these traces." "Either awfully dumb or just plain crazy." "Look at that handprint." "Well, it looks deformed." "It is." "All I know is, Blake hasn't got a hand like that." "In fact, I've never known anyone who did." "That narrows it down." "Ought to make it easier for us." "Miss Howard, did Blake have any enemies?" "Someone who might want to kill him?" "No, not that I know of." "Why?" "Because there was a third person here tonight." "Someone who tore up your photograph and wrecked this room." "And killed Molly Riordan?" "Well, that's the logical assumption." "Then Donald's free?" "I'll want him for questioning, but as things are, he's free." "Well, thank you." "DONALD:" "Now, I hope I've made these two aspects of living organisms clear to you." "In the case of the coelacanth, we have a species which became stabilized over 200 million years ago in the form you see here." "But in the case of man, we have a recent species which is not stabilized at all." "Man is not only capable of change, but man alone, among all living creatures, can choose the direction in which that change will take place." "In other words, man can use his knowledge to destroy all spiritual values and reduce the race to bestiality." "Or he can use his knowledge to increase his understanding to a point far beyond anything now imaginable." "Think it over." "That's all for today." "Sometimes professor Blake frightens me." "Yeah, well, he sure is wound up today." "Come on, Sylvia, I want to talk to him." "professor Blake." "Oh, yes, Jimmy?" "How's Samson?" "Let's get this in the refrigerator and we'll find out." "Got him in here, in the office." "Well, it's not rabies, that's for certain." "Dogs don't recover from rabies." "Miss Howard told me that Samson returned to normal, but I wanted to see for myself." "Well, he certainly looks normal." "You don't have to worry about hydrophobia." "Well, does that mean I can bring him back to the fraternity house with me?" "No, I want to check these cultures first, Jimmy." "Didn't have rabies, but he certainly had something." "Did you know your dog was a throwback?" "Throwback?" "He's a German shepherd." "What do you mean, throwback?" "A primitive reversion to wolfish ancestors." "This should interest you, Oliver." "Take a look at these teeth." "Come here." "Here, take a look at this." "They look like dog's teeth to me." "Well, now, wait a minute." "Last night, they were much longer." "Well, now, honestly, Donald, are you seriously suggesting that overnight, there's been a physical change?" "But there has been." "In the length of his teeth?" "Yes." "That's impossible." "Well, I tell you..." "Well, Molly Riordan was here and I called it to her attention." "Molly's hardly in a position to bear you out." "Yes, that's so." "I'm sorry." "I guess I must have imagined it." "Forget it." "You've had a pretty bad experience." "Besides, you have primitive species on your brain." "Let me know if those tests show anything." "Yes, I will." "Well, when can I have Samson, professor?" "Check with me tonight." "Okay, tonight." "Goodbye, professor." "Take it easy, Jimmy." "But I didn't imagine it." "Darling, does it really matter about the dog?" "Yes, it matters very much to me, whether I can trust my own senses." "Now, you have eyes." "Is that the same dog that attacked you?" "Darling, I don't know." "I was so frightened that..." "Donald, of course this is the same dog." "He's been locked up in here all night." "And Jimmy would know his own dog." "Yes, Jimmy would know his own dog." "So, I'm the one that's crazy." "Well, maybe so." "I was out of my head for at least an hour last night." "Don't worry about it, huh?" "Is my mask ready yet?" "Yeah, I've got it in the lab." "Come on, I'll show it to you." "I hope you like it." "There it is." "perfect reproduction." "Now my series is complete." "That's me?" "That's you." "You see, the past is fairly plain, but it's almost impossible to make a mask of the face of the future, because man's only one generation from savagery, anyway." "What do you mean?" "Well, civilization isn't inherited, it's learned." "Wipe it out for one generation and man is right back where he started." "You see, you and this beast are closer together than you think." "Let's don't talk about it anymore, Donald." "It makes me think of Molly Riordan and the horrible thing that happened to her." "All right, no more talking about the past." "Donald?" "Yes." "I've been wanting to ask you something, but I just didn't know how." "Well, ask anything you want." "Well, it was about you and Molly." "Was there anything between you?" "Molly