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 people were obliged to fill their living vessels with this air-supplying liquid, I at once thought of the manner in which we in our world fill our lamps with oil to furnish light and heat.

Now it is true that nature supplies this liquid air in reasonable abundance, and no doubt all the people would have been happy until now had it not been for the unjust scheming of a few unprincipled men.

The strange story of the air problem on this distant world is so similar to the food problem of ours that I have time to describe it briefly.

There were certain men in Airess, shrewd above their fellows, who secretly combined to secure a controlling interest in all the land producing liquid air.

In course of time these shrewd schemers, who are known as monopolists, gathered this liquid air into large tanks and warehouses, and put an exorbitant price upon it. The business flourished greatly because everybody was daily in need of liquid air.

The many sources of air-supply were guarded and men were employed to carry