initial commit of ebook 29848HEADmain

1 files changed, 10858 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/29848-8.txt b/29848-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..03fffe4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/29848-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,10858 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June,
+1930, by Various
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Astounding Stories of Super-Science, June, 1930
+
+Author: Various
+
+Release Date: August 30, 2009 [EBook #29848]
+Last updated: March 20, 2011
+Last updated: May 26, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTOUNDING STORIES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                              ASTOUNDING
+
+                               STORIES
+
+                           OF SUPER-SCIENCE
+
+              _On Sale the First Thursday of Each Month_
+
+
+                       W. M. CLAYTON, Publisher
+                         HARRY BATES, Editor
+                  DOUGLAS M. DOLD, Consulting Editor
+
+
+
+
+The Clayton Standard on a Magazine Guarantees
+
+    _That_ the stories therein are clean, interesting, vivid, by leading
+           writers of the day and purchased under conditions approved by
+           the Authors' League of America;
+    _That_ magazines are manufactured in Union shops by American workmen;
+    _That_ each newsdealer and agent is insured a fair profit;
+    _That_ an intelligent censorship guards their advertising pages.
+
+
+
+The other Clayton magazines are:
+ACE-HIGH MAGAZINE, RANCH ROMANCES, COWBOY STORIES, CLUES, FIVE-NOVELS
+MONTHLY, WIDE WORLD ADVENTURES, ALL STAR DETECTIVE STORIES,
+RANGELAND LOVE STORY MAGAZINE, WESTERN ADVENTURES, and FOREST AND STREAM.
+
+
+_More Than Two Million Copies Required to Supply the Monthly Demand
+for Clayton Magazines._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+VOL. II, No. 3          CONTENTS           JUNE, 1930
+
+
+COVER DESIGN                    H. W. WESSOLOWSKI
+
+    _Painted in Water-colors from a Scene in "The Moon Master."_
+
+
+OUT OF THE DREADFUL DEPTHS      C. D. WILLARD          293
+    _Robert Thorpe Seeks Out the Nameless Horror That Is Sucking All Human
+     Life Out of Ships in the South Pacific._
+
+
+MURDER MADNESS                  MURRAY LEINSTER        310
+    _Bell, of the Secret "Trade," Strikes into the South American Jungle to
+     Find the Hidden Stronghold of the Master--the Unknown Monster Whose
+     Diabolical Poison Swiftly and Surely Is Enslaving the Whole
+     Continent._ (Part Two of a Continued Novel.)
+
+
+THE CAVERN WORLD                JAMES P. OLSEN         340
+
+    _A Great Oil Field Had Gone Dry--and Asher, Trapped Far under the Earth
+     Among the Revolting Petrolia, Learns Why._
+
+
+BRIGANDS OF THE MOON            RAY CUMMINGS           352
+
+    _The Besieged Earth-men Wage Grim, Ultra-scientific War with Martian
+     Bandits in a Last Great Struggle for Their Radium-ore--and Their
+     Lives._ (Conclusion.)
+
+
+GIANTS OF THE RAY               TOM CURRY              368
+
+    _Madly the Three Raced for their Lives up the Shaft of the Radium Mine,
+     for Behind Them Poured a Stream of Hideous Monsters--Giants of the
+     Ray!_
+
+
+THE MOON MASTER                 CHARLES W. DIFFIN      384
+
+    _Through Infinite Deeps of Space Jerry Foster Hurtles to the Moon--Only
+     to be Trapped by a Barbaric Race and Offered as a Living Sacrifice to
+     Oong, their Loathsome, Hypnotic God._ (A Complete Novel.)
+
+
+THE READERS' CORNER             ALL OF US              421
+
+    _A Meeting Place for Readers of Astounding Stories._
+
+
+Single Copies, 20 Cents (In Canada, 25 Cents) Yearly Subscription,
+$2.00
+
+Issued monthly by Publishers' Fiscal Corporation, 80 Lafayette St.,
+New York, N.Y. W. M. Clayton, President; Nathan Goldmann, Secretary.
+Entered as second-class matter December 7, 1929, at the Post Office at
+New York. N.Y., under Act of March 3, 1879. Title registered as a
+Trade Mark in the U.S. Patent Office. Member Newsstand Group--Men's
+List. For advertising rates address E. R. Crowe & Co., Inc., 25
+Vanderbilt Ave., New York; or 225 North Michigan Ave., Chicago.
+
+
+
+
+Out of the Dreadful Depths
+
+_By C. D. Willard_
+
+[Illustration: "_Help--help--the eyes--the eyes!_"]
+
+[Sidenote: Robert Thorpe seeks out the nameless horror that is sucking
+all human life out of ships in the South Pacific.]
+
+
+Robert Thorpe reached languidly for a cigarette and, with lazy
+fingers, extracted a lighter from his pocket.
+
+"Be a sport," he repeated to the gray haired man across the table. "Be
+a sport, Admiral, and send me across on a destroyer. Never been on a
+destroyer except in port. It ... would be a new experience ... enjoy
+it a lot...."
+
+In the palm-shaded veranda of this club-house in Manila, Admiral
+Struthers, U. S. N., regarded with undisguised disfavor the young man
+in the wicker chair. He looked at the deep chest and the broad
+shoulders which even a loose white coat could not conceal, at the
+short, wavy brown hair and the slow, friendly smile on the face below.
+
+A likable chap, this Thorpe, but lazy--just an idler--he had
+concluded. Been playing around Manila for the last two months--resting
+up, he had said. And from what? the Admiral had questioned
+disdainfully. Admiral Struthers did not like indolent young men, but
+it would have saved him money if he had really got an answer to his
+question and had learned just why and how Robert Thorpe had earned a
+vacation.
+
+"You on a destroyer!" he said, and the lips beneath the close-cut gray
+mustache twisted into a smile. "That would be too rough an experience
+for you, I am afraid, Thorpe. Destroyers pitch about quite a bit, you
+know."
+
+He included in his smile the destroyer captain and the young lady who
+completed their party. The young lady had a charming and saucy smile
+and knew it; she used it in reply to the Admiral's remark.
+
+"I have asked Mr. Thorpe to go on the _Adelaide_," she said. "We shall
+be leaving in another month--but Robert tells me he has other plans."
+
+"Worse and worse," was the Admiral's comment. "Your father's yacht is
+not even as steady as a destroyer. Now I would suggest a nice
+comfortable liner...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Robert Thorpe did not miss the official glances of amusement, but his
+calm complacence was unruffled. "No," he said, "I don't just fancy
+liners. Fact is, I have been thinking of sailing across to the States
+alone."
+
+The Admiral's smile increased to a short laugh. "I would make a bet
+you wouldn't get fifty miles from Manila harbor."
+
+The younger man crushed his cigarette slowly into the tray. "How much
+of a bet?" he asked. "What will you bet that I don't sail alone from
+here to--where are you stationed?--San Diego?--from here to San
+Diego?"
+
+"Humph!" was the snorted reply. "I would bet a thousand dollars on
+that and take your money for Miss Allaire's pet charity."
+
+"Now that's an idea," said Thorpe. He reached for a check book in his
+inner pocket and began to write.
+
+"In case I lose," he explained, "I might be hard to find, so I will
+just ask Miss Allaire to hold this check for me. You can do the same."
+He handed the check to the girl.
+
+"Winner gets his thousand back, Ruth; loser's money goes to any little
+orphans you happen to fancy."
+
+"You're not serious," protested the Admiral.
+
+"Sure! The bank will take that check seriously, I promise you. And I
+saw just the sloop I want for the trip ... had my eye on her for the
+past month."
+
+"But, Robert," began Ruth Allaire, "you don't mean to risk your life
+on a foolish bet?"
+
+Thorpe reached over to pat tenderly the hand that held his check. "I'm
+glad if you care," he said, and there was an undertone of seriousness
+beneath his raillery, "but save your sympathy for the Admiral. The U.
+S. Navy can't bluff me." He rose more briskly from his chair.
+
+"Thorpe...." said Admiral Struthers. He was thinking deeply, trying to
+recollect. "Robert Thorpe.... I have a book by someone of that
+name--travel and adventure and knocking about the world. Young man,
+are you _the_ Robert Thorpe?"
+
+"Why, yes, if you wish to put it that way," agreed the other. He waved
+lightly to the girl as he moved away.
+
+"I must be running along," he said, "and get that boat. See you all in
+San Diego!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The first rays of the sun touched with golden fingers the tops of the
+lazy swells of the Pacific. Here and there a wave broke to spray under
+the steady wind and became a shower of molten metal. And in the boat,
+whose sails caught now and then the touch of morning, Robert Thorpe
+stirred himself and rose sleepily to his feet.
+
+Out of the snug cabin at this first hint of day, he looked first at
+the compass and checked his course, then made sure of the lashing
+about the helm. The steady trade-winds had borne him on through the
+night, and he nodded with satisfaction as he prepared to lower his
+lights. He was reaching for a line as the little craft hung for an
+instant on the top of a wave. And in that instant his eyes caught a
+marking of white on the dim waters ahead.
+
+"Breakers!" he shouted aloud and leaped for the lashed wheel. He
+swung off to leeward and eased a bit on the main-sheet, then lashed
+the wheel again to hold on the new course.
+
+Again from a wave-crest he stared from under a sheltering hand. The
+breakers were there--the smooth swells were foaming--breaking in
+mid-ocean where his chart, he knew, showed water a mile deep. Beyond
+the white line was a three-master, her sails shivering in the breeze.
+
+The big sailing ship swung off on a new tack as he watched. Was she
+dodging those breakers? he wondered. Then he stared in amazement
+through the growing light at the unbroken swells where the white line
+had been.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He rubbed his sleepy eyes with a savage hand and stared again. There
+were no breakers--the sea was an even expanse of heaving water.
+
+"I could swear I saw them!" he told himself, but forgot this
+perplexing occurrence in the still more perplexing maneuvers of the
+sailing ship.
+
+This steady wind--for smooth handling--was all that such a craft could
+ask, yet here was this old-timer of the sea with a full spread of
+canvas booming and cracking as the ship jibed. She rolled far over as
+he watched, recovered, and tore off on a long, sweeping circle.
+
+The one man crew of the little sloop should have been preparing
+breakfast, as he had for many mornings past, but, instead he swung his
+little craft into the wind and watched for near an hour the erratic
+rushes and shivering haltings of the larger ship. But long before this
+time had passed Thorpe knew he was observing the aimless maneuvers of
+an unmanned vessel.
+
+And he watched his chance for a closer inspection.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The three-master _Minnie R._, from the dingy painting of the stern,
+hung quivering in the wind when he boarded her. There was a broken
+log-line that swept down from the stern, and he caught this and made
+his own boat fast. Then, watching his chance, he drew close and went
+overboard, the line in his hand.
+
+"Like a blooming native after cocoanuts," he told himself as he went
+up the side. But he made it and pulled himself over the rail as the
+ship drew off on another tack.
+
+Thorpe looked quickly about the deserted deck. "Ahoy, there!" he
+shouted, but the straining of rope and spars was his only answer.
+Canvas was whipping to ribbons, sheets cracked their frayed ends like
+lashes as the booms swung wildly, but a few sails still held and
+caught the air.
+
+He was on the after deck, and he leaped first for the wheel that was
+kicking and whirling with the swing of the rudder. A glance at the
+canvas that still drew, and he set her on a course with a few
+steadying pulls. There was rope lying about, and he lashed the wheel
+with a quick turn or two and watched the ship steady down to a smooth
+slicing of the waves from the west.
+
+And only then did the man take time to quiet his panting breath and
+look about him in the unnatural quiet of this strangely deserted deck.
+He shouted again and walked to a companionway to repeat the hail. Only
+an echo, sounding hollowly from below, replied to break the vast
+silence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was puzzling--inconceivable. Thorpe looked about him to note the
+lifeboats snug and undisturbed in their places. No sign there of an
+abandonment of the boat, but abandoned she was, as the silence told
+only too plainly. And Thorpe, as he went below, had an uncanny feeling
+of the crew's presence--as if they had been there, walked where he
+walked, shouted and laughed a matter of a brief hour or two before.
+
+The door of the captain's cabin was burst in, hanging drunkenly from
+one hinge. The log-book was open; there were papers on a rude desk.
+The bunk was empty where the blankets had been thrown hurriedly
+aside. Thorpe could almost see the skipper of this mystery ship
+leaping frantically from his bed at some sudden call or commotion. A
+chair was smashed and broken, and the man who examined it curiously
+wiped from his hands a disgusting slime that was smeared stickily on
+the splintered fragments. There was a fetid stench within his
+nostrils, and he passed up further examination of this room.
+
+Forward in the fo'c'sle he felt again irresistibly the recent presence
+of the crew. And again he found silence and emptiness and a disorder
+that told of a fear-stricken flight. The odor that sickened and
+nauseated the exploring man was everywhere. He was glad to gain the
+freedom of the wind-swept deck and rid his lungs of the vile breath
+within the vessel.
+
+He stood silent and bewildered. There was not a living soul aboard the
+ship--no sign of life. He started suddenly. A moaning, whimpering cry
+came from forward on the deck!
+
+Thorpe leaped across a disorder of tangled rope to race toward the
+bow. He stopped short at sight of a battered cage. Again the moaning
+came to him--there was something that still lived on board the
+ill-fated ship.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He drew closer to see a great, huddled, furry mass that crouched and
+cowered in a corner of the cage. A huge ape, Thorpe concluded, and it
+moaned and whimpered absurdly like a human in abject fear.
+
+Had this been the terror that drove the men into the sea? Had this ape
+escaped and menaced the officers and crew? Thorpe dismissed the
+thought he well knew was absurd. The stout wood bars of the cage were
+broken. It had been partially crushed, and the chain that held it to
+the deck was extended to its full length.
+
+"Too much for me," the man said slowly, aloud; "entirely too much for
+me! But I can't sail this old hooker alone; I'll have to get out and
+let her drift."
+
+He removed completely one of the splintered bars from the broken cage.
+"I've got to leave you, old fellow," he told the cowering animal, "but
+I'll give you the run of the ship."
+
+He went below once more and came quickly back with the log-book and
+papers from the captain's room. He tied these in a tight wrapping of
+oilcloth from the galley and hung them at his belt. He took the wheel
+again and brought the cumbersome craft slowly into the wind. The bare
+mast of his own sloop was bobbing alongside as he went down the line
+and swam over to her.
+
+Fending off from the wallowing hulk, he cut the line, and his small
+craft slipped slowly astern as the big vessel fell off in the wind and
+drew lumberingly away on its unguided course.
+
+She vanished into the clear-cut horizon before the watching man ceased
+his staring and pricked a point upon his chart that he estimated was
+his position.
+
+And he watched vainly for some sign of life on the heaving waters as
+he set his sloop back on her easterly course.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was a sun-tanned young man who walked with brisk strides into the
+office of Admiral Struthers. The gold-striped arm of the uniformed man
+was extended in quick greeting.
+
+"Made it, did you?" he exclaimed. "Congratulations!"
+
+"All O.K.," Thorpe agreed. "Ship and log are ready for your
+verification."
+
+"Talk sense," said the officer. "Have any trouble or excitement? Or
+perhaps you are more interested in collecting a certain bet than you
+are in discussing the trip."
+
+"Damn the bet!" said the young man fervently. "And that's just what I
+am here for--to talk about the trip. There were some little incidents
+that may interest you."
+
+He painted for the Admiral in brief, terse sentences the picture of
+that daybreak on the Pacific, the line of breakers, white in the
+vanishing night, the abandoned ship beyond, cracking her canvas to
+tatters in the freshening breeze. And he told of his boarding her and
+of what he had found.
+
+"Where was this?" asked the officer, and Thorpe gave his position as
+he had checked it.
+
+"I reported the derelict to a passing steamer that same day," he
+added, but the Admiral was calling for a chart. He spread it on the
+desk before him and placed the tip of a pencil in the center of an
+unbroken expanse.
+
+"Breakers, you said?" he questioned. "Why, there are hundreds of
+fathoms here, Mr. Thorpe."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I know it," Thorpe agreed, "but I saw them--a stretch of white water
+for an eighth of a mile. I know it's impossible, but true. But forget
+that item for a time, Admiral. Look at this." He opened a brief case
+and took out a log-book and some other papers.
+
+"The log of the _Minnie R._," he explained briefly. "Nothing in it but
+routine entries up to that morning and then nothing at all."
+
+"Abandoned," mused the Admiral, "and they did not take to the boats.
+There have been other instances--never explained."
+
+"See if this helps any," suggested Thorpe and handed the other two
+sheets of paper. "They were in the captain's cabin," he added.
+
+Admiral Struthers glanced at them, then settled back in his chair.
+
+"Dated September fourth," he said. "That would have been the day
+previous to the time you found her." The writing was plain, in a
+careful, well-formed hand. He cleared his throat and read aloud:
+
+"Written by Jeremiah Wilkens of Salem, Mass., master of the _Minnie
+R._, bound from Shanghai to San Pedro. I have sailed the seas for
+forty years, and for the first time I am afraid. I hope I may destroy
+this paper when the lights of San Pedro are safe in sight, but I am
+writing here what it would shame me to set down in the ship's log,
+though I know there are stranger happenings on the face of the waters
+than man has ever seen--or has lived to tell.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"All this day I have been filled with fear. I have been watched--I
+have felt it as surely as if a devil out of hell stood beside me with
+his eyes fastened on mine. The men have felt it, too. They have been
+frightened at nothing and have tried to conceal it as I have
+done.--And the animals....
+
+"A shark has followed us for days--it is gone to-day. The cats--we
+have three on board--have howled horribly and have hidden themselves
+in the cargo down below. The mate is bringing a big monkey to be sold
+in Los Angeles. An orang-outang, he calls it. It has been an ugly
+brute, shaking at the bars of its cage and showing its ugly teeth ever
+since we left port. But to-day it is crouched in a corner of its cage
+and will not stir even for food. The poor beast is in mortal terror.
+
+"All this is more like the wandering talk of an old woman muttering in
+a corner by the fireside of witches and the like than it is like a
+truthful account set down by Jeremiah Wilkins. And now that I have
+written it I see there is nothing to tell. Nothing but the shameful
+account of my fear of some horror beyond my knowing. And now that it
+is written I am tempted to destroy--No, I will wait--"
+
+"And now what is this?" Admiral Struthers interrupted his reading to
+ask. He turned the paper to read a coarse, slanting scrawl at the
+bottom of the page.
+
+"The eyes--the eyes--they are everywhere above us--God help--" The
+writing trailed off in a straggling line.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The lips beneath the trim gray mustache drew themselves into a hard
+line. It was a moment before Admiral Struthers raised his eyes to
+meet those of Robert Thorpe.
+
+"You found this in the captain's cabin?" he asked.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And the captain was--"
+
+"Gone."
+
+"Blood stains?"
+
+"No, but the door had been burst off its hinges. There had been a
+struggle without a doubt."
+
+The officer mused for a minute or two.
+
+"Did they go aboard another vessel?" he pondered. "Abandon ship--open
+the sea-cocks--sink it for the insurance?" He was trying vainly to
+find some answer to the problem, some explanation that would not
+impose too great a strain upon his own reason.
+
+"I have reported to the owners," said Thorpe. "The _Minnie R._ was not
+heavily insured."
+
+The Admiral ruffled some papers on his desk to find a report.
+
+"There has been another," he told Thorpe. "A tramp freighter is listed
+as missing. She was last reported due east of the position you give.
+She was coming this way--must have come through about the same
+water--" He caught himself up abruptly. Thorpe sensed that an Admiral
+of the Navy must not lend too credulous an ear to impossible stories.
+
+"You've had an interesting experience, Mr. Thorpe," he said. "Most
+interesting. Probably a derelict is the answer, some hull just afloat.
+We will send out a general warning."
+
+He handed the loose papers and the log book to the younger man. "This
+stuff is rubbish," he stated with emphasis. "Captain Wilkins held his
+command a year or so too long."
+
+"You will do nothing about it?" Thorpe asked in astonishment.
+
+"I said I would warn all shipping; there is nothing more to be done."
+
+"I think there is." Thorpe's gray eye were steady as he regarded the
+man at the desk. "I intend to run it down. There have been other such
+instances, as you said--never explained. I mean to find the answer."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Admiral Struthers smiled indulgently. "Always after excitement," he
+said. "You'll be writing another book, I expect. I shall look forward
+to reading it ... but just what are you going to do?"
+
+"I am going to the Islands," said Thorpe quietly. "I am going to
+charter a small ship of some sort, and I am going out there and camp
+on that spot in the hope of seeing those eyes and what is behind them.
+I am leaving to-night."
+
+Admiral Struthers leaned back to indulge in a hearty laugh. "I refused
+you a passage on a destroyer once," he said, "and it was an expensive
+mistake. I don't make the same mistake twice. Now I am going to offer
+you a trip....
+
+"The _Bennington_ is leaving to-day on a cruise to Manila. I'll hold
+her an extra hour or two if you would like to go. She can drop you at
+Honolulu or wherever you say. Lieutenant Commander Brent is in
+command--you remember him in Manila, of course."
+
+"Fine," Thorpe responded. "I'll be there."
+
+"And," he added, as he took the Admiral's hand, "if I didn't object to
+betting on a sure thing I would make you a little proposition. I would
+bet any money that you would give your shirt to go along."
+
+"I never bet, either," said Admiral Struthers, "on a sure loss. Now
+get out of here, you young trouble-shooter, and let the Navy get to
+work." His eyes were twinkling as he waved the young man out.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Thorpe found himself comfortably fixed on the _Bennington_. Brent, her
+commander, was a fine example of the aggressive young chaps that the
+destroyer fleet breeds. And he liked to play cribbage, Thorpe found.
+They were pegging away industriously the sixth night out when the
+first S.O.S. reached them. A message was placed before the commander.
+He read it and tossed it to Thorpe as he rose from his chair.
+
+"S.O.S.," said the radio sheet, "_Nagasaki Maru_, twenty-four
+thirty-five N., one five eight West. Struck something unknown. Down at
+the bow. May need help. Please stand by."
+
+Captain Brent had left the room. A moment later, and the quiver and
+tremble of the _Bennington_ told Thorpe they were running full speed
+for the position of the stricken ship.
+
+But: "Twenty-four thirty-five North," he mused, "and less than two
+degrees west of where the poor old _Minnie R._ got hers. I wonder ...
+I wonder...."
+
+"We will be there in four hours," said Captain Brent on his return.
+"Hope she lasts. But what have they struck out there? Derelict
+probably, though she should have had Admiral Struthers' warning."
+
+Robert Thorpe made no reply other than: "Wait here a minute, Brent. I
+have something to show you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He had not told the officer of his mission nor of his experience, but
+he did so now. And he placed before him the wildly improbable
+statement of the late Captain Wilkins.
+
+"Something is there," surmised Captain Brent, "just awash,
+probably--no superstructure visible. Your _Minnie R._ hit the same
+thing."
+
+"Something is there," Thorpe agreed. "I wish I knew what."
+
+"This stuff has got to you, has it?" asked Brent as he returned the
+papers of Captain Wilkins. He was quite evidently amused at the
+thought.
+
+"You weren't on the ship," said Thorpe, simply. "There was nothing to
+see--nothing to tell. But I know...."
+
+He followed Brent to the wireless room.
+
+"Can you get the _Nagasaki_?" Brent asked.
+
+"They know we are coming, sir," said the operator. "We seem to be the
+only one anywhere near."
+
+He handed the captain another message. "Something odd about that," he
+said.
+
+"_U. S. S. Bennington_," the captain read aloud. "We are still afloat.
+On even keel now, but low in water. No water coming in. Engines full
+speed ahead, but we make no headway. Apparently aground. _Nagasaki
+Maru._"
+
+"Why, that's impossible," Brent exclaimed impatiently. "What kind of
+foolishness--" He left the question uncompleted. The radio man was
+writing rapidly. Some message was coming at top speed. Both Brent and
+Thorpe leaned over the man's shoulder to read as he wrote.
+
+"_Bennington_ help," the pencil was writing, "sinking fast--decks
+almost awash--we are being--"
+
+In breathless silence they watched the pencil, poised above the paper
+while the operator listened tensely to the silent night.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Again his ear received the wild jumble of dots and dashes sent by a
+frenzied hand in that far-off room. His pencil automatically set down
+the words. "Help--help--" it wrote before Thorpe's spellbound gaze,
+"the eyes--the eyes--it is attack--"
+
+And again the black night held only the rush and roar of torn waters
+where the destroyer raced quivering through the darkness. The message,
+as the waiting men well knew, would never be completed.
+
+"A derelict!" Robert Thorpe exclaimed with unconscious scorn. But
+Captain Brent was already at a communication tube.
+
+"Chief? Captain Brent. Give her everything you've got. Drive the
+_Bennington_ faster than she ever went before."
+
+The slim ship was a quivering lance of steel that threw itself through
+foaming waters, that shot with an endless, roaring surge of speed
+toward that distant point in the heaving waste of the Pacific, and
+that seemed, to the two silent men on the bridge, to put the dragging
+miles behind them so slowly--so slowly.
+
+"Let me see those papers," said Captain Brent, finally.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He read them in silence.
+
+Then: "The eyes!" he said. "The eyes! That is what this other poor
+devil said. My God, Thorpe, what is it? What can it be? We're not all
+insane."
+
+"I don't know what I expected to find," said Thorpe slowly. "I had
+thought of many things, each wilder than the next. This Captain
+Wilkins said the eyes were above him. I had visions of some sky
+monster ... I had even thought of some strange aircraft from out in
+space, perhaps, with round lights like eyes. I have pictured
+impossibilities! But now--"
+
+"Yes," the other questioned, "now?"
+
+"There were tales in olden times of the Kraken," suggested Thorpe.
+
+"The Kraken!" the captain scoffed. "A mythical monster of the sea.
+Why, that was just a fable."
+
+"True," was the quiet reply, "that was just a fable. And one of the
+things I have learned is how frequently there is a basis of fact
+underlying a fable. And, for that matter, how can we know there is no
+such monster, some relic of a Mesozoic species supposed to be
+extinct?"
+
+He stood motionless, staring far out ahead into the dark. And Brent,
+too, was silent. They seemed to try with unaided eyes to penetrate the
+dark miles ahead and see what their sane minds refused to accept.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was still dark when the search-light's sweeping beam picked up the
+black hull and broad, red-striped funnels of the _Nagasaki Maru_. She
+was riding high in the water, and her big bulk rolled and wallowed in
+the trough of the great swells.
+
+The _Bennington_ swept in a swift circle about the helpless hulk while
+the lights played incessantly upon her decks. And the watching eyes
+strained vainly for some signal to betoken life, for some sign that
+their mad race had not been quite vain. Her engines had been shut
+down; there was no steerage-way for the _Nagasaki Maru_, and, from all
+they could see, there were no human hands to drag at the levers of her
+waiting engines nor to twirl with sure touch the deserted helm. The
+_Nagasaki Maru_ was abandoned.
+
+The lights held steadily upon her as the _Bennington_ came alongside
+and a boat was swung out smartly in its davits. But Thorpe knew he was
+not alone in his wild surmise as to the cause of the catastrophe.
+
+"Throw your lights around the water occasionally," Brent ordered. "Let
+me know if you see anything."
+
+"Yes sir," said the man at the search-light. "I will report if I spot
+any survivors or boats."
+
+"Report anything you see," said Commander Brent curtly.
+
+"You go aboard if you want to," he suggested to Thorpe. "I will stay
+here and be ready if you need help."
+
+Thorpe nodded with approval as the small boat pulled away in the dark,
+for there was activity apparent on the destroyer not warranted by a
+mere rescue at sea. Gun-crews rushed to their stations; the tarpaulin
+covers were off of the guns, and their slender lengths gleamed where
+they covered the course of the boat.
+
+"Brent is ready," Thorpe admitted, "for anything."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They found the iron ladder against the ship's side, and a sailor
+sprang for it and made his way aboard. Thorpe was not the last to set
+foot on deck, and he shuddered involuntarily at the eery silence he
+knew awaited them.
+
+It was the _Minnie R._ over again, as he expected, but with a
+difference. The sailing vessel, before he boarded it, had been for
+some time exposed to the sun, while the _Nagasaki Maru_ had not. And
+here there were slimy trails still wet on the decks.
+
+He went first to the wireless room. He must know the final answer to
+that interrupted message, and he found it in emptiness. No radio man
+was waiting him there, nor even a body to show the loser of an unequal
+battle. But there was blood on the door-jamb where a body--the man's
+body, Thorpe was sure--had been smashed against the wood. A wisp of
+black hair in the blood gave its mute evidence of the hopeless fight.
+And the slime, like the trails on the deck, smeared with odorous
+vileness the whole room.
+
+Thorpe went again to the deck, and, as on the other ship, he breathed
+deeply to rid his lungs and nostrils of the abhorrent stench. The
+ensign in charge of the boarding party approached.
+
+"What kind of a rotten mess is this?" he demanded. "The ship is filthy
+and not a soul on board. Not a man of them, officers or crew, and the
+boats are all here. It's absolutely amazing, isn't it?"
+
+"No," Thorpe told him, "about what we expected. What do you make of
+this?" He touched with his foot a broad trail that shone wet in the
+_Bennington's_ lights.
+
+"The Lord knows," said the ensign in wonder. "It's all over and it
+smells like a rotten dead fish. Well, we will be going back, sir." He
+called to a petty officer to round up the men, and the boat was
+brought alongside.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Their return to the _Bennington_ again through a pathway of light that
+Thorpe knew was safe under the black muzzles of the destroyer's guns.
+
+Or was it, he asked himself. Safe! Was anything safe from this
+devilish mystery that could pluck each cowering human from the lowest
+depths of this steel freighter, that could drag her down in the water
+till the radio man sent his cry: "We are sinking!..."
+
+He told Brent quietly, after the ensign had reported, of the struggles
+in the wireless room and its few remaining traces. And he watched with
+the commander through the hour of darkness while the _Bennington_
+steamed in slow circles about the abandoned hulk, while her
+search-lights played endlessly over the empty waters and the men at
+the guns cast wondering glances at their skipper who ordered such
+strange procedure when no danger was there.
+
+With daylight the scene lost its sense of mysterious threat, and
+Thorpe was eager to return to the abandoned ship.
+
+"I might find something," he said, "some trace or indication of what
+we have to fight."
+
+"I must leave," said Commander Brent. "Oh, I'm coming back, never
+fear," he added, at the look of dismay on Thorpe's face. The thought
+of leaving this mystery unsolved was more than that young seeker after
+adventure could accept.
+
+"I'm coming back," Brent repeated. "I've been in communication with
+the Admiral--Honolulu has relayed the messages through. All code, of
+course; we mustn't alarm the whole Pacific with our nightmares. The
+old man says to stick around and get the low-down on this damn thing."
+
+"Then why leave?" objected Thorpe.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Because I am coming around to your way of thinking, Thorpe. Because I
+am as certain as can be that we have a monster of some sort to deal
+with ... and because I haven't any depth charges. I want to run up to
+the supply station at Honolulu and get a couple of ash-cans of TNT to
+lay on top of the brute if we sight him."
+
+"Glory be!" said Thorpe fervently. "That sounds like business. Go and
+get your eggs and perhaps we can feed them to this devil--raw.... And
+I think I'll stay here, if you will be back by dark."
+
+"Better not," the other objected; but Thorpe overruled him.
+
+"This thing attacks in the dark," he said. "I will lay a little bet on
+that. It left the orang-outang on the _Minnie R._--quit at the first
+sign of daylight. I will be safe through the day, and besides, the
+beast has gutted this ship. It won't return, I imagine. And if I stay
+there for the day--live as they lived, the men who manned that ship--I
+may have some information that will be of help when you get back. But
+for Heaven's sake, Brent, don't stop to pick any flowers on the way."
+
+"It's your funeral," said Brent not too cheerfully. "The old man said
+to give you every assistance, and perhaps that includes helping you
+commit suicide."
+
+But Robert Thorpe only laughed as Commander Brent gave his orders for
+a small boat to be lowered. A ship's lantern and rockets for night
+signals were taken at the officer's orders. "We'll be back before
+dark," he said, "but take these as a precaution."
+
+One favor Thorpe asked--that the ship's carpenter go over with him and
+help him to make a strong-barred retreat of the wireless cabin.
+
+"And I'll talk to you occasionally," he told Brent. "I tried the key
+while I was aboard; the wireless is working on its batteries."
+
+He waved a cheery good-by as the small boat pulled away. "And hurry
+back," he called. The destroyer commander nodded an emphatic assent.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On board the _Nagasaki Maru_, Thorpe directed the carpenter and his
+helpers in the work he wanted done. The man seemed to know
+instinctively where to put his hands on needed supplies, and the
+result was a virtual cage of strong oak bars enclosing the wireless
+room, and braces of oak to bar the single door. Thorpe was not
+assuming any bravado in his feeling of safety, but he was doing what
+he had done in many other tight corners, and he prepared his defences
+in advance.
+
+These included weapons of offense as well. As the boat with the
+destroyer's men pulled back to the _Bennington_, he placed in easy
+reach in a corner of the room a heavy calibered rifle he had taken
+from his belongings.
+
+And, still, with all his feeling of security, there was a strange
+depression fell upon him when the _Bennington's_ narrow hull was small
+upon the horizon, and then that, too, was gone and only the heaving
+swells and the wallowing hulk were his companions.
+
+Only these? He shivered slightly as he thought of that unseen watcher
+with the devil-eyes whose presence Captain Wilkins had felt--and his
+men, and the poor terrified ape! He deliberately put from his mind the
+thought of this; no use to start the day with morbid fears. He went
+below to examine the cabins. But he carried the heavy elephant gun
+with him wherever he went.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Below decks the signs of the marauder were everywhere, yet there was
+little to be learned. The slimy trails dried quickly and vanished, but
+not before Thorpe had traced them to the uttermost depths of the ship.
+
+There was not a nook or corner that had gone unsearched in the
+horrible quest for human food. And one thing impressed itself forcibly
+upon the man's mind. He found a lantern, and he used it of necessity
+in his explorations, but this thing had gone through the dark and with
+unerring certainty had found its way to every victim.
+
+"Can it see in the dark?" Thorpe questioned. "Or...." He visioned
+dimly some denizen of the vast depths, living beyond the limits of the
+sun's penetration, far in the abysmal darkness where its only light
+must be self-made. But his mind failed in the attempt to picture what
+manner of horror this thing might be.
+
+Even in the hold its evil traces were found. There were tiers of metal
+drums that still shone wet in his lantern's light. Calcium
+carbide--for making acetylene, he supposed--marked "Made in U.S.A."
+The _Nagasaki_ must have been westward bound.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He went, after an hour or so, to the wireless room, and only when he
+relaxed in the safety of his improvised fortress did he realize how
+tense had been every nerve and muscle through his long search. He
+tried the wireless and got an instant response from the destroyer.
+
+"Don't shoot it too fast," he spelled out slowly to the distant
+operator: "I am only a dub. Just wanted to say hello and report all
+O.K."
+
+"Fine," was the steady, careful response. "We have had a little
+trouble with our condensers--" There was a short pause, then the
+message continued, this portion dictated by the commander. "Delay not
+important. We will be back as agreed. Have picked up _S. S. Adelaide_
+bound east in your latitude. Warned her to take northerly course
+account derelict. See you later. Signed, Brent, commanding _U. S. S.
+Bennington_."
+
+The man in the barred room tapped off his acknowledgement and closed
+the key. He suddenly realized he had had no breakfast, and the hours
+had been slipping past. He took his gun again and went down to the
+galley to prepare some coffee. It was not the time or place for an
+enjoyable meal, but he would have relished it more had he not pictured
+the _Adelaide_ and her lovely owner steaming across these threatening
+seas.
+
+He knew the captain of the _Adelaide_. "Obstinate pigheaded old
+Scotchman!" "Hope he takes Brent's advice. Of course Brent couldn't
+tell him the truth. We can't blat this wild yarn all over the air or
+the passenger lines would have our scalps. But I wish the _Adelaide_
+was safe in Manila."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His explorations in the afternoon were half-hearted and perfunctory.
+There was nothing more to be learned. But he had seen in his mind some
+vague outline of what they must meet. He saw a something, mammoth,
+huge, that could grasp and hold an ocean freighter--against whose
+great body he had seen the waves dash in a line of white spray. Yet a
+something that could force its way down narrow passages, could press
+with terrific strength on bolted doors and crush them inward, wrecked
+and splintered. Some serpentine thing that felt and saw its way and
+crawled so surely through the dark--found its prey--seized it--and
+carried off a man as easily as it might a mouse.