was very attractive, but there was nothing between us." "Thank you." "Bye." "Bye." "Hello, Miss Howard." "Is this where I find Blake?" "Right in there." "Thanks." "It's a nice collection." "Oh, Lieutenant Stevens." "Any news?" "Nothing." "Well, won't you come into my office?" "Sit down." "Blake, try again." "Are you certain no one hates you?" "Told you everything I knew yesterday." "people hate for awfully trivial reasons." "In that case, I wouldn't know anything about it." "Why look for my enemy?" "It was Molly who was murdered." "Because the killer was at your house." "He had no possible way of knowing that Molly Riordan would be there." "He was after you." "Well, couldn't it have been a stranger?" "A burglar who was surprised?" "Would a burglar wreck your house?" "Tear up Miss Howard's picture?" "Besides, there was nothing missing." "It was personal malice." "Somebody's after you, Blake." "What about fingerprints?" "There's no record in the local files." "We sent copies to the fbi and the Department of Motor Vehicles." "But this waiting makes me nervous." "In the meantime, I'm giving you a bodyguard." "Now, look, I don't need a bodyguard." "I can take care of myself." "You didn't take very good care of Molly Riordan." "Well, the coroner's report came in this afternoon." "Yes?" "Strange thing." "Molly wasn't badly injured at all." "A few minor cuts and bruises." "What killed her was heart failure." "In other words, she died of fright." "Yeah." "I'll keep Eddie Daniels close to you, till this thing is cleared up." "You know, I always figured science was pretty exciting, but I guess it can get kind of boring, huh?" "Yes." "When you have to do the same test about 500 times, it can be boring." "Yeah, like that fish over there." "Hey, what's that?" "On the fish." "Just a dragonfly." "Must have come in the window." "No harm done, I have to dissect that fish anyway." "As soon as I finish with this." "Good Lord." "See something?" "Dr. Cole?" "Well, it's good that I caught you." "Can you wait till I get there?" "I have something to show you." "Yes, right away." "I'm going to see Dr. Cole." "If you have to stay with me, come along." "professor?" "Oh, yes, Jimmy." "I was coming to find out about Samson." "Meet me at the Science Building, I'll be back." "You see that?" "The police are guarding him." "Wonder how it feels." "You mean the police think the murderer is still around here?" "Why else guard the professor?" "What was that?" "I don't know." "It sounds like..." "Wait a minute." "What did you say it sounds like?" "Something like a model airplane." "But that's silly, on a campus at night." "There." "I don't see anything." "Like a shadow going past the street lamp." "Let's watch a minute." "It's gone." "Yeah." "We better go." "But why?" "I feel so safe when I'm with you." "What's going on here?" "Oh, you scared me." "I scared you?" "Crazy, man." "Strangest thing I ever saw." "I've seen crystallized viruses, but I've never even heard of crystallized bacteria." "There, take a look." "You've made a mistake." "Bacteria couldn't possibly crystallize." "Honestly, Donald, there are no crystals there." "Just the bacteria." "What?" "Well, there were crystals." "I saw them myself not 15 minutes ago." "But this slide hasn't been out of my possession." "Back in the laboratory..." "Oliver, you're not listening." "I'll listen when you say something sensible." "All right, I'm sorry I bothered you." "I won't again." "Now, wait a minute." "Before you go, just so your visit isn't completely wasted," "let me see that cut on your hand." "It's infected." "Something bite you?" "Yes, the coelacanth." "I suppose it came alive and crept up on you when you weren't looking." "There's no sense in talking to a man who won't listen." "Coming, Eddie?" "Excuse me." "Can I get Samson now, professor?" "Of course." "Of course you can have the dog." "There's nothing wrong with him." "We only imagined that he went berserk yesterday." "Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing." "You, too?" "Coming, Eddie?" "I'm due to check in on the call box, professor." "I won't be long." "All right." "I'll be here for quite a while." "Can I let Samson out now?" "Dr. Cole gives him a clean bill of health, Jimmy." "He's all yours." "It's what we heard earlier from the sky." "Something's at the window!" "What is that?" "Get back!" "Don't open that door!" "It'll escape!" "Who cares?" "I care." "I want it." "Well, what is it?" "I don't know." "We'll find out when we catch it." "Jimmy, close the window." "There's some netting over there behind that cage." "Get it." "Keep