Synopsis: A proto-sf adventure story; the speculative elements include the figure of an old, eccentric scientist, the inventor of a process that turns metals into gold; the plot revolves around the scientist's last invention, a perfect chess strategy that allows winning any game. Two shipwrecked children, brother and sister, are taken in by the scientist; after his death the boy heads out into the world, using the mentor's invention to gain fame as an undefeatable chessmaster.