+
+No octopus, no matter what proportions, filled the description. He
+gave up trying to see too clearly the awful thing. And he kept away
+from the ship's rail when once he had ventured near. For there had
+come to him a feeling of fear that had sent the waves of cold
+trickling and prickling up his spine. Was there something really
+there?... A waiting lurking horror in the depths?
+
+"The eyes," he thought, "the eyes!..." And he went more quickly than
+he knew to his barred retreat where again he might breathe quietly.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The position of the deserted ship was south of the regular steamer
+lanes on the TransPacific run. Only a trace of smoke on the northern
+horizon marked through the afternoon the passage of other craft. It
+was a long and lonely vigil for the waiting man. But the _Bennington_
+would return, and he listened in at intervals hoping to hear her
+friendly signal.
+
+The batteries operating the _Nagasaki's_ wireless were none too
+strong; Thorpe saved their strength, though he tried at times to raise
+the _Bennington_ somewhere beyond his reach.
+
+The sun was touching the horizon when he got his first response. "Keep
+up the old nerve," admonished the slow, careful sending of the
+_Bennington's_ operator. "We have been delayed but we are on our way.
+Signed, Brent."
+
+The man in the wireless room placed the oak bars across the door, and
+tried to believe he was nonchalant and unafraid as he laid out extra
+clips of cartridges. But his eyes persisted in following the sinking
+sun, and he watched from within his cage the coming of the quick dark.
+
+The protecting glare of day must be unbearable to this monster from
+the lightless depths, and daylight was vanishing. Thorpe's mind was
+searching for additional means of defense. He found it in the cargo he
+had seen. The drums of carbide! He could scatter it on the deck--it
+reacted with water, and those slimy arms, if they came and touched it,
+could find the contact hot. He took his lantern and went hastily below
+to stagger back with a drum upon his shoulder.
+
+In the half-light that was left him he forced the cover and then
+rolled the drum about the swaying deck. The gray, earthly lumps of
+carbide formed erratic lines. Useless perhaps, he admitted, but the
+threatening dark forced the man to use every means at his command.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He was scattering the contents of a second drum when he stiffened
+abruptly to rigid attention.
+
+The ship, thrown broadside to the wide-spaced swells, had rolled
+endlessly with a monotonous motion. But now the deck beneath him was
+steadying. It assumed an abnormal levelness. The boat rose and fell
+with the waves, but it no longer rolled. There was something beneath
+holding, drawing on it.
+
+Thorpe knew in that frozen second what it meant. The drum clattered to
+the rail as he dashed for his room. Gun in hand, he watched with
+staring eyes where the deserted deck showed dim and vague in the light
+of the stars and the bow of the ship was lost in the uncertain dark of
+night.
+
+Wide-eyed he watched into the blackness, and he listened with
+desperate attention for some slightest sound beyond the splashing of
+waves and the creaking of spars.
+
+Far in the west a light appeared, to glow and vanish and glow again in
+the tumbling waters. The _Bennington_! His heart leaped at the
+thought, then sank as he knew the destroyer's lights would not appear
+from that direction.
+
+Through a slow hour that seemed an eternity the oncoming ship drew
+near, and he knew with a sudden, startling certainty that it was the
+_Adelaide_--and Ruth Allaire--coming on, through into the horror
+awaiting.
+
+He leaned forward tensely as a sound reached his ears. A ghostly echo
+of a sound, like the softest of smooth, slipping fabric upon hard
+steel. And as he listened, before his staring eyes, a something came
+between him and the lighted yacht.
+
+It wavered and swung in the darkness. It was formless, uncertain of
+outline, and it swung in the night out beyond the ship's rail till it
+suddenly neared, waved high overhead, and the cold light of the stars
+shone in pale reflection from an enormous, staring eye.
+
+It surmounted a serpentine form that took shape in the dim radiance
+without and came lower in undulating folds to crash heavily upon the
+deck.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Thorpe's hand was upon the wireless key. He had wanted to warn off the
+yacht, but not till the thud of the creature on the bare deck proved
+its reality could he force his cold fingers to press the key.
+
+Then, fast as his inexperience allowed, he called frantically for the
+_Adelaide_. He spelled her name, over and over.... Would the sleepy
+operator never answer?
+
+The _Bennington_ broke in one. "Is that you, Thorpe? What is up?" they
+demanded.
+
+But Thorpe kept up his slow spelling of the yacht's name. He must get
+a warning to them! Then he realized that the _Bennington_ could do it
+better.
+
+"_Bennington_," he called, "_Adelaide_ approaching. I am attacked.
+Warn them off. Warn them--" His frantic, hissing dots and dashes died
+immediately. Beneath his feet the _Nagasaki Maru_ was rolling again,
+swinging free to the lift and thrust of the swells beneath.
+
+"Good God!" he shouted aloud in his lonely cabin. "It's gone for the
+yacht. _Adelaide_--turn north--full speed--" he clicked off on a slow,
+stuttering key. "Head north. You are being attacked!" He groaned again
+as he saw the _Adelaide's_ shining ports swing away from the safety of
+the north; the ship broached broadside to the waves and came slowly to
+a stop.
+
+"_Bennington_," he radioed. "Brent--it has got the _Adelaide_.
+Help--hurry! I am going over."
+
+He tore wildly at the barred door, and he made a dash across the deck
+to slip sprawling in a heap against the rail where the slimy traces of
+the recent visitor stretched glistening on the deck.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+How he lowered the boat Thorpe never knew. But he knew there was one
+that the men from the _Bennington_ had swung over the side, and tore
+madly at the tackle to let the boat crash miraculously upright into
+the sea. He slung the rifle about his neck with a rope end--there were
+cartridges in his pocket--and he went down the dangling lines and cast
+off in a frenzy of haste.
+
+What could he do? He hardly dared form the question. Only this stood
+clear and unanswerable in his mind: The yacht was in the monster's
+grip, and Ruth Allaire was there on board. Ruth Allaire, so smiling,
+so friendly, so lovable! Food for that horror from the depths.... He
+rowed with super-human strength to drive the heavy boat across the
+wave-swept distance that separated them.
+
+Between gasping breaths he turned at times to glance over his shoulder
+and correct his course. And now, as he drew near, he saw though
+indistinct the unmistakable, snakelike weaving of horrible tenuous
+fingers, rolling and groping about the yacht.
+
+They were plain as he drew alongside. The trim ship rose and fell with
+the water, while over her side where Thorpe approached swung a long,
+white monstrous rope of flesh. It retreated like the lash of a whip,
+and the horrified watcher saw as it went the struggling figure of a
+man in the grasp of flabby lips. And above them a single eye glared
+wickedly.
+
+Another vile, twisting arm rose from the afterdeck with a screaming
+figure in its grasp and vanished into the water beyond the yacht.
+There were others writhing about the decks. Thorpe saw them as he made
+his boat fast and clambered aboard.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A wave of reeking air enveloped him as he reached the deck; the
+nauseous stench from the monster's tentacles was horrible beyond
+endurance. He gagged and choked as the stifling breath entered his
+lungs.
+
+A huge rope of slippery, throbbing flesh stretched its twisted length
+toward the stern. It contracted as he watched into bulging muscular
+rings and withdrew from the afterdeck. The deadly end of it stopped in
+mid-air not twenty feet from where he stood. The jawlike pincers on it
+held the limp form of an officer in its sucking grip, while above, in
+a protuberance like a gnarled horn, a great eye glared into Thorpe's
+with devilish hatred.
+
+The beak opened sharply to drop its unconscious burden upon the deck,
+and the watching man, petrified with horror, saw within the gaping maw
+great sucking discs and beyond them a brilliant glow. The whole
+cavernous pit was aflame with phosphorescent light. Dimly he knew that
+this light explained the ability of the beastly arms to grope so
+surely in the dark.
+
+The eye narrowed as the gaping, fleshy jaws distended, and Robert
+Thorpe, in a flash that galvanized him to action, was aware that his
+fight for life was on. He fired blindly from the hip, and the recoil
+of the heavy gun almost tore it from his hands. But he knew he had
+aimed true, and the toothless, seeking jaws whipped in agony back into
+the sea.
+
+There were other arms whose eyes were searching the stern of the
+yacht. Thorpe plunged frenziedly down a companionway for the cabin he
+knew was Ruth Allaire's. Was he in time? Could he save her if he found
+her? His mind was in a turmoil of half-formed plans as he rushed madly
+down the corridor to find the body of the girl a limp huddle across
+the threshold of her cabin.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+She was alive; he knew it as he swung her soft body across one
+shoulder and staggered with his burden up the stairs. If he could only
+breathe! His throat was tight and strangling with the reeking
+putrescence in the air. And before his eyes was a picture of the
+strong oak bars of his own retreat. Somehow, some way, he must get
+back to the abandoned ship.
+
+An eye detected him as he came on deck, and he dropped the limp body
+of the girl at his feet as he swung his rifle toward the glowing light
+within the opening jaws. The sucking discs cupped and wrinkled in
+dread readiness in the fleshy, toothless opening. He emptied the
+magazine into the head, though he knew this was only a feeler and a
+feeder for a still more horrible mouth in the monstrous body that rose
+and fell tremendously in the dark waters beyond. But it was typical of
+Robert Thorpe that even in the horror and frenzy of the moment he
+rammed another clip of cartridges into his rifle before he stooped to
+again raise the prostrate figure of Ruth Allaire.
+
+The forward deck for the moment was clear; it rose high with the
+weight of the writhing, twisting arms that weighed down the stern of
+the yacht where the crew had taken refuge.
+
+To think of helping them was worse than folly--he dismissed the
+thought as another great eye came over the rail. Once more he used the
+gun, then lowered the girl to the waiting boat, and cast off and rowed
+with the stealthiest of strokes into the dark.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Behind him were whipping points of light above the white brilliance of
+the yacht _Adelaide_. The boat was tossing in great waves that came
+from beyond, where a body, incredibly huge, was tearing the waters to
+foam. There were ghostly arms that shone in slimy wetness, that lashed
+searchingly in all directions, as the monster gave vent to its fury at
+Thorpe's attack. There were screaming human figures grasped in many of
+the jaws, and the man was glad with a great thankfulness that the
+girl's stupor could save her from the frightful sight.
+
+He dared to row now, and his breath was coming in great choking sobs
+of sheer exhaustion when at last he pulled the senseless form of Ruth
+Allaire to the deck of the _Nagasaki_ and drew her within the frail
+shelter of the wireless room.
+
+Stout had the oaken bars appeared, and safe his refuge in the
+barricaded room, but that was before he had seen in horrible reality
+the fearful fury of this monster from the deep. He placed the braces
+against the door and turned with hopeless haste to seize the wireless
+key.
+
+"_Bennington_," he called, and the answer came strong and clear.
+"Where are you.... Help--" His fingers froze upon the key and the
+answering message in his ears was unheeded as he watched across the
+water the destruction of the yacht.
+
+This craft that had dared to resist the onset of the brute, to fight
+against it, to wound it, was feeling the full fury of the monster's
+rage. The gleaming lights of the doomed ship were waving lines that
+swept to and fro in the grip of those monstrous arms. The boat beneath
+Thorpe's feet was tossing in the waves that told of the titanic
+struggle. He had meant to look south for some sign of the oncoming
+destroyer, but in fearful fascination he stared spellbound where the
+masts of the trim yacht swept downward into the waves, where the green
+of her star-board lantern glowed faintly for an instant, then
+vanished, to leave only the darkness and the starlit sea.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A voice aroused him from his stupefaction. "Where am I ... where am
+I?" Ruth Allaire was asking in a frightened whisper. "That terrible
+thing--" She shuddered violently as memory returned to show again the
+horror she had witnessed. "Where are we, Robert? And the
+_Adelaide_--where is it?"
+
+Thorpe turned slowly. The insane turmoil of the past hour had numbed
+his brain, stunned him.
+
+"The _Adelaide_--" he mumbled, and groped fumblingly for coherent
+thoughts. He stared at the girl. She was half-risen from the floor
+where he had laid her, and the sight of her quivering face brought
+reason again to his mind. He knelt tenderly beside her and raised her
+in his arms.
+
+"Where is the yacht?" she repeated. "The _Adelaide_?"
+
+"Gone," Thorpe told her. "Lost!" A thought struck him.
+
+"Was your father on board, Ruth?"
+
+Ruth was dazed.
+
+"Lost," she repeated. "The _Adelaide_--lost!... No," she added in
+belated response to Thorpe's question. "Daddy was not there. But the
+men--Captain MacPherson ... that horrible monster...." She buried her
+face in her hands as she realized what Thorpe's silence meant.
+
+He held the trembling figure close as the girl whispered: "Where are
+we, Robert? Are we safe?"
+
+"We may win through yet," he told her through grim, set lips. He
+realized abruptly that he was seeing the face of Ruth Allaire in the
+light. He had left a lantern burning! He withdrew his arms from about
+her and sprang quickly to his feet to put out the tell-tale light. In
+darkness and quiet was their only safety. And he knew as he sprang
+that he had waited too long. A soft body crashed heavily on the deck
+outside.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The girl's voice was shrill with terror as she began a question.
+Thorpe's hand pressed upon her lips in the dark where he stood
+waiting--waiting.
+
+A luminous something was glowing outside the cabin. It searched and
+prodded about the deserted deck to whip upward at the audible hiss of
+wet carbide. Another appeared; the rifle came slowly to the man's
+shoulder as a pair of jaws gaped glowingly beyond the windows and an
+eye stared unblinkingly from its hornlike sheath. It crashed madly
+against the walls of the wireless room to shatter the glass and make
+kindling of the woodwork of the sash. Thorpe fired once and again
+before the specter vanished, and he knew with sickening certainty that
+the wounds were only messages to some central brain that would send
+other ravening tentacles against them. But the oak bars had held.
+
+He reached in the brief interval for the key, and he sent out one
+final call for help. He strained his ears against the head-set for
+some friendly human word of hope.
+
+"--rocket," the wireless man was saying. "Fire rockets. We can't
+find--" A swift, writhing arm wrapped crushingly about the cabin as
+the message ceased.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Thorpe seized his rifle and fired into the gray mass that bulged with
+terrible muscular contractions through the window. He fired again to
+aim lengthways of the arm and inflict as damaging a wound as his
+weapon would permit.
+
+The arm relaxed, but a score of others took up the attack. Again the
+sickening stench was about them as gaping jaws gleamed fiery beneath
+the hateful eyes and tore at the flimsy structure. Thorpe jammed more
+cartridges into the gun and fired again and again, then dropped the
+weapon to fumble for the rockets that Brent had given him.
+
+He lighted one with trembling fingers; the first ball shot straight
+into a waiting mouth. Another ignited a searing flame of acetlylene
+gas where a wet arm writhed in the hot carbide trail. The man leaned
+far out through the broken window.
+
+No time to look around. He let the red flares stream upward high into
+the air, then dropped the rocket hissing on the deck to seize once
+more the rifle.
+
+A mass of muscle crashed against the door; it went to splinters under
+the impact, and only the two oak bars remained to hold in check the
+horrible tentacles and the darting heads. One mouth closed to a
+pointed end that forced its way between the bars. The oak gave under
+the strain as Robert Thorpe pulled vainly at an empty gun. Beside him
+rose shrieks of terror as the monstrous thing came on, and Thorpe beat
+with frantic fury with his clubbed rifle at the fleshy snout.
+
+He knew as he swung the weapon that the shrieks had ceased, then
+smiled grimly in the numbing horror as he realized that Ruth Allaire
+was beside him. A piece of oak was in her hands, and she was striking
+with desperate and silent fury at the slimy flesh.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was the end, Thorpe knew, and suddenly he was glad. The nightmare
+was over, and the end was coming with this girl beside him. But Robert
+Thorpe was fighting on to the last, and he tried to make his blows
+reach outward to the hateful devilish eye.
+
+He saw it plainly now, for the deck was a glare of white light. He saw
+the eye and the thick arm behind it and the score of others that made
+a heaving, knotted mass were brilliant and wetly shining. He could see
+now how best to strike, and he turned his gun to thrust with the
+barrel at the eye.
+
+It withdrew before his stroke--the jaws slid backward to the deck.
+There were sounds that hammered at his ears. "The guns! The guns!" a
+girl was screaming. Across the deck, where a search-light played,
+huge arms were lashing backward toward the sea. The waves beyond had
+vanished where a monstrous body shone wetly black in a blinding glare.
+
+And the man hung panting, helpless, on the one remaining bar across
+the doorway to look where, beyond, her forward guns a spitting stream
+of staccato flashes, the _Bennington_ tore the waves to high-thrown
+spray. Her four clean funnels swung far over as the slim ship, with
+her stabbing, crashing guns, swung in a sweeping circle to bear down
+upon the black bulk slowly sinking in the search-light's glare.
+
+The vast body had vanished as the destroyer shot like one of her own
+projectiles over the spot where the beast had lain. And then, where
+she had passed, the sea arose in a heaving mound. The big ship beneath
+the watching man shuddered again as another depth charge grumbled its
+challenge to the master of the deeps.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The warship went careening on an arc to return and throw the full
+glare of her search-lights on the scene. They lighted a vast sea,
+strangely stilled. An oily smoothness leveled waves and ironed them
+out to show more clearly the convulsions of a torn mass that rose
+slowly into sight.
+
+Thorpe in some way found himself outside the cabin. And he knew that
+the girl was again beside him as he stared and stared at what the
+waters held. A bloated serpent form beyond believing was struggling in
+the greasy swell. Its waving tentacles again were flung aloft in
+impotent fury, and, beneath them, where their thick ends jointed the
+body, a head with one horrible eye rose into the air. A thick-lipped
+mouth gaped open, and the gleam of molars shone white in the blinding
+glare.
+
+The twisting body shuddered throughout its vast bulk, and the waving
+arms and futile staring eyes dropped helpless into the splashing sea.
+Again the revolting head was raised as the destroyer sent a rain of
+shells into its fearful mass. Once more the oily seas were calm. They
+closed over the whirling vortex where a denizen of the lightless
+depths was returning to those distant, subterranean caverns--returning
+as food for what other voracious monsters might still exist.
+
+The man's arm was about the figure of the girl, trembling anew in a
+fresh reaction from the horror they had escaped, when a small boat
+drew alongside.
+
+"They're safe," a hoarse voice bellowed back to the destroyer, and a
+man came monkeywise up a rope where Thorpe had launched his boat.
+
+And now, as one in a dream, Thorpe allowed the girl to be taken from
+him, to be lowered to the waiting boat. He clambered down himself and
+in silence was rowed across to the destroyer.
+
+"Thank God!" said Brent, as he met them at the rail. "You're safe, old
+man ... and Miss Allaire ... both of you! You let off that rocket just
+in time; we couldn't pick you up with our light--
+
+"And now," he added, "we're going back; back to San Diego. The Admiral
+wants a word of mouth report."
+
+Thorpe stilled him with a heavy gesture. "Give Ruth an opiate," he
+said dully. "Let her forget ... forget!... Good God, can we ever
+forget--" He stumbled forward, heedless of Brent's arm across his
+shoulders as the surgeon took the girl in charge.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Admiral Struthers, U.S.N., leaned back from his desk and blew a cloud
+of smoke thoughtfully toward the ceiling. He looked silently from
+Thorpe to Commander Brent.
+
+"If either one of you had come to me with such a report," he said
+finally, "I would have found it incredible; I would have thought you
+were entirely insane, or trying some wild hoax."
+
+"I wish it were a damn lie," said Thorpe quietly. "I wish I didn't
+have to believe it." There were new lines about the young-old eyes,
+lines that spoke what the lips would not confess of sleepless nights
+and the impress of a picture he could not erase.
+
+"Well, we have kept it out of the papers," said the Admiral. "Said it was a
+derelict, and the wild messages floating about were from an inexperienced
+man, frightened and irresponsible. Bad advertising--very--for the passenger
+lines."
+
+"Quite," Commander Brent agreed, "but of course Mr. Thorpe may want to
+use this in his next book of travel. He has earned the right without
+doubt."
+
+"No," said Thorpe emphatically. "No! I told you, Brent, there was
+often a factual basis for fables--remember? Well, we have proved that.
+But sometimes it is best to leave the fables just fables. I think you
+will agree." A light step sounded in the corridor beyond. "Nothing of
+this to Miss Allaire," he said sharply.
+
+The men rose as Ruth Allaire entered the room. "We were just
+speaking," said the Admiral with an engaging smile beneath his
+close-cut mustache, "of the matter of a bet. Mr. Thorpe has won
+handily, and he has taught me a lesson."
+
+He took a check book from his desk. "What charity would you like to
+name, Miss Allaire? That was left to you, you remember."
+
+"Some seamen's home," said Ruth Allaire gravely. "You will know best,
+if you two are really serious about that silly bet."
+
+"That bet, my dear," said Robert Thorpe with smiling eyes, "was very
+serious ... and it has had most serious consequences." He turned to
+the waiting men and extended a hand in farewell.
+
+"We are going to Europe, Ruth and I," he told them. "Just rambling
+around a bit. Our honeymoon, you know. Look us up if you're cruising
+out that way."
+
+
+
+
+Murder Madness
+
+PART TWO OF A FOUR-PART NOVEL
+
+_By Murray Leinster_
+
+[Illustration: "_As the madness grew, the two men fought. They were
+murder mad. The local sub-deputy gave his guests the thrill of
+watching maniacs battling to the death._"]
+
+[Sidenote: Bell, of the secret "Trade," strikes into the South
+American jungle to find the hidden stronghold of The Master--the
+unknown monster whose diabolical poison swiftly and surely is
+enslaving the whole continent.]
+
+
+Seven United States Secret Service men have disappeared in South
+America. Another is found--a screaming homicidal maniac. It is rumored
+that they are victims of a diabolical poison which produces "murder
+madness."
+
+Charley Bell, of the "Trade"--a secret service organization that does
+not officially exist--discovers that a sinister system of slavery is
+flourishing in South America, headed by a mysterious man known only as
+The Master. This slavery is accomplished by means of a poison which
+causes its victims to experience a horrible writhing of the hands,
+followed by a madness to do murder, two weeks after the poison is
+taken.
+
+The victims get relief only with an antidote supplied through Ribiera,
+The Master's Chief Deputy; but in the antidote there is more of the
+poison which again in two weeks will take effect. And so it is that a
+person who once receives the poison is forever enslaved.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Bell learns that Ribiera has kidnapped Paula Canalejas, daughter of a
+Brazilian cabinet minister--himself a victim--who has killed himself
+on feeling the "murder madness," caused by the poison, coming over
+him. Bell corners Ribiera in his home, buries the muzzles of two
+six-guns in his stomach, and demands that he set Paula free.
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+In this room the electric lights were necessary at all times. And it
+occurred to Bell irrelevantly that perhaps there were no windows
+because there might be sometimes rather noisy scenes within these
+walls. And windows will convey the sound of screaming to the outside
+air, while solid walls will not.
+
+He stood alert and grim, with his revolvers pressing into Ribiera's
+flabby flesh. His fingers were tensed upon the triggers. If he killed
+Ribiera, he would be killed. Of course. And men and women he had known
+and liked might be doomed to the most horrible of fates by Ribiera's
+death. Yet even the death or madness of many men was preferable to the
+success of the conspiracy in which Ribiera seemed to figure largely.
+
+Ribiera looked up at him with the eyes of a terrified snake. There was
+a little stirring at the door.
+
+"Your friends," said Bell softly, "had better not come close."
+
+Ribiera gasped an order. The stirrings stopped. Paula came slowly into
+the room quite alone. She smiled queerly at Bell.
+
+"I believed that you would come," she said quietly. "And yet I do not
+know that we can escape."
+
+"We're going to try," said Bell grimly. To Ribiera he added curtly,
+"You'd better order the path cleared to the door, and have one of your
+cars brought around."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ribiera croaked a repetition of the command.
+
+"Now stand up--slowly," said Bell evenly. "Very slowly. I don't want
+to die, Ribiera, so I don't want to kill you. But I haven't much hope
+of escape, so I shan't hesitate very long about doing it. And I've got
+these guns' hammers trembling at full cock. If I get a bullet through
+my head, they'll go off just the same and kill you."
+
+Ribiera got up. Slowly. His face was a pasty gray.
+
+"Your major-domo," Bell told him matter-of-factly, "will go before us
+and open every door on both sides of the way to the street. Paula"--he
+used her given came without thought, or without realizing it--"Paula
+will go and look into each door. If she as much as looks frightened, I
+fire, and try to fight the rest of the way clear. Understand? I'm
+going to get down to a boat I have ready in the harbor if I have to
+kill you and every living soul in the house!"
+
+There was no boat in the harbor, naturally. But the major-domo moved
+hesitantly across the room, looking at his master for orders. For
+Ribiera to die meant death or madness to his slaves. The major-domo's
+face was ghastly with fear. He moved onward, and Bell heard the sound
+of doors being thrust wide. Once he gave a command in the staccato
+fashion of a terrified man. Bell nodded grimly.
+
+"Now we'll move. Slowly, Ribiera! Always slowly.... Ah! That's better!
+Paula, you go on before and look into each room. I shall be sorry if
+any of your servants follow after you, Ribiera.... Through the
+doorway. Yes! All clear, Paula? I'm balancing the hammers very
+carefully, Ribiera. Very delicate work. It is fortunate for you that
+my nerves are rather steady. But really, I don't much care.... Still
+all clear before us, Paula? With the servants nerve-racked as they
+are, I believe we'll make it through, even if I do kill Ribiera.
+There'll be no particular point in killing us then. It won't help
+them. Don't stumble, please, Ribiera.... Go carefully, and very
+slowly...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Ribiera's face was a gray mask of terror when they reached the door. A
+long, low car with two men on the chauffeur's seat was waiting.
+
+"Only one man up front, Ribiera," said Bell dryly. "No ostentation,
+please. Now, I hope your servants haven't summoned the police, because
+they might want to stop me from marching you out there with a gun in
+the small of your back. And that would be deplorable, Ribiera. Quite
+deplorable."
+
+With a glance, he ordered Paula into the tonneau. He followed her,
+driving Ribiera before him. There seemed to be none about but the
+stricken, terrified servant who had opened the door for their exit.
+
+"My friend," Bell told the major-domo grimly, "I'll give you a bit of
+comfort. I'm not going to try to take the Senhor Ribiera away with me.
+Once I'm on board the yacht that waits for me, I'll release him so he
+can keep you poor devils sane until my Government has found a way to
+beat this devilish poison of his. Then I'll come back and kill him.
+Now you can tell the chauffeur to drive us to the Biera Mar."
+
+He settled back in his seat. There were beads of perspiration on his
+forehead, but he could not wipe them off. He held the two revolvers
+against Ribiera's flabby body.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The car turned the corner, and he added dryly:
+
+"Your servants, Ribiera, will warn your more prominent slaves of my
+intention of going on board a yacht. Preparations will be made to stop
+every pleasure boat and search it for me. So ... tell your chauffeur
+to swing about and make for the flying field. And tell him to drive
+carefully, by the way. I've still got these guns on a very fine
+adjustment of the trigger-pressure."
+
+Ribiera croaked the order. Bell was exactly savage enough to kill him
+if he did not escape.
+
+For twenty minutes the car sped through the residential districts of
+Rio. The sun was high in the air, but clouds were banking up above the
+Pao d'Assucar--the Sugarloaf--and it looked as if there might be one
+of the sudden summer thunderstorms that sometimes sweep Rio.
+
+Then the clear road to the flying field. Rio has the largest
+metropolitan district in the world, but a great deal of it is piled on
+end, and Rio itself built on most of the rest. The flying field is
+necessarily some miles from even the residential districts, for the
+sake of a level plain of sufficient area.
+
+The car shot ahead through practically untouched jungle, interspersed
+with tiny clearings in which were patchwork houses that might have
+been a thousand miles in the interior instead of so near the center of
+all civilization in Brazil. Up smooth gradients. Around beautifully
+engineered curves.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bell put aside one revolver long enough to search Ribiera carefully.
+He found a pearl-handled automatic, and handed it to Paula.
+
+"Worth having," he said cheerfully. "I wonder if you'd mind searching
+the chauffeur: with that gun at his head I think he'd be peaceful. You
+needn't have him stop."
+
+Paula stood up, smiling a little.
+
+"I did not think I lacked courage, Senhor," she observed, "but you
+have taught me more."
+
+"_Nil desperandum_," said Bell lightly. He relaxed deliberately.
+Matters would be tense at the flying field, and he would need to be
+wholly calm. There was little danger of an attempt at rescue here, and
+the necessity of being ready to shoot Ribiera at any instant was no
+longer a matter of split seconds.
+
+He watched, while, bent over the back of the front seat, she extracted
+two squat weapons from the chauffeur's pockets.
+
+"Quite an arsenal," said Bell as he pocketed them. He turned
+pleasantly to Ribiera. "Now, Ribiera, you understand just what I want.
+That big amphibian plane of yours is fairly fast, and once when I was
+merely your guest you assured me that it was always kept fueled and
+even provisioned for a long flight. When we reach the flying field I
+want it rolled out and warmed up, over at the other end of the field
+from the flying line. We'll go over to it in the car.
+
+"And I've thought of something. It worried me, before, because
+sometimes if a man's shot he merely relaxes all over. So while we're
+at the flying field I'm going to be holding back the triggers of these
+guns with my thumbs. I don't have to pull the trigger at all--just let
+go and they'll go off. It isn't so fine an adjustment as I had just
+now, but it's safer for you as long as you behave. And you might urge
+your chauffeur to be cautious. I do hope, Ribiera, that you won't look
+as if you were frightened. If there's any hitch, and delay for letting
+some fuel out of the tanks or messing up the motors, I'll be very
+sorry for you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The car swooped out into bright sunshine. The flying field lay below,
+already in the shadow of the banking clouds above. Hangars lay
+stretched out across the level space.
+
+Through the gates. Ribiera licked his lips. Bell jammed the revolver
+muzzles closer against his sides. The chauffeur halted the car. Paula
+spoke softly to him. He stiffened. Bell found it possible to smile
+faintly.
+
+Ribiera gave orders. There was a moment's pause--the revolver muzzles
+went deeper into his side--and he snarled a repetition. The official
+cringed and moved swiftly.
+
+"You have chosen your slaves well, Ribiera," said Bell coolly. "They
+seem to occupy all strategic positions. We'll ride across."
+
+The gears clashed. The car swerved forward and went deliberately
+across the wide clear space that was the flying field. It halted near
+the farther side. In minutes the door of a hangar swung wide. There
+was the sputtering of a not-yet-warmed-up motor. The big plane came
+slowly out, its motors coughing now and then. It swung clumsily across
+the field, turned in a wide circle, and stopped some forty or fifty
+feet from the car.
+
+"Send the mechanic back, on foot," said Bell softly.
+
+Again Ribiera found it expedient to snarl. And Bell added, gently,
+while the throttled-down motors of the big amphibian boomed on:
+
+"Now get out of the car."
+
+Tiny figures began to gaze curiously at them from the row of hangars.
+The mechanic, starting back on foot, the four people getting out of
+the car, the big plane waiting....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With his revolver ready and aimed at Ribiera's bulk, Bell reached in
+the front of the car and turned off the switch. The motor died
+abruptly. He put the key in his pocket.
+
+"Just to get a minute or two extra start," he said dryly. "Climb up in
+the plane, Paula."
+
+She obeyed, and turned at the top.
+
+"I will cover them until you are up," she said quietly.
+
+Bell laughed, now. A genuine laugh, for the first time in many days.
+
+"We do work together!" he said cheerfully.
+
+But he backed up the ladder. There was a stirring over by the hangars.
+The mechanic who had taxied the plane to this spot was a dwindling
+speck, no more than a third of the way across the field. But even from
+the distant hangars it could be seen that something was wrong.
+
+"Close the door, Paula," said Bell. He had seated himself at the
+controls, and scanned the instruments closely.
+
+This machine was heavy and large and massive. The boat-body between
+the retractable wheels added weight to the structure, and when Bell
+gave it the gun it seemed to pick up speed with an irritating
+slowness, and to roll and lurch very heavily when it did begin to
+approach flying speed. The run was long before the tail came up. It
+was longer before the joltings lessened and the plane began to rise
+slowly, with the solid steadiness that only a large and heavily loaded
+plane can compass.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Up, and up.... Bell was three hundred feet high when he crossed the
+hangars and saw tiny faces staring up at him. Some of the small
+figures were pointing across the field. The big plane circled widely,
+gaining altitude, and Bell gazed down. Ribiera was gesticulating
+wildly, pointing upward to the soaring thing, shaking his fist at it,
+and making imperious, frantic motions of command.
+
+Bell took one quick glance all about the horizon. Toward the sea the
+sun shone down brilliantly upon the city. Inland a broad white wall of
+advancing rain moved toward the coastline. And Bell smiled frostily,
+and flung the big ship into a dive and swooped down upon Ribiera as a
+hawk might swoop at a chicken.
+
+Ribiera saw the monster thing bearing down savagely, its motors
+bellowing, its nose pointed directly at him. And there is absolutely
+nothing more terrifying upon the earth than to see a plane diving upon
+you with deadly intent. A panic that throws back to non-human
+ancestors seizes upon a man. He feels the paralysis of those ancient
+anthropoids who were preyed upon by dying races of winged monsters in
+the past. That racial, atavistic terror seizes upon him.
+
+Bell laughed, though it sounded more like a bark, as Ribiera flung
+himself to the ground and screamed hoarsely when the plane seemed
+about to pounce upon him. The shrill timbre of the shriek cut through
+the roaring of the motors, even through the thick padding of the big
+plane's cabin walls that reduced that roaring to a not intolerable
+growl.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But the plane passed ten feet or more above his head. It rose, and
+climbed steeply, and passed again above the now buzzing, agitated
+hangars, and climbed above the hills behind the flying field as some
+men went running and others moved by swifter means toward the shaken,
+nerve-racked Ribiera, on whose lips were flecks of foam.
+
+Bell looked far below and far behind him. The incredible greenness of
+tropic verdure, of the jungle which rings Rio all about. The many
+glitterings of sunlight upon glass, and upon the polished domes of
+sundry public buildings, and the multitudinous shimmerings of the
+tropic sun upon the bay. The deep dark shadow of the banking clouds
+drew a sharp line across the earth, and deep in that shadow lay the
+flying field, growing small and distant as the plane flew on. But
+specks raced across the wide expanse. In a peculiar, irrational
+fashion those specks darted toward a nearly invisible speck, and
+encountered other specks darting away from that nearly invisible
+speck, and gradually all the specks were turned about and racing for
+the angular, toy-block squares which were the hangars of the
+aeroplanes of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
+
+Little white things appeared from those hangars--planes being thrust
+out into the open air while motes of men raced agitatedly about them.
+One of them was suddenly in motion. It moved slowly and clumsily
+across the ground, and then abruptly moved more swiftly. It seemed to
+float upward and to swing about in mid-air. It came floating toward
+the amphibian, though apparently nearly stationary against the sky.
+Another moved jerkily, and another....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Just before the big plane dived into the wide white wall of falling
+water, the air behind it seemed to swarm with aircraft.
+
+In the cabin of the amphibian, of course, the bellowing of the motors
+outside was muffled to a certain degree. Paula clung to the seats and
+moved awkwardly up to the place beside Bell. She had just managed to
+seat herself when the falling sheet of water obliterated all the
+world.
+
+"Strap yourself in your seat," he said in her ear above the persistent
+tumult without. "Then you might adjust my safety-belt. Well be flying
+blind in this rain. I hope the propellers hold."
+
+She fumbled, first at the belt beside his upholstered chair, and only
+afterward adjusted her own. He sent a quick glance at her.
+
+"Shouldn't have done that," he said quietly. "I can manage somehow."
+
+The plane lurched and tumbled wildly. He kicked rudder and jerked on
+the stick, watching the instrument board closely. In moments the wild
+gyrations ceased.
+
+"The beginning of this," he said evenly, "is going to be hectic.
+There'll be lightning soon."
+
+Almost on his words the gray mist out the cabin windows seemed to
+flame. There was thunder even above the motors. But the faint,
+perceptible trembling of the whole plane under the impulse of its
+engines kept on. Bell kept his eyes on the bank and turn indicator,
+glancing now and then at the altimeter.
+
+"We've got to climb," he said shortly, "up where the lightning is,
+too. We want to pass the Serra da Carioca with room to spare, or we'll
+crash on it."