the door closed, until we catch it." "It moves like lightning." "Use this for bait." "Ready with the net?" "Net." "Let's go." "Easy." "Now!" "Got it." "Hold it down, Jimmy!" "It's starting to rip." "Well, that's too bad." "I wanted it alive." "But you're both my witnesses." "This insect is of the genus Meganeura, ancestor of the present-day dragonfly, supposedly extinct for millions of years." "Like the coelacanth was supposed to be extinct." "Exactly." "Except that this is even more remarkable." "In fact, it's a little too remarkable." "It can't be a coincidence, but there is some connection between the two." "What do you mean?" "I don't know." "I do know that earlier today an ordinary dragonfly tried to make a meal on the coelacanth and..." "Jimmy, did Samson ever get near this fish?" "Well, the day I brought the fish from the station, bloody water was dripping from the truck." "Samson drank some of it." "Drank it?" "Off of the pavement." "You suppose that's what made him sick?" "It might be." "It just might be." "You're not saying that this is the same dragonfly that..." "No man in his right mind could make such a statement." "Then where could it come from?" "You'd better take Sylvia home." "Take Samson with you." "But do me one favor, the both of you." "Sure, anything." "Don't mention this to anyone." "I'd like to make the announcement of the discovery myself." "I'll be glad to forget it." "Come on, Jimmy." "Okay, fellow." "We're going home, boy." "We're going home." "Good night, professor." "Good night." "Blake!" "professor Blake!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Sergeant Daniels reporting." "Give me Stevens." "Look, Mike, get every patrol car you've got out to the campus, right away." "I lost Blake." "I don't know." "He just disappeared from the Science Building." "Look, Mike, there's somebody else around here." "Some kind of maniac." "B26." "I followed somebody out here, but..." "Well, I'm going back to the Science Building." "I'll meet you there." "No, Mike, I can't give you a descrip..." "Eddie, what's happening?" "Eddie, you all right?" "Eddie?" "Mike, look here." "Eddie sure put up a fight, all right." "Tracks all over the place." "But what kind of a man made this?" "Oh, it's impossible!" "Nobody's got a footprint like that." "Unless maybe it was someone with strange hands, too." "Yeah, but why wouldn't such a man be known?" "Where would he hide?" "That's our job, to find him before another killing." "Those tracks weren't made by a man." "They're the tracks of a creature who should've become extinct about a half a million years ago." "A beast far more intelligent than an ape, and yet not quite human." "Utterly ridiculous." "It's your opinion then, Dr. Howard, that a subhuman such as Blake describes is impossible?" "Absolutely." "In my opinion, those footprints are fakes planted to deceive the police." "And you've fallen for them." "We've fallen for nothing." "I know those footprints could be fake." "What's more, I know who could have faked them." "Who?" "You're an expert at modeling parts of the human anatomy, aren't you?" "And you know how a primitive foot looks." "But you can't think he's the murderer." "Could Blake strangle Eddie Daniels?" "No." "Daniels could tear Blake in half." "And would he wreck his own laboratory?" "Not likely." "And even if those footprints were fakes, fingerprints aren't." "They're real and they're not Blake's." "But the killer wants us to accuse Blake." "That's why the tie clasp was planted on Molly Riordan and why these primitive footprints were found near Eddie Daniels' body." "To implicate you." "Well, what about the fingerprints?" "Why can't the police identify those?" "Because there's no record of them." "Neither the fbi nor the Department of Motor Vehicles could help us." "No, the man we're looking for has never been booked for a crime before." "He's never even had a driver's license." "Well, if you don't need me, I'll be back at the lab." "Yes." "Yes, that's what I said, Madagascar." "No, no, no, it's not in Texas." "It's an island off the east coast of Africa." "And I wish to speak to Dr. Jean Moreau of the Scientific Research lnstitute at Tananarive." "Charge it to the Science Department." "Thank you." "We're all here, professor Blake." "Well, what's this?" "What you all doing here?" "Today's Thursday." "We always have lab class at 2:00 on Thursday." "Thursday, 2:00?" "Oh, yes." "Yes, of course." "Well, we won't meet today." "I've got something very important here." "Something I can't leave." "Well, don't you understand?" "No class." "No class." "Wow." "I found this, professor." "It's yours, isn't it?" "Oh, yes, where'd you find it?" "On the lawn where Sergeant Daniels was killed." "Oh, yes, I must've dropped it when I was knocked out." "Thank you, Jimmy." "Hi, Jimmy." "Hi, Sylvia." "Hi." "Class out already?" "There isn't any." "We've been dismissed." "Same as yesterday." "Donald?" "I said there was no class today." "Well, I'm not here to go to class today." "Oh, Madeline." "I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in." "You haven't seen much of anything lately." "No classes, no students, not even your fiancèe." "I'm sorry, I've been very, very busy." "I'm on the track of something that may change our entire concept of life." "Can't you leave it for a few minutes, honey?" "I want to talk to you." "You see this?" "It's a distillate of coelacanth blood." "peculiar odor." "Familiar, though I haven't been able to place where I smelled it before." "Donald, I'm trying to talk to you." "Well, you go right ahead." "I can hear you." "Well, Father's very upset about that story you gave to the newspapers, about there being some subhuman hiding here at Dunsfield." "Disturbing, isn't it?" "And he's going to be even more upset when he finds out that you're dismissing all your classes." "You were hired to teach." "Teach what?" "Theories I'm about to disprove?" "I intend to find out the truth, the real truth." "Then I'll teach." "What are you talking about?" "I'm gonna prove that that subhuman really does exist." "I'm sorry, darling." "I know you're worried, but so am I." "There's a limit to what your nerves can stand." "Well, what are you suggesting?" "That I'm behaving irrationally?" "That I'm unbalanced?" "Of course not." "It's just that..." "Well, when Molly Riordan was killed and when Sergeant Daniels was murdered, you lost your memory." "I think you need a rest." "I'll rest when I find the killer." "That's not your responsibility." "That belongs to the police." "Madeline, I know what I'm doing." "And it's not irrational." "Excuse me." "Hello?" "Yes, Operator." "Oh, Madeline, would you close the door?" "I've been trying to reach Madagascar all day." "Hello?" "Yes, Dr. Moreau." "This is Dr. Donald Blake, Science Department, Dunsfield University." "Yes, I want to talk to you about the coelacanth." "No, no, no." "Coelacanth." "Le poisson." "The fish." "That's right." "I must know exactly how this particular fish was preserved." "Oh, no." "No, by all means, call the Comoros Islands." "Dunsfield University will pay the charges." "And I didn't mean to be eavesdropping," "I just couldn't help hearing him talking to Madagascar about a fish." "Operator, is Dr. Blake still on the line?" "Well, let me know the moment he finishes his call." "Now, get me Dr. Cole." "Seventy-six minutes at $5 a minute." "Why, that's a month's salary!" "Hello, Oliver?" "Meet me at my office right away." "I need medical advice." "No, not for myself." "We're going to see Blake." "And hurry." "You're absolutely right." "Donald needs a leave of absence." "Father, please don't tell him that I was the one that told you." "You needn't worry." "I'd have to advise leave in any case." "phone calls to Madagascar!" "Doctor, in looking over my notes, I want to check the degree of radiation." "Merci mille fois, Doctor." "Thank you a million." "Yes, sir, that's exactly the information I needed." "Now, if my experiment is successful, I'll send you a full report." "Goodbye, sir." "Gentlemen." "Dr. Howard, Oliver." "Why, this must be telepathy." "I was just going to call you." "Oh?" "Now it's telepathy." "Well, call it coincidence, but I'm glad you're here." "Come into the lab." "One moment, Donald." "Oliver and I want to talk to you." "Approximately 88 minutes on the telephone to Madagascar." "$5 a minute." "Over $400 charged to the Science Department!" "All right, sir, I'll pay it myself." "But come into the lab." "Donald, forget the phone bill." "It's you we're worried about." "I want you to take a leave of absence, just until the police clear this thing up." "Well, what are the police doing?" "Fingerprinting the football squad." "Well, at that rate, I should be gone all year." "No, Dr. Howard, if the police would accept my theory of a human throwback, then I'll have to find the killer myself." "Are you prepared to name this man?" "No, but I can show you the secret of his metamorphosis." "Oh, Donald." "I refuse to encourage such nonsense." "Look, Oliver, even a madman gets a hearing before he's committed." "Do I get mine, sir?" "Yes." "Then come into the lab." "Oh, perhaps you'd better call Lieutenant Stevens." "Ask