+
+There was no noticeable change in the progress of the plane, of
+course. Rain was dashing against the windows of the cabin with an
+incredible velocity. Rain at a hundred miles an hour acts more like
+hail than water, anyhow, and Bell was trusting grimly to the hope that
+the propellers were of steel, which will withstand even hail, and a
+hope that the blast through the engine cowlings would keep the wiring
+free of water-made short circuits.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But the air was bad beyond belief. At times the plane spun like
+thistledown in a vast and venomous flood that crashed into the
+windows with a vicious rattling. Lightning began and grew fiercer. It
+seemed at times as if the plane were whirling crazily in sheer
+incandescent flame. The swift air-currents at the beginning of a
+tropic thunderstorm were here multiplied in trickiness and velocity by
+the hills of the Serra da Carioca, and Bell was flying blind as well.
+The safety-belts were needed fifty times within twenty minutes, as the
+big ship was flung about by fierce blasts that sometimes blew even the
+rain upward for a time. And over all, as the amphibian spun madly, and
+toppled crazily and fought for height, there was the terrific,
+incessant crashing of thunder which was horribly close, and the
+crackling flares of lightning all about.
+
+"I'm going to take a chance," said Bell curtly above the uproar, with
+the windows seeming to look out upon the fires of hell. "I think we're
+high enough. The compass has gone crazy, but I'm going to risk it."
+
+Again there was no perceptible alteration in the motion of the ship,
+but he fought it steadily toward the west. And it seemed that he
+actually was passing beyond the first fierce fringe of the storm,
+because the lightning became--well, not less frequent, but less
+continuous.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And suddenly, in a blinding flare of light that made every separate
+raindrop look like a speck of molten metal, he saw another airplane.
+It was close. Breath-takingly close. It came diving down out of
+nowhere and passed less than twenty yards before the nose of the
+amphibian. It glistened with wet, and glittered unbearably in the
+incredible brightness of the lightning. Every spot and speck and
+detail showed with an almost ghastly distinctness. But it dived on
+past, its pilot rigid and tense and unseeing, plunging like a meteor
+straight downward. The golden, iridescent mist of rain closed over its
+body. And it was gone.
+
+Ten minutes later Bell was driving onward through a gray obscurity,
+which now was no more than tinted pink by receding lightning-flashes.
+The air was still uneven and treacherous. The big plane hurtled
+downward hundreds of feet in wild descending gusts among the hills,
+and was then flung upward on invisible billows of air for other
+hundreds of feet. But it was less uncontrollable. There were periods
+of minutes when the safety-belts did not come into use.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And later still, half an hour perhaps, the steadiness of the air gave
+assurance that the plane was past the range of the Serra da Carioca
+and was headed inland. He drove on, watching his instruments and
+flying blind, but with a gathering confidence in an ultimate escape
+from the swarm of aircraft Ribiera had sent aloft in the teeth of the
+storm to hunt for him. The motors hummed outside the padded cabin. The
+girl beside him was very quiet and very still and very pale.
+
+"We want to get out of this before long," he said in her ear, "and
+then we can find out where we are, and especially begin to make some
+plans for ourselves."
+
+Her eyes turned to him. There was a curious stiffness in her manner.
+It might have seemed reserve, but Bell recognized the symptoms of a
+woman whose self-control is hanging by a thread. He smiled.
+
+"Hold on a while yet," he said gently. "I know you want to cry. But
+please hold on a while yet. When we reach friends...."
+
+Her hands went to her throat, and he could feel the effort of will
+that kept her voice steady.
+
+"Friends? We have no friends." She managed a smile. "The Senhor
+Ribiera explained to me when I arrived at his house how it was that no
+questions would be asked about my disappearance. My father is dead.
+The newspapers this morning said that it was not known whether he
+killed himself or was assassinated. The Senhor Ribiera has given
+orders to his slaves. The newspapers of this afternoon will inform a
+horrified world that you and I, together, murdered my father that we
+might flee together with such of his riches as he had actually
+gathered together for me to take away. We are murderers, my friend.
+Cables and telegraph wires are reporting the news. The daughter of the
+Minister of War of the Republic of Brazil was assisted by her lover to
+murder her father. She has fled with him. Now--where are we still to
+find friends?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bell stared, for the fraction of an instant. One thought came to him,
+and was checked. The Trade does not exist, anywhere. The Trade would
+not help. And murderers are always duly handed over when the
+Government of the United States is requested politely to do so by
+another nation. Always. And so far as the whole civilized world was
+concerned they were murderers. Even the employees of the flying field
+who were not subject to The Master would swear to the strictly
+accurate story of their escape together.
+
+"It is just scandalous enough and horrible enough," said Bell quietly,
+"to be reprinted everywhere as news. You're right. We haven't any
+friends. We're up against it. And so I think we'll have to hunt down
+and kill The Master. Then we'll be believed. And there are just two of
+us, with what weapons we have in our pockets, to attack. How many
+thousands of slaves do you suppose The Master has by now?"
+
+And, quite suddenly, he laughed.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+The sun was sinking slowly when the plane appeared above the valley.
+There was only jungle below. Jungle, and the languid river which now
+flowed sluggishly into a wide and shallow pool in which drowned trees
+formed a mass of substance neither land nor marsh nor river. The
+river now contracted to a narrow space and showed signs of haste, and
+even foaming water, and then again flowed placidly onward, sometimes
+even a hundred yards in breadth. Shadows of the mountains to the west
+were creeping toward the opposite hill-flanks, darkening the thick
+foliage and sending flocks of flying things home to their chosen
+roosts.
+
+The sound of the plane was a buzzing noise, which grew louder to a
+sharp drone as it seemed to increase in size, and became a dull
+monotonous roar as it dipped toward the waters of the stream. It
+floated downward, very gently, and circled as if regarding a certain
+spot critically, and resumed its onward flight. Again it circled,
+anxiously, now, as if the time for alighting were short.
+
+It seemed to hesitate in mid-air, and dived, and circled up-stream and
+came down the valley again. It sank, and sank, lower and lower, until
+the white of its upper wings was hidden by the tall trees on either
+side.
+
+A _jabiru_ stork saw it from downstream, solemnly squatting on four
+eggs which eventually would perpetuate the race. The _jabiru_ was
+about forty feet above the water and had a clear view of the stream.
+The stork squatted meditatively, with its long, naked neck projecting
+above the edge of its nest.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The plane dipped ever lower, its reflection vivid and complete upon
+the waveless stream below it. Ten feet above the water. Five--and
+swift ripples from the rush of air disturbed the unbroken reflections
+behind. It was almost a silhouette against the mirrored appearance of
+the sunset sky. And then a clumsy-seeming boat body touched water with
+a vast hissing sound, and settled more and more heavily, while the
+speed of the plane checked markedly and its motors roared on
+senselessly.
+
+Then, abruptly, the plane checked and partly swung around. The
+_jabiru_ half-rose from its eggs. The motors were bellowing wildly
+again. As if tearing itself free, the plane sheered off from some
+invisible obstacle, one of its wing tip floats splashed water wildly,
+and, with the motors thundering at their fullest speed, it went toward
+the shore with a dragging wing, like some wounded bird.
+
+It beached, and the _jabiru_ heard a sudden dense silence fall. A man
+climbed out of the boatlike body. He walked to the bow and dropped to
+the shore. He peered under the upward slanting nose of the boat-thing.
+The _jabiru_, listening intently, heard words.
+
+Then, quite suddenly and quite abruptly, and generally with the
+unostentatious efficiency with which Nature manages such things in the
+tropics, night fell. It was dark within minutes.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The noise of Bell's scrambling back onto the deck of the amphibian's
+hull could be heard inside the cabin. He opened the door and slipped
+down inside.
+
+"There ought to be some lights," he said curtly. "Ribiera did himself
+rather well, as a rule."
+
+He struck a match. Paula's eyes shone in the match-flame, fixed upon
+his face. He looked about, frowning. He found a switch and pressed it,
+and a dome-light came into being. The cabin of the plane, from a place
+of darkness comparable to that of the jungle all about, became
+suddenly a cosy and comfortable place.
+
+"Well?" said Paula quietly.
+
+Bell hesitated, and took a deep breath.
+
+"We're stuck," he said wryly. "We must have struck a snag or perhaps a
+rock, just under water. Half the bottom of the hull's torn out.
+There's no hope of repair. If I hadn't given her the gun and beached
+her, we'd have sunk in mid-stream."
+
+Paula said nothing.
+
+"Things are piling on us," said Bell grimly. "In the morning I'll try
+to make a raft. We can't stay here indefinitely. I'll hunt for maps
+and we'll try to plan something out. But I'll admit that this business
+worries me--the plane being smashed."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He passed his hand harassedly over his forehead. To have escaped from
+Rio was something, but since Paula had told him Ribiera's plans, it
+was clearly but the most temporary of successes. Cabinet ministers are
+not so commonplace but that the scandalous and horrifying crime that
+was imputed to Bell and Paula would be printed in every foreign
+country. Newspapers in Tokio would include the supposed murder in
+their foreign news, and in Bucharest and even Constantinople it would
+merit a paragraph or two. Assuredly every South American country would
+discuss the matter editorially, even where The Master's deputies did
+not order it published far and wide. There would be pictures of Bell
+and of Paula, labeled with an infamy. In every town of all Brazil
+their faces would be known, and those who were The Master's slaves
+would hunt them desperately, and all honorable men would seek them for
+a crime. Even in America there would be no safety for them. The Trade
+does not exist, officially, and a member of the Trade must get out of
+trouble as he can. As an accused murderer, Bell would be arrested
+anywhere. As worse than a mere murderess, Paula....
+
+She was watching his face.
+
+"This morning," she said queerly, "you--you quoted '_Nil
+desperandum_.'"
+
+Bell ground his teeth, and then managed to smile.
+
+"If I looked like I needed you say that," he said coolly, "I deserve
+to be kicked. Let's look for something to eat, and count up our
+resources. The thing to do is, when you fall down--bounce!"
+
+He managed a nearly genuine grin, then, and to his intense amazement,
+she sobbed suddenly and bent her head down and began to weep. He
+stared at her in stupefaction for an instant, then swore at himself
+for a fool. Her father....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Half an hour later he roused her as gently as he could. It was
+helplessness, as much as anything else, that had made him leave her
+alone; but a woman needs to weep now and then. And Paula assuredly had
+excuse.
+
+"Here's a cup of coffee," he said practically, "which you must drink.
+You can't have had anything to eat all day. Have you?"
+
+That question had haunted him too. She had been a prisoner in
+Ribiera's house for half an hour, possibly more. And Ribiera had in
+his possession, and used, a deadly, devilish poison from some unknown
+noxious plant. Its victim took the poison unknowingly, in a morsel of
+food or a glass of water or of wine. And for two weeks there was no
+sign of evil. And then the poison drove its victim swiftly mad--unless
+the antidote was obtained from Ribiera. And Ribiera administered the
+antidote with a further dose of poison.
+
+If Paula had eaten one scrap of food or drunk one drop of water while
+Ribiera's captive....
+
+She understood. She looked up suddenly, and read the awful anxiety in
+his eyes.
+
+"No. Nothing." She caught her breath and steadied herself with an
+effort of the will. "I understand. You tried not to let me fear. But I
+ate nothing, touched nothing. I have not that to fear, at least."
+
+"Drink this coffee," said Bell, smiling. "Ribiera was a luxurious
+devil. There's canned stuff and so on in a locker. He was prepared for
+a forced landing anywhere. Flares and rockets will do us no good, but
+there are a pair of machetes and a sporting rifle with shells. We
+don't need to die for a bit, anyhow."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Paula obediently took the coffee. He watched her anxiously as she
+drank.
+
+"Now some soup," he urged, "and the rest of this condensed stuff. And
+I've found some maps and there's a radio receiving outfit if--"
+
+Paula managed to smile.
+
+"You want to know," she said, "if I can endure listening to it. Yes.
+I--I should not have given way just now. But I can endure anything."
+
+Bell still hesitated, regarding her soberly.
+
+"I've heard," he said awkwardly, "that in Brazil the conventions...."
+
+She waited, looking at him with her large eyes.
+
+"I hoped," said Bell, still more unhappily, "to find this place
+Moradores, where you said you had some relatives. I hoped to find it
+before dark. But before I landed I knew I'd missed it and couldn't
+hope to locate it to-night. I thought--"
+
+"You thought," said Paula, smiling suddenly, "that my reputation would
+be jeopardized. And you were about to offer--"
+
+Bell winced.
+
+"Of course I don't mean to act like an ass," he said apologetically,
+"but some people...."
+
+"You forget," said Paula, with the same faint smile, "what the
+newspapers will say of us, Senhor. You forget what news of us the
+cables have carried about the world. I think that we had better forget
+about the conventions. As the daughter of a Brazilian, that remark is
+heresy. But did you know that my mother came from Maryland?"
+
+"Thank God!" said Bell relievedly. "Then you can believe that I'm not
+thinking exclusively of you, and maybe we'll get somewhere."
+
+Paula put out her hand. He grasped it firmly.
+
+"Right!" he said, more cheerfully than ever before. "Now we'll turn on
+the radio and see what news we get."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Into the deep dark jungle night, then, a strange incongruity was
+thrust. Tall trees loomed up toward the stars. A nameless little
+stream flowed placidly through the night and, beached where
+impenetrable undergrowth crowded to the water's edge, a big amphibian
+plane lay slightly askew, while a light glowed brightly in its cabin.
+More, from that cabin there presently emerged the incredible sound of
+music, played in Rio for _os gentes_ of the distinctly upper strata of
+society by a bored but beautifully trained orchestra.
+
+The _jabiru_ stork heard it, and craned its featherless neck to stare
+downward through beady eyes. But it was not frightened. Presently,
+instead of music, there was a man's voice booming in the disconnected
+sounds of human speech. And still the _jabiru_ was unalarmed. Like
+most of the birds whose necks are bald, the _jabiru_ is a useful
+scavenger, and so is tolerated in the haunts of men. And if man's
+gratitude is not enough for safety, the _jabiru_ smells very, very
+badly, and no man hunts his tribe.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bell had been listening impatiently, when a sudden whining, whistling
+noise broke into the program of very elevated music, played utterly
+without rest. The sound came from the speaker, of course.
+
+He frowned thoughtfully. The whistling changed in timbre and became
+flutelike, then changed again, nearly to its original pitch and tone.
+
+Paula was not listening. Her mind seemed very far away, and on
+subjects the reverse of pleasurable.
+
+"Listen!" said Bell suddenly. "You hear that whistle? It came on all
+at once!"
+
+Paula waited. The whistling noise went on. It was vaguely discordant,
+and it was monotonous, and it was more than a little irritating. Again
+it changed timbre, going up to the shrillest of squealings, and back
+nearly to its original sound an instant later.
+
+Bell began to paw over maps. The plane had been intended for flight
+over the vast distances of Brazil, and there was a small supply of
+condensed food and a sporting rifle and shells included in its
+equipment. Emergency landing fields are not exactly common in the back
+country of South America.
+
+"Here," said Bell sharply. "Here is where we are. It must be where we
+are! No towns of any size nearby. No railroad. No boat route. Nothing!
+Nothing but jungle shown here!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He frowned absorbedly over the problem.
+
+"What is it?" asked Paula.
+
+"Someone near," said Bell briefly. "That's another radio receiver, an
+old fashioned regenerative set, sensitive enough and reliable enough,
+but a nuisance to everyone but its owner--except when it's a godsend,
+as it is to us."
+
+The music ended, and a voice announced in laboriously classic
+Portuguese, with only a trace of the guttural tonation of the
+_carioca_, that the most important news items of the day would be
+given.
+
+Paula paled a little, but listened without stirring. The voice
+read--the rustling of sheets of paper was abnormally loud--a bit of
+foreign news, and a bit of local news, and then....
+
+She was deathly pale when the announcement of her father's death was
+finished, and she had heard the official view of the police
+reported--exactly what Ribiera had told her it would be. When the
+voice added that a friend of the late Minister of War, the Senhor
+Ribiera, had offered twenty contos for the capture of the fugitive
+pair, who had escaped in an airplane stolen from him, she bit her lip
+until it almost bled.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I know," he said abstractedly. "It's as you said. But listen to that
+whistle."
+
+The news announcement ceased. Music began again. The whistling
+abruptly died away.
+
+"I just found some coils," said Bell feverishly, "that plug in to take
+the place of the longer-wave ones. I'm going to try them. It's a
+hunch, and it's crazy, but...."
+
+There were sharp clickings. The radio receiver was one of those
+extraordinarily light and portable ones that are made for aircraft. In
+seconds it was transformed into a short-wave receiver. Bell began to
+manipulate the dials feverishly. Two minutes. Three. Four.
+
+The speaker suddenly began to whine softly and monotonously.
+
+"Regeneration," said Bell feverishly, "on a carrier-wave. It can't be
+far off, that receiving set."
+
+Suddenly a voice spoke. It was blurred and guttural. Infinitely
+delicate adjustments cleared it up. And then....
+
+Bell listened eagerly, at first in triumph, then in amazement, and at
+last in a grim satisfaction. Reports from Rio on a short-wave band of
+radio frequencies were passing from Ribiera to some other place
+apparently inland. It was Ribiera's own voice, which quivered with
+rage as he reported Bell's escape.
+
+"_I do not think_," he snapped in Portuguese, "_that full details
+should be spoken even on beam wireless. I shall come to the_ fazenda
+_to-morrow and communicate with The Master direct. In the meantime I
+have warned all sub-deputies in Brazil. I urge that all deputies be
+informed and instructed as The Master may direct._"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Another voice replied that The Master would be informed. In the
+meantime the deputy for Brazil was notified.
+
+This list of bits of information chilled Bell's blood. This man, of
+Venezuela, had been denied the grace of The Master by the deputy in
+Caracas. He would probably use the passwords and demand the grace of
+The Master of sub-deputies in the State of Pará. To be seized and
+Caracas informed. The deputy in Colombia desired that the son of
+Colonel García--upon a hunting-party with friends in the Amazon
+basin--should be attached to the service of The Master. His father had
+been so attached, and it was believed had smuggled a letter into the
+foreign mail warning his son. If possible, that letter should be
+intercepted. And from Paraguay the deputy requested that the family of
+Senor Gomez, visiting relatives in Rio, should be induced to regard
+the service of The Master as desirable....
+
+The orders ceased abruptly. Ribiera acknowledged them. The whining
+whistle cut off. And Bell turned to Paula very grimly indeed.
+
+"Pretty, isn't it?" he asked in a vast calmness. "Apparently every
+nation on the continent has some devil like Ribiera in charge of the
+administration of this fiendish poison. Every republic has some fiend
+at work in it. And they're organized. My God! They're organized! The
+Master seems to supply them with the mixture of poison and its
+antidote, and they report to him...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Paula nodded.
+
+"That was what my father had written down for you," she said quietly.
+"Any man who can be lured to eat or drink anything these men have
+prepared is lost. He gains no pleasure, as a drug might give. He is
+entrapped into a lifetime of awful fear, knowing that a moment's
+disobedience, a moment's reluctance to obey whatever command they
+give, will cause his madness."
+
+"I'm trying to think what we can work out of this," said Bell shortly.
+"Some things are clear. There's a radio receiving set nearby, which
+listened to those short-wave reports. Within five or six miles, at
+most. We're going to find that to-morrow. And there's a central point,
+a _fazenda_, where one may talk direct with The Master, whoever and
+wherever he may be. And--judging by Ribiera--my guess is that The
+Master has the same hold upon them that they have on their underlings.
+Ribiera is too arrogant a scoundrel to make obsequious reports if he
+were not afraid to omit them." He was silent for a moment, thinking.
+Then he said abruptly, "Try to get some sleep, if you can. That pistol
+of Ribiera's--you have it handy? Keep it where you can reach it in the
+dark. I'm going to watch, though."
+
+Paula settled herself comfortably, and looked queerly across the dimly
+lit little cabin at him.
+
+"My friend," she said with the faintest of quavering smiles, "Please
+do not reassure me. I have the courage of endurance, at least. And--I
+do not fear you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It seemed to Bell, listening in the darkness that fell when he turned
+off the switch, that she stayed awake for a long time. But when she
+did sleep, she slept heavily.
+
+Bell had a raft of canes afloat beside the amphibian when she waked.
+He was sweat-streaked and bitten by many insects. He was tired, and
+his clothes were rags. But the raft was nearly twenty feet long, it
+would easily float two persons and what small supplies the plane
+carried, and it could be handled by a long pole.
+
+"Hullo," he said cheerfully when she climbed on top of the waterlogged
+hull of the plane. "We're nearly ready to start off. I'm sorry I can't
+advise you to try to refresh yourself in the river. There are some
+fish in it that are fiends. One of them took a slice out of the side
+of my hand."
+
+"_Piranhas!_" she exclaimed, and was pale. "You should have known!"
+
+_Piranhas_ are small fresh-water fish of the Brazilian rivers, never
+more than a foot and a half long, which prove the existence of a
+devil. Where they swarm in schools they will tear every morsel of
+flesh from a swimmer's body as he struggles to reach shore, and leave
+a clean-stripped skeleton of a mule or horse if an animal should essay
+to swim a stream.
+
+"I'll ask, next time," said Bell ruefully. "I'd planned a swim. But if
+you'll fix some coffee while I finish up this raft, we'll get going. I
+don't think we're far from some place or other. I heard what sounded
+suspiciously like a motor boat, about dawn."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+She looked at him anxiously.
+
+"Of course," said Bell, smiling, "if the boat belonged to whoever
+listened in on the Rio broadcast _and_ the short-wave news, he won't
+be especially friendly, though he should be glad to see us. But I've
+been studying the map, and I have a rather hopeful idea. Let's have
+coffee."
+
+He grinned as long as she was in sight, and when he went into the
+cabin of the plane he seemed more cheerful still. But the idea of
+floating down this nameless little jungle stream upon a raft of canes
+was not one that he would have chosen. It was forced upon him. To
+travel through the jungle itself was next to impossible with a girl,
+especially as they were dressed for city streets and not at all for
+battling with dense and thorn-studded undergrowth. And to stay with
+the plane was obviously absurd. Sooner or later they had to abandon
+it, though the moment they did desert it they would be encountering
+not only the impersonal menace of the jungle, but the actual enmity of
+all the human race. The raft was the only possibility.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It floated smoothly enough when they started off, with Bell working
+inexpertly with his long pole to keep it in mid-stream. He was, of
+course, acutely apprehensive. In country like this a rapid could be
+expected anywhere. The jungle life loomed high above their heads on
+either side, and the life of the jungle went on undisturbed by their
+passage. Monkeys gaped at them and exchanged undoubtedly witty
+comments upon their appearance. Birds flew overhead with raucous and
+unpleasant cries. Toucans, in particular, made a most discordant din.
+Once they disturbed a tiny herd of peccaries, drinking, which regarded
+them pugnaciously and trotted sturdily out of sight as they came
+abreast.
+
+But for one mile, for two, the stream flowed smoothly. A third.... And
+Paula pointed ahead in silence. A dug-out projected partly from the
+shoreline. Bell wielded his long pole cautiously now, and drew closer
+and ever closer to the stream bank. Paula pointed again. There was
+even a small dock--luxury unthinkable in these wilds.
+
+The raft touched bottom. And suddenly from somewhere out of sight
+there came a horrible and a bestial sound. It was a scream of
+blood-lust, of madness, of overpowering and unspeakable rage.
+Following it came cackling laughter.
+
+Paula went white.
+
+"The _fazenda_," said Bell softly, "of the sub-deputy who was
+listening in on Ribiera last night. And it sounds as if someone were
+very much amused. Some poor devil...."
+
+Paula shuddered.
+
+"I'm going ashore," said Bell, smiling frostily. "There's nothing else
+to do."
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+Crouched at the edge of the jungle, where the clearing began, Paula
+heard four shots. Two in quick succession, and a wait of minutes. Then
+a third, and another long wait, and then the last. Then silence. Paula
+began to shiver. Bell had helped her ashore from the raft and insisted
+on her waiting at the edge of the jungle.
+
+"Not that you'll be any safer," he had told her grimly, "but that I
+may be. One person can move more quickly than two. And if I'm chased
+I'll plunge for the place you're hidden, and you can open fire. Then
+the two of us might hold them off."
+
+"Why?" Paula said slowly.
+
+And Bell caught at her wrist.
+
+"Don't let me hear you talk like that!" he said sharply. "We're going
+to beat this thing! We've got to! And being desperate helps, but being
+in despair doesn't help a bit. Buck up!"
+
+He frowned at her until she smiled.
+
+"I will not despair again without your permission," she told him.
+"Really. I will not."
+
+He found her a hiding-place and went cautiously out into the clearing,
+still frowning.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He had been gone five minutes before the first shot sounded, and quite
+ten before the last rang out dully, and was echoed and re-echoed
+hollowly by the jungle trees. And Paula lay waiting by the edge of the
+clearing, Ribiera's pearl-handled automatic in her hand--Bell had
+carried the rifle from the plane. Small insects moved all about her,
+and she heard soft rustlings as the life of the jungle went on over
+her head and under her feet, and terror welled up in her throat.
+
+She was trembling almost uncontrollably when Bell came back. He walked
+openly toward her hiding-place.
+
+"Paula."
+
+She came out, trying to steady her quivering lips.
+
+"We're all right," said Bell grimly. "This is the _fazenda_ of a
+sub-deputy. I suspect, also, it's an emergency landing field for
+Ribiera on the way to that place he talked to last night. There's a
+two-place plane here with both wheels and floats, in a filthy little
+shed. It seems to be all right. We're going to take off in it and try
+to make Moradores, where your people are. What's the matter?"
+
+Her face was deathly pale.
+
+"I thought," she said with some difficulty, "when I heard the shots--I
+thought you were killed."
+
+Bell shook his head.
+
+"I wasn't," he said grimly. "It was four other men who were killed."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He led her carefully past the house. It was a fairly typical _fazenda_
+dwelling, if more substantial than most. It was wholly unpretentious,
+with whitewashed walls, and the effect of grandeur it would give to
+natives of this region would come solely from the number of buildings.
+There were half a dozen or more.
+
+"I killed four men," repeated Bell coldly. "And I'm damned glad of it.
+That scream we heard.... I know pretty well what happened here last
+night. Remember, Ribiera spoke of using a beam-wireless to make his
+report. He must have had a short-wave beam set somewhere on the
+outskirts of Rio, aimed at whatever headquarters he reports to. He's
+going up to that headquarters some time to-day, by plane, of course.
+He needed emergency landing fields along the route, and here he picked
+out a native and made him a sub-deputy. Charming...."
+
+Moving past the buildings, Paula caught sight of massive wooden bars
+set in the side of a building. Something crumpled up and limp lay
+before them.
+
+"Don't look over there," said Bell harshly. "There was a woman in this
+house and she told me what happened, though I'd guessed it before. The
+sub-deputy was here last night with a party of friends. Newly
+enslaved, some of them. He entertained them.... Up at Ribiera's place
+a girl told me she and her husband had been shown a Secret Service
+man. He went mad before their eyes. It was an object-lesson for them,
+a clear illustration of what would happen to them if they ever
+disobeyed. I imagine that something of the sort is used by all The
+Master's deputies to convince their slaves of the fate that awaits
+them for disobedience. The local man had brought a party up to watch
+two men go mad. After that sight they'll be obedient."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He reached a shed, huge, but in disrepair. Monster doors were ajar.
+Bell heaved at them and swung them wide. A small, trim, two-seated
+plane showed in the shadowy interior.
+
+"This is for emergency use," said Bell grimly, "and we face an
+emergency. I'll get it out and load it up. There's a dump of gas and
+so on here. You might look around outside the door, in case the one
+man who got away can find someone to help stop me."
+
+He set to work checking on fuel and oil. He loaded extra gas in the
+front cockpit, a huge tin of it. Another would crowd him badly in the
+pilot's cockpit in the rear, but he stowed it as carefully as he
+could.
+
+"The local sub-deputy," he added evenly, "has added to the thrill by
+having the two men put in one cage. He let his guests observe the
+progress of the madness the damned poison produces. And presently, as
+the madness grew, the two men fought. They were murder mad. The local
+sub-deputy gave his guests the thrill of watching maniacs battling to
+the death. He left early this morning with his party, and I imagine
+that everyone was suitably submissive to his demands for the future.
+There were four men and a woman left as caretakers here. I found the
+four men before the cage, baiting the poor devil who'd killed the
+other last night. That's why we heard the scream. When I came up with
+my rifle they stared at me, and ran.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I got one then, and as a matter of mercy I put a bullet through the
+man who'd gone murder mad. The"--Bell sounded as if he were acutely
+nauseated--"the man he'd killed was still in the cage. My God!... Then
+I went looking for the other three men. Wasting time, no doubt, but I
+found them. I was angry. I got one, and the others ran away again. A
+little later the third man jumped me with a knife. He slit my sleeve.
+I killed him. Didn't find the fourth man." Bell moved to the front of
+the plane. "I'll see if she catches."
+
+He swung on the stick. It went over stiffly. Again, and again. With a
+bellow, the motor caught. Bell shouted in Paula's ear.
+
+"We'll get in. Use the warming-up period to taxi out. We want to get
+away as soon as we can."
+
+He helped her up into the seat, then remembered. He rummaged about and
+flung a tumbled flying suit up in the cockpit with her.
+
+"If you get a chance, put it on!" he shouted. He stepped into a
+similar outfit, reached up and throttled down the motor, and kicked
+away the blocks under the wheels. He vaulted up into place. And slowly
+and clumsily the trim little ship came lurching and rolling out of the
+shed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The landing field was not large, but Bell took the plane to its edge.
+He faced it about, and bent below the cockpit combing to avoid the
+slip stream and look at his maps again, brought from the big
+amphibian. Something caught his eye. Another radio receiving set.
+
+"Amphibian planes," he muttered, "for landing on earth or water. And
+radios. I wonder if he has directional for a guide? It would seem
+sensible, and if a plane went down the rest of them would know about
+where to look."
+
+Paula reached about and touched his shoulder. She pointed. There was a
+movement at the edge of the jungle and a puff of smoke. A bullet went
+through the fusilage of the plane, inches behind Bell. He frowned,
+grasped the stick, and gave the motor the gun.
+
+It lifted heavily, like all amphibians, but it soared over the group
+of buildings some twenty or thirty feet above the top of the wireless
+mast and went on, rising steadily, to clear even the topmost trees on
+the farther side of the stream by a hundred feet or more.
+
+It went on and on, roaring upward, and the jungle receded ever farther
+below it. The horizon drew back and back. At two thousand feet the
+earth began to have the appearance of a shallow platter. At three
+thousand it was a steep sided bowl, and Bell could look down and trace
+the meandering of the stream on which he had landed the night before.
+Not too far downstream--some fifteen miles, perhaps--were the squalid,
+toy sized structures of a town of the far interior of Brazil. He never
+learned its name, but even in his preoccupation with the management
+of the plane and a search for landmarks, he wondered very grimly
+indeed what would be the state of things in that town. If in Rio,
+where civilization held sway, Ribiera exercised such despotic though
+secret power, in a squalid and forgotten little village like this the
+rule of a sub-deputy of The Master could be bestial and horrible
+beyond belief.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Eastward. Bell had overshot the mark the night before. Before he had
+located himself he was quite fifty miles beyond the spot Paula had
+suggested as a hiding place. Now he retraced his way. A peak jutting
+up from far beyond the horizon was a guiding mark. He set the plane's
+nose for it, and relaxed.
+
+The motor thundered on valorously. Far below was a vast expanse of
+thick jungle, intercepted but nowhere broken by occasional small
+streams and now and then the tiny, angular things which might be
+houses. But houses were very infrequent. In the first ten miles--with
+a view of twenty miles in every direction--Bell picked out no more
+than four small groups of buildings which might be the unspeakably
+isolated _fazendas_ of the folk of this region.
+
+"Ribiera was coming this way," he muttered.
+
+He fumbled the headphone of the radio set into place. The set seemed
+to be already arbitrarily tuned. He turned it on. There was a
+monotonous series of flashes, with the singing note of a buzzer in
+them. A radio direction signal.
+
+"Ribiera's on the way."
+
+Bell stared far ahead, without reason. And it seemed to him that just
+then, against that far distant guiding peak, he saw a black speck
+floating in mid-air.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He pulled back the joy stick. Detached, feathery clouds spread across
+the sky, and he was climbing for them. Paula looked behind at him, and
+he pointed. He saw her seem to stiffen upon sight of the other
+aircraft.
+
+In minutes Bell's plane was tearing madly through sunlit fleecy
+monsters which looked soft and warm and alluring, and were cold and
+damp and blinding in their depths. Bell kept on his course. The two
+planes were approaching each other at a rate of nearly two hundred
+miles an hour.
+
+And then, while the harsh, discordant notes of the radio signal
+sounded monotonously in his ears, Bell stared down and, through a rift
+between two clouds, saw the other plane for an instant, a thousand
+feet below.
+
+The sun shone upon it fiercely. Its propeller was a shimmering,
+cobwebby disk before it. It seemed to hang motionless--so short was
+Bell's view of it--between earth and sky: a fat glistening body as of
+a monstrous insect. Bell could even see figures in its cockpits.
+
+Then it was gone, but Bell felt a curious hatred of the thing. Ribiera
+was almost certainly in it, headed for the place to which he had
+spoken the night before. And Bell was no longer able to think of
+Ribiera with any calmness. He felt a personal, gusty hatred for the
+man and all he stood for.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His face was grim and savage as his own plane sped through the clouds.
+But just as the two aircraft had approached each other with the
+combined speed of both, so they separated. It seemed only a moment
+later that Bell dipped down below the clouds and the other plane was
+visible only as a swiftly receding mote in the sunlight.
+
+"I wonder," said Bell coldly to himself, with the thunder of the motor
+coming through the singing of the air route signal, "I wonder if he'll
+see the ship I cracked up last night?"
+
+Paula was pointing. The shoulder of a hill upthrust beneath the
+jungle. The tall trees were cleared away at its crest. Small,
+whitewashed buildings appeared below.
+
+"Good landing field," said Bell, his eyes narrowing suddenly. "On the
+direct route. Fifty miles back there's another landing field. I
+wonder...."
+
+He was already suspicious before he flattened out above the house,
+while dogs fled madly. He noticed, too, that horses in a corral near
+the buildings showed no signs of fright. And horses are always afraid
+of landing aircraft, unless they have had much opportunity to grow
+accustomed to them.
+
+The little plane rolled and bumped, and gradually came to a stop. Bell
+inconspicuously shifted a revolver to the outer pocket of his flying
+suit. Figures came toward them, with a certain hesitating reluctance
+that changed Bell's suspicions even while it confirmed them.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Paula," he said grimly, "this is another landing field for Ribiera's
+emergency use. It sticks out all over the place. Relatives or no
+relatives, you want to make sure of them. You understand?"
+
+Her eyes widened in a sudden startled fear. She caught her breath
+sharply. Then she said quietly, though her voice trembled:
+
+"I understand. Of course."
+
+She slipped out of the plane and advanced to meet the approaching
+figures. There were surprised, astounded exclamations: A bearded man
+embraced her and shouted. Women appeared and, after staring, embraced.
+Paula turned to wave her hand reassuringly to Bell, and vanished
+inside the house.
+
+Bell looked over his instruments, examined the gas in the tank, and
+began to work over his maps in the blaring sunlight. He cut out the
+switch and the motor stopped with minor hissings of compression. The
+maps held his attention, though he listened keenly as he worked for
+any signs of trouble that Paula might encounter.
+
+He was beginning to have a definite idea in his mind. Ribiera had
+talked to a headquarters somewhere, by beam radio from Rio. Beam
+wireless, of course, is nothing more or less than a concentration of
+a radio signal in a nearly straight line, instead of allowing it to
+spread about equally on all sides of the transmitting station. It
+makes both for secrecy and economy, since nearly all the power used at
+the sending apparatus is confined to an arc of about three degrees of
+a circle. Directed to a given receiving station, receiving outfits to
+one side or the other of that path are unable to listen in, and the
+signal is markedly stronger in the chosen path. Exactly the same
+process, of course, is used for radio directional signals, one of
+which still buzzed monotonously in Bell's ears until he impatiently
+turned it off. A plane in the path hears the signal. If it does not
+hear the signal, it is demonstrably off the straight route.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bell, then, was in a direct line from Rio to the source of a radio
+direction signal. Fifty miles back, where the big amphibian had
+crashed, he was in the same air line. To extend that line on into the
+interior would give the destination of Ribiera, and the location of
+the headquarters where direct communication with The Master was
+maintained.
+
+He worked busily. His maps were in separate sheets, and it took time
+to check the line from Rio. When he had finished, he computed grimly.
+
+"At a hundred miles in hour...." He was figuring the maximum distance
+which could plausibly be accepted as a day's journeying by air. He
+surveyed the maps again. "The plateau of Cuyaba, at a guess. Hm....
+Fleets of aircraft could practise there and never be seen. An army
+could be maneuvered without being reported. Certainly the headquarters
+for the whole continent could be there. Striking distance of Rio,
+Montevideo, Buenos Aires, La Paz, and Asunción. Five republics."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Certainly, from his figures, it seemed plausible that somewhere up on
+the Plateau of Cuyaba--where no rails run, no boats ply, and no
+telegraph line penetrates; which juts out ultimately into that
+unknown region where the Rio Zingu and the Tapajoz have their
+origins--certainly it seemed plausible that there must lie the
+headquarters of the whole ghastly conspiracy. There, it might be, the
+deadly plants from which The Master's poison was brewed were grown.
+There the deadly stuff was measured out and mixed with its temporary
+antidote....
+
+Paula came back, a young man with her. Her eyes were wide and staring,
+as if she had looked upon something vastly worse than death.
+
+"He--Ribiera," she gasped. "My uncle, he owned this place. They--have
+him here--alive--and mad! And all the rest...."
+
+Bell fumbled in the pocket of his flying suit. The young man with
+Paula was looking carefully at the plane. And there was a revolver in
+a holster at his side. An air of grim and desperate doggedness was
+upon him.
+
+"This is--my cousin," gasped Paula. "He--and his wife--and--and--"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The young man took out his weapon. He fired. There was a clanging of
+metal, the screech of tortured steel. Bell's own revolver went off the
+fraction of a second too late.
+
+"You may kill me, Senhor," said the young man through stiff lips. His
+revolver had dropped from limp fingers. He pressed the fingers of his
+left hand upon the place where blood welled out, just above his right
+elbow. "You may kill me. But if you and my cousin Paula escaped.... I
+have a wife, Senhor, and my mother, and my children. Kill me if you
+please. It is your right. But I have seen my father go mad." Sweat,
+the sweat of agony and of shame, came out upon his face. "I fought
+him, Senhor, to save the lives of all the rest. And I have spoiled
+your engine, and I have already sent word that you and Paula are here.
+Not for my own life, but...."
+
+He waited, haggard and ashamed and desperate and hopeless. But Bell
+was staring at the motor of the airplane.
+
+"Crankcase punctured," he said dully. "Aluminum. The bullet went right
+through. We can't fly five miles. And Ribiera knows we're here--or
+will."
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+There was the sound of weeping in the house, the gusty and hopeless
+weeping of women. Bell had been walking around and around the plane,
+staring at it with his hands clenched. Paula watched him.
+
+"I am thinking," she said in an attempt at courage, "that you said I
+must not despair without your permission. But--"
+
+"Hush!" said Bell impatiently. He stared at the engine. "I'd give a
+lot for a car. Bolts.... How many hours have we?"
+
+"Four," said Paula drearily. "Perhaps five. You have smashed the radio
+in the house?"
+
+Bell nodded impatiently. He had smashed the radio, a marvelously
+compact and foolproof outfit, arbitrarily tuned to a fixed short
+wave-length. It was almost as simple to operate as a telephone. There
+had been no opposition to the destruction. Paula's cousin had disabled
+their plane and reported their presence. He was inside the house now,
+sick with shame--and yet he would do the same again. In one of the
+rooms of the house, behind strong bars, a man was kept who had been an
+object-lesson....
+
+"Is there any machinery?" asked Bell desperately. "Any at all about
+the place?"
+
+Paula shook her head.
+
+"It may be that there is a pump."
+
+Bell went off savagely, hunting it. He came back and dived into the
+cockpit of the plane. He came out with a wrench, and his jaws set
+grimly. He worked desperately at the pump. He came back with two
+short, thick bolts.
+
+He crawled into the plane again, tearing out the fire wall
+impatiently, getting up under the motor.
+
+"We have one chance in five thousand," he said grimly from there, "of
+getting away from here to crash in the jungle. Personally, I prefer
+that to falling into Ribiera's hands. If your cousin or anybody else
+comes near us, out here, call me, and I'll be much obliged."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was the sound of scraping, patient, desperate, wholly
+unpromising scraping. It seemed to go on for hours.
+
+"The wrench, please, Paula."
+
+She passed it to him. The bullet had entered the aluminum crankcase of
+the motor and pierced it through. By special providence it had not
+struck the crankshaft, and had partly penetrated the crankcase on the
+other side. Bell had cut it out, first of all. He had two holes in the
+crankcase, then, through which the cylinder oil had drained away. And
+of all pieces of machinery upon earth, an aircraft motor requires oil.
+
+Bell's scraping had been to change the punctured holes of the bullet
+into cone shaped bores. The aluminum alloy was harder than pure
+aluminum, of course, but he had managed it with a knife. Now he fitted
+the short bolts in the bores, forced the threads on them to cut their
+own grooves, and by main strength screwed them in to a fit. He
+tightened them.
+
+He came out with his eyes glowing oddly.
+
+"The vibration will work them loose, sooner or later," he observed
+grimly, "and they may not be oil tight. Also, the crankshaft may clear
+them, and it may not. If we go up in the ship in this state we may get
+five miles away, or five hundred. At any minute it may fail us, and
+sooner or later it will fail us. Are you game to go up, Paula?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+She smiled at him.
+
+"With you, of course."
+
+He began to brush off his hands.
+
+"There ought to be oil and gas here," he said briefly. "Another thing,
+there'll probably be some metal chips in the crankcase, which may
+stop an oil line at any minute. It's a form of committing suicide, I
+imagine."
+
+He went off, hunting savagely for the supplies of fuel and lubricant
+which would be stored at any emergency field. He found them. He was
+pouring gasoline into the tanks before what he was doing was noticed.
+Then there was stunned amazement in the house. When he had the
+crankcase full of oil the young man came out. Bell tapped his revolver
+suggestively.
+
+"With no man about this house," he said grimly, "Ribiera will put in
+one of his own choice. And you have a wife and children and they'll be
+at that man's mercy. Don't make me kill you. Ribiera may not blame you
+for my escape if you tell him everything--and you're hurt, anyway.
+Either we get away, and you do that, or you're killed and we get away
+anyhow."
+
+He toppled two last five gallon tins of gasoline into the
+cockpits--crowding them abominably--and swung on the prop. The engine
+caught. Bell throttled it down, kicked away the stones with which he
+had blocked its wheels, and climbed up into the pilot's cockpit. With
+his revolver ready in his lap he taxied slowly over to a favorable
+starting point.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The ship rose slowly, and headed west again. At three thousand feet he
+cut out the motor to shout to Paula.
+
+"One place is as good as another to us, now. The whole continent is
+closed to us by now. I'm going to try to find that headquarters and do
+some damage. Afterwards, we'll see."
+
+He cut in the motor again and flew steadily westward. He rose
+gradually to four thousand feet, to five.... He watched his
+instruments grimly, the motor temperature especially. There were
+flakes of metal in the oil lines. Twice he saw the motor temperature
+rise to a point that brought the sweat out on his face. And twice he
+saw it drop again. Bits of shattered metal were in the oiling system,
+and they had partly blocked the stream of lubricant until the engine
+heated badly. And each time the vibration had shifted them, or
+loosened them....
+
+They had left the big amphibian no earlier than nine o'clock. It was
+noon when they took off for the _fazenda_ of Paula's kin. But it was
+five o'clock and after when they rose from there with an engine which
+might run indefinitely and might stop at any second.
+
+Bell did not really expect it to run for a long time. He had worked as
+much to cheat Ribiera of the satisfaction of a victory as in hopes of
+a real escape. But an hour, and the motor still ran. It was
+consistently hotter than an aero engine should run. Twice it had gone
+up to a dangerous temperature. One other time it had gone up for a
+minute or more as if the oiling system had failed altogether. But it
+still ran, and the sun was sinking toward the horizon and shadows were
+lengthening, and Bell began to look almost hopefully for a clearing in
+which to land before the dark hours came.
+
+Then it was that he saw the planes that had been sent for him and for
+Paula.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There were three of them, fast two-seaters very much like the one he
+drove. They were droning eastward, with all cockpits filled, from that
+enigmatic point in the west. And Bell had descended to investigate a
+barely possible stream when they saw him.
+
+The leader banked steeply and climbed upward toward him. The others
+gazed, swung sharply, and came after him, spreading out as they came.
+And Bell, after one instant's grim debate, went into a maple leaf dive
+for the jungle below him. The others dived madly in his wake. He heard
+a sharp, tearing rattle. A machine-gun. He saw the streaks of tracers
+going very wide. Gunfire in the air is far from accurate. A
+machine-gun burst from a hundred yards, when the gun has to be aimed
+by turning the whole madly vibrating ship, is less accurate than a
+rifle at six hundred, or even eight. Most aircraft duels are settled
+at distances of less than a hundred yards.
+
+It was that fact that Bell counted on. With a motor that might go dead
+at any instant and a load of passengers and gas at least equaling that
+of any of the other ships, mere flight promised little. The other
+ships, too, were armed, at any rate the leader was, and Bell had only
+small arms at his disposal. But a plane pilot, stunting madly to dodge
+tracer bullets, has little time to spare for revolver work.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bell had but one advantage. He expected to be killed. He looked upon
+both Paula and himself as very probably dead already. And he
+infinitely preferred the clean death of a crash to either the life or
+death that Ribiera would offer them. He flattened out barely twenty
+yards above the waving branches that are the roof of the jungle. He
+went scudding over the tree tops, rising where the jungle rose,
+dipping where it dropped, and behind him the foliage waved wildly as
+if in a cyclone.
+
+The other planes dared not follow. To dive upon him meant too much
+chance of a dash into the entrapping branches. One plane, indeed, did
+try it, and Bell scudded lower and lower until the wheels of the small
+plane were spinning from occasional, breath taking contacts with the
+feathery topmost branches of jungle giants. That other plane flattened
+out not less than a hundred feet farther up and three hundred yards
+behind. To fire on him with a fixed gun meant a dive to bring the gun
+muzzle down. And a dive meant a crash.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A stream flashed past below. There was the glitter of water,
+reflecting the graying sky. A downward current here dragged at the
+wings of the plane. Bell jerked at the stick and her nose came up.
+There was a clashing, despite her climbing angle, of branches upon the
+running gear, but she broke through and shot upward, trying to stall.
+Bell flung her down again into his mad careering.
+
+It was not exactly safe, of course. It was practically a form of
+suicide. But Bell had not death, but life to fear. He could afford to
+be far more reckless than any man who desired to live. The plane went
+scuttling madly across the jungle tops, now rising to skim the top of
+a monster _ceiba_, now dipping deliberately.
+
+The three pursuing planes hung on above him helplessly while the
+short, short twilight of the tropics fell, and Bell went racing across
+the jungle, never twenty feet above the tree top and with the boughs
+behind him showing all the agitation of a miniature hurricane. As
+darkness deepened, the race became more suicidal still, and there were
+no lighted fields nearby to mark a landing place. But as darkness grew
+more intense, Bell could dare to rise to fifty, then a hundred feet
+above the tops, and the dangers of diving to his level remained
+undiminished. And then it was dark.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bell climbed to two hundred feet. To two hundred and fifty. With more
+freedom, now, he could take one hand from the controls. He could feel
+the menace of the tumultuously roaring motors in his wake, but he was
+smiling very strangely in the blackness. He reached inside his flying
+suit and tore away the front of his shirt. He reached down and
+battered in the top of one of the five gallon gasoline tins in the
+cockpit with the barrel of his revolver. He stuffed the scrap of cloth
+into the rent. It was wetted instantly by the splashing. Another
+savage blow, unheard in the thunder of the motor. In the peculiarly
+calm air of the cockpit the reek of gasoline was strong, but cleared
+away. And Bell, with the frosty grim smile of a man who gambles with
+his life, struck a light. The cloth flared wildly, and he reached his
+hands into the flame and heaved the tin of fuel overside.
+
+The cloth was burning fiercely, and spilled gasoline caught in
+mid-air. A fierce and savage flame dropped earthward. Spark on the
+cloth, and the cloud of inflammable vapor that formed where the
+leaking tin fell plummetlike, carried the flame down when the wind of
+its fall would have blown it out.
+
+The following planes saw a flash of light. They saw a swiftly
+descending conflagration tracing a steep arch toward the tree tops.
+They saw that flaming vanish among the trees. And then they saw a vast
+upflaring of fire below. Flames licked upward almost to the tree
+tops....
+
+Bell looked back from two thousand feet. Wing-tip lights were on,
+below, and disks of illumination played upon the roof of the jungle
+above the fire. The three planes were hovering over the spot. But a
+thick dense column of smoke was rising, now. Green things shriveling
+in the heat, and dried and rotted underbrush. Altogether, the volume
+of smoke and flame was very convincing evidence that an airplane had
+burst into flame in mid-air and crashed through the jungle top to burn
+to ashes beneath.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But Bell climbed steadily to five thousand feet. He cut out the motor,
+there, and in the shrieking and whistling of wind as the plane went
+into a shallow glide, he spoke sharply.
+
+"Paula?"
+
+"I am all right," she assured him unsteadily. "What now?"
+
+"There's a seat pack under you," said Bell. "It's a parachute. You'd
+better put it on. God only knows where we'll land, but if the motor
+stops we'll jump together. And I think we'll have to jump before dawn.
+This plane won't fly indefinitely. There's just one chance in a
+million that I know of. There'll be a moon before long. When it comes
+up, look for the glitter of moonlight on water. With the wing-tip
+lights we may--we may--manage to get down. But I doubt it."
+
+He moved his hand to cut in the motor again. She stopped him.
+
+"If we head south," she said unsteadily, "we may reach the Paraguay.
+It is perhaps two hundred miles, but it is broad. We should see it.
+Perhaps even the stars...."
+
+"Good work!" said Bell approvingly. "_Nils desperandum!_ That's our
+motto, Paula."
+
+He swung off his course and headed south. He was flying high, now, and
+an illogical and incomprehensible hope came to him. There was no hope,
+of course. He had had, more than once, a despairing conviction that
+the utmost result of all his efforts would be but the delaying of
+their final enslavement to The Master, whose apparent impersonality
+made him the more terrible as he remained mysterious. So far they
+seemed like struggling flies in some colossal web, freeing themselves
+from one snaring spot to blunder helplessly into another.
+
+But the moon came up presently, rounded and nearly full. The sky took
+on a new radiance, and the jungle below them was made darker and more
+horrible by the contrast.
+
+And when there were broad stretches of moonlit foliage visible on the
+rising slopes beneath, Bell felt the engine faltering. He switched on
+the instrument board light. One glance, and he was cold all over. The
+motor was hot. Hotter than it had ever been. The oil lines, perhaps
+the pump itself....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Paula's hand reached back into the glow of the instrument board. He
+leaned over and saw her pointing. Moonlight on rolling water, far
+below. He dived for it, steeply. The wing-lights went on. Faint disks
+of light appeared far below, sweeping to and fro with the swaying of
+the plane, bobbing back and forth.
+
+It seemed to Bell that there had been nothing quite as horrible as
+the next minute or two. He felt the over-heated, maltreated motor
+laboring. It was being ruined, of course--and a ruined motor meant
+that they were marooned in the jungle. But if it kept going only until
+they landed. And if it did not....
+
+White water showed below in the disks of the landing lights' glow. It
+tumbled down a swift and deadly _raudal_--a rapid. And then--black,
+deep water, moving swiftly between tall cliffs of trees.
+
+Bell risked everything to bank about and land toward the white water.
+The little plane seemed to be sinking into a canyon as the trees rose
+overhead on either side. But the moonlit rapid gave him his height,
+approximately, and the lights helped more than a little.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He landed with a terrific crash. The plane teetered on the very verge
+of a dive beneath the surface. Bell jerked back the stick and killed
+the engine, and it settled back.
+
+A vast, a colossal silence succeeded the deafening noise of twelve
+cylinders exploding continuously. There were little hissing sounds as
+the motor cooled. There was the smell of burnt oil.
+
+"All right, Paula?" asked Bell quietly.
+
+"I--I'm all right."
+
+The plane was drifting backward, now. It spun around in a stately
+fashion, its tail caught in underbrush, and it swung back. It drifted
+past cliffs of darkness for a long time, and grounded, presently, with
+a surprising gentleness.
+
+"Do you know," said Bell dryly, "this sort of thing is getting
+monotonous. I think our motor's ruined. I never knew before that
+misfortunes could grow literally tedious. I've been expecting to be
+killed any minute since we started off, but the idea of being stuck in
+the jungle with a perfectly good plane and a bad motor...."
+
+He fished inside his flying suit and extracted a cigarette. Then he
+lit it.
+
+"Let's see.... We haven't a thing to eat, have we?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a little slapping noise. Bell became suddenly aware of a
+horde of insects swarming around him. Smoke served partially to drive
+them off.
+
+"Look here," he said suddenly, "we could unfold a parachute and cover
+the cockpits for some protection against these infernal things that
+are biting me."
+
+"We may need the parachute," said Paula unsteadily. "Does--does that
+smoke of yours drive them away?"
+
+"A little." Bell hesitated. "I say, it would be crowded, but if I came
+up there, or you here...."
+
+"I--I'll come back there," she said queerly. "The extra cans of
+gasoline here...."
+
+She slipped over the partition, in the odd flying suit which looks so
+much more odd when a girl wears it. She settled down beside him, and
+he tried painstakingly to envelope her in a cloud of tobacco smoke.
+The plague of insects lessened.
+
+There was nothing to do but wait for dawn. She was very quiet, but as
+the moon rose higher he saw that her eyes were open. The night noises
+of the jungle all about them came to their ears. Furtive little
+slitherings, and the sound of things drinking greedily at the water's
+edge, and once or twice peculiar little despairing small animal cries
+off in the darkness.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The jungle was dark and sinister, and all the more so when the moon
+rose high and lightened its face and left them looking into weird,
+abysmal blackness between moonlit branches. Bell thought busily,
+trying not to become too conscious of the small warm body beside him.
+
+He moved, suddenly, and found her fingers closed tightly on the sleeve
+of his flying suit.
+
+"Frightened, Paula?" he asked quietly. "Don't be. We'll make out."
+
+She shook her head and looked up at him, drawing away as if to scan
+his face more closely.
+
+"I am thinking," she said almost harshly, "of biology. I wonder--"
+
+Bell waited. He felt an intolerable strain in her tensed figure. He
+put his hand comfortingly over hers. And, astoundingly, he found it
+trembling.
+
+"Are all women fools?" she demanded in a desperate cynicism. "Are we
+all imbeciles? Are--"
+
+Bell's pulse pounded suddenly. He smiled.
+
+"Not unless men are imbeciles too," he said dryly. "We've been through
+a lot in the past two days. It's natural that we should like each
+other. We've worked together rather well. I--well"--his smile was
+distinctly a wry and uncomfortable one--"I've been the more anxious to
+get to some civilized place where The Master hasn't a deputy
+because--well--it wouldn't be fair to talk about loving you while--"
+he shrugged, and said curtly, "while you had no choice but to listen."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+She stared at him, there in the moonlight with the jungle moving about
+its business of life and death about them. And very, very slowly the
+tenseness left her figure. And very, very slowly she smiled.
+
+"Perhaps," she said quietly, "you are lying to me, Charles. Perhaps.
+But it is a very honorable thing for you to say. I am not ashamed,
+now, of feeling that I wish to be always near you."
+
+"Hush!" said Bell. He put his arm about her shoulder and drew her
+closer to him. He tilted her face upward. It was oval and quite
+irresistibly pretty. "I love you," said Bell steadily. "I've been
+fighting it since God knows when, and I'm going to keep on fighting
+it--and it's no use. I'm going to keep on loving you until I die."
+
+Her fingers closed tightly upon his. Bell kissed her.
+
+"Now," he said gruffly, "go to sleep."
+
+He pressed her head upon his shoulder and kept it there. After a long
+time she slept. He stirred, much later, and she opened her eyes again.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Damn these mosquitos," growled Bell. "I can't keep them off your
+face!"
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+For four hours after sunrise Bell worked desperately. With the few and
+inadequate tools in the plane he took apart the oiling system of the
+motor. It was in duplicate, of course, like all modern air engines,
+and there were three magnetos, and double spark plugs. Bell drained
+the crankcase beneath a sun that grew more and more hot and
+blistering, catching the oil in a gasoline can that he was able to
+empty into the main tanks. He washed out innumerable small oil pipes
+with gasoline, and flushed out the crankcase itself, and had at the
+end of his working as many small scraps of metal as would half fill a
+thimble. He showed then to Paula.
+
+"And the stars in their courses fought against Sisera," he quoted
+dryly. "Any one of these, caught in just the right place, would have
+let us down into the jungle last night."
+
+She smiled up at him.
+
+"But they didn't."
+
+"No.... God loves the Irish," said Bell. "What's that thing?"
+
+Paula was fishing, sitting on a fallen tree in the cloud of smoke from
+a smudge fire Bell had built for her. She was wearing the oily flying
+suit he had found in the shed with the plane, and had torn strips from
+her discarded dress to make a fishing line. The hook was made out of
+the stiff wire handle of one of the extra gasoline tins. "Hook and
+leader in one," Bell had observed when he made it.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He was pointing to a flat bodied fish with incredible jaws that lay on
+the grass, emitting strange sounds even in the air. It flapped about
+madly. Its jaws closed upon a stick nearly half an inch thick, and cut
+it through.
+
+"It is a _piranha_," said Paula. "The same fish that bit your hand. It
+can bite through a copper wire fastened to a hook, but this hook is so
+long...."
+
+"Pleasant," said Bell. Something large and red passed before his eyes.
+He struck at it instinctively.
+
+"Don't!" said Paula sharply.
+
+"Why?"
+
+"It's a _maribundi_ wasp," she told him "And its sting.... Children
+have died of it. A strong man will be ill for days from one single
+sting."
+
+"Still more pleasant," said Bell. "The jungle is a charming place,
+isn't it?" He wiped the sweat off his face. "Any more little pets
+about?"
+
+She looked about seriously.
+
+"There." She pointed to a sapling not far distant. "The _palo santo_
+yonder has a hollow trunk, and in it there are usually ants, which are
+called fire-ants. They bite horribly. It feels like a drop of molten
+metal on your flesh. And it festers afterwards. And there is a fly,
+the _berni_ fly, which lays its eggs in living flesh. The maggot eats
+its way within. I do not know much about the jungle, but my father
+has--had a _fazenda_ in Matto Grosso and I was there as a child. The
+_camaradas_ told me much about the jungle, then."
+
+Bell winced, and sat down beside her. She had Ribiera's pearl handled
+automatic within easy reach. She saw him looking at it.
+
+"I do not think there is any danger," she said with a not very
+convincing smile, "but there are _cururus_--water snakes. They grow
+very large."
+
+"And I asked you to fish!" said Bell. "Stop it!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+She hauled the line ashore, with a flapping thing on the end of it.
+Bell took the fish off and regarded her catch moodily.
+
+"I'd been thinking," he said moodily, "that Ribiera suspects we're
+dead. I'd been envisioning ourselves as marooned, yes, but relatively
+safe as long as we were thought to be dead. And I'd thought that if we
+lived a sort of castaway existence for a few weeks we'd be forgotten,
+and would have a faint chance of getting out to civilization without
+being noticed. But this...."
+
+"I will stay," she said steadily. "I will stay anywhere or go
+anywhere, with you."
+
+Bell's hand closed on her shoulder.
+
+"I believe it," he said heavily. "And--if you noticed--I had been
+thinking of letting down the Trade. I'd been thinking of not trying to
+fight The Master any longer, but only of getting you to safety. In a
+sense, I was thinking of treason to my job and my government. I
+suspect"--he smiled rather queerly--"I suspect we love each other
+rather much, Paula. I'd never have dreamed for anyone else. Go over to
+the plane and don't fish any more. I'll rustle the food for both of
+us."
+
+She stood up obediently, smiling at him.
+
+"But kill that _piranha_ before you try to handle it," she advised
+seriously.
+
+Bell battered the savage thing until it ceased to move. He picked it
+up, then, and sniffed the air. Paula had been in a cloud of acrid
+smoke. She could not have detected the taint in the air he discovered.
+He went curiously, saw a broken branch overhead, and then saw
+something on the ground.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He came back to the plane presently, looking rather sick.
+
+"Give me one of the machetes, Paula," he said quietly. "We brought
+them, I think."
+
+"What is the matter?"
+
+He took the wide-bladed woods knife.
+
+"A man," he said, nauseated. "He either fell or was thrown from
+somewhere high above. From a plane. He was United States Secret
+Service. There's a badge in his clothes. Don't come."
+
+He went heavily over to the spot beyond the smudge fire. He worked
+there for half an hour. When he came back there were earth stains on
+his hands and clothing, and he carried a very small brown package in
+his hand.
+
+"He had a report ready to send off," said Bell grimly. "I read it.
+It's in code, of course, but in the Trade...."
+
+He set to work savagely on the engine, reassembling it. As he worked,
+he talked in savage, jerky sentences.
+
+"The Service man at Asunción. One of the seven who vanished. He'd
+learned more than we have. He was caught--poisoned, of course--and
+pretended to surrender. Told a great deal that he shouldn't, in order
+to convince The Master's deputy. The key men in nearly every republic
+in South America are in The Master's power. Paraguay belongs to him,
+body and soul. Bolivia is absolutely his. Every man of the official
+class from the President down knows that he has two weeks or less of
+sanity if The Master's deputy shuts down on him--and he knows that at
+the crook of the deputy's finger he'll be assassinated before then. If
+they run away, they go murder mad. If they stay, they have to obey
+him. It's hellish!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He stopped talking to make a fine adjustment. He went on, somberly.
+
+"Chile's not so bad off, but the deputy has slaves nearly everywhere.
+Ecuador--well, the President and half of Congress have been poisoned.
+The man I found was trying to get a sample of the poison for analysis.
+He'd learned it was unstable. Wouldn't keep. The Master has to send
+fresh supplies constantly all over the continent. That accounts for
+the deputies remaining loyal. If The Master had reason to suspect
+them, he had only to stop their supply.... They couldn't stock up on
+the deadly stuff for their own use. So they're as abjectly subject to
+The Master as their slaves are to them. No new slaves are to be made
+in Paraguay or Bolivia, except when necessary. It's believed that in
+six months the other republics will have every influential man
+subjected. Every army officer, every judge, every politician, every
+outstanding rich man.... And then, overnight, South America will
+become an empire, with that devil of a Master as its overlord."
+
+He lifted one of the oil pumps in place and painstakingly tightened
+the bolts that held it.
+
+"Picture it," he said grimly. "Beasts as viceroys, already taking
+their pleasure. Caligulas, Neros, on viceregal thrones all over the
+continent.... And every man who shows promise, or shows signs of honor
+or courage or decency, either killed or sent mad or...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Paula was watching his face closely.
+
+"I think," she said soberly, "that there is something worse."
+
+Bell was silent for an instant.
+
+"For me," he said bitterly, "it is. Before The Master dares to make
+his coup public, he must be sure that there will be no foreign
+interference. So, he must establish a deputy in Washington. A
+relatively few chosen men, completely enslaved, could hold back our
+Government from any action. Leaders in Congress, and members of the
+Cabinet, working, in defense of The Master because his defeat would
+mean their madness.... He would demand no treason of them at first. He
+would require simply that he should not be interfered with. But his
+plans include the appointment of deputies in the United States later
+on. I don't think he can subdue America. I don't think so. But he
+could--and I think he would--send whole cities mad. And if you think
+of that...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He was silent, working. A long, long time later he swung on the
+propeller. The motor caught. He throttled it down and watched it
+grimly. The motor warmed up to normal, and stayed there.
+
+"It will run," he said coldly. "Those two plugs in the crankcase may
+come out at any time. I've tightened them a little. They'd worked
+loose from the vibration. But--well.... That Service man was heading
+for Asunción. He'd been found out. They probably shot him down in
+mid-air after he'd gotten away. His plane may be crashed anywhere in
+the jungle within a mile or so. And I've two bearings on the _fazenda_
+where Ribiera went, now. One from Asunción through here and one from
+Rio. I want to go back there to-night and dump burning gasoline on the
+buildings, to do enough damage to disorganize things a little. Then
+I'm going to try to make it to a seaport. We can stow away, perhaps."
+
+He shut off the motor.
+
+"We'll start at dusk. There'll be lights there. This report says it's
+nearly a city--of slaves. We want the darkness for our getaway."
+
+Paula looked at the sky.
+
+"We have three hours," she said quietly. "Let us cook and eat. You
+must keep up your strength, Charles."
+
+She said it in all seriousness, with the air of one who has entire
+confidence and is merely solicitous. And Bell, who knew of at least
+three excellent reasons why neither of them should survive until
+dawn--Bell looked at her queerly, and then grinned, and then took her
+in his arms and kissed her. She seemed to like it.
+
+And they lunched quite happily on _piranha_ and _pacu_--which is
+smaller--and drank water, and for dessert had more _piranha_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The long afternoon wore away slowly. It was hot, and grew blistering.
+Insects came in swarms and tormented them until Bell built a second
+and larger smudge fire. But they fastened upon his flesh when he went
+out of its smoke for more wood.
+
+They talked, as well as they could for smoke, and looked at each other
+as well as they could for smarting eyes. It was not at all the
+conventional idea of romantic conversation, but it was probably a good
+deal more honest than most, because they both knew quite well that
+their chance of life was small. A plane whose motor was precariously
+patched, flying over a jungle without hope of a safe landing if that
+patched-up motor died, was bad enough. But with the three nearest
+nations subservient to The Master, whose deputy Ribiera was, and all
+those nations hunting them as soon as they were known to be yet
+alive....
+
+"Would it not be wise, Charles," asked Paula wistfully, "just for us
+to try to escape, ourselves, and not try--"
+
+"Wise, perhaps," admitted Bell, "but I've got to strike a blow while I
+can." He was staring somberly at the little plane, fast upon a mud
+bank, with the tall green jungle all about. "The deputies and all
+their slaves have their lives hanging by a thread--the thread of a
+constant supply of the antidote to the poison that's administered with
+the antidote. The deputies--Ribiera, for instance--don't realize that.
+Else they wouldn't dare do the things they do. But let them realize
+that the thread can be broken, and what their slaves would do to them
+before they all went mad.... You see? Let them learn that a blow has
+been struck at the center of all the ghastly thing, and they'll be
+frightened. They'll be close to mutiny through sheer panic. And there
+may be slip-ups."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was vague, perhaps, but it was true. The subjection of the poisoned
+men and women was due not only to terror of what would happen if they
+disobeyed the deputies, but to a belief that that thing would not
+happen if they did obey. If Bell could do enough damage to the
+_fazenda_ of The Master to shake the second belief, he would have
+shaken the whole conspiracy. And a conspiracy that is not a complete
+success is an utter failure.
+
+It was close to sunset when they heard a droning noise in the
+distance. Bell went swiftly to the cockpit of the plane and searched
+the sky.
+
+"Don't see it," he said grimly, "and it probably doesn't see us. We're
+all right, I suppose."
+
+But he was uneasy. The droning noise grew to a maximum and slowly died
+away again. It diminished to a distant muttering.
+
+"What say," said Bell suddenly, "we get aloft now? We'll follow that
+damned thing home. It's going from Asunción to that place we want to
+find. This is on that route. Whoever's in it won't be looking behind,
+and it's close to darkness."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Paula stood up.
+
+"I am ready, Charles."
+
+Bell swung out on the floats and tugged at the prop. The motor caught
+and roared steadily. While it was warming up, he stripped off the rest
+of his shirt and tore it into wide strips, and tied the rags in the
+handles of the gasoline tins in the two cockpits.
+
+"For our bombs," he explained, smiling faintly. "You'll want to wear
+your chute pack, Paula. You know how to work it? And we'll divide the
+guns and what shells we have, and stick them in the flying suit
+pockets."
+
+He made her show him a dozen times that she knew how to pull out the
+ring that would cause the parachute to open. She climbed into the
+front cockpit and smiled down at him. He throttled down the motor to
+its lowest speed and shoved off from the mud bank. Clambering up,
+while the plane moved slowly over the water under the gentle pull of
+the slow-moving propeller, he bent over and kissed her.
+
+"For luck," he said in her ear.
+
+The next instant he settled down at the controls, glanced a last time
+at the instruments, and gave the motor the gun.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The plane lifted soggily but steadily and swept up-stream toward the
+rolling water of the _raudal_, which tumbled furiously about an
+obstacle half of stones and shallows, and half of caught and rotting
+tree trunks. It rose steadily until the trees dropped away on either
+side and the jungle spread out on every hand. It rose to a thousand
+feet and went roaring through the air to northward, while Bell
+strained his eyes for the plane on ahead.
+
+It was ten minutes or more before he sighted it, winging its way
+steadily into the misty distance above the jungle. Bell settled down
+to follow. The engine roared valorously. For half an hour Bell watched
+it anxiously, but it remained cool and had always ample power. Paula's
+head showed above the cockpit combing. Mostly she looked confidently
+ahead, but once or twice she turned about to smile at him.
+
+The sun seemed high when they rose from the water, but as it neared
+the horizon its rate of descent seemed to increase. They had been in
+the air for no more than three-quarters of an hour when it was twice
+its own disk above the far distant hills. Almost immediately, it
+seemed, it had halved that distance. And then the lower limb of the
+blaring circle was sharply cut off by the hill crests and the sun sank
+wearily to rest behind the edge of the world.
+
+It seemed as if a swift chill breeze blew over the jungle, in warning
+of the night. The trees became dark. A shadowy dusk filled the air
+even up to where the plane flew thunderously on. And then, quite
+abruptly, stars were shining and it was night.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Bell remembered, suddenly, and switched on the radio as an experiment.
+The harsh, discordant dashes sounded in his ears through the roaring
+of the motor. A beam of short waves was being sent out from his
+destination. While he was on the direct path the monotonous signals
+could be heard. When they weakened or died he would have left the way.
+
+But they continued, discordant and harsh and monotonous, while the
+last faint trace of the afterglow died away and night was complete,
+and a roof of many stars glittered overhead, and the jungle lay dark
+and deadly below him.
+
+For nearly half an hour more he kept on. Twice he switched on the
+instrument board light to glance at the motor temperature. The first
+time it appeared a little high. The second time it was normal again.
+But there was little use in watching instruments. If the motor failed
+there was no landing field to make for.
+
+A sudden faint glow sprang into being, many miles ahead. The pinkish
+glare of many, many lights turned on suddenly. As the plane thundered
+on the glow grew brighter. An illuminated field, for the convenience
+of messengers who carried the poison for The Master to all the nations
+which were to be subjected.
+
+The glow went out as Bell was just able to distinguish long rows of
+twinkling bulbs, and he saw the harsher, fiercer glow of floodlights.
+He reached forward and touched Paula's shoulder. Conversation was
+impossible over the motor's roar. Her hand reached up and pressed his.
+
+Then he saw other lights. Bright lights, as from houses. Arc lights as
+from storage warehouses, or something of the sort. A long, long row of
+lighted windows, which might be dormitories or perhaps sheds in which
+The Master's enslaved secretaries kept the record of his victims.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The earth flung back the roaring of the little plane's motor. Bell had
+but little time to act before other planes would dart upward to seek
+him out. He dived, and the wing tip landing lights went on, sending
+fierce glares downward. Twin disks of light appeared upon the earth.
+Sheds, houses, a long row of shacks as if for laborers. A drying
+field, on which were spread out plants with their leaves turning
+brown. A wall about it....
+
+"The damned stuff," said Bell grimly.
+
+He swept on. Jungle, only jungle. He banked steeply as lights flicked
+on and off below and as--once--the wing tip lights showed men running
+frantically two hundred feet below.
+
+Then a stream of fire shot earthward, and Bell held up his hand and
+arm into the blast of the slip stream. It blew out the blaze that had
+licked at his flesh. He stared down. The gas can had left a trailing
+stream of fluid behind it as it went spinning down to earth. All that
+stream of inflammable stuff was aflame. The can itself struck earth
+and seemed to explode, and the trailing mass of fire was borne onward
+by the wind and lay across a row of thatch-roofed buildings. An
+incredible sheet of fire spread out. The stuff in the drying yard was
+burning.
+
+Bell laughed shortly, and flung over another of his flaming bombs, and
+another, and the fourth....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He climbed for the skies, then, as rectangles of light showed below
+and planes were thrust out of their lighted hangars. Four huge
+conflagrations were begun. One was close by a monster rounded tank,
+and Bell watched with glistening eyes as it crept closer. Suddenly--it
+seemed suddenly, but it must have been minutes later--flame rushed up
+the sides of that tank, there was a sudden hollow booming, and fire
+was flung broadcast in a blazing, pouring flood.
+
+"Their fuel tank!" said Bell, his eyes gleaming in the ruddy light
+from below. He shut off his landing lights and went upward, steeply.
+"I've played hell with them now!"
+
+A thousand feet up. Two thousand. Two thousand five hundred.... And
+suddenly Bell felt cold all over. The instrument board! The motor was
+hot. Hot! Burning!
+
+He shut it off before it could burst into flames, but he heard the
+squealing of tortured, unlubricated metal grinding to a stop. He
+leveled out. It was strangely, terribly silent in the high darkness,
+despite the roaring of wind about the gliding plane. The absence of
+the motor roar was the thing that made it horrible.
+
+"Paula," said Bell harshly, "one of those plugs came out, I guess. The
+motor's ruined. Dead. The ship's going to crash. Ready with your
+parachute?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was dark, up there, save for the glare of fires upon the under
+surface of the wings. But he saw her hand, encarmined by that glare,
+upon the combing of the cockpit. A moment later her face. She turned,
+light-dazzled, to smile back at him.
+
+"All right, Charles." Her voice quavered a little, but it was very
+brave. "I'm ready. You're coming, too?"
+
+"I'm coming," said Bell grimly. Below them was the city of The Master,
+set blazing by their doing. If their chutes were seen descending....
+And if they were not.... "Count ten," said Bell hoarsely, "and pull
+out the ring. I'll be right after you."
+
+He saw the slim little black-clad figure drop, plummetlike, and prayed
+in an agony of fear. Then a sudden blooming thing hid it from sight.
+Thick clouds of smoke lay over the lights and fires below.
+
+Bell stepped over the side and went hurtling down toward the earth in
+his turn.
+
+(_To be continued_)
+
+[Advertisement: ]
+
+
+
+
+The Cavern World
+
+_By James P. Olsen_
+
+[Illustration: _He aimed it, and the Thing gripping him was hurled
+back upon the others._]
+
+[Sidenote: A great oil field had gone dry--and Asher, trapped far
+under the earth among the revolting Petrolia, learns why.]
+
+
+"Impossible! What sort of creatures would they be, that could live two
+miles beneath the surface of the earth? Surely, Asher, you are
+joking!"
+
+R. Briggs Johns, mighty power back of Stan-America Oil Corporation,
+looked at Blaine Asher closely, expecting to see the chief geologist
+and scientist of the company laugh. But Blaine Asher did not laugh.
+Serious, his rather thin face grave as he leaned his tall, muscular
+body above a torsion machine he was adjusting, there was nothing to
+indicate he had the faintest idea of a joke.
+
+"Why damn it, Asher!" Johns insisted wrathfully, "you don't really
+mean that. And"--he took a nervous turn around the laboratory--"if
+such a wild thing were possible, what has that to do with our trouble?
+You haven't led me on to spend a million dollars drilling a
+thirty-six-inch hole, just so you could test a fantastic theory?"
+
+"You know better than that." Asher wiped his hands and leaned against
+a table. Johns, looking into the cool gray eyes of the man before him,
+did know better. Blaine Asher was more than just a geologist or
+scientist. Well he might be termed a master geo-metallurgist. Johns
+nodded, wiping beads of perspiration from his brow.
+
+"You say impossible--and want to know how those creatures cause this
+field, the largest oil field in the world, to start going bone dry
+over night. All right:
+
+"Remember how you laughed when I told you that oil would some day be
+mined instead of pumped or flowed from the earth? You couldn't see how
+one central shaft could be sunk, then tunnels run back underneath the
+oil strata, tapping the sand from the bottom and letting the oil run
+down to be pumped out one shaft. Yet, that way, we would get _all_ the
+oil, instead of the possible one-eighth of the total amount as we get
+by present methods.
+
+"Now, you have seen that done. And you said that was impossible."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Yes," Johns objected, "but those test wells we mined were only a few
+hundred feet deep. Wells in this field are eight thousand feet deep!
+Think of the heat, man! You can't do it. And as for people--"
+
+"Your great field has suddenly gone dry, almost in a month's time,"
+Asher stopped him. "What is happening here can happen elsewhere. Only,
+formations in this field are more suited to there being life--or
+something--below us. Stan-America is going broke. Many others have
+already gone broke. Still, that oil couldn't have gotten away.
+
+"As for heat--yes, we know that oil is hot when it comes up from the
+oil sand at eight thousand feet, or from ordinary wells at three to
+six thousand feet. But"--Asher lit a cigarette and inhaled
+deeply--"gas coming out of the same well is _cold_! So cold it forms
+frost inches thick on pipes and tanks.
+
+"Rock pressure--the pressure of the earth--forcing up the gas, causes
+that. Why couldn't that same pressure cool great caverns below the
+granite cap below the oil sands? It could. For that matter, I know
+that same pressure will generate useful power. I'll show you that in a
+minute."
+
+"All right!" Johns chewed his cigar almost savagely. "Say, then, that
+you can work down there, nearly two miles underground; granted that we
+can tunnel from beneath the sands and pump more oil from one central
+shaft than we now do from fifty wells--what has that to do with this
+tosh about a race of people?"
+
+"They are not people, perhaps." Asher grinned at the "there, I've
+stuck you!" look on Johns' face. "Let's say, rather, creatures. Have
+you ever met Lee Wong, the great Chinese scientist, or his Russian
+geological collaborator, Krenski? No?
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Well, I have. I met them in Paris in 1935--five years ago. They're
+brilliant men, and they've prepared some wonderful papers. Brilliant,
+I said: they are also dangerous. They claim, you know, that the
+fossils we now drill up come from a lost race--people who went _into_
+the earth while man, like us, was coming up onto the earth from the
+water. Some claim those fossils have been on the surface at one time,
+and were silted over. But eight thousand feet is a lot of silt, Johns:
+ever thought of that?"
+
+"Good God!" Johns gasped hoarsely. "You almost make me believe you are
+right. But, supposing there is such a race of things--what will you
+do?"
+
+"This." Asher drew back a curtain that was stretched across one end of
+the laboratory. "You know I was working on a cage in which to descend
+into that eight-thousand-foot well you've drilled--the well you're
+going to use to try and find why this field is suddenly gone dry. This
+it it."
+
+Johns stared, shook his head wonderingly and stared again. Before him,
+ready to be transported to the well that was larger than any ever
+drilled before, stood what Blaine Asher called his Miner, for want of
+a better name.
+
+A thick steel tube, it was. Twelve feet long and large enough around
+that a man might stand inside of it. The top was welded on in much the
+manner a top is welded on an ordinary hot-water heater, and had
+connections for hose in it. At the height of a man's eyes heavy
+windows were set in, and in one side was a door just large enough to
+admit a man's body. This door sealed tight the minute it closed.
+
+"It looks like--like some sort of a deep sea diving outfit," Johns
+said as he walked around the braces that held the Miner upright. "But
+all those gadgets inside and on the bottom--?" He indicated the
+strange instruments that could be seen when the door was opened, and
+the queer glass tubes that projected from the very bottom.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Pressure-power units--my own invention," Asher told him. "For ten
+years I've been working on this. I knew that some day I would want to
+explore the oil caverns beneath the earth, so I made ready.
+
+"As I told you, rock pressure, or earth pressure, is a tremendous
+thing. It is power, so I figured how to use it. Under artificial
+pressure, I have tried out my Miner and its equipment.
+
+"Those tubes sticking from the bottom contain something you are
+familiar with: non-burning and non-explosive helium gas. I have
+discovered a way, by their use, to create power that will melt away
+rock or iron--literally dissolve it into nothing! Not in an hour, or
+minutes. In seconds, Johns!
+
+"The pressure of the earth acts as my generator. The pressure action
+on the filaments of platinum, and several compositions I have no time
+to explain now, causes heat. Call it friction of compressed air, if
+you wish. As neon gases carry an electric spark, so does this helium
+carry the power generated by earth pressure. The pressure below earth
+acts on the delicate coils and points of my generator. This bit of
+power is carried into the helium tubes, and by a system of vacuum
+power, is increased millions of times. Thus, the tiny spark of a cigar
+lighter would electrocute a hundred men!"
+
+"I--you mean somewhat like a violet ray is increased in the lightning
+tubes?" Johns strove to grasp the foundation of the thing.
+
+"Yes, the foundation of it all--with the earth's pressure the power
+motive," Asher nodded. "So, after my Miner is on the bottom of our
+well, I can burn--or dissolve--a room as large as this laboratory in a
+few minutes. The whole thing is no mystery after you learn it--not
+nearly so much as radium, or radio, was. Merely creating a spark of
+electricity and fanning it through a vacuum and a conductor of massed
+gases."
+
+"But"--Johns had unconsciously dropped his voice to a whisper--"what
+of these strange creatures? How would you deal with them? Damn it,
+Asher, I think I'm beginning to believe this nutty idea of yours. Any
+man who can generate power with the pressure of air as it is packed by
+earth must know what he is talking about!"
+
+"I have but one protection against anything down there that tries to
+harm me," Asher said simply. "That is this--see?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+What he held up looked like an old-fashioned six shooter. It was
+fitted with a platinum-sealed box in the place where a cylinder would
+have been. The barrel looked like some queer, blue glass.
+
+"Do you see that test tube?" Asher pointed to a glass tube on a table
+a few feet away. "Now watch."
+
+He pressed a tiny ratchet under his thumb. A snapping, buzzing noise
+filled the laboratory. Johns gave an exclamation of wonder and awe.
+Quickly, the test tube started to melt into a pool of molten glass.
+Asher increased the pressure of his ratchet trigger. The tube was
+knocked to the floor.
+
+"Static electricity--always some form of electricity," said Asher
+grinning at the astonished oil baron. "Conductor coils here," he
+continued as he tapped the sealed cylinder, "are charged much as a
+flash-lamp battery. The charged conductors attract the static
+electricity of the air, and, in a manner similar to the action of the
+power generator, increase power. There is a slight difference: by
+turning quick power on my static gun, I can cause the charge to knock
+down and merely electrocute, as I knocked the half-melted tube from
+the table."
+
+"I can understand that, a little," Johns sighed profoundly. "It's the
+same juice that causes a gasoline truck to catch fire if you don't
+have a ground chain on it somewhere. But, just the same, I claim it's
+remarkable."
+
+"Not half as remarkable as what I expect to find two miles down when I
+descend to-morrow." Asher had a dreamy look in his eyes. "I wonder:
+new ways to get petroleum wealth ... a strange people...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Men,"--Asher, a tight-fitting asbestos composition suit covering him
+from foot to neck, spoke tersely--"when you get me on bottom, stop
+every bit of machinery, and don't dare pull up until I give the
+signal. If I'm down there the entire day, all right. But"--he smiled,
+trying to make light of the danger--"if I don't signal within
+thirty-six hours, pull up anyhow."
+
+From the bull-wheels of the drilling rig Asher spooled out some of the
+air-hose cable through which air blown over ice would be pumped into
+the Miner; then when the long steel cylinder was over the hole and
+ready, he turned to the company officials and government scientists
+and engineers around him in the boarded-up derrick.
+
+"Possibly I can get a survey in an hour. Perhaps I'll have to come
+back to the surface and make adjustments to my equipment. That remains
+to be seen.... Now, let's get low."
+
+He adjusted a helmet over his head. It looked much like the helmet
+worn by a sea diver, except that it had no connecting hose for air.
+The windows in the helmet, which contained pressure lights, worked on
+the same principle as the disintegrating rays of the Miner. When Asher
+turned the ratchet that set the little pressure machine into motion, a
+violet tinged green ray of great lighting power shot out and
+increased, by weight of air, or atmosphere beneath the earth, the
+power of one tiny spark a million times.
+
+Without ceremony or farewell, Asher crawled inside his tube. The door
+was closed and he fastened it from inside. For a moment, wild panic
+assailed him. But he fought it off, becoming again less the feeling
+human and more the cold calculator of advanced science. The light from
+outside, coming in through the windows of the Miner, was shut off. The
+long steel cage clanked against the sides of the special casing in the
+well, and Blaine Asher was on his trip into a lower world never before
+visited by man.
+
+That was what Asher believed. But, had he known what waited for him,
+two miles into the bowels of the earth....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At five hundred feet, the descent stopped, giving him time to adjust
+himself to the pressure change. The gas and oil had been eased out of
+the hole. That is, the casing had been run on through the producing
+strata, shutting it off. Asher signaled by buzzer, and a stream of the
+ice-washed air flowed down to him.
+
+Three thousand feet! Six thousand feet! More than a mile down! Sweat
+poured from his body in streams, and the air coming into the Miner
+through the hose did not relieve him. It was hot--almost unbearably
+so. His ears were roaring. The dark of his tube was relieved as he
+turned on his pressure lamps. He adjusted the pressure discs over his
+ears by twisting a thumbscrew on his helmet, and the pounding of his
+ear-drums ceased.
+
+Gasping, he watched the depth meter in front of him. It did not seem
+as if he was moving, but the indicator now showed more than seven
+thousand feet. It moved around slowly and more slowly; trembled at
+eight thousand--and stopped.
+
+Like the snapping of a man's fingers, the temperature inside the Miner
+changed. Asher was now fifty feet below the bottom of the oil and gas
+sands, and if his theory about rock pressure worked.... It _was_
+working. Frost was forming on the inside of the Miner!
+
+"I'm right--right--right!" Asher thought, elated, sending his buzzer
+signal up to those so far above. The icy air through his hose changed
+to air of normal temperature. He signaled for slack in the lowering
+cable, then prepared for the greatest test of all.
+
+Cramped, with hardly room to move, he studied his gages. Helium tubes
+at the proper pressure for compressing the tiny spark of the pressure
+generator, so it would flare a million times stronger under the action
+of the vacuum tubes: diamond and cut-glass tubes in the bottom of the
+Miner, thermoed with layers of quicksilver: everything cleared,
+everything ready.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His hand shaking, Asher pushed the tiny switch that brought his
+filament points trembling together under the atmospheric pressure so
+far underground. A tiny spark danced and throbbed through the tiny
+glass tube before him, beginning to buzz as it started the circuit of
+increasing coils, and soon humming and vibrating as the helium and
+vacuum tubes swelled it to full power. Spark after spark, increased
+almost beyond imagination, followed one after another. The Miner
+throbbed and shook.
+
+White-faced, Asher touched the little lever that opened the blasting
+outlets in the bottom. Almost instantly the Miner dropped a full six
+inches--went on, down to a foot. Asher, pride of success choking him,
+pulled the lever hard over, which brought some of the tubes beneath
+him spreading out, to blast away the earth on each side of him.
+
+He signaled for more and more slack as the depth indicator showed he
+had burned, or disintegrated, his way down to thirty feet beyond the
+original bottom of the hole. He was below the bottom of the protecting
+wall of casing now--at the mercy of the pressure of two miles of
+earth.
+
+Slowly, setting all his bottom tubes to cutting away on all sides of
+him, he started hollowing out enough room to step out into. His
+lights, when he looked through the windows, showed ghostly on earth
+ten feet on each side of him. Ten more minutes and he had created a
+room nearly twenty-five feet square--a man-made cave, two miles below
+the surface.
+
+There was something akin to awe in the feelings of Asher when he
+opened the little door, crawled out and stood erect. The pressure
+lamps in his helmet lit up the room he had made. There were no sounds,
+just a vague, ringing silence.
+
+Then so quickly that it robbed him of his senses, two things happened.
+A hundred yards away from the well in which he had descended, another
+well, drilled by another oil company, was shot. Three hundred quarts
+of nitro-glycerine were set off in the hole.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Asher screamed and clamped his ear discs down tight. It seemed the
+very gods of thunder were shrieking and raging in his head; every
+nerve and fiber in his body throbbed and tingled with the hellish
+vibration.
+
+On his knees, where the shock had thrown him, in darkness beyond
+description, Asher realized the lights from the Miner no longer shone
+out. Frantically, he adjusted the small lights in his helmet and got
+them to sending off their rays again. Then, an icy hand seemed to
+squeeze his heart, turning his blood to ice-water in his veins. He
+cursed himself for not foreseeing that some company might shoot a well
+close by, while he was underground.
+
+He turned. The Miner was all right, but Blaine Asher was trapped! For
+the walls of the hole below the bottom of the casing had caved. Thirty
+feet of rock, sand and conglomerate matter were between him and the
+bottom of the pipe.
+
+He was trapped--two miles below the earth. There was no hope of
+rescue, the hope that miners feel in deep shafts. There could be no
+rescue for Asher. No one could get to him. He cried out his horror,
+fighting to keep from swooning.
+
+The helmet hampered him. He turned on a small pressure lamp attached
+to the belt at his waist, and chanced taking the helmet off. Dank and
+nauseous was the air that he breathed, since it no longer came through
+the filters in his helmet. But it was air that would serve,
+nevertheless.
+
+A crackling, rumbling sound caused him to turn quickly. Eyes wide, he
+stared at the long crack that was opening before him.
+
+Asher was between two layers of granite--one layer under him, and
+another above him, just below the oil sands. Now, as the crack between
+these two layers widened, he could see it slope downward until it
+ended in a great cavern that stretched endlessly away beyond the beams
+of his light.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It wasn't this crack that caused Blaine Asher, an iron-hearted man of
+science, to choke and sag down to a sitting position, his knees
+refusing to support him. No--it was the terrible, Godless,
+unbelievable _Things_ that scurried around in the smooth rock hall
+that stretched away into the cavern.
+
+Frozen with soul-chilling fear, Asher stared with eyes that bulged.
+What were they? Spawned neither of God nor Satan--what could they be?
+Black-skinned--or was it skin?--like rubber, with round bodies, like
+black basket balls inflated to triple size; bodies that seemed to
+ripple, distort, swell and contract with life within life.
+
+Short, foot-long stems that must have been legs, ending in round balls
+that served as feet, no doubt. Tentacles, Asher would have called
+them, six feet in length, thick as mighty cables and dotted with
+suckers like the tentacles of an octopus. And heads--Asher gagged and
+vomited!
+
+Not heads. Just masses of the black body substance as large as the two
+fists of a man. In each head was a crooked black gash for a mouth.
+There were no eyes that Asher could see. Yet, these Things seemed to
+see one another, and emitted strange, chill, squeaking sounds!
+
+As Asher watched, the Things sensed his presence. A half hundred of
+them rose and started toward him. They did not walk, nor did they
+crawl. Undulating, contorting strangely, they came on with incredible
+speed, long tentacles waving before them; slithering on the rocky
+floor of the cavern; making those odd squeaking noises.
+
+As they neared him, Asher sprang to his feet, backing up against the
+pile of cavings beside the Miner. A long tentacle whipped out and
+wrapped around his leg. A short, snout-tentacle quivered toward his
+face. There was strength beyond imagining in the grip on him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With an almost animal snarl the man from the earth's surface moved to
+protect himself from these creatures, surely of the lowest living
+order. He grabbed into the pocket of his loose asbestos composition
+suit, and his fingers closed comfortingly around the static gun.
+
+He aimed it, and the Thing gripping him was hurled back upon the
+others. Crackling, snapping viciously, the charges of electricity that
+were drawn from the very earth increased in the gun and spumed out
+like lightning bolts. The Things squeaked excitedly and surged
+forward. Asher's finger pulled the ratchet trigger full force, and
+like dew before a strong shaft of sunlight, the gruesome Things were
+knocked away.
+
+Hating the sight, Asher changed the charge of his gun, cutting the
+size of the path the volts covered, thereby increasing the potency of
+the discharge. The piled bodies sizzled, and to Asher's nose came a
+sulphurous smell. Then, there was nothing at all....
+
+Sick, he put the gun back into the deep pocket and leaned on the wall.
+He turned around again to the pile of cavings that barred his way from
+the surface, and dug like a madman with his bare hands. The Miner was
+weighed down, and he could not use it anyhow. The blasting tubes were
+on the bottom, and could not be shifted to the top.
+
+Suddenly he stopped his crazed work, raised his head and listened. "My
+God!" he gasped hoarsely, "am I stark mad?" He thought he must be, for
+the voice of a human being came to his ears.
+
+"You will be pleased, Blaine Asher, to turn around! And do not make
+any foolish moves, I warn you."
+
+"Lee Wong! Krenski!" Asher turned, face to face with the
+super-scientists of whom he had spoken to R. Briggs Johns the day
+before. Asher shook his head. More of the terrible dream, this meeting
+two humans down in the earth's core.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Most right, honorable Asher." Lee Wong bowed mockingly. He and
+Krenski were garbed in loose-fitting garments of much the same style
+as Asher. In their hands, they carried static guns. Not the small gun,
+such as Asher had concealed in his pocket. More like heavy air drills,
+they were.
+
+Asher frowned at the lamps they carried. He knew by the dazzling
+action of the rays that they were pressure lamps. But they gave off
+much better light than those of his own invention. They had gone him
+one better there.
+
+"Did--did you see them?" Asher gulped. "And how--how did you get down
+here? Tell me!" He took a step toward Lee Wong, intending to lay his
+hand on the Chinaman, to make sure he was live flesh and blood, and
+not a figment of his disordered brain.
+
+"Stand where you are!" Lee Wong snapped. He held the heavy static gun
+up and Asher felt a light charge tingle his body. "Those Things of
+which you speak--I assume you mean the Petrolia. Ah, yes, we see them.
+Every day, we see them. For us they work. They work, my dear Blaine
+Asher, tapping upward into the oil sands; sands that are burial places
+of countless millions of generations of Petrolia; of lost races that
+once ruled supreme over these underground worlds.
+
+"How simple, to take the oil from below--the oil you want so much
+above. Someone must do the work. I and Krenski found the Petrolia
+ready and willing. Being creatures of feeling, with little sense, we
+were able to bend their dying wills to do our work. You see, we made
+them feel we would save them, a dying race, from extinction! They do
+our bidding."
+
+Asher was bewildered by the enormity of the thing. "You mean these
+Things you have called Petrolia actually work for you? And that you
+saved them from becoming extinct?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Exactly," Lee Wong nodded, seeming to be enjoying himself. "Like
+humans of the surface, Petrolia live on the dead. I mean, wherever we
+get our living food from the earth, we plant our dead back in that
+earth. Petrolia are spawned in beds of petroleum. Just as eels seek
+deep water to lay their eggs, so do Petrolia go to the oil strata to
+spawn future tribes.
+
+"When we pump out the oil, they have no--shall we say
+"hatching?"--beds. But now, by tapping and bringing down the oil, we
+have assured them more spawning pits. They will increase, and we have
+made them sense it. For that matter, the very oil they breed in, gives
+them sustenance. That is why they are black fleshed and blooded, and
+have suckers instead of mouths, as a black man is black through ages
+beneath hot suns.
+
+"It's easy for us, who are wiser than other men, to figure what
+oilfield might contain such people. We have a rapid elevator
+connecting us to the surface. And--"
+
+"Then," Asher almost shouted, "I'm not trapped!"
+
+"No?" Lee Wong wrinkled his forehead quizzically. "You should realize
+that we cannot allow you to go back to the surface--alive, or any
+other way. We intend to increase the Petrolia, spreading them to other
+underground, yet uninhabited worlds. You would spoil that.
+
+"No, you will never return to the surface. They cannot haul your tube
+to the top, so they will think you perished in it. And"--Lee Wong
+shrugged--"it might have been better if you had, Mr.--"
+
+"_I wouldn't!_" the yellow man snarled. He rolled the ratchet of his
+static gun and Asher was hurled to the floor by the heavy shock.
+Wisely, he stood up, keeping his hands well away from the pocket in
+which his own gun rested. He doubted whether his little static gun
+could compete with the guns of the others, but it was something. They
+had not thought to search him--perhaps they might not. It was his only
+hope.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Lee Wong bowed low again, motioning Asher to go ahead. "Now you shall
+see what we have done. We are proud, and we know you can appreciate
+our workings. You will be glad to learn why we do as we are doing; you
+will be intrigued as a fellow scientist. Then, so sad to say, you must
+perish for having gained that very knowledge."
+
+Asher shrugged, and through half-closed lids he eyed Lee Wong and the
+rather small, slender Krenski, of the high brow and large head. Then
+he walked ahead of them. Head up, shoulders back, he walked carelessly
+down the wide hall--a hall that led into the main cavern of that
+underground empire.
+
+It was large--fully a hundred feet in a rough square. Not fifteen feet
+from floor to ceiling at any point, it followed the course of the two
+layers of granite between which it was sandwiched. Other long halls,
+or crevices, ran in every direction out of this main cavern. In the
+walls, in niches and cracks, the superior pressure lamps had been
+placed, throwing a bright, eery light over it all.
+
+Asher recoiled suddenly at the sight of hundreds of Petrolia that
+swarmed the hallways, and they seemed to sense another presence beside
+that of Lee Wong or Krenski. A choked, gurgling sound came from the
+Chinaman, and they disappeared down the halls, squeaking angrily as
+they went.
+
+"Our control room," explained Lee Wong waving his hand about him. He
+pointed to a dozen twenty-four inch pipe-lines that ran along the low
+ceiling, coming from as many different halls into the room, but all
+going out the same large hall, larger than the rest. "There are the
+arteries of our system. There is the oil that is so--shall we say
+strangely?--missing in your wells." He smiled, a taunting, mocking
+light in his eyes.
+
+"You well understand how we do it. Above us, just below the oil
+strata, is a steel, trough-shaped roof. The oil, tapped from below,
+drains into these, and then into these pipe-lines. If we were working
+from above, now, we would run it to a central shaft, and pump it out.
+We do not want it on the surface, however."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Then why in the name of hell do you want it?" Asher barked, a tense
+note of anger in his voice. "And what do you do with it?" These two
+were humans. At least, they were in man-form, if not in feeling. And
+the Petrolia could be handled. Asher was getting mad, and his fear
+ebbed.
+
+"Come." Lee Wong led the way under the pipe-lines, down the large
+hall. Krenski, his heavy static gun ready, walked at Asher's back.
+They came out into another cavern that stretched beyond the powerful
+lights. The sound of their voices echoed like thunder of the drums of
+Thor, and Asher realized this cavern might stretch away in Stygian
+blackness for hundreds of miles.
+
+Asher marveled, for the floor of this cavern dropped at least five
+feet below the level of the control room or incoming hallways, forming
+a natural reservoir. A reservoir for the big streams of oil that were
+pouring into it from the pipe-lines.
+
+The rumble of the oil as it came in and splashed out in a never-ending
+stream, and the rumble of the oil streams above them as the precious
+fluid flowed down into the plated drain roof, sounded like the tramp
+of the weary feet of the damned, as it echoed back and forth across
+the mighty cavern.
+
+"Our storage." Lee Wong stood at the edge and explained. "Also, as you
+may see, a concentration incubator, or spawning bed and food storage
+for our Petrolia."
+
+Blaine Asher looked again at the rippling oil at his feet. He choked
+brokenly and stepped back a pace. For the oil near the bank was alive!
+It rippled and splashed, teeming with life. By the strange alchemy of
+breeding in oil and living on oil as man lives on bread, that lake of
+oil was a mass of growing Petrolia. Millions--yes, countless
+billions--of them! Hideous, foul Things that would be turned loose
+with the rest in that nightmare world--that would be taken to other
+buried worlds to start new races.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"But why--why?" Asher almost screamed the words at Lee Wong.
+
+"Petrolia will be our armies, protecting our underground wealth," Lee
+Wong answered him. "They will be our faithful workers, under no
+command but mine. For, even Krenski has not mastered the over-control
+it takes to handle them!
+
+"Gradually, as happened to the field we are now under, all oil fields
+will go dry. We will be getting the oil from below, and putting it in
+storage in mother earth. Think, Blaine Asher, what it will mean!"
+There was a fanatical light in Lee Wong's beady eyes.
+
+"A world without petroleum is a world without power. No oil for fuel;
+no gasoline, lubricants or by-products of any sort. No airplanes could
+fly; tanks, tractors, oil-burning trains and ships; mechanical
+appliances--nothing could run. We now take the oil from America.
+Later, when our Petrolia have increased and we have devised means of
+moving them, we will go to all oil-producing countries.
+
+"We will secrete the oil and paralyze the world. Now, in Russia and
+China and India, our societies are organizing and growing. They will
+handle the weakened, powerless nations, and I shall be ruler of the
+universe, surface and beneath, with Krenski to aid me, you see. It it
+wonderful, is it not? And, knowing what you do, having seen what you
+have, could you call it impossible?"
+
+Blaine Asher groaned. It was not impossible, he knew. Unreal;
+monstrous--but never impossible. A region of hideous Petrolia; a world
+stripped of automotive and mechanical power, its fuel held in the
+hands of a few, far underground--it was terrible to think of.
+
+And Asher the only one who knew. The only one who could avert such a
+thing. The fate of an entire world was in his hands. And he would soon
+die.
+
+Die? No! Blaine Asher swore silently to himself that no power in
+existence should keep him from destroying these two fiends. It had to
+be done!
+
+He dared not fail.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Wonderful, stupendous thing," he forced himself to smile. "I'd like
+to grasp the hand of the genius who devised and carried out such a
+wonderful thing."
+
+He took a step toward Lee Wong, right hand extended, his left slipping
+toward the pocket where his own static gun rested.
+
+Lee Wong extended his own right band. Something in the chill, flint
+look of Asher's eyes must have warned him. Even as Asher's fingers
+closed around his hand, he tried to jerk back.
+
+"Destroy him!" he cried out to Krenski.
+
+Asher dropped to one knee, letting his static gun remain in his
+pocket. His left hand closed around Lee Wong's wrist as the Oriental
+tried to pull away. Krenski was bringing the heavy, cylinderlike gun
+up and aiming it at Asher.
+
+Asher twisted on one knee, his teeth gritted, braced to receive the
+shock from the gun. He jerked Lee Wong's arm down, heaved and came to
+his feet. Crying out, arms and legs flailing, the Chinaman catapulted
+toward Krenski--and just at the instant Krenski fired!
+
+The sickening smell of cindered flesh was in Asher's nostrils as he
+turned and ran back up the main hallway. He glanced back over his
+shoulder as he ran, and shuddered at the black mass lying at Krenski's
+feet. Lee Wong was no more. Wide-eyed, the Russian stared at the thing
+at his feet. Then, with a fiendish shriek, turned and brought the gun
+into line on the fleeing Asher.
+
+A crackling charge of electricity singed the back of Asher's head as
+he dove head first around the corner of the hall into the control
+cavern. He reasoned that Krenski had sent a full charge after him, and
+hope kindled higher in his breast. For Asher believed his smaller
+static weapon was as strong as that of the other. At that, it would be
+a test, and Asher dared not take chances.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He crouched in the door of another hallway, waiting. Cursing, Krenski
+dashed into the control cavern. Asher brought his gun up and fired.
+But even as he pulled the trigger, a long tentacle reached from the
+dark crevice behind him and jerked his arm. His charge snapped by the
+Russian, warning the other that Asher, too, was dealing with powerful
+electric rays that meant death should they touch.
+
+Asher yielded to the tug of the slimy, sulphur-smelling tentacle,
+letting it pull him into the crevice, the charges of Krenski's weapon
+crackling by him, leaving his skin dry, and a powdery sensation in his
+mouth.
+
+In the shelter of the crevice, Asher turned his gun upon the Petrolia
+that gripped him. The tentacles fell away, fading to nothingness
+before the charges that showed quivery blue in the dark. Like
+catacombs, one crevice opened into another. Asher darted into the next
+crevice and edged cautiously toward the control cavern.
+
+The angry buzzing and snapping of Krenski's weapon caused him to duck
+instinctively, although no deadly charges came his way.
+
+"Oh, God!" he heard the Russian's high-pitched voice, agonized,
+wailing, "they're coming in--they're coming in!"
+
+A squeaking and slithering, now greater than ever, rose above all
+other sounds. And Asher realized what Krenski meant. Lee Wong had said
+that only he could control the Petrolia. They were swarming into the
+control room now. That was what Krenski was shooting at.
+
+The squeaking sounds came up the crevice in which Asher was and a
+cold, clammy sweat broke out all over him. He could blast a thousand
+of them into nothing. But by sheer force, more body than his light
+static gun could down, they would overwhelm him.
+
+His mind raced swiftly. He remembered the location, out in the control
+room, of the cage elevator that ran to the surface. It had not been
+hurt by the glycerine blast that had trapped Asher. The elevator shaft
+from the control room was cased clear into the cavern floor, and the
+blast had not jarred this far.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He wheeled and sent another charge of static electricity into the
+crevice back of him, then lunged out into the control room. It would
+be his own weapon against Krenski's, and a chance to gain the bottom
+of the shaft.
+
+Krenski--piled, charred heaps of the Petrolia around him, which had
+momentarily cleared the attack--was running across the control room.
+Like a seething wave, the foul Petrolia undulated from every crevice
+and hallway, coming in to fresh attack. The Russian, terror lending
+him speed, raced for the cage at the foot of the shaft that led to the
+surface. At the same time Asher ran out.
+
+Nearly a hundred feet apart, on opposite sides of the cavern, they
+stopped. Krenski turned his heavy weapon toward Asher at the same time
+Asher sent his own gun crackling and snapping out blue, fiery flame.
+
+Side-stepping, now crouching, now dodging to this side and that, they
+fought their strange duel. Asher's right arm was burned, his hair
+singed from his head, and his body jarred again and again as Krenski
+touched him. Krenski, groaning through gritted teeth, suffered burns
+all over his chest and left leg.
+
+As the Petrolia came on, and the lightning play of deadly electric
+charges continued, Asher made a discovery. He noticed that the rays,
+or charges, of the two guns, when they met in mid-air, caused blue
+flame, and that the charge went no farther.
+
+It did it again. The two charges met, crackled to explosion in the
+air. Krenski, too, noticed it, and he also noticed that the Petrolia
+were almost upon them again. Coming on in a wave that could not be
+hurled back.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He looked at Asher, and met the dare in Asher's eyes. Straight at each
+other, neither moving, they shot their static charges. Neither would
+move: it was a challenge from Asher that Krenski had to meet. One of
+them would have to die before the other would be able to gain the cage
+in the shaft. There could be no compromise, and only one man at a time
+could go surfaceward. If they continued to dodge and fight, the
+Petrolia would overwhelm them.
+
+Power against power, they fought it out.
+
+Asher's finger tightened on his trigger release until it seemed the
+skin would split; then he caused his hand to tremble just enough to
+make his electric charges cover the space in which Krenski's charges
+traveled. Hissing, spitting, flashing explosions, giving off sounds
+and light like big explosions of flash powder, the charges met.
+
+Asher tingled from head to foot, and thrilled to the very marvel of
+the thing. Two deadly beams of electricity, holding each other off!
+
+In one long, continuous flash, the contact point of the charges began
+to shift. Closer and closer, as the force of superior charges cleaved
+through the other, the contact points neared Krenski. He saw death
+upon him, for in another instant, Asher's charges would hurl his own
+bolts back upon him. The smaller weapon of Blaine Asher, attracting
+more static electric currents by reason of having a small attracting
+battery inside, where the larger gun of the other depended upon
+magnets for attraction, was triumphing.
+
+Krenski's mustache and light beard singed and curled. He cried out,
+stepped back, throwing up his arms as death flashed through his body.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His gun playing about him, Asher raced toward the big valves and gates
+that shut off the drain of the pipe-lines. Burning, reeking of sulphur
+and burned leather, the Petrolia vanished before him. But, as he
+turned, the drainage system that was robbing the field shut off. They
+had blocked his way again!
+
+Too many to blast away altogether, they pressed in. Asher leaped
+forward, feet kicking, left fist smashing out, static gun crackling as
+if to tell him that nothing could stop them. Tentacles gripped at him,
+the foul, stinking smell gagged him. But the squeaks of the Petrolia
+maddened him.
+
+"Squeak, damn you!" Asher shouted wildly, kicking, shooting and
+hitting, gaining toward the shaft. "Squeak--for all the damned Things
+that ever bred below the earth cannot stop one surface man!"
+
+He burned and fought his way through and jumped into the cage as his
+gun electrocuted two of the Petrolia that tried to weave in after him.
+As he slammed the door, Asher was conscious that something was
+happening. He hesitated, just long enough to see the cavern start
+buckling and caving. The pressure of the oil, now shut off, was
+filling back toward the surface, creating a mighty pressure downward.
+The surface wells would produce man's power-fuel once more.
+
+Asher slammed the door, turned on the power, and the cage shot upward.
+
+A half hour later, those waiting on the floor of the derrick above the
+hole in which Asher had gone down, started. Asher, burned, wounded,
+blood streaming from his battered body, staggered in and collapsed at
+their feet.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I can't believe it! Insane! Impossible! Yet, every well in this field
+has started producing again! And when we went to that old, abandoned
+wildcat well, we found the shaft opening! I had it covered up, as you
+ordered."
+
+R. Briggs Johns paced up and down the laboratory floor, talking to
+Asher, who had just arisen from his bed, two weeks after he had
+collapsed at their feet in the derrick. Still bandaged, he was a
+different Blaine Asher. His face was lined, and the hair next to his
+scalp nearly snow white.
+
+"I'll be able to do some walking around outside in a few days," Asher
+declared as he cleaned a test tube and placed it in a rack. "I can
+locate several wells over that underground storage cavern, and you can
+recover that oil. But you can't mine this field.
+
+"Twenty years, perhaps, and you can. But it will take that long for
+those Petrolia to die out. We've got to get the oil out from below to
+a point where they can no longer spawn. We will apply mining in other
+fields--but not here!"
+
+"Not here," Johns repeated, shuddering.
+
+"It's up to you to see no one else tries it." Asher lit a cigarette
+and nodded at Johns. "Get control of the field--anything. Tell the oil
+men something. But don't tell then the truth. They wouldn't believe
+you. They would call you raving mad.
+
+"The world does not know. It would not believe. Can we do other than
+remain silent?"
+
+R. Briggs Johns, sick of thinking of the cavern world and horrible
+things below them, knew they could not.
+
+
+
+
+Brigands of the Moon
+
+(The Book of Gregg Haljan)
+
+CONCLUSION OF A FOUR PART NOVEL.
+
+_By Ray Cummings_
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+_The First Encounters_
+
+[Illustration: Like feathers we were blown with it.]
+
+[Sidenote: The besieged Earth-men wage grim, ultra-scientific war with
+Martian bandits in a last great struggle for their radium-ore--and
+their lives.]
+
+
+It seemed, with that first shot from the enemy, that a great relief
+came to me--an apprehension fallen away. We had anticipated this
+moment for so long, dreaded it. I think all our men felt it. A shout
+went up:
+
+"Harmless!"
+
+It was not that. But our building withstood it better than I had
+feared. It was a flash from a large electronic projector mounted on
+the deck of the brigand ship. It stabbed up from the shadows across
+the valley at the foot of the opposite crater-wall, a beam of vaguely
+fluorescent light. Simultaneously the search-light vanished.
+
+The stream of electrons caught the front face of our main building in
+a six-foot circle. It held a few seconds, vanished; then stabbed
+again, and still again. Three bolts. A total, I suppose, of nine or
+ten seconds.
+
+I was standing with Grantline at a front window. We had rigged an
+oblong of insulated fabric like a curtain: we stood peering, holding
+the curtain cautiously aside. The ray struck some twenty feet away
+from us.
+
+"Harmless!"
+
+The men in the room shouted it with derision. But Grantline swung on
+them.
+
+"Don't think that!"
+
+An interior signal-panel was beside Grantline. He called the duty-men
+in the instrument room.
+
+"It's over. What are your readings?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The bombarding electrons had passed through the outer shell of the
+building's double-wall, and been absorbed in the rarefied, magnetized
+air-current of the Erentz circulation. Like poison in a man's veins,
+reaching his heart, the free alien electrons had disturbed the motors.
+They accelerated, then retarded. Pulsed unevenly, and drew added power
+from the reserve tanks. But they had normalized at once when the shot
+was past. The duty-man's voice sounded from the grid in answer to
+Grantline's question:
+
+"Five degrees colder in your building. Can't you feel it?"
+
+The disturbed, weakened Erentz circulation had allowed the outer cold
+to radiate through a trifle. The walls had had a trifle extra
+explosive pressure from the room-air. A strain--but that was all.
+
+"It's probably their most powerful single weapon, Gregg." Grantline
+said.
+
+I nodded. "Yes. I think so."
+
+I had smashed the real giant, with its ten-mile range. The ship was
+only two miles from us, but it seemed as though this projector were
+exerted to its distance limit. I had noticed on the deck only one of
+this type. The others, paralyzing-rays and heat rays, were less
+deadly.
+
+Grantline commented: "We can withstand a lot of that bombardment. If
+we stay inside--"
+
+That ray, striking a man outside, would penetrate his Erentz suit
+within a few seconds, we could not doubt. We had, however, no
+intention of going out unless for dire necessity.
+
+"Even so," said Grantline. "A hand-shield would hold it off for a
+certain length of time."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We had an opportunity a moment later to test our insulated shields.
+The bolt came again. It darted along the front face of the building,
+caught our window and clung. The double window-shells were our weakest
+points. The sheet of flashing Erentz current was transparent: we could
+see through it as though it were glass. It moved faster, but was
+thinner at the windows than in the walls. We feared the bombarding
+electrons might cross it, penetrate the inner shell and, like a
+lightning bolt, enter the room.
+
+We dropped the curtain corner. The radiance of the bolt was dimly
+visible. A few seconds, then it vanished again, and behind the shield
+we had not felt a tingle.
+
+"Harmless!"
+
+But our power had been drained nearly an aeron, to neutralize the
+shock to the Erentz current. Grantline said:
+
+"If they kept that up, it would be a question of whose power supply
+would last longest. And it would not be ours.... You saw our lights
+fade down while the bolt was striking?"
+
+But the brigands did not know we were short of power. And to fire the
+projector with a continuous bolt would, in thirty minutes, perhaps,
+have exhausted their own power-reserve.
+
+This strange warfare! It was new to all of us, for there had been no
+wars on any of the three inhabited worlds for many years. Silent,
+electronic conflict! Not a question of men in battle. A man at a
+switch on the brigand ship was the sole actor so far in this assault.
+And the results were visible only in the movement of the needle-dials
+on our instrument panels. A struggle, so far, not of man's bravery, or
+skill, or strategy, but merely of electronic power supply.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Yet warfare, however modern, can never transcend the human element.
+Before this insult was ended I was to have many demonstrations of
+that!
+
+"I won't answer them," Grantline declared. "Our game is to sit
+defensive. Conserve everything. Let them make the leading moves."
+
+We waited half an hour, but no other shot came. The valley floor was
+patched with Earthlight and shadow. We could see the vague outline of
+the brigand ship backed up at the foot of the opposite crater-wall.
+The form of its dome over the illumined deck was visible, and the line
+of its tiny hull ovals.
+
+On the rocks near the ship, helmet-lights of prowling brigands
+occasionally showed.
+
+Whatever activity was going on down there we could not see with the
+naked eye. Grantline did not use our telescope at first. To connect
+it, even for local range, drew on our precious ammunition of power.
+Some of the men urged that we search the sky with the telescope. Was
+our rescue ship from Earth coming? But Grantline refused. We were in
+no trouble yet. And every delay was to our advantage.
+
+"Commander, where shall I put these helmets?"
+
+A man came wheeling a pile of helmets on a little truck.
+
+"At the manual porte--other building."
+
+Our weapons and outside equipment were massed at the main exit-locks
+of the large building. But we might want to sally out through the
+smaller locks also. Grantline sent helmets there; suits were not
+needed, as most of us were garbed in them now, but without the
+helmets.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Snap was still in the workshop. I went there during this first
+half-hour of the attack. Ten of our men were busy there with the
+little flying platforms and the fabric shields.
+
+"How is it, Snap?"
+
+"Almost all ready."
+
+He had six of the platforms, including the one we had already used,
+and more than a dozen hand-shields. At a squeeze, all of us could ride
+on these six little vehicles. We might have to ride them! We planned
+that, in the event of disaster to the buildings, we could at least
+escape in this fashion. Food supplies and water were now being placed
+at the portes.
+
+Depressing preparations! Our buildings uninhabitable, a rush out and
+away, abandoning the treasure.... Grantline had never mentioned such a
+contingency, but I noticed, nevertheless, that preparations were being
+made.
+
+"Only that one shot, Gregg?"
+
+Snap's voice was raised over the clang of the workmen bolting the
+little gravity-plates of the last platform.
+
+"Four blasts. But just the one projector. Their strongest."
+
+He grinned. He wore no Erentz suit as yet. He stood in torn grimy
+work-trousers and a bedraggled shirt, with the inevitable red eyeshade
+holding back his unruly hair. Around his waist was the weighted belt
+and there were weights on his shoes for gravity stability.
+
+"Didn't hurt us much."
+
+"No."
+
+"When I get the tube-panels in this thing I'll be finished. It'll take
+another half-hour. I'll join you. Where are you stationed?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I shrugged. "I was at a front window with Johnny. Nothing to do as
+yet."
+
+Snap went back to his work. "Well, the longer they delay, the better
+for us. If only your signal got through, Gregg! We'll have a rescue
+ship here in a few hours more."
+
+Ah, that "if!"
+
+I turned away. "Can't help you, Snap?"
+
+"No. Take those shields," he added to one of the men.
+
+"Take them where?"
+
+"To Grantline. The front admission porte, or the back. He'll tell you
+which."
+
+The shields were wheeled away on a little cart. I followed it.
+Grantline sent it to the back exit.
+
+"No other move from them yet, Johnny?"
+
+"No. All quiet."
+
+"Snap's almost finished."
+
+The brigands presently made another play. A giant heat-ray beam came
+across the valley. It clung to our front wall for nearly a minute.
+
+Grantline got the reports from the instrument room. He laughed.
+
+"That helped rather than hurt us. Heated the outer wall. Frank took
+advantage of it and eased up the motors."
+
+We wondered if Miko knew that. Doubtless he did, for another interval
+passed and the heat-ray was not used again.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Then came a zed-ray. I stood at the window, watching it, faint sheen
+of beam in the dimness. It crept with sinister deliberation along our
+front building-wall, clung momentarily to our shielded windows and
+pried with its revealing glow into Snap's workshop.
+
+"Looking us over," Grantline commented. "I hope they like what they
+see."
+
+I knew he did not feel the bravado that was in his tone. We had
+nothing but small hand weapons: heat-rays, electronic projectors, and
+bullet projectors. All for very short-range fighting. If Miko had not
+known that before, he could at least make a good guess at it after the
+careful zed-ray inspection. With his ship down there two miles away,
+we were powerless to reach him.
+
+It seemed that Miko was now testing the use of all his mechanisms. A
+light-flare went up from the dome-peak of the ship. It rose in a slow
+arc over the valley, and burst. For a few seconds the two-mile circle
+of crags was brilliantly illumined. I stared, but I had to shield my
+eyes against the dazzling actinic glare, and I could see nothing. Was
+Miko making a zed-ray photograph of our interiors? We had no way of
+knowing.
+
+He was testing his short-range projectors now. With my eyes again
+accustomed to the normal Earthlight in the valley, I could see the
+stabs of little electronic beams, the Martian paralyzing-rays and
+heat-beams. They darted out like flashing swords from the rocks near
+the ship.
+
+Then the whole ship and the crater-wall behind it seemed to shift
+sidewise as a Benson curve-light spread its glow about the ship, with
+a projector curve-beam coming up and touching the window through which
+I was peering.
+
+"Haljan, come look at these damn girls! Commander--shall I stop them?
+They'll kill themselves, or kill us--or smash something!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+We followed the man into the building's broad central corridor. Anita
+and Venza were riding a midget flying platform! Anita, in her boyish
+black garb; Venza with a flowing white Venus-robe. They lay on the
+tiny, six-foot oblong of metal, one manipulating its side shields, the
+other at the controls. As we arrived, the platform came sliding down
+the narrow confines of the corridor, lurching, barely missing a
+door-grid projection. Up to skim the low vaulted ceiling, then down to
+the floor.
+
+It sailed past our heads, rising over us as we ducked. Anita waved her
+hand.
+
+Grantline gasped, "By the infernal!"
+
+I shouted, "Anita, stop!"
+
+But they only waved at us, skimming down the length of the corridor,
+seeming to avoid a smash a dozen times by the smallest margin of
+chance, stopping miraculously at the further end, hanging poised in
+mid-air, wheeling, coming back, undulating up and down.
+
+Grantline clung to me. "By the gods of the airways!"
+
+In spite of my astonished horror I could not but share Grantline's
+obvious admiration. Three of four other men were watching. The girls
+were amazingly skillful, no doubt of that. There was not a man among
+us who could have handled that gravity-platform indoors, not one who
+would have had the brash temerity to try it.
+
+The platform landed with the grace of a humming bird at our feet, the
+girls dexterously balancing so that it came to rest swiftly, without
+the least bump.
+
+I confronted them. "Anita, what are you doing?"
+
+She stood up, flushed and smiling.
+
+"Practising."
+
+Imperturbable girls! The product of their age. Oblivious to the
+brigand attack, they were in here practising!
+
+"What for?" I demanded.
+
+Venza's roguish eyes twinkled at me. Her hands went to her slim hips
+with a gesture of defiance.
+
+She asked, "Are you speaking for yourself or the commander?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I ignored her. "What for?" I reiterated.
+
+"Because we're good at it," Anita retorted. "Better than any of you
+men. If you should need us...."
+
+"We don't. We won't." I said shortly.
+
+"But if you should...."
+
+Venza put in, "If Snap and I hadn't come for you, you wouldn't be
+here, Gregg Haljan. I didn't notice you were so horrified to see me
+holding that shield up over you!"
+
+It silenced me.
+
+She added, "Commander, let us alone. We won't smash anything."
+
+Grantline laughed, "I hope you won't!"
+
+A warning call took us back to the front window. The brigand's
+search-beam was again being used. It swept slowly along the length of
+the cliff. Its circle went down the cliff steps to the valley floor,
+and came sweeping up again. Then it went up to the observatory
+platform at the summit above us, then back and crept over to the
+ore-sheds.
+
+We had no men outside, if that was what the brigand wanted to
+determine. The search-beam presently vanished. It was replaced
+immediately by a zed-ray, which darted at once to our treasure sheds
+and clung.
+
+That stung Grantline into his first action. We flung our own zed-ray
+down across the valley. It reached the brigand ship; this zed-ray and
+a search-light were our only two projectors of long range.
+
+The brigand ray vanished when ours flashed on. I was with Grantline at
+an image grid in the instrument room. We saw the deck of the brigand
+ship and the blurred interior of the cabins.
+
+"Try the search-beam, Franck. We don't need the other."
+
+The zed-ray went off. We gazed down our search-light which clung to
+the dome of the distant enemy vessel. We could see movement there.
+
+"The telescope," Grantline ordered.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The little dynamos hummed. The telescope-finder glowed and clarified.
+On the deck of the ship we saw the brigands working with the
+assembling of ore-carts. A deck landing-porte was open. The ore-carts
+were being carried out through a porte-lock and down a landing
+incline. And on the rocks outside, we saw several of the carts--and
+rail-sections and the sections of an ore-shute.
+
+Miko was unloading his mining apparatus! He was making ready to come
+up for the treasure!
+
+The discovery, startling as it was, nevertheless was far overshadowed
+by an imperative danger alarm from our main building. Brigands were
+outside on our ledge! Miko's search-beam, sweeping the ledge a moment
+before, had carefully avoided revealing them. It had been done just
+for that purpose, no doubt--making us sure that the ledge was
+unoccupied and thus to guard against our own light making a search.
+
+But there was a brigand group here close outside our walls! By the
+merest chance the radiating glow from our search-ray had shown the
+helmeted figures scurrying for shelter.
+
+Grantline leaped to his feet.
+
+We rushed for the rear exit-porte which was nearest us. The giant
+bloated figures had been seen running along the outside of the
+connecting corridor, in this direction. But before we ever got there,
+a new alarm came. A brigand was crouching at a front corner of the
+main building! His hydrogen heat-torch had already opened a rift in
+the wall!
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+_Desperate Offensive_
+
+"In with you!" ordered Grantline. "Get your helmets on! How many? Six?
+Enough--get back there, Williams--you were last. The lock won't hold
+any more."
+
+I was one of the six who jammed into the manual exit lock. We went
+through it: in a moment we were outside. It was less than three
+minutes since the prowling brigands had been seen.
+
+Grantline touched me just as we emerged. "Don't wait for orders! Get
+them!"
+
+"That fellow with the torch, the most dangerous--"
+
+"Yes! I'm with you."
+
+We went out with a rush. We had already discarded our shoe and belt
+weights. I leaped, regardless of my companions.
+
+The scurrying Martians had disappeared. Through my visor bull's-eye I
+could see only the Earthlit rocky surface of the ledge. Beside me
+stretched the dark wall of our building.
+
+I bounded toward the front. The brigand with the torch had been at
+this front corner. I could not see him from here: he had been
+crouching just around the angle.
+
+I had a tiny bullet projector, the best weapon for short range
+outdoors. I was aware of Grantline close behind me.
+
+It took only a few of my giant leaps. I landed at the corner,
+recovered my balance, and whirled around to the front.
+
+The Martian was here, a giant misshapen lump as he crouched. His torch
+was a little stab of blue in the deep shadow enveloping him. Intent
+upon his work, he did not see me. Perhaps he thought his fellows had
+broken our exits by now.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I landed like a leopard upon his back and fired, my weapon muzzle
+ramming him. His torch fell hissing with a silent rain of blue fire
+upon the rocks.
+
+As my grip upon him made audiphone contact, his agonized scream
+rattled the diaphragms of my ear-grids with horrible, deafening
+intensity.
+
+He lay writhing under me, then was still. His scream choked into
+silence. His suit deflated within my encircling grip. He was dead; my
+leaden, steel-tipped pellet had punctured the double surface of his
+Erentz-fabric, penetrated his chest.
+
+Grantline's following leap landed him over me.
+
+"Dead?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+I climbed from the inert body. The torch had hissed itself out.
+Grantline swung on our building corner, and I leaned down with him to
+examine it. The torch had fused and scarred the surface of the wall,
+burned almost through. A pressure-rift had opened. We could see it, a
+curving gash in the metal wall-plate like a crack in a glass
+window-pane.
+
+I went cold. This was serious damage! The rarefied Erentz-air would
+seep out. It was leaking now: we could see the magnetic radiance of it
+all up the length of the ten-foot crack. The leak would change the
+pressure of the Erentz system, constantly lower it, demanding steady
+renewal. The Erentz motors would overheat; some might go bad from the
+strain.
+
+Grantline stood gripping me.
+
+"Damn bad!"
+
+"Yes. Can't we repair it, Johnny?"
+
+"No. Have to take that whole plate-section out, shut off the Erentz
+plant and exhaust the interior air of all this bulkhead of the
+building. Day's job--maybe more."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And the crack would get worse, I knew. It would gradually spread and
+widen. The Erentz circulation would fail. All our power would be
+drained struggling to maintain it. This brigand who had unwittingly
+committed suicide by his daring act had accomplished more than he
+perhaps had realized. I could envisage our weapons, useless from lack
+of power. The air in our buildings turning fetid and frigid: ourselves
+forced to the helmets. A rush out to abandon the camp and escape. The
+buildings exploding--scattering into a litter on the ledge like a
+child's broken toy. The treasure abandoned, with the brigands coming
+up and loading it on their ship.
+
+Our defeat. In a few hours now--or minutes. This crack could slowly
+widen, or it could break suddenly at any time. Disaster, come now so
+abruptly upon us at the very start of the brigand attack....
+
+Grantline's voice in my audiphone broke my despairing rush of
+thoughts. "Bad. Come on, Gregg; nothing to do here."
+
+We were aware that our other four men had run along the building's
+other side. They emerged now--with the running brigands in front of
+them, rushing out toward the staircase on the ledge. Three giant
+Martian figures in flight, with our four men chasing.
+
+A bullet projector spat, with its queer stab of exploding powder fed
+by the burning oxygen fumes of its artificial air-chamber--one of our
+men firing. A brigand fell to the rocks by the brink of the ledge. The
+others reached the descending staircase, tumbled down it with reckless
+leaps.
+
+Our men turned back. Before we could join them, the enemy ship down in
+the valley sent up a cautious search-beam which located its returning
+men. Then the beam swung up to the ledge, landed upon us.
+
+We stood confused, blinded by the brilliant glare. Grantline stumbled
+against me.
+
+"Run, Gregg! They'll be firing at us."
+
+We dashed away. Our companions joined us, rushing back for the porte.
+I saw it open, reinforcements coming out to help us--half a dozen
+figures carrying a ten-foot insulated shield. They could barely get it
+out through the porte.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Martian search-ray abruptly vanished. Then almost instantly the
+electronic ray came with its deadly stab. Missed us at first, as we
+ran for the shield. It vanished, and stabbed again. It caught us, but
+now we were behind the shield, carrying it back to the porte, hiding
+behind it.
+
+The ray stabbed once or twice more.
+
+Whether Miko's instruments showed him how serious that damage was to
+our front wall, we never knew. But I think that he realized. His
+search-beam clung to it, and his zed-ray pried into our interiors.
+
+The brigand ship was active now. We were desperate: we used our
+telescope freely for observation. And used our zed-ray and
+search-light. Miko's ore-carts and mining apparatus were unloaded on
+the rocks. The rail-sections were being carried a mile out, nearly to
+the center of the valley. A subsidiary camp was being established
+there, only a mile from the base of our cliff, but still far beyond
+reach of our weapons. We could see the brigand lights down there.
+
+Then the ore-shute sections were brought over. We could see Miko's men
+carrying some of the giant projectors, mounting them in the new
+position. Power tanks and cables. Light-flare catapults--little
+mechanical cannons for throwing the bombs.
+
+The enemy search-light constantly raked our vicinity. Occasionally the
+giant electronic projector flung up its bolt as though warning us not
+to dare leave our buildings.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Half an hour went by. Our situation was even worse than Miko could
+know. The Erentz motors were running hot--our power draining, the
+crack widening. When it would break we could not tell; but the danger
+was like a sword over us.
+
+An anxious thirty minutes for us, this second interlude. Grantline
+called a meeting of all our little force, with every man having his
+say. Inactivity was no longer a feasible policy. We recklessly used
+our power to search the sky. Our rescue ship might be up there; but we
+could not see it with our disabled instruments. No signals came. We
+could not--or, at least, did not--receive them.
+
+"They wouldn't signal," Grantline protested. "They'd know the Martians
+would be more likely to get the signal than us. Of what use to warn
+Miko?"
+
+But he did not dare wait for a rescue ship that might or might not be
+coming! Miko was playing the waiting game now--making ready for a
+quick loading of the ore when we were forced to abandon our buildings.
+
+The brigand ship suddenly moved its position! It rose up in a low flat
+arc, came forward and settled in the center of the valley where the
+carts and rail-sections were piled, and the outside projectors newly
+mounted on the rocks. But the projectors only shot at us occasionally.
+
+The brigands now began laying the rails from the ship toward the base
+of our cliff. The chute would bring the ore down from the ledge, and
+the carts would take it to the ship.
+
+The laying of the rails was done under cover of occasional stabs from
+the electronic projector.
+
+And then we discovered that Miko had made still another move. The
+brigand rays, fired from the depths of the valley, could strike our
+front building, but could not reach all our ledge. And from the ship's
+new and nearer position this disadvantage was intensified. Then
+abruptly we realized that under cover of darkness-bombs an electronic
+projector and search-ray had been carried to the top of the
+crater-rim, diagonally across and only half a mile from us. Their
+beams shot down, raking all our vicinity from this new angle.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I was on the little flying platform which sallied out as a test to
+attack these isolated projectors. Snap and I and one other volunteer
+went. He and I held the shield; Snap handled the controls.
+
+Our exit-porte was on the lee side of the building from the hostile
+search-beam. We got out unobserved and sailed upward; but soon a light
+from the ship caught us. And the projector bolts came up....
+
+Our sortie only lasted a few minutes. To me, it was a confusion of
+crossing beams, with the stars overhead, the swaying little platform
+under me, and the shield tingling in my hands when the blasts struck
+us. Moments of blurred terror....
+
+The voice of the man beside me sounded in my ears: "Now, Haljan, give
+them one!"
+
+We were up over the peak of the rim with the hostile projectors under
+us. I gauged our movement, and dropped an explosive powder bomb.
+
+It missed. It flared with a puff on the rocks, twenty feet from where
+the two projectors were mounted. I saw that two helmeted figures were
+down there. They tried to swing their grids upward, but could not get
+them vertical to reach us. The ship was firing at us, but it was far
+away. And Grantline's search-beam was going full-power, clinging to
+the ship to dazzle them.
+
+Snap circled us. As we came back I dropped another bomb. Its silent
+puff seemed littered with flying fragments of the two projectors and
+the bodies of the men.
+
+We flew swiftly back and got in.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It decided Grantline. For an hour past Snap and I had been urging our
+plan to use the gravity platforms. To remain inactive was sure defeat
+now. Even if our buildings did not explode--if we thought to huddle in
+them, helmeted in the failing air--then Miko could readily ignore us
+and proceed with his loading of the treasure under our helpless gaze.
+He could do that now with safety--if we refused to sally out--for we
+could not fire our weapons through our windows.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: To fire a projector through the walls or windows would at
+once wreck the protective Erentz system. The enemy ship has pressure
+portes, constructed for the emission of the weapon-rays. Grantline's
+only weapons thus mounted were his search-beam and zed-ray.]
+
+To remain defensive would end inevitably in our defeat. We all knew it
+now; it was obvious. The waiting game was Miko's--not ours! And he was
+playing it.
+
+The success of our attack upon the distant isolated projectors
+heartened us. Yet it was a desperate offensive indeed upon which we
+now decided!
+
+We prepared our little expedition at the larger of the exit portes.
+Miko's zed-ray was watching all our interior movements. We made a
+brave show of activity in our workshop with abandoned ore-carts which
+were stored there. We got them out, started to recondition them.
+
+It seemed to fool Miko. His zed-ray clung to the workshop, watching
+us. And at the distant porte we gathered the little platforms, the
+shields, helmets, bombs, and a few hand-projectors.
+
+There were six platforms--three of us upon each. It left four people
+to remain indoors.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I need not describe the emotion with which Snap and I listened to
+Venza and Anita pleading to be allowed to accompany us. They urged it
+upon Grantline, and we took no part. It was too important a decision.
+The treasure--the life or death of all these men--hung now upon the
+fate of our venture. Snap and I could not intrude our personal
+feelings.
+
+And the girls won. Both were undeniably more skilful at handling the
+midget platforms than any of us men. Two of the six platforms could be
+guided by them. That was a third of our little force! And of what use
+to go out and be defeated, leaving the girls here to meet death almost
+immediately afterward?
+
+We gathered at the porte. A last minute change made Grantline order
+six of his men to remain guarding the buildings. The instruments--the
+Erentz system--all the appliances had to be attended.
+
+It left four platforms, each with three men, with Grantline at the
+controls of one of them. And upon the other two of the six Venza rode
+with Snap, and I with Anita.
+
+We crouched in the shadows outside the porte. So small an army,
+sallying out to bomb this enemy vessel or be killed in the attempt!
+Only sixteen of us. And thirty or so brigands.
+
+I envisaged then this tiny Moon-crater, the scene of this battle we
+were waging. Struggling humans, desperately trying to kill. Alone here
+on this globe. Around us, the wide reaches of Lunar desolation. In all
+this world, every human being was gathered here, struggling to kill!
+
+Anita drew me down to the platform. "Ready, Gregg."
+
+The others were rising. We lifted, moved slowly out and away from the
+protective shadows of the building.
+
+In a tiny queue the six little platforms sailed out over the valley
+toward the brigand ship.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+_The Battle in the Crater_
+
+Grantline led us. We held about level. Five hundred feet beneath us
+the brigand ship lay, cradled on the rocks. When it was still a mile
+away from us I could see all its outline fairly clearly in the
+dimness. Its tiny hull-windows were now dark; but the blurred shape of
+the hull was visible and above it the rounded cap of dome, with a dim
+radiance beneath it.
+
+We followed Grantline's platform. It was rising, drawing the others
+after it like a tail. I touched Anita where she lay beside me with her
+head half in the small hooded control-bank.
+
+"Going too high."
+
+She nodded, but followed the line nevertheless. It was Grantline's
+command.
+
+I lay crouched, holding the inner tips of the flexible side-shields.
+The bottom of the platform was covered with the insulated fabric.
+There were two side-shields. They extended upward some two feet,
+flexible so that I could hold them out to see over them, or draw them
+up and in to cover us.
+
+They afforded a measure of protection against the hostile rays, though
+just how much we were not sure. With the platform level, a bolt from
+beneath could not harm us unless it continued for a considerable time.
+But the platform, except upon direct flight, was seldom level, for it
+was a frail, unstable little vehicle! To handle it was more than a
+question of the controls. We balanced, and helped to guide it, with
+the movement of our bodies--shifting our weight sidewise, or back, or
+forward to make it dip as the controls altered the gravity-pull in its
+tiny plate-sections.
+
+Like a bird, wheeling, soaring, swooping. To me, it was a precarious
+business.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But now we were in straight flight diagonally upward. The outline of
+the brigand ship came under us. I crouched tense, breathless; every
+moment it seemed that the brigands must discover us and loose their
+bolts.
+
+They may have seen us for some moments before they fired. I peered
+over the side-shield down at our mark, then up ahead to get
+Grantline's firing signal. It seemed long delayed. We were almost over
+the ship. An added glow down there must have warned Grantline that a
+shot was coming. The tiny red light flared bright on his platform.
+
+I hissed on our Benson curve-light radiance. We had been dark, but a
+soft glow now enveloped us. Its sheen went down to the ship to reveal
+us. But its curving path showed us falsely placed. I saw the little
+line of platforms ahead of us seem to move suddenly sidewise.
+
+It was everyone for himself now; none of us could tell where the other
+platforms actually were placed or headed. Anita swooped us sharply
+down to avoid a possible collision.
+
+"Gregg--?"
+
+"Yes. I'm aiming."
+
+I was making ready to drop the little explosive globe-bomb. Our
+search-light ray at the camp, answering Grantline's signal, shot down
+and bathed the ship in a white glare, revealing it for our aim.
+Simultaneously the brigand bolts came up at us.
+
+I held my bomb out over the shield, calculating the angle to throw it
+down. The brigand rays flashed around me. They were horribly close;
+Miko had understood our sudden visible shift and aimed, not where we
+appeared to be, but where we had been a moment before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I dropped my bomb hastily at the glowing white ship. The touch of a
+hostile ray would have exploded it in my hand. I could see its
+blue-sizzling fuse as it fell. I saw the others also dropping from our
+nearby platforms. The explosions from them merged in a confusion of
+the white glare--and a cloud of black light-mist as the brigands out
+on the rocks used their occulting darkness bombs.
+
+We swept past in a blur of leaping hostile beams. Silent battle of
+lights! Darkness bombs down at the ship struggling to bar our camp
+search-ray. The Benson radiance-rays from our passing platforms
+curving down to mingle with the confusion. The electronic rays sending
+up their bolts....
+
+Our platforms dropped some ten dynamitrine bombs in that first
+passage over the ship. As we sped by, I dimmed the Benson's radiance.
+I peered. We had not hit the ship. Or if we had, the damage was
+inconclusive. But on the rocks I could see a pile of ore-carts
+scattered--broken wreckage, in which the litter of two or three
+projectors seemed strewn. And the gruesome deflated forms of several
+helmeted figures. Others seemed, to be running, scattering--hiding in
+the rocks and pit-holes. Twenty brigands at least were outside the
+ship. Some were running over toward the base of our camp-ledge. The
+darkness bombs were spreading like a curtain over the valley floor;
+but it seemed that some of the figures were dragging their projectors
+away.
+
+We sailed off toward the opposite crater-rim. I remember passing over
+the broken wreckage of Grantline's little space-ship, the _Comet_.
+Miko's bolts momentarily had vanished. We had hit some of his outside
+projectors; the others were abandoned, or being dragged to safer
+positions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+After a mile we wheeled and went back. I suddenly realized that only
+four platforms were in the re-formed line ahead of us. One was
+missing! I saw it now, wavering down, close over the ship. A bolt
+leaped up diagonally from a distant angle on the rocks and caught the
+disabled platform. It fell, whirling, glowing red--disappeared into
+the blur of darkness like a bit of heated metal plunged into water.
+
+One out of six of our platforms already lost! Three men of our little
+force gone!
+
+But Grantline led us desperately back. Anita caught his signal to
+break our line. The five platforms scattered, dipping and wheeling
+like frightened birds--blurring shapes, shifting unnaturally in flight
+as the Benson curve-angles were altered.
+
+Anita now took our platform in a long swoop downward. Her tense,
+murmured voice sounded in my ears:
+
+"Hold off: I'll take us low."
+
+A melee. Passing platform shapes. The darting bolts, crossing like
+ancient rapiers. Falling blue points of fuse-lights as we threw our
+bombs.
+
+Down in a swoop. Then rising. Away, and then back. This silent warfare
+of lights! It seemed that around me must be bursting a pandemonium of
+sound. Yet I heard nothing. Silent, blurred melee, infinitely
+frightening. A bolt struck us, clung for an instant; but we weathered
+it. The light was blinding. Through my gloves I could feel the tingle
+of the over-charged shield as it caught and absorbed the hostile
+bombardment. Under me the platform seemed heated. My little Erentz
+motors ran with ragged pulse. I got too much oxygen; my head roared
+with it. Spots danced before my closed eyes. Then not enough oxygen. I
+was dully smothering....
+
+Then the bolt was gone. I found us soaring upward, horribly tilted. I
+shifted over.
+
+"Anita! Anita, dear!"
+
+"Yes. Gregg. All right."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The melee went on. The brigand ship and all its vicinity was enveloped
+in darkness-mist now--a turgid sable curtain, made more dense by the
+dissipating heavy fumes of our exploding bombs which settled low over
+the ship and the rocks nearby. The search-light from our camp strove
+futilely to penetrate the cloud.
+
+Our platforms were separated. One went by high over us; I saw another
+dart close beneath my shield.
+
+"God, Anita!"
+
+"Too close! I did not mean that--I didn't see it."
+
+Almost a collision.
+
+"Oh, Gregg, haven't we broken the ship's dome yet?"
+
+It seemed not. I had dropped nearly all my bombs. This could not go on
+much longer. Had it been only five minutes? Only that? Reason told me
+so, yet it seemed an eternity of horror.
+
+Another swoop. My last bomb. Anita had brought us into position to
+fling it. But I could not. A bolt stabbed up from the gloom and
+caught us. We huddled, pulling the shields up and over us.
+
+Blurred darkness again. Too much to the side now. I had to wait while
+Anita swung us back. Then we seemed too high.
+
+We swooped. But not too low! Down in the darkness-mist we would
+immediately have lost direction, and crashed.
+
+I waited with my last bomb. The other platforms were occasionally
+dropping them: I had been too hasty, too prodigal.
+
+Had we broken the ship's dome with a direct hit? It seemed not.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The brigands were occasionally sending up catapulted light-flares.
+They came from positions on the rocks outside the ship. They mounted
+in lazy curves and burst over us. The concealing darkness, broken only
+by the flares of our explosions, enveloped the enemy. Our camp
+search-light was still struggling with it. But overhead, where the few
+little platforms were circling and swooping, the flares gave an almost
+continuous glare. It was dazzling, blinding. Even through the smoked
+pane which I adjusted to my visor I could not stand it.
+
+But there were thoughts of comparative dimness. In a patch where the
+Earthlight struck through the darkness of the rocks, I saw another of
+our fallen platforms! Snap and Venza! Dear God....
+
+It was not they, but three figures of our men. One was dead. Two had
+survived the fall. They stood up, staggering. And in that instant,
+before the turgid black curtain closed over them, I saw two brigands
+come rushing. Their hand projectors stabbed at close range. Our men
+crumpled and fell.
+
+And now I saw why probably we had never yet hit the ship.
+
+Its outline was revealed. "Now, Gregg--can you fling it from here?"
+
+We were in position again. I flung my last missile, watched its light
+as it dropped. On the dome-roof two of Miko's men were crouching. My
+bomb was truly aimed--perhaps one of the few in all our bombardment
+which would have landed directly on the dome-roof. But the waiting
+marksmen fired at it with short-range heat projectors and exploded it
+harmlessly while it was still above them.
+
+We swung up and away. I saw, high above us, Grantline's platform,
+recognizing its red signal light. There seemed a lull. The enemy fire
+had died down to only a very occasional bolt. In the confusion of my
+whirling impressions I wondered if Miko were in distress? Not that! We
+had not hit his ship; perhaps we had done little damage indeed! It was
+we who were in distress. Two of our platforms had fallen--two out of
+six. Or more, of which I did not know.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I saw one rising off to the side of us. Grantline was over us. Well,
+we were at least three. And then I saw the fourth.
+
+"Grantline is calling us up, Gregg."
+
+"Yes."
+
+Grantline's signal-light was summoning us from the attack. He was a
+thousand or two thousand feet above.
+
+I was suddenly shocked with horror. The search-ray from our camp
+abruptly vanished! Anita wheeled us to face the distant ledge. The
+camp-lights showed, and over one of the buildings was a distress
+light!
+
+Had the crack in our front wall broken, threatening explosion of all
+the buildings? The wild thoughts swept me. But it was not that. I
+could see light-stabs from the cliff outside the main building. Miko
+had dared to send some of his men to attack our almost abandoned camp!
+
+Grantline realized it. His red helmet-light semaphored the command to
+follow him. His platform soared away, heading for the camp, with the
+other two behind him.
+
+Anita lifted us to follow. But I checked her.
+
+"No! Off to the right, across the valley."
+
+"But Gregg!"
+
+"Do as I say, Anita."
+
+She swung us diagonally away from both the camp and the brigand ship.
+I prayed that we might not be noticed by the brigands.
+
+"Anita, listen: I've an idea!"
+
+The attack on the brigand ship was over. It lay enveloped in the
+darkness of the powder-gas cloud and its own darkness bombs. But it
+was uninjured.
+
+Miko had answered us with our own tactics. He had practically unmanned
+the ship, no doubt, and had sent his men to our buildings. The fight
+had shifted. But I was now without ammunition, save for two or three
+small bullet projectors.
+
+Of what use for our platform to rush back? Miko expected that. His
+attack on the camp was undoubtedly made just for that purpose.
+
+"Anita, if we can get down on the rocks somewhere near the ship, and
+creep up on it unobserved in that blackness...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I might be able to open its manual hull-lock, rip it open and let the
+air out. If I could get into its pressure chamber and unseal the inner
+slide....
+
+"It would wreck the ship, Anita, exhaust all its air. Shall we try
+it?"
+
+"Whatever you say, Gregg."
+
+We seemed to be unobserved. We skimmed close to the valley floor, a
+mile from the ship. We headed slowly toward it, sailing low over the
+rocks.
+
+Then we landed, left the platform.
+
+"Let me go first, Anita."
+
+I held a bullet projector. With slow, cautious leaps, we advanced.
+Anita was behind me. I had wanted to leave her with the platform, but
+she would not stay. And to be with me seemed at least equally safe.
+
+The rocks were deserted. I thought there was very little chance that
+any of the enemy would lurk here. We clambered over the pitted,
+scarred surface. The higher crags, etched with Earthlight, stood like
+sentinels in the gloom.
+
+The brigand ship with its surrounding darkness was not far from us.
+Then we entered the cloud.
+
+No one was out here. We passed the wreckage of broken projectors, and
+gruesome, shattered human forms.
+
+We prowled closer. The hull of the ship loomed ahead of us. All dark.
+
+We came at last close against the sleek metal hull-side, slid along it
+toward where I was sure the manual-porte was located.
+
+Abruptly I realized that Anita was not behind me! Then I saw her at a
+little distance, struggling in the grip of a giant helmeted figure!
+The brigand lifted her--turned, and, carrying her, ran the other way!
+
+I did not dare fire. I bounded after them along the hull-side, around
+under the curve of the pointed bow, down along the other side.
+
+I had mistaken the hull-porte location. It was here. The running,
+bounding figure reached it, slid the panel. I was only fifty feet
+away--not much more than a single leap. I saw Anita being shoved into
+the pressure lock. The Martian flung himself after her.
+
+I fired at him, but missed. I came with a rush. And as I reached the
+porte it slid closed in my face, barring me!
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+_In the Pressure Lock._
+
+With puny fists I pounded the panel. A small pane in it was
+transparent. Within the lock I could see the blurred figures of Anita
+and her captor--and, it seemed, another figure. The lock was some ten
+feet square, with a low ceiling. It glowed with a dim tube-light.
+
+I pounded, thumped with futile, silent blows. The mechanism was here
+to open this manual; but it was now clasped from within and would not
+operate.
+
+A few seconds only, while I stood there in a panic of confusion,
+raging to get in. This disaster had come so suddenly! I did not plan;
+I had no thought save to batter my way in and rescue Anita. I recall
+that I beat on the glassite pane with my bullet projector until the
+weapon was bent and useless; and I flung it with a wild, despairing
+rage at my feet.
+
+They were letting the ship's air-pressure into this lock. Soon they
+would open the inner panel, step into the secondary chamber--and in a
+moment more would be within the ship's hull corridor. Anita, lost to
+me!
+
+The outer panel suddenly opened! I had lunged against it with my
+shoulder; the giant figure inside slid it. I was taken by surprise! I
+half-fell inward.
+
+Huge arms went around me. The goggled face of the helmet peered into
+mine.
+
+"So it is you, Haljan! I thought I recognized that little device over
+your helmet-bracket. And there is my little Anita, come back to me
+again!"
+
+Miko!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This was he. His great bloated arms encircling me, bending me
+backward, holding me almost helpless. I saw over his shoulder that
+Anita was clutched in the grip of another helmeted figure. No giant,
+but tall for an Earthman--almost as tall as myself. Then the
+tube-light in the room illumined the visor. I saw the face, recognized
+it. Moa!
+
+I gasped, "So--I've--got you, Miko--"
+
+"Got me! You're a fool to the last, Gregg Haljan! A fool to the last!
+But you were always a fool."
+
+I could scarcely move in his grip. My arms were pinned. As he slowly
+bent me backward, I wound my legs around one of his; it was as
+unyielding as a steel pillar. He had closed the outer panel; the
+air-pressure in the lock was rising. I could feel it against my suit.
+
+My helmeted head was being forced backward; Miko's left arm held me.
+In his gloved right hand as it came slowly up over my throat I saw a
+knife-blade, its naked, sharpened metal glistening blue-white in the
+light from overhead.
+
+I seized his wrist. But my puny strength could not hold him. The
+knife, against all my efforts, came slowly down.
+
+A moment of this slow deadly combat--the end of everything for me.
+
+I was aware of the helmeted figure of Moa casting off Anita--and then
+the two girls leaping together upon Miko. It threw him off his
+balance, and my hanging weight made him topple forward. He took a step
+to recover himself; his hand with the knife was flung up with an
+instinctive, involuntary balancing gesture. And as it came swiftly
+down again, I forced the knife-blade to graze his throat. Its point
+caught in the fabric of his suit.
+
+His startled oath jangled in my ears. The girls were clawing at him;
+we were all four scrambling, swaying. With despairing strength I
+twisted at his waist. The knife went into his throat. I plunged it
+deeper.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His suit went flabby. He crumpled over me and fell, knocking me to the
+floor. His voice, with the horrible gurgling rasp of death in it,
+rattled my ear-grids.
+
+"Not such a fool--are you, Haljan--"
+
+Moa's helmeted head was close over us. I saw that she had seized the
+knife, jerked it from her brother's throat. She leaped backward,
+waving it.
+
+I twisted from under Miko's inert, lifeless body. As I got to my feet,
+Anita flung herself to shield me. Moa was across the lock, backed up
+against its wall. The knife in her hand went up. She stood for the
+briefest instant regarding Anita and me holding each other. I thought
+that she was about to leap upon us; but before I could move, the knife
+came down and plunged into her breast. She fell forward, her
+grotesque helmet striking the floor-grid almost at my feet.
+
+"Gregg!"
+
+"She's dead."
+
+"No! She moved! Get her helmet off! There's enough air here."
+
+My helmet pressure-indicator was faintly buzzing to show that a safe
+pressure was in the room. I shut off Moa's Erentz motors, unfastened
+her helmet, raised it off. We gently turned her body. She lay with
+closed eyes, her pallid face blue-cast from the light in the lock.
+
+With our own helmets off, we knelt over her.
+
+"Oh. Gregg, is she dead?"
+
+"No. Not quite--but dying."
+
+"Oh Gregg, I don't want her to die! She was trying to help you there
+at the last."
+
+She opened her eyes; the film of death was glazing them. But she saw
+me, recognized me.
+
+"Gregg--"
+
+"Yes, Moa, I'm here."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Her livid lips were faintly drawn in a smile. "I'm--so glad--you took
+the helmets off, Gregg. I'm--going--you know."
+
+"No!"
+
+"Going--back to Mars--to rest with the fire-makers--where I came from.
+I was thinking--maybe you would kiss me, Gregg--?"
+
+Anita gently pushed me down. I pressed the white, faintly smiling lips
+with mine. She sighed, and it ended with a rattle in her throat.
+
+"Thank you--Gregg--closer--I can't talk so loudly--"
+
+One of her gloved hands struggled to touch me, but she had no strength
+and it fell back. Her words were the faintest of whispers:
+
+"There was no use living--without your love. But I want you to
+see--now--that a Martian girl can--die with a smile--"
+
+Her eyelids fluttered down: it seemed that she sighed and then was not
+breathing. But on her livid face the faint smile still lingered to
+show me how a Martian girl could die.
+
+We had forgotten for the moment where we were. As I glanced up I saw
+that through the inner panel, past the secondary lock, the ship's
+hull-corridor was visible, and along its length a group of Martians
+were advancing! They saw us, and came running.
+
+"Anita! Look! We've got to get out of here!"
+
+The secondary lock was open to the corridor. We jammed on our helmets.
+The unhelmeted brigands by then were fumbling at the inner panel. I
+pulled at the lever of the outer panel. The brigands were hurrying,
+thinking they could be in time to stop me. One of the more cautious
+fumbled with a helmet.
+
+"Anita, run! Try and keep your feet."
+
+I slid the outer panel and pushed at Anita. Simultaneously the
+brigands opened the inner porte.
+
+The air came with a tempestuous rush. A blast through the inner
+porte--through the little pressure-lock--a wild rush out to the
+airless Moon. All the air in the ship madly rushing to escape....
+
+Like feathers we were blown with it. I recall an impression of the
+hurtling brigand figures and swift-flying rocks under me. A silent
+crash as I struck.
+
+Then soundless, empty blackness.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+_Triumph!_
+
+"Is he conscious? We'd better take him back, get his helmet off."
+
+"It's over. We can get back now. Venza, dear, we've won--it's over."
+
+"He hears us!"
+
+"Gregg!"
+
+"He hears us--he's all right!"
+
+I opened my eyes. I lay on the rocks. Over my helmet other helmets
+were peering, and faint, familiar voices mingled with the roaring in
+my ears.
+
+"--back to the camp and get his helmet off."
+
+"Are his motors smooth? Keep them right, Snap--he must have good air."
+
+I seemed unhurt. But Anita....
+
+She was here. "Gregg, dear one!"
+
+Anita safe! All four of us here on the Earthlit rocks, close outside
+the brigand ship.
+
+"Anita!"
+
+She held me, lifted me. I was uninjured. I could stand; I staggered up
+and stood swaying. The brigand ship, a hundred feet away, loomed dark
+and silent, a lifeless bulk, already empty of air, drained in that mad
+blast outward. Like the wreck of the _Planetara_--a dead, pulseless
+hulk already.
+
+We four stood together, triumphant. The battle was over. The brigands
+were worsted, almost the last man of them dead or dying. No more than
+ten or fifteen had been available for that final assault upon the camp
+buildings. Miko's last strategy. I think perhaps he had intended, with
+his few remaining men, to take the ship and make away, deserting his
+fellows.
+
+All on the ship, caught unhelmeted by the explosion, were dead long
+since.
+
+I stood listening to Snap's triumphant account. It had not been
+difficult for the flying platforms to hunt down the attacking brigands
+on the open rocks. We had only lost one more platform.
+
+Human hearts beat sometimes with very selfish emotions. It was a
+triumphant ending for us, and we hardly gave a thought that half of
+Grantline's little group had perished.
+
+We huddled on Snap's platform. It rose, lurching drunkenly, barely
+carrying us.
+
+And as we headed for the Grantline buildings, where still the rift in
+the wall had not quite broken, there came the final triumph. Miko had
+been aware of it, and knew he had lost. Grantline's search-light
+leaped upward, swept the sky, caught its sought-for object--a huge
+silver cylinder, bathed brightly in the white search-beam glare.
+
+The police-ship from Earth!
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+_My Exit_
+
+My narrative lies now in this permanently recorded form before you,
+and I prepare my exit bow with the humble hope that I may have given
+you pleasure. If so, I do beg you to tell me of it. There are some who
+already have flashed their approval of my discs; I thank them most
+earnestly and gratefully.
+
+My errors of recording unquestionably are many; and for them I ask
+your indulgence. There have been, I can readily see, errors of
+omission. I have not mentioned, for instance, the final rescue of the
+_Planetara's_ marooned passengers on the asteroid. You will bear with
+me, since the disc-space has its technical limitations, that such
+omissions have been unavoidable.
+
+Since the passage of the Earth-law by the Federated Board of
+Education, forcing narrative fiction to cling so closely to sworn
+facts of actual happening, I need offer no assurance of the truth of
+my narrative. My witnesses have filed their corroborating
+declarations. Indeed, the _Planetara's_ wreck and the brigands' attack
+upon the Moon-treasure were given the widest news-casters' publicity,
+as you all know. Yet I, who was unwittingly involved in those stirring
+events, may have added a more personal note, making the scenes more
+vivid to your imagination. I have tried to do that. I do hope that in
+some measure you will think I have succeeded.
+
+There are many foolish girls now who say that they would like to know
+Gregg Haljan. They doubtless would be very disappointed. I really
+crave no more publicity. And the girls of all the Universe have no
+charm for me. There is only one, for me--an Earth-girl.
+
+I think that life has very beautifully endowed me with its blessings.
+
+
+
+
+Giants of the Ray
+
+_By Tom Curry_
+
+[Illustration:]
+
+[Sidenote: Madly the three raced for their lives up the shaft of the
+radium mine, for behind them poured a stream of hideous
+monsters--giants of the ray!]
+
+
+"I tell you I'm not crazy," insisted the tall man. "Durkin, they got a
+big mine."
+
+Bill Durkin laughed roughly, and sneered openly at his partner, Frank
+Maget. "G'wan, you're drunk."
+
+"Well, I was last night," admitted Maget. "But I'd slept it off this
+morning. I was lying under that table in the Portuguee's, and when I
+opened my eyes, there were these three birds sitting near me. They
+hadn't spotted me. I heard 'em talking of wealth, how their mine was
+of unbelievable richness and greater than any other deposit in the
+world. Well, that means something, don't it?"
+
+"That's all right," said Durkin. "But whoever saw a cricket fifteen
+inches long?"
+
+[Illustration: Its form was that of a gigantic frog, and from its
+throat sounded the terrific bellowing which rivaled thunder.]
+
+"Listen. There were three of these guys. One was a hell of a looking
+fellow: his face was piebald, with purple spots. His skin was bleached
+and withered, and one eye looked like a pearl collar button! They
+called him Professor, too, Professor Gurlone. Well, he takes out this
+damn cricket thing and it was sort of reddish purple but alive, and as
+long as your forearm. This professor guy says his son had taken an
+ordinary cricket and made it grow into the one he had. But the mine
+was what interested me. I kept my mouth shut and my ears open, and
+it's in the Matto Grosso. May be emeralds, diamonds, or gold. Boy, I'm
+heading for it, right now. The old guy's going back to-morrow, get
+me?"
+
+"It's a lot of bunk," growled Durkin, who was stout and red of
+countenance.
+
+"Yeh? Well, Otto Ulrich don't put fifty thousand into bunk."
+
+Durkin whistled. "You mean the German loosened up that much?" he
+asked, and his eyes showed interest.
+
+"Sure. He paid this Gurlone fifty thousand dollars--credit, of
+course."
+
+"Well--maybe there's something in the mine story. But boy, you were
+drunk when you saw that cricket. No cricket ever grew that big. You
+always see things when you get too much rum in you."
+
+"The hell you say," cried Maget. "I saw it, I tell you!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Durkin feigned elaborate politeness. "Oh, all right, Frank. Have it
+your own way. You saw a cricket that big and this Gurlone feller took
+a couple of pink elephants out of his pocket to pay the check. Sure, I
+believe you."
+
+But money never failed to attract the two tropical tramps. They were
+looking for trouble, not work, and the idea of a raid on a rich mine
+in the Matto Grosso was just what they would enjoy.
+
+An hour later, they had cornered a small, inoffensive peon named Juan.
+Juan, Maget and Durkin had discovered, had come out of the wilderness
+with Professor Gurlone, the strange looking gentleman who spoke of a
+fabulously wealthy mine and commanded checks for fifty thousand
+dollars from a reputable banking firm. Such a man was worth watching.
+
+The two rascals were expert at pumping the little half-breed. They
+knew peons, and the first thing that happened was that Durkin had
+slipped Juan several dollars and had pressed a large glass of whiskey
+on the little man.
+
+The conversation was in broken English and Spanish.
+
+"Quien sabe?"
+
+Durkin and Maget had this phrase flung at them often during the course
+of the talk with Juan, and there were many elaborate shrugs.
+
+There was a mine, way back in the Matto Grosso, said Juan. He thought
+it might contain silver: there had been the shaft of an old mine
+there. But now they were deep down in the ground, digging out reddish
+brown ore, and the cavern smoked and smelled so badly a man could work
+but an hour or two before being relieved. But the pay was very high.
+Also, Juan, in his rambling way, spoke of grotesque animals. What were
+these creatures like? asked Durkin. Then came a shrug, and Juan said
+they were like nothing else on earth.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Durkin discounted the part of the story having to do with the strange
+animals. He thought it was peon superstition. But now he was sure
+there was a rich mine to be raided.
+
+"It's a tough part of the Grosso," he said, turning to Maget.
+
+"Sure. Hard to carry enough water and supplies to make it. Say, Juan,
+who was that big Portuguee with Professor Gurlone? He's blind, ain't
+he? His eyes were white as milk, and his face tanned black as river
+mud. Surely is a great big guy, and tough looking, too."
+
+Durkin drummed on the table, considering the matter, while Juan spoke
+of the big Portuguese. The swarthy man with the colorless blind eyes
+was Espinosa, former owner of the mine. He had sold part of his claim
+to the Gurlones, but had remained with them as an assistant. Though
+blind, he knew the depths of the mine and could feel his way about,
+and direct the peons in their labors.
+
+"I've got it," said Durkin, turning back to Juan and Maget. "Juan,
+it's up to you. You've got to blaze the trail so we can follow you in.
+And you can steal food and cache it for use on the way, see? We'll
+come along a day or so after the Gurlones."
+
+It took some persuading to make Juan consent to their plot, but the
+peon yielded at last to money and the promise of part of the spoils.
+"Maybe you can steal Gurlone's samples and they'll give us a line on
+what he's up to out there. Whether it's emeralds or diamonds or gold
+that they're taking out of the mine."
+
+Juan was stupid and superstitious, like most of his fellows. He had
+obeyed orders, digging out the red ore, and that was all he knew. But
+prompted by the two tramps, he was ready for trouble, too.
+
+Juan told them that Professor Gurlone carried a small lead case which
+he seemed to prize greatly.
+
+"Get it, then," ordered Durkin.
+
+The two tramps saw Gurlone's party start on the morrow. There were
+many cases of supplies loaded into launches, some marked Glass, Acids,
+and so on. Then there were boxes of food and various things needed in
+a jungle camp.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Juan, their tool, was working with the other peons, and at ten o'clock
+in the morning the launches set out, pushing into the current of the
+Madeira.
+
+Old Gurlone, of the livid face, was in charge of one boat, and the
+gigantic Portuguese, with his colorless eyes and burned complexion,
+sat beside him.
+
+That night, the two tropical tramps stole a small boat with a
+one-cylinder motor, and started up the river.
+
+It was a hard journey, but they were used to river and jungle work,
+and the object they had in view was enough to make them discount
+trouble. They speculated upon what manner of treasure it was they
+would find in the cavern of the Matto Grosso mine. It might be
+precious stones, it might be gold. Certainly it was something very
+valuable.
+
+They carried little supplies, but they were heavily armed. For food,
+they might hunt and also depend on the caches left by their friend,
+Juan the peon.
+
+Three hundred miles from Manaos, they came to the landing where old
+Gurlone had unloaded his boats. The two tramps drew their own craft up
+on shore a quarter of a mile away, keeping out of sight, and hid the
+boat in dense brush. Then they crept up the river bank, keeping out of
+sight of the boatmen, who were preparing for the return voyage, and
+cut into the jungle so as to strike the trail of the caravan ahead.
+
+For several hours they followed the path easily. They found palm trees
+blazed with new marks, and these they were sure their friend Juan had
+left for them. But the trail was easy to keep without these. The
+supplies had been loaded on burros, which had been awaiting the
+boats.
+
+That night, they camped beside a small stream. They were but
+twenty-four hours behind Professor Gurlone and his party, and the food
+Juan had cached for them was in good condition.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They were up at daybreak, and pressed on, armed to the teeth and ready
+for a fight.
+
+"What's that?" said Durkin, stopping so suddenly that Maget ran into
+him.
+
+They had been walking at a swift pace along the jungle path, the giant
+trees forming a canopy overhead. Monkeys screamed at them, birds
+flitted a hundred feet above them in the roof of the forest.
+
+The sun beat on the jungle top, but few rays lightened the gloom
+beneath.
+
+From up ahead sounded a frightful scream, followed by a long drawn out
+wailing. Maget glanced at Durkin, and the latter shrugged, and pressed
+on. But he gripped his rifle tightly, for the cries were eery.
+
+From time to time the two stopped to catch better the direction of the
+wails. At last, they located the spot where the injured person lay.
+
+It was under a great bombax tree, and on the shaded ground writhed a
+man. The two stopped, horrified at the squirming figure. The man was
+tearing at his face with his nails, and his countenance was bloody
+with long scratches.
+
+He cursed and moaned in Spanish, and Durkin, approaching closer,
+recognized Juan the peon.
+
+"Hey, Juan, what the hell's the matter? A snake bite you?"
+
+The bronzed face of the sturdy little peon writhed in agony. He
+screamed in answer, he could not talk coherently. He mumbled, he
+groaned, but they could not catch his words.
+
+At his side lay a small lead container, and closer, as though he had
+dropped it after extracting it from its case, lay a tube some six
+inches in length. It was a queer tube, for it seemed to be filled
+with smoky, pallid worms of light that writhed even as Juan writhed.
+
+"What's the trouble?" asked Durkin gruffly, for he was alarmed at the
+behavior of the peon. It seemed to both tramps that the man must have
+gone mad.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They kept back from him, with ready guns. Juan shrieked, and it
+sounded as though he said he was burning up, in a great fire.
+
+Suddenly the peon staggered to his feet; as he pushed himself up, his
+hands gripped the tube, and he clawed at his face.
+
+Perplexity and horror were writ on the faces of the two tramps. Maget
+was struck with pity for the unfortunate peon, who seemed to be
+suffering the tortures of the damned. He was not a bad man, was Maget,
+but rather a weakling who had a run of bad luck and was under the
+thumb of Durkin, a really hard character. Durkin, while astounded at
+the actions of Juan, showed no pity.
+
+Maget stepped forward, to try and comfort Juan; the peon struck out at
+him, and whirled around. But a few yards away was the bank of the
+stream, and Juan crashed into a black palm set with spines, caromed
+off it, and fell face downward into the water. The glass tube was
+smashed and the pieces fell into the stream.
+
+"God, he must be blind," groaned Maget. "Poor guy, I've got to save
+him."
+
+"The hell with him," growled Durkin. He grasped his partner's arm and
+stared curiously down at the dying peon.
+
+"Let go, I'll pull him out," said Maget, trying to wrench away from
+Durkin.
+
+"He's done for. Why worry about a peon?" said Durkin. "Look at those
+fish!"
+
+The muddy waters of the stream had parted, and dead fish were rising
+about the body of Juan. But not about the dying man so much as close
+to the spot where the broken tube had fallen. White bellies up, the
+fish died as though by magic.
+
+"Let's--let's get the hell back to Manoas, Bill," said Maget in a
+sickly voice. "This--this is too much for me."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A nameless fear, which had been with Maget ever since the beginning of
+the venture, was growing more insistent.
+
+"What?" cried Durkin. "Turn back now? The hell you say! That damn peon
+got into a fight with somebody and maybe got bit by a snake later.
+We'll go on and get that treasure."
+
+"But--but what made those fish come up that way?" said Maget, his
+brows creased in perplexity.
+
+Durkin shrugged. "What's the difference? We're O. K., ain't we?"
+
+In spite of the stout man's bravado, it was evident that he, too, was
+disturbed at the strange happenings. He kept voicing aloud the
+question in his mind; what was in the queer tube?
+
+But he forced Maget to go on. Without Juan, the peon, to leave them
+caches of food on the trail, they would have a difficult time getting
+provender, but both were trained jungle travelers and could find fruit
+and shoot enough game to keep them going.
+
+Day after day they marched on, not far from the rear of the party
+before them. They took care to keep off Gurlone's heels, for they did
+not wish their presence to be discovered.
+
+When they had been on the journey, which led them east, for four days,
+the two rascals came to a waterless plateau, which stretched before
+them in dry perspective. Before they came to the end of this, they
+knew what real thirst was, and their tongues were black in their
+mouths before they caught the curling smoke of fires in the valley
+where they knew the mine must be.
+
+"That's the mine," gasped Durkin, pointing to the smoke.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The sun was setting in golden splendor at their backs; they crept
+forward, using great boulders and piles of reddish earth, strange to
+them, for cover. Finally they reached the trail which led to the hills
+overlooking the valley, and a panorama spread before them which amazed
+them because of its elaborateness.
+
+It seemed more like a stage scene than a wilderness picture. Straight
+ahead of them, as they lay flat on their stomachs and peered at the
+big camp, yawned the black mouth of a large cavern. This, they were
+sure, was the mine itself. Close by this mouth stood a stone hut. It
+was clear that this building had something to do with the ore, perhaps
+a refining plant, Durkin suggested.
+
+There were long barracks for the peons, inside a barbed wire
+enclosure, and they could see the little men lounging now about
+campfires, where frying food was being prepared. Also, there was a
+long, low building with many windows in it, and houses for supplies
+and for the use of the owners of the camp.
+
+"Looks like they were ready in case of a fight," said Durkin at last.
+"That fence around the peons looks like they might be havin' trouble."
+
+"Some camp," breathed Maget.
+
+"We got to find somethin' to drink," said Durkin. "Come on."
+
+They worked their way about the rim of the valley, and in doing so
+caught glimpses of Professor Gurlone, the elderly man they had spotted
+in Manaos, and also saw the big Portuguese with his sightless eyes.
+
+At the other side of the valley, they came on a spring which flowed to
+the east and disappeared under ground farther down.
+
+"Funny water, ain't it?" said Durkin, lying down on his stomach to
+suck up the milky water.
+
+But they were not in any mood to be particular about the fluids they
+drank. The long dry march across the arid lands separating the camp
+from the rest of the world had taken all moisture from their throats.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Maget, drinking beside his partner, saw that the water glinted and
+sparkled, though the sun was below the opposite rim of the valley. It
+seemed that greenish, silvery specks danced in the milky fluid.
+
+"Boy, that's good," Durkin finally found time to say, "I feel like I
+could fight a wildcat."
+
+The water did, indeed, impart a feeling of exhilaration to the two
+tramps. They crept up close to the roof of the parallel shaft which
+they had seen from the other side of the valley, and looked down into
+the camp again.
+
+Professor Gurlone of the livid face and Espinosa the blind Portuguese,
+were talking to a big man whose golden beard shone in the last rays of
+the sun.
+
+"That's the old bird's son," said Durkin, "that Juan told us about.
+Young Gurlone."
+
+A rumbling, pleasant laugh floated on the breeze, issuing from the big
+youth's throat. The wind was their way, now, and the valley breathed
+forth an unpleasant odor of chemicals and tainted meat.
+
+"Funny place," said Maget. "Say, I got a hell of a headache, Bill."
+
+"So've I," grunted Durkin. "Maybe that water ain't as good as it
+seemed at first."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They lay in a small hollow, watching the activity of the camp. The
+peons were in their pen, and it was evident that they were being
+watched by the owners of the camp.
+
+As purple twilight fell across the strange land, the two tramps began
+to notice the dull sounds which came to their ears from time to time.
+
+"That's funny thunder," said Maget nervously. "If I didn't know it was
+thunder, I'd swear some big frogs were around here."
+
+"Oh, hell. Maybe it's an earthquake," said Durkin irritatedly. "For
+God's sake, quit your bellyachin'. You've done nothin' but whine ever
+since we left Juan."
+
+"Well, who could blame me--" began Maget. He broke off suddenly, the
+pique in his voice turned to a quiver of fear, as he grasped Durkin's
+arm. "Oh, look," he gasped.
+
+Durkin, seeing his partner's eyes staring at a point directly behind
+him, leaped up and scrambled away, thinking that a snake must be about
+to strike him.
+
+He turned round when he felt he was far enough away, and saw that the
+ground was moving near the spot where he had been lying.
+
+The earth was heaving, as though ploughed by a giant share; a blunt,
+purplish head, which seemed too fearful to be really alive, showed
+through the broken ground, and a worm began to draw its purple length
+from the depths. It was no snake, but a gigantic angleworm, and as it
+came forth, foot after foot, the two watched with glazed eyes.
+
+Maget swallowed. "I've seen 'em two feet long," he said. "But never
+like that."
+
+Durkin, however, when he realized that the loathsome creature could
+not see them and was creeping blindly towards them with its ugly, fat
+body creasing and elongating, picked up rocks and began to destroy the
+monstrous worm. He cursed as he worked.
+
+Dull red blood spattered them, and a fetid odor from the gashes caused
+them to retch, but they finally cut the thing in two, and then they
+moved away from there.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The dull rumblings beneath them frightened Maget, and Durkin too,
+though the latter tried to brazen it out.
+
+"Come on, it's gettin' dark. We can take a look in their mine now."
+
+Maget, whimpering, followed. The booming sounds were increasing.
+
+But Durkin slipped down the hillside, and Maget followed into the
+valley. They crept past the stone shack, which they noticed was
+padlocked heavily.
+
+Durkin stopped suddenly, and cursed. "I've cut my foot," he said.
+"These damn shoes are gone, all right, from that march. But come on,
+never mind."
+
+They crept to the mouth of the cavern and peered in. "Ugh," said
+Maget.
+
+He drew back with a shudder. The floor of the mine was covered with a
+grey slush, in which were seething white masses of slugs weaving in
+the slime. A powerful, rotten odor breathed in their faces, as though
+they stood in the mouth of a great giant.
+
+"Ah!" yelled Durkin, throwing his arms across his face.
+
+The greenish, ghostly light which emanated from the slime was weaker
+than moonlight, just enough to see by; a vast shadow hovered above
+their heads, as though a gigantic bat flew there. The sweep and beat
+of great wings drove them back, and they fled in terror from such
+awful corruption.
+
+But the flying monster, with a wing spread of eight feet, dashed past
+them, and silhouetted against the rising moon like a goblin. Then came
+another, and finally a flock of the big birds.
+
+Durkin and Maget ran away, passing the stone house which stood near
+the cavern's mouth. The booming sounds from the bowels of the earth
+filled their ears now, and it was not thunder; no, it issued from the
+depths of the mine.
+
+"We--we got to get somethin' to eat," said Durkin, as they paused near
+one of the shacks, in which shone a light.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sounds of voices came from the interior. They crept closer, and
+listened outside the window. Inside, they could see Espinosa, Gurlone
+senior, and the big youth with the golden beard, Gurlone junior.
+
+"Yes, father," the young man was saying. "I believe we had better
+leave, at once. It's getting dangerous. I've reached the five million
+mark now, with the new process, and it is ready to work with or sell,
+just as we wish."
+
+"Hear that?" whispered Durkin triumphantly. "Five million!"
+
+"It's all ready, in the stone house," said young Gurlone.
+
+"Why should we leave now?" said old Gurlone, his livid face working.
+"Now, when we are just at the point of success in our great
+experiments? So far, while we have struck many creatures of abnormal
+growth, still, we have overcome them."
+
+"Well, father, there is something in the mine now which makes it too
+dangerous to work. That is, until they are put out of the way. You can
+hear them now."
+
+The three inside the shack listened, and so did Durkin and Maget. The
+booming sounds swelled louder and the earth of the valley shook.
+
+"I t'ink we better go," said Espinosa gruffly. "I agree with your son,
+Professor."
+
+"No, no. We can conquer this, what ever it is."
+
+"You see, father, while you were away, we broke through into a natural
+cavern, an underground river. It was then that the trouble started.
+You know the effect of the stuff on the insects and birds. It enlarged
+a cricket one hundred times. You saw that yourself. Six of the peons
+have disappeared--they didn't run away, either. They went down the
+shaft and never came back."
+
+"Oh, they probably fell into the water and drowned," said old Gurlone
+impatiently. "Even if they did not, we can kill anything with these
+large bore rifles."
+
+"We'd better pull out and let it alone for a while," said young
+Gurlone gravely. "The peons have been trying to bolt for several days.
+They'd be gone now if I hadn't penned them in and electrified the
+fence."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Maget put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm starving," he
+whispered.
+
+Durkin nodded, and they turned away, toward what they had marked as a
+supply shack. They heard a low murmur from the peons' pen, as they
+began to break off the hasps of the lock which held the door of the
+storehouse.
+
+They got inside with little trouble, and began to feel about in the
+dark for food. They located biscuits and canned goods which they split
+open, and these they wolfed hungrily, listening carefully for sounds
+from outside.
+
+"Here they come," said Maget, gripping Durkin's arm.
+
+They looked out the window of the supply shack, and saw old Gurlone
+issue from the building outside which the two tramps had been
+listening. In one hand, the old Professor, brave as a lion, carried an
+old fashioned double-barreled elephant gun, and the rays from a
+powerful electric torch shone across the barrel.
+
+At least, they thought the bizarre figure was old Gurlone, from the
+size. For the man was clad in a black, shiny suit, and over his head
+was a flapping hood of the same material in which were large eyeholes
+of green glass. Behind this strange form came a larger one, armed also
+with a big bore rifle and with another powerful flashlight.
+
+The blind Portuguese was armed, too, but he was not clad in the black
+suit. He took his stand beside the mouth of the cavern, and waited
+while the two Gurlones entered the mine.
+
+"My foot hurts," said Durkin suddenly, breaking the silence.
+
+"I'm going out and see what happens," said Maget.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Durkin limped after Maget, who now took the lead. They crept close as
+possible to the mine opening, and saw the big Portuguese standing
+there in silence, listening carefully. Any sounds the two might have
+made were drowned in the great bellowing from within the cavern.
+
+These noises, so like the croak of bullfrogs but magnified a thousand
+times, were terrifying to the heart.
+
+The sweep of wings sounded on the night air, and Espinosa drew back
+and squatted close to the ground, as immense green creatures, flying
+on dusty wings, issued from the mine.
+
+"God, those are moths," breathed Maget.
+
+Yes, unmistakably, they were moths, as large as condors. The green
+ones, but for their size, were lunar moths, familiar enough to the two
+tramps. More bats came, disturbed by the entrance of the two Gurlones.
+
+Durkin broke, then. "I'm--I'm--I guess you're right, Maget," he
+whispered, in a terrified voice. "We should have never come. If my
+foot wasn't hurt, I'd start for the river now. Curse it, what a
+place!"
+
+The booming, vast croaks filled the whole valley, reverberating
+through the hills. Wails sounded from the peon camp.
+
+The big Portuguese was shouting to the Gurlones. "Come out, come out!"
+
+Maget gripped his own rifle, and stood up, bravely. His fear, though
+it was great, seemed to have brought out the better side of the man,
+while Durkin, so brave at first, had cracked under the strain.
+
+"Look out, they'll see you," whimpered Durkin.
+
+Maget strode forward. A blast of fetid, stinking air struck his face,
+and he choked. The noises were now ear-splitting, but above the
+bellows came the sounds of the big rifles, the echoes booming through
+the recesses of the cavern.
+
+Then the two Gurlones, running madly, burst from the mine entrance.
+
+"Run," they screamed. "Run for your life, Espinosa!"
+
+"I'll help you," cried Maget, and Durkin could detain him no longer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Gurlones hardly noticed the newcomer, as they ran madly towards
+the shelter of their houses. Espinosa joined them, going swiftly in
+spite of his blind eyes.
+
+The croaking made Maget's brain scream with the immensity of the
+sound. Luminous, white disks, three feet in diameter, glared at him,
+and the creature, which progressed with jerky leaps toward him, almost
+filled the mouth of the mine.
+
+It was hot in pursuit of the fleeing Gurlones. It squatted and then
+jumped, and presently it was out in the night air.
+
+Its form was that of a gigantic frog, but it stood some twenty feet in
+height, and from its throat sounded the terrific bellowing which
+rivalled the thunder.
+
+Maget bravely stepped forward, and began to fire into the huge, soft
+body. The great mouth opened, and as the dum-dum bullets tore gashes
+in the blackish green batrachian, the thunderous croaks took on a note
+of pain.
+
+The odor of the creature was horrible. Maget could scarcely draw his
+breath as he fired the contents of the magazine into the big animal.
+Two more jumps brought the frog almost to Maget's feet, and the
+tropical tramp felt a whiskerlike tentacle touch his face, and bad
+smelling slime covered him.
+
+The frog was blind, without doubt, from its underground life, but the
+tentacles seemed to be the way it finally located its prey, for it
+turned on Maget and made a final snap at him. The great jaws closed
+like the flap of hell, and Maget leaped back with a cry of triumphant
+terror.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The bullets had finally stopped the big frog, but at its heels came a
+strange, jellylike creature, not quite as bulky as the frog, but
+pushing along on its legs and with a tail some eight feet thick and
+fifteen feet in length. This, too, evidently a polywog, was blind,
+with whitened discs for eyes, but it slid along at a rapid rate
+because of its size. Maget's gun was empty; he turned so flee, but the
+polywog stopped and sniffed at the thick blood of its fellow. Then, to
+Maget's relief, it began to hungrily devour its companion.
+
+Utterly filthy, and ferocious, the polywog in silence snapped great
+chunks from the dead giant frog.
+
+"Hello. Who are you?"
+
+Maget turned, having forgotten the amenities of life in the
+excitement. Professor Gurlone and his son, still clad in their black
+suits, but with their helmets off, were standing beside him, clutching
+their guns and lights.
+
+The big Portuguese, Espinosa, appeared, and Durkin was beside him.
+
+"Why," said Maget, between gasps, "we just happened to be out
+exploring, and we saw your camp. We were on our way in when we heard
+the noises and came to investigate."
+
+"I see," said old Gurlone. "What made you head in this direction, and
+where's your outfit?"
+
+"Oh, we cached most of it back there," said Maget. "My partner's hurt
+his foot, so he can't walk well. Isn't that so, Durkin?"
+
+"Yeh," growled Durkin. "I got a sore foot, all right."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Old Gurlone was suspicious of the vague story which Maget and Durkin
+concocted as the explanation of their presence in the valley. But
+evidently the Professor was too worried about the situation in which
+he and his friends were, to question the two tramps very closely. In
+fact, he seemed rather glad that he had two more pairs of hands to aid
+him and he thanked Maget for his bravery.
+
+They dispatched the great polywog as it tore its parent to bits, and
+then the five men, the two Gurlones, Espinoza, Maget, and the limping,
+cursing Durkin, retired to one of the shacks.
+
+The living quarters of the Gurlones was quite elaborate. There were
+many books on rough shelves, and there was a small bench filled with
+glass phials and chemicals, though the main laboratory was in one of
+the long buildings.
+
+Professor Gurlone poured drinks for the five, and welcomed Durkin and
+Maget as allies.
+
+"We'll need every man we can get, if we are to cope with these great
+creatures," said old Gurlone. "The peons are too frightened to be of
+use. Luckily, it was a frog we came upon on the banks of the
+subterranean river. There is no telling how many more creatures of the
+same or greater size may be down there. We will have to destroy them,
+every one."
+
+Maget and Durkin shuddered. "Say," blurted Durkin, his face working
+nervously, "how the hell did that frog get so big? I thought I was
+seein' things, Professor."
+
+"No, no," said Professor Gurlone. "You see, the ore in the mine
+contains radium, that is, salts of radium. It is a pitchblende
+deposit, and it happens to be so rich in radium content that
+throughout the ages it has affected all the life in the cavern. The
+arid land surrounding the ore--this has been, generally, one of the
+characteristics of radium deposits--has kept most of the jungle
+creatures away, but underground beings such as reptiles, worms and
+frogs, have gradually become immune to the effects of the ore and have
+grown prodigiously and abnormally under the stimulation of the rays
+given off by the radium.
+
+"Now, this is nothing strange in itself, but never before has such a
+rich deposit been discovered, so that the amounts of radium available
+have been too small to really check its effect on growth in animals.
+That is our chief scientific object in coming here: we realized, from
+Senor Espinosa's description of the played-out silver mine he had, and
+from his loss of sight, that he had stumbled upon a valuable deposit
+of radium. It usually occurs with silver, that is, the uranium mother
+ore does, through the disintegration of which radium is formed. The
+content of radium per ton in this ore proved unbelievably rich: we
+were delighted. I have always suspected that the animal cell might be
+stimulated into abnormal growth by exposure to radium salts, for such
+a thing already has been hinted at in the scientific world. Not till
+our chance came here, however, has enough radium been available for
+the experiments."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Maget and Durkin listened with open mouths. Radium meant but vague
+things to them. They had heard of radium paint which shone in the dark
+on the dials of watches and clothes, but of the properties of the
+metal and its salts they were utterly ignorant.
+
+"That radium stuff is what makes the funny light in that mine, then?"
+asked Maget.
+
+"Exactly. The radio-activity of the elements in the ore give off the
+light. There are three rays, the alpha, beta and gamma, and--"
+
+The professor forgot himself in a lecture on the properties of radium.
+
+Durkin, breaking in, asked, slyly. "Is this radium worth as much as
+silver?"
+
+Young Kenneth Gurlone laughed, and even old Professor Gurlone smiled.
+"Radium is worth more than gold or diamonds or platinum. Its value is
+fabulous. We have five million dollars worth already, in the form of
+the chloride."
+
+"Whew," whistled Durkin.
+
+He glanced sidewise at Maget.
+
+"Yes," said Professor Gurlone, "five million dollars worth of it!
+Those great monsters who have been developed throughout the ages by
+the action of the radium rays on their bodies, causing them to grow so
+prodigiously, are but incidents. We must destroy them, so that our
+work cannot be interfered with. We must use dynamite, blow them to
+bits. They are powerful enough to crush the stone bank by the mine
+mouth and ruin the labors of the past two years, gentlemen."
+
+Armed, and once more fortified with whiskey, the five made their way
+outside. The moon was darkened by an immense shadow, as one of the
+giant bats winged its way over their heads. But there were no more
+monster frogs. The ugly, bulky shapes of the dead polywog and its
+parent lay before them.
+
+"We are safe for the moment," said Professor Gurlone. "Go and quiet
+the peons, Espinosa: they will listen to you."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The peons still wailed in terror; the blind Espinosa slipped silently
+away.
+
+"Come," said Professor Gurlone, to his son and to Maget and Durkin. "I
+will show you the laboratory, so that you can understand better the
+effects of radium on growth."
+
+The professor led them to the long, low, many-windowed building
+nearby, and flooded it with light. It contained cage after cage in
+which were monkeys, pumas, and various jungle folk. These creatures
+set up a chattering and howling at the light and intruders.
+
+Maget glanced curiously about him. He saw shining vials and glassware
+of queer shapes on long black tables, and tubes of chemicals. There
+were immense screens of dull lead. "Those are for protection," said
+Professor Gurlone, "as are the lead-cloth suits we wear. Otherwise we
+would be burned by radium rays."
+
+Maget looked about, to see if his partner was listening, but he had
+gone away.
+
+However, Maget was intensely interested. He went from cage to cage as
+Professor Gurlone, rather in the manner of a man giving a lecture to
+students, pointed out animal after animal that had been treated by the
+radium.
+
+"This," said the professor, "is a monkey which usually attains a
+height of two feet. You can see for yourself that it is now larger
+than a gorilla."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The horrible, malformed creature bared its teeth and shook its bars in
+rage, but it was weak, evidently, from the treatment accorded it. Its
+hair was burned off in spots, and its eyes were almost white.
+
+There was a jaguar, and this beast seemed to have burst its skin in
+its effort to grow as large as three of its kind.
+
+"You see, we have not so much time as nature," said Professor Gurlone.
+"These beasts cannot be enlarged too rapidly, or they would die. They
+must be protected from the direct rays of the radium, which is
+refined. In the ore, the action is more gradual and gentle, since it
+is less concentrated. But the metal itself would burn the vital organs
+out of these creatures, cause them to be struck blind, shrivel them up
+inside and kill them in a few minutes in the quantity we have. We
+expose them bit by bit, allowing more and more time as they begin to
+grow immune to the rays. Here, you see, are smaller creatures which
+have grown some eight or ten times beyond normal size."
+
+All the animals seemed the worse for wear. Maget, his brain reeling,
+yet was beginning to grasp what radium did to one. It was not gold
+that you could pick up and carry away.
+
+"If a man touched that radium," he asked, "what would happen to him?"
+
+"Just what I said would happen to the animals if we did not give it to
+them gradually," said Gurlone, with a wave of his hand. "It would kill
+him, strike him down as though by invisible poison gas. His heart and
+lungs would cease to function, pernicious anemia would set in, as the
+red corpuscles in his blood perished by millions. He would be struck
+blind, fall down and die in agony."
+
+To Maget came the picture of the unfortunate Juan. As though answering
+his unasked question, Professor Gurlone went on. "We had a peon coming
+up with us," he said. "His name was Juan. He stole my sample-case,
+which contained an ounce of radium chloride, and ran off with it. If
+he opens it, it will kill him in just that way."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Maget shivered. "But--but didn't it hurt you to carry it?" he asked.
+
+"No. For it was incased in a lead container some two inches in
+thickness, and the rays cannot penetrate such a depth of lead. They
+are trapped in the metal."
+
+"Father, father, you're wasting time," broke in Kenneth Gurlone,
+shaking his yellow head. "We must act at once. The peons are almost
+mad with fear. Even Espinosa cannot quiet them. And every moment is
+precious, for the monsters may break forth."
+
+But Maget was looking nervously about for Durkin. Where was he? Durkin
+had his mind on the treasure, and--
+
+As they turned toward the door, the professor saying. "The rays from
+the ore, which is not so concentrated as the purified metal, do not
+kill--" Durkin suddenly appeared.
+
+He carried his rifle at his hip, and he limped and cursed angrily.
+"Come across," shouted Durkin. "Give me the key to that stone house.
+Snap into it, and no argument."
+
+"The key--to the stone bank?" repeated old Gurlone.
+
+"Yes. I'll give you five counts to throw it over--then I'll shoot you
+and take it," snarled Durkin savagely. "I want that treasure, whatever
+it is, and I'll have it. One ... two ... three...." The tramp sent a
+shot over their heads as a warning.
+
+"Hey, Bill, easy, easy," pleaded Maget. "That stuff is radium. It'll
+ruin you, boy!"
+
+"Shut up, you yeller-bellied bum," snarled Durkin. "Four...."
+
+A tinkle of metal came on the stone floor of the laboratory, as old
+Gurlone tossed his keys to Durkin.
+
+"Don't go in that shack," cried young Gurlone. "It'll be your death,
+man--"
+
+"Liars," yelled Durkin, and backed out the door.
+
+"H'm," said old Gurlone, turning to Maget. "So you came to rob us,
+eh?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But Maget thought of Juan, and then he knew he did not want Durkin, in
+spite of his failings, to perish so. He ran for the door, and across
+the clearing.
+
+"Durkin--Bill--wait, it's Frank--"
+
+Great bellowings sounded from the bowels of the earth, but Maget
+ignored these in his effort to save his partner. Durkin had the
+padlock off the stone shack, and pulled back the door.
+
+As the door disclosed the interior, Maget could see that a greenish
+haze filled the entire building. Wan liquid light streamed forth like
+heavy fluid.
+
+Bravely, to save his pal from death, Maget ran forward. But Durkin had
+entered the stone shack.
+
+Maget went to the very door of the building. Durkin was inside, and
+Maget could see his partner's thick form as a black object in the
+strange, thick air.
+
+An eery scream came suddenly from Durkin's lips; Maget wrung his hands
+and called for help.
+
+"Come out, Bill, come out," he cried.
+
+Durkin evidently tried to obey, for he turned toward the door. But his
+knees seemed to give way beneath him, he threw his arm across his eyes
+as he sank to the ground, crying in agony, incoherent sounds issuing
+from his lips.
+
+Shriek after shriek the unfortunate man uttered. As Maget made a dash
+forward to take a chance with death and rescue his friend, Professor
+Gurlone and his son Kenneth ran up and threw a black cloak over the
+tramp.
+
+The three entered the shack of death. Maget, not entirely covered,
+felt his heart give a terrific jump, and he gasped for breath. Durkin
+was quivering on the floor which was lined with lead.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Round vials stood about the room like a battery of search-lights, and
+from these emanated the deadly green haze.
+
+But almost before Maget touched his pal, Durkin was dead. Curled up as
+though sewed together by heavy cords. Durkin lay in a ball, a shaking
+mass of burned flesh.
+
+The two Gurlones pushed out ahead of them, and raised their hands.
+They had on their black suits and their helmets.
+
+"It is too late to do anything for him now," said Kenneth Gurlone
+sadly. "He was headstrong. You can see for yourself that the five
+million dollars takes care of itself. Certain death goes with it if
+you are unprotected. These lead-cloth suits will keep off the rays for
+a short time. We always wear them when we are working with the metal,
+even when we have a lead screen."
+
+"Poor Bill," sobbed Maget. "It's terrible!"
+
+Professor Gurlone shrugged. "It was his own fault. He was a thief and
+he would not let us stop him. I hope it's been a lesson to you,
+Maget."
+
+"Yes, I want to help you," said Maget. "If you'll keep me with you,
+I'll work for you and be straight. Give me a chance."
+
+"Good. Then shake hands on it," said Kenneth, and they clasped hands
+firmly.
+
+Espinosa appeared from the darkness. "The peons are mad with terror,"
+he said morosely. "They cannot be held much longer. They will revolt."
+
+"Well, we must kill the creatures in the cavern: that will quiet them
+more than anything else," said Professor Gurlone.
+
+"Better close the stone shack," said Kenneth.
+
+But as he spoke, a vast shape, another giant frog, appeared in the
+entrance of the shaft.
+
+"Get some dynamite and fuses," ordered Professor Gurlone quietly.
+"Come on Kenneth, and you, Maget, if you care to risk your life. You
+need not do so unless you wish to."
+
+Bravely, the older man led the way towards the croaking monster. The
+ground shook at its approach. It was heading for the bodies of the
+dead frog and polywog, bent on a search for food. Evidently these vast
+creatures were forced to prey upon one another for sustenance.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The rifles spoke, and Maget and the professor, in their black suits,
+protected by the lead-cloth and helmets from the rays, advanced. They
+poured bullet after bullet into the frog.
+
+Kenneth came running to join them, and Espinosa stood by. Kenneth had
+dynamite bombs with fuses ready for lighting and throwing. He also
+brought more ammunition, and the three armed themselves to the teeth.
+
+It was well after midnight when they started into the mine. They knew
+they must act quickly or retreat, for the bellowing sounded nearer and
+nearer the surface of the earth.
+
+Each man carried big, powerful flashlights, and the three entered the
+mine shaft and walked across the seething slugs into the bowels of the
+earth.
+
+"Stay close together," ordered old Gurlone.
+
+The mine was easy to descend for the first hundred yards. It led in a
+gentle slope downward. The way, save for a few giant bats and moths,
+and the big maggots, was clear. The greenish haze, not so bright as
+that in the death shack, enveloped them, but they needed their flashes
+to see clearly.
+
+"Slowly, take it easy," counseled old Gurlone.
+
+The mine spread out now, and began a steeper descent. The air was
+poor, and it was hard to breathe through the mask. Maget, his heart
+thumping mightily, listened to the roaring within the depths of the
+mine.
+
+Now the ground seemed to drop away before them. Maget could hear the
+running of water, the underground river, and every now and then there
+came an immense splash, as if some great whale had thrown itself about
+in the water.
+
+A terrifically loud hissing filled their ears, and suddenly, before
+them, showed an utterly white snake with a head as big as a barrel.
+Its white eyes glared sightlessly, but its tongue stuck forth for
+several feet.
+
+Kenneth Gurlone coolly tossed a lighted bomb at the creature: the
+explosion shattered their ear-drums, but it also smashed the serpent.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The writhing, wriggling coils, bigger than the body of a horse,
+slashed about, dangerously near. They picked themselves up, and pushed
+on, keeping close to the right wall.
+
+A great bat smashed against Maget, and knocked the light out of his
+hand, but the blow was a glancing one, and he was able to retrieve his
+light and hurry on.
+
+They were far from the entrance now. The hole which had been broken
+through by the peons showed before them, and they could see milky
+water dashing over black rocks.
+
+Pallid eyes looked at them, and they knew they gazed upon another of
+the giant frogs. They tossed a bomb at the creature, and blew a jagged
+hole in his back. No sooner had he begun to die than there came a
+sudden rush of other monsters and a feast began.
+
+"Throw, all together," yelled Kenneth Gurlone.
+
+Into the vast mass of creatures, who crowded one another in the river
+for their share of the spoils, they threw bomb after bomb. The
+dynamite deafened them, and acrid fumes choked them, but they fired
+their rifles at the prodigious animals and there, in the big river
+cavern, was a seething mass of horrible life, dying in agony.
+
+The bellowings and hissings sounded louder, so loud that the earth
+shook as if actuated by a mighty earthquake.
+
+Maget gripped Kenneth Gurlone's arm. "My bombs are gone," he shouted.
+
+He had but a few rounds of ammunition left, and still more of the
+giant reptiles appeared. A centipede with its creeping, horrible legs
+topped the mass of squirming matter; they could see the terrific sting
+of the creature, so deadly when but a fraction of an inch long, and
+which was now at least a foot, armed with poison.
+
+There came the rush of more bats and moths, a rush that threw the
+three men off their feet.
+
+"We must have opened the hole more with our bombs," shrieked old
+Gurlone. "The dead bodies attract the other creatures, more and more
+of them are coming. It is impossible; we cannot deal with them all."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The vast gobbling of the great animals in the river below them was so
+prodigious they could not grasp it. It seemed it must be optical
+illusion. In a few moments, the dead had been eaten, swallowed whole,
+and fights were progressing between the victors.
+
+They tossed the rest of their bombs, fired the remaining ammunition,
+and as they prepared to retreat, several of the big creatures slopped
+over and started up the river bank into the mine shaft.
+
+They ran for their lives, the three. Madly, with the earth shaking
+behind them as they were pursued by a hopping monster of a beetle with
+immense mandibles reaching out at them, they dashed for the open air.
+
+Giant moths and bats struck at them, and Maget fell down several times
+before he reached the outside, and he was bruised and out of breath.
+
+"Come on, there are too many to fight," gasped old Gurlone, throwing
+off the lead suit.
+
+But there was no need to talk. The creatures, disturbed by the bombs,
+had collected in one spot and, shown the way out by one of their
+number, were coming.
+
+Espinosa, with Kenneth Gurlone holding his hand, ran swiftly for the
+hills surrounding the valley. Maget helped old Professor Gurlone, who
+was so out of breath that he could scarcely move.
+
+The great beetle which had been pursuing them was the first to break
+forth into the valley. Turning back for a look over his shoulder,
+Maget saw the thing pause, but the cavern belched forth a vast array
+of monsters, the beasts roaring, hissing, bellowing, in an increasing
+mass of sound.
+
+They swarmed over the ground, and giant bats and moths winged their
+way about the heads of the monsters.
+
+At the rim of the valley, the four men paused.
+
+"God help the peons," said Kenneth Gurlone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now the horde of monsters swelled more and more; the bats and moths
+winged in mad frenzy about the open door of the radium shack. There
+were great beetles, centipedes, ants, crickets, hopping, crawling
+things, and grotesquely immense in size. Fights progressed here and
+there, but the majority of them were carried along in the sweep of the
+multitude.
+
+"See, the radium kills those who get too close," said Professor
+Gurlone, in a hushed voice.
+
+The giant moths and bats were unable to withstand the lure of the
+green light. They flew with mad beatings of wings straight for the
+open door of the death house, and many of the great creatures,
+attracted by the light and urged on by an unexplainable force which
+sent them to death like gnats and moths in a flame, crowded near to
+the death-dealing radium.
+
+Not until the whole shack was covered with quivering forms of the
+dead, did the other creatures veer off and with hops, creepings and
+myriad giant legs, begin to cover the whole valley.
+
+The stone walls of the death shack had crumpled in with the weight;
+the other buildings, more lightly built, gave at once, with crackings
+and crashings.
+
+The four men were powerless to assist the unfortunate peons, who were
+trapped in their barracks. The charged wires stopped many of the big
+beasts, but soon the electric light was short-circuited, and the
+valley, in the moonlight, was a seething mass of fighting, dying,
+feasting monsters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Other sounds, besides those made by the big creatures, came to the
+ears of the stricken men on the hillside. The breaking of glass, the
+cries of the jungle animals trapped in their cages, the shrieks of
+dying peons who were eaten at a gulp by the big frogs or stung to
+death, impaled on the mandibles of some great stinging centipede.
+
+In the spot where the radium death shack had been, was a pulpy mass of
+livid, smoky light.
+
+Now the bowl of the valley was filled as by some vast jelly. The
+creatures were slopping over the walls, and battling together.
+
+The shambles was not yet over, but the four could remain no longer.
+They made their way down the hillside and struck out across the arid
+lands.
+
+Maget, the tramp, became the leader. He was a trained jungle man, and
+it was he who finally brought them safely to the Madeira.
+
+He was their strong man, the one who found the trail and located roots
+and fruit for the party to subsist on. They nearly perished in the
+trip for lack of water, but again, Maget was able to supply them with
+roots which kept them from dying in agony.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They lay upon the river bank now, exhausted but alive. Maget had
+assisted old Gurlone, acted as his staff, half carried him the last
+miles of the trip.
+
+Their clothes were almost gone, they were burned to crisps by the
+tropic sun. Flies and other insects had taken their toll. But Maget
+had brought them through.
+
+The tall, thin fellow's hair had turned utterly white. But so had his
+soul.
+
+"You're a good man, Maget," said Professor Gurlone. "You have saved
+us, and you have been brave as a lion."
+
+Maget shook his head. "Professor," he said. "I came into the jungle to
+rob you. Durkin and I bribed Juan to steal that radium, and I feel
+responsible for his death. We thought you had diamonds or gold in the
+Matto Grosso, and we were after it. That's why I am here."
+
+"You have repaid your debt to us, more than fully," said Kenneth,
+holding out his hand.
+
+"Yes," said Espinosa.
+
+"Will you keep me with you, then?" asked Maget anxiously. "Are--will
+you go back there?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Professor Gurlone stared at him, and then said, in a surprised tone,
+"Why, of course!"
+
+"But the monsters?" asked Maget.
+
+"Many of them will die in the outer air," said Gurlone. "The survivors
+of the battles will start eating the dead. They will finally clear
+away the debris of dead creatures about the radium shack. As each is
+exposed to the rays of the concentrated metal, it will die. The others
+will eat it, and be killed in turn. Thus, they will be destroyed. If
+there are any survivors after this evident turn of events, then we
+will cope with them when we return, reinforced. Dynamite, enough of
+it, will finish them off. And, Maget, in your next pursuit after
+knowledge of strange things, you may get a few earthly riches. The
+radium is still there, and you will share in it."
+
+"Thank you," said Maget humbly. "I'm with you to the end."
+
+"You must keep quiet about this," cautioned Kenneth Gurlone. "We do
+not want the world to know too much of our vast store of radium. It
+would attract adventurers and we would be annoyed by ignorant men. But
+we're thankful you lay drunk in that saloon when my father spoke of
+the millions, Maget."
+
+In Manzos, Maget found himself a changed man. To his surprise, in
+spite of his white hair, brought on by the horror of what he had seen,
+he found that he had gained two inches in height, and that he was
+larger of girth. This, Professor Gurlone told him, was the effect of
+the radium rays.
+
+Never again did Maget lie drunk on the floor of a saloon. The events
+through which he had gone had seared the tramp's soul, and he kept
+close to his new master, Professor Gurlone.
+
+
+
+
+The Moon Master
+
+_By Charles W. Diffin_
+
+[Illustration: _He laughed loudly and contemptuously._]
+
+[Sidenote: Through infinite deeps of space Jerry Foster hurtles to the
+Moon--only to be trapped by a barbaric race and offered as a living
+sacrifice to Oong, their loathsome, hypnotic god.]
+
+
+"Now that's a mighty queer noise." Jerry Foster told himself. He
+dropped the pack from his shoulders and leaned closer to the canyon
+rim.
+
+Miles behind him was the last beaten trail: Jerry wanted peace and
+solitude and quiet. And now the quiet of the silent mountains was
+disturbed.
+
+From far below came a steady, muffled roar. Faint it was, and distant,
+but peculiar in its unvarying, unceasing rush.
+
+"Not water," Jerry concluded; "not enough down there. Sounds
+like--like a wind--like a wind that can't quit.
+
+"Oh well--" He shrugged his shoulders and slipped into the straps of
+his pack. Then he went back again to the granite ledge. "I wonder if
+there's a way down," he said.
+
+There was, but it took all of Jerry's strength to see him safely
+through. On a fan-shaped talus of spreading boulders he stopped. There
+was a limestone wall beyond. And at its base, from a crevice that was
+almost a cave, came a furious rush of air and steam.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+It touched him lightly a hundred feet away, and he threw himself flat
+to escape the hot blast. Endlessly it came, with its soft, rushing
+roar, a ceaseless, scorching blast from the cold rocks.
+
+"That's almighty funny," mused Foster, and sniffed the air. There was
+no odor.
+
+"And is it hot!" he said. "Nothing like that in my geology book. And
+what is beyond? Looks like concrete work, as if someone had plastered
+up the cave." He picked his way quickly across the rock slope.
+
+It was hard going. Below him the rocks and dirt went steep to the
+canyon floor. At its foot the blast swept diagonally over the slope.
+He must see what lay beyond....
+
+"Curious," he thought; "curious if that is nature's work--and a lot
+more so if it isn't."
+
+A rock rolled beneath his feet. Another! He scrambled and fought
+desperately for foothold in the slipping earth. Then, rolling and
+clawing, he rode helpless on the slide straight toward the mysterious
+blast. He felt it envelop him, hot and strangling. His lungs were dry
+and burning ... the blazing sun faded from the rocks ... the world was
+dark....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Darkness was still about him when he awoke. But it was cool; the air
+was sweet on his lips. And it was not entirely dark.
+
+He turned his head. He was in a room. On a rough-hewn table a candle
+was burning. Its light cast flickering shadows on walls of stone.
+Rumbling in his ears was the sound of the blast that had overwhelmed
+him. It echoed, seemingly, from far back in the stone cliff.
+
+Jerry made a move to sit up. He found that his hands and feet were
+tied, his body bound to the rough board bed.
+
+At the sound of his stirring, a figure came out from the farther
+shadow. It was that of a man. Jerry looked at him in silence. He was
+tall, his thin erectness making him seem abnormal in the low room. The
+lean face was unshaven, and from under a thatch of black hair a pair
+of deep-set eyes stared penetratingly at the figure on the rude bed.
+
+"Well," asked Jerry, at length, "what's the big idea?"
+
+There was no reply. Only the intent, staring eyes.
+
+"You got me out of that man-trap of yours," Jerry continued. "You
+saved my life."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The tall man finally spoke. "Yes, I saved your life. You missed the
+hottest part of the exhaust. I pumped you full of oxygen."
+
+"Then why tie me up like this?" Jerry Foster was frankly puzzled.
+
+"You are lucky to be alive. Spies are not always allowed--" He
+interrupted himself abruptly. "You are a reporter," he stated.
+
+"Wrong," said Jerry Foster.
+
+"Who sent you?"
+
+"Nobody sent me. I heard the noise of your infernal blast-furnace and
+came down to have a look."
+
+"Who sent you?" repeated the man. "Goodwin? The Stillwater crowd? Who
+was it?"
+
+"I don't know what you are talking about," protested Jerry. "I don't
+know who your Goodwin or Stillwater people are. I don't know who you
+are--I don't give a damn. Take these ropes off and cut out the
+melodrama. I'll go on my way, and I don't care if I never see you
+again."
+
+"That's a lie." The tall figure leaned over to shake a bony fist.
+"You'd report to Goodwin. He stole my last invention. He'll not get
+this."
+
+Jerry considered the wild figure carefully. "He's a nut," he thought.
+When he spoke, his voice was controlled.
+
+"Now, see here," he said: "I don't know anything about this. I'm Jerry
+Foster, live in San Francisco--"
+
+"So does Goodwin."
+
+"Confound you and your Goodwin! So do a million other people live
+there! I'm getting away from there; I'm heading into the hills for a
+short vacation. All I want is to get away from the world. I'm looking
+for a little peace and quiet."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The thin man interrupted with a harsh laugh.
+
+"Come here spying," he said, "and tell me you want to get away from
+the world." Again he laughed shrilly.
+
+"And I am going to be your little fairy godmother. I wish you were
+Goodwin himself! I wish I had him here. But you'll get your
+wish--you'll get your wish. You'll leave the world, you shall,
+indeed."
+
+He rocked back and forth with appreciation of his humor.
+
+"Didn't know I was all ready to leave, did you? All packed and ready
+to go. Supplies all stowed away; enough energy stored to carry me
+millions of miles. Or maybe you did know--maybe there are others
+coming...." He hurried across the room to open a heavy door of split
+logs in the rock wall.
+
+"I'll fool them all this time," he said; "and you'll never go back to
+tell them." The door closed behind him.
+
+"Crazy as a bed-bug," Jerry told himself. He strained frantically at
+the ropes that bound him. "Looks bad for me: the old bird said I'd
+never go back. Well, what if I die now ... or six months from now?
+Though I know that doctor was wrong."
+
+He tried to accept his fate philosophically, but the will to live was
+strong. And one of his wrists felt looser in its bonds.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Across the room his pack lay on the floor, and in it was a heavy
+forty-five. If he could get the pistol.... A knot pulled loose under
+his twisting fingers. One hand was free. He worked feverishly at the
+other wrist.
+
+The ropes were suddenly loose. He pulled himself to his feet, took a
+moment to regain control of cramped muscles, then flung himself at the
+pack. When the heavy door opened he was behind it, his pistol in his
+hand.
+
+There was no struggle: the lanky figure showed no maniacal fury.
+Instead, the man did a surprising thing. He sank weakly upon the rough
+bunk where Jerry had lain, his face buried in his thin hands.
+
+"I should have let you die," he said slowly, hopelessly. "I should
+have let you die. But I couldn't do that.... And now you'll steal my
+invention for Goodwin."
+
+Jerry was as exasperated as he was amazed.
+
+"I told you," he almost shouted. "I never knew anyone named Goodwin! I
+don't care a hoot about your invention. And as for letting me die--why
+didn't you? That's a puzzle: you were about to kill me, anyway."
+
+"No," said the other patiently. "I wasn't going to kill you."
+
+"You said I'd never go back."
+
+"I was going to take you with me."
+
+"Take me where?"
+
+"To the moon," said the drooping figure.
+
+Jerry Foster stared, open-mouthed. The pistol lagged in his limp hand.
+"To the moon!" he gasped.
+
+Then: "See here," he said firmly. "I've got you where I want you."--he
+held the pistol steady--"and now I'm going to learn what's back of
+this. I think you are crazy, absolutely crazy. But, tell me, who are
+you? What do you think you're doing? What was the meaning of that
+roaring blast?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The man looked up. "You don't know?" he asked eagerly. "You really
+don't?"
+
+"No," said Jerry; "but I'm going to find out."
+
+"Yes," the other agreed. "Yes, you can, now that you've got the
+upper-hand. I guess I was half crazy when I thought I had been spied
+out. But I'll tell you."
+
+He sat erect. "I am Thomas J. Winslow," he said, and made the
+statement as if it were an explanation in itself.
+
+"Well," said Jerry, "that's no burst of illumination to my ignorance.
+Come again."
+
+The man called Winslow was ready--anxious--to talk.
+
+"I am an inventor. I have made millions of dollars"--Jerry looked at
+the disheveled apparel of the speaker and smiled--"for other people.
+The Stillwater syndicate stole my valveless motor. Then I developed my
+television set. Goodwin beat me out of that: he will have it on the
+market inside of a year. I swore they should never profit by this, my
+greatest invention."
+
+Jerry was impressed in spite of himself by the man's earnest
+simplicity.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.
+
+"I've broken the atom," said Winslow. "First tore the atoms of
+hydrogen and oxygen apart--dissociated them in the molecule of
+water--and have resolved them into their energy components. That's
+what you heard--the reaction. It it self-sustaining, exothermic. That
+hot blast carried off the heat of my retort."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Winslow rose from the bunk. Gone was his listless despondency.
+
+"Put up that gun," he said: "you don't need it now. I think we
+understand each other better than we did." He crossed with quick
+strides to the door leading into the cliff.
+
+"Come with me," he told Foster. "I am leaving to-day. You will not
+stop me. But before I go I will show you something no other man than
+myself has ever seen."
+
+He led the way through the doorway. There was another room beyond,
+Jerry saw. It was a cave. Plainly Winslow had taken these caves in the
+rocks and had made of them a laboratory.
+
+A lantern gave scant illumination: Jerry made out a small electric
+generator, and that was all. He felt a keen disappointment. Somehow
+this thin-faced man had communicated to him something of his own
+belief, his own earnestness.
+
+"What kind of a laboratory do you call this?" he demanded. But the
+other was busy.
+
+In the wall an opening had been closed with a small iron door, with
+cement around it. Winslow opened it and reached through. He was
+evidently adjusting something.
+
+The little dynamo began to hum. There was a crackling hiss from beyond
+the iron doorway. The opening was flooded with a clear blue light.
+
+Then the roar began. It was tremendous, deafening, in the echoing
+cave.
+
+"You may look now," said Winslow, and stood aside.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jerry peered through. There was another cave beyond. In it was a small
+metal cylinder, a retort of some kind. The blue light came from a
+crooked bulb beyond. The retort itself was white-hot, despite a
+stream of water flowing upon it. A cloud of steam drove continuously
+out and up through a crevice in the rocks.
+
+The water flowed steadily from some subterranean stream in the
+limestone formation. It was diverted for its cooling purposes, but a
+portion also flowed continuously into the retort. Jerry's eyes found
+this, and he could see nothing else. For, before his eyes, the
+impossible was occurring.
+
+The retort was small, a couple of feet in diameter. It had no
+discharge pipes, could hold but a few gallons. Yet into it, in a
+steady stream, flowed the icy water. Gallons, hundreds of gallons,
+flowing and flowing, endlessly, into a reservoir which could never
+hold it.
+
+The inventor watched Foster with complacent satisfaction.
+
+"Where does it go?" Jerry asked incredulously.
+
+"Into nothingness," was the reply. "Or nearly that!"
+
+"See?" He held up a flask of pale green liquid. "And this," he added,
+exhibiting another that was colorless.
+
+"I have worked here for many months. I have converted thousands of
+thousands of gallons of water. It has flowed into that retort, never
+to return. I have gathered this, the product, a few drops at a time.
+
+"The protons and the electrons," he explained, "are re-formed. They
+are static now, unmoving. Call this what you will--energy or
+matter--they are one and the same."
+
+"Still," said Jerry, gropingly, "what has all that to do with the
+moon? You said you were going there."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Yes," agreed the inventor. I am going, and this is the driving force
+to carry me there. I pass a certain electric current through these two
+liquids. I carry the wires to two heavy electrodes. Between them
+resolution of matter occurs. The current carries these two components
+to again combine them and form what we call matter, the gases
+hydrogen and oxygen.
+
+"Do I need to tell you of the constant, ceaseless and tremendous
+explosion that follows?
+
+"But enough of this! You said I was crazy. I gave you a few bad hours.
+I have shown you this much as a measure of recompense. You have seen
+what no other man has ever seen. It is enough."
+
+He motioned Foster through the door. The roaring ceased. The inventor
+returned shortly, the two flasks of liquid in his hands. He
+transferred both to two metal containers that were ready for the
+precious load. He carried them with the utmost care as he went out of
+doors.
+
+Once he returned, and Jerry knew by the crashes from the inner room
+that the laboratory work was indeed done. There would be nothing left
+to tell the secret to whomever might come.
+
+He followed Winslow outside, trailing him toward a wooded knoll. There
+was a clearing among the trees. And in it, hidden from all sides, his
+eyes found another curious sight.
+
+On the ground rested a dirigible in miniature. Still, it was small, he
+reasoned, only by comparison with its monster prototype: actually it
+was a sizable cylinder of aluminum that shone brightly in the sun. It
+was bluntly rounded at the