him to come over." "Yes, I think the police should be here." "Oliver, this should interest you." "plasma protein of coelacanth blood." "And why should it interest me?" "Because of its peculiar qualities." "Oh, are the police coming?" "On their way." "Good." "Then I'll explain this thing quickly." "A puzzle biologists have been trying to solve for years is this." "How do certain species resist the force of evolution?" "I have the answer here." "Coelacanth plasma." "Not only does this plasma resist evolution, but when administered to another organism, evolution is reversed." "Thus, when the dog Samson drank coelacanth blood, he reverted temporarily to the behavior and appearance of a primitive wolf." "Now, over here, we have a dragonfly, which for a brief period, after ingesting coelacanth blood, became two feet long," "like its ancestors of 50 million years ago." "I'd like to show you how bacteria, when treated with this plasma, change to crystals, regressing to the very threshold of life." "It's your contention this plasma would have the same effect on human beings?" "Yes." "I say that if you were injected with this plasma you'd revert to a primitive anthropoid, physically as well as mentally." "Donald, your theory is absurd for very apparent reasons." "The natives of the Comoros Islands have been eating coelacanth for centuries with no effects whatsoever." "Yes, that's so." "But their coelacanth isn't treated with gamma rays." "This one was." "Gamma rays?" "Why?" "To preserve it for shipment." "It's the latest thing." "Atomic radiation kills the bacteria which causes decay." "Are you sure this was done?" "Why do you think I called Madagascar?" "To find out." "Curious paradox, isn't it, gentlemen?" "After a million-year climb up the evolutionary ladder, man's greatest discovery is the way to undo his accomplishments and turn himself into a beast again." "The great temptation of our time, to let the beast triumph over the seeker for truth." "That's what's happening here at Dunsfield." "The beast has killed twice." "With this powerful drug, he's certain to kill again unless we unmask him." "But, Donald, granting even that this could change a man, how would anyone discover that fact?" "probably by accident the first time." "Someone may have come in here during my absence, cut himself on the sharp scales of that fish and became inoculated." "Or with the teeth." "All right." "All right, suppose there was an accident?" "Then what?" "What?" "Oh, yes, the second time would have to be deliberate." "No man, once he discovered the effect of this..." "Oh, no, there couldn't possibly be two accidents." "Isn't actually this whole thing very improbable?" "Only as improbable as life itself." "Dr. Howard." "You'll be happy to know that we don't have to arrest any of your students." "Now, what were you saying on the phone?" "That Dr. Blake could produce a subhuman man?" "Did I say that?" "You said that plasma could turn a man into a missing link." "Oliver, that's a gross exaggeration." "Of course it's an exaggeration." "Hold it, Oliver." "All right, Donald, you've had your hearing." "Is there anything you want to show us?" "No." "You'll admit that the story you gave the newspapers, these expensive phone calls, the neglect of your duties, was all an attempt to gain personal publicity?" "I'll admit nothing of the kind." "I will admit possibly I'm ill, that I need a rest." "May I still have that leave of absence?" "Is it all right with the police?" "The police would love to work on this case without Dr. Blake's help." "Where are you going?" "This time of year, my mountain cabin is a quiet place." "What do you say, Donald?" "Thank you." "All evidence points to the probability that" "I, Donald Blake, am the murderer." "As a man, this possibility terrifies me." "But as a scientist, I must learn the truth." "Therefore, I shall perform the experiment I'm about to describe, praying that it fails." "If it succeeds, then I pray only for the courage to destroy the monster that dwells within me." "Oh, Sylvia, Jimmy." "What a pleasure." "Come in." "Thank you." "Hello, Miss Howard." "Let's go into the den." "What's troubling you?" "Well, go ahead, Jimmy." "Tell her." "That's what we're here for." "Well, we thought it best..." "Only we promised the professor we wouldn't say anything." "promise?" "About what?" "About the giant dragonfly." "He asked us not to say anything until he had a chance to study it." "Only we thought that..." "Jimmy, I know that Dr. Blake has an illusion about a giant dragonfly, but I'd rather not discuss it." "But that's just it." "It was not an illusion." "We were there." "We saw it, too." "It was that long." "And making the most frightful noise." "You mean there really was a giant dragonfly?" "We swear it, Miss Howard." "And we're breaking our promise to the professor because of the talk about him being crazy." "That's what the students are saying?" "We know it's not true." "And if there was a giant dragonfly, then there could be a primitive man, too." "That's why we had to tell someone." "Well, thank you very much for telling me." "Thank you." "Father?" "I just wanted to tell you that I'm driving up to the cabin to see Donald." "No." "No, no, I'm leaving right now." "Bye-bye." "The experiment previously described is now ready for trial." "In a few seconds," "I will inject coelacanth plasma into my bloodstream." "Who is it?" "Tom Edwards, Forestry Service." "Yes?" "What do you want?" "Oh, I saw the light was on." "I didn't know the Doctor was using the cabin." "Well, he's not." "He's letting me use it for a few days." "I'm Dr. Donald Blake of Dunsfield University." "Yes, well, I was just checking." "If there's anything you need, my station is just down the road a bit." "Thank you." "Good night." "Good night." "The experiment previously described is now ready for trial." "In a few seconds," "I will inject coelacanth plasma into my bloodstream." "The sounds which may be recorded hereafter are those made under the influence of the coelacanth plasma." "Hey, is she badly hurt?" "Operator." "Operator, get me the Dunsfield police." "Hurry." "Lieutenant Stevens speaking." "This is Tom Edwards, Forest Service." "Yeah?" "I've just seen the monster." "What?" "You saw it?" "With my own eyes." "Half man, half ape." "Where?" "In a wreck, looked like the Howard girl's car." "Did you shoot him?" "No, I didn't have my gun." "But I'm going right back." "Hurry." "Blake, open up in there!" "Blake!" "Blake!" "Blake, where are you?" "Blake!" "Blake!" "Donald!" "Donald." "Donald!" "Madeline." "Oh, Donald." "You shot him, didn't you?" "You killed him, didn't you, Donald?" "Oh, were you hurt, Donald?" "The picture." "I got the picture." "The ranger's not here." "Where's your cabin, Dr. Howard?" "Half a mile further and turn left." "Donald, he's wearing your clothes." "Madeline." "Father." "Oh, thank God." "What are you doing here?" "Got a call from the ranger." "He said you'd been carried off by a half-human monster." "I was, but Donald killed him." "That true?" "Of course it's true." "I asked him." "Madeline's wrong." "It's not dead." "I know where it hides and I can lead you to it." "You mean, you saw this man?" "It's not a man, it's a monster." "We can determine that later." "Come on, Blake." "We're ready." "Show us." "Yes, I'll do that." "I'll show it to you." "You go ahead, I'll be right along." "No, not you." "What are you doing?" "I'm doing what I must do." "Just remember one thing, Madeline." "You're still alive." "Even that beast must've loved you a little." "Now, trust me." "Stay here." "All right, gentlemen." "Follow me." "This makes three murders." "Listen to me, I know this creature." "I can find him, but I must do it alone." "Now, if you'll follow me at a distance." "Why alone, Blake?" "You trying to get away from us?" "No, I just don't want it to escape again." "When I drive it out, you shoot." "And shoot to kill." "You're insane, Donald!" "Do you think so?" "All right, then you come with me, Doctor." "The rest will follow." "All right?" "All right, but you'd better have a gun." "No, I won't need one." "Let me have it." "Come on, Doctor." "Give us a few minutes." "His tracks, Doctor." "Now, could a man make those?" "A clever man might." "A clever man might and a clever man did." "But in the true sense, they were made by a primitive anthropoid." "All right, where is it?" "Coming just a few minutes from now." "You see, Doctor, every man is the product of the history of the entire human race." "The past is still with us." "I agree with you, but I'm not here for a lecture." "It's the savage in modern man that science must meet and defeat, if humanity is to survive." "So, therefore, Doctor, I'm injecting myself with coelacanth plasma." "Blake, no!" "Watch, Doctor." "Watch closely." "And you'll see evolution in reverse." "You'll see that I'm..." "I'm..." "I'm..." "Blake." "We better get up there after him, Lieutenant?" "Let him have the time he asked for." "Blake!" "No!" "Get back!" "Get back!" "Get back!" "Wait." "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "Don't shoot!" "No." "Blake was right." "He was right all the time." "Where is he?" "He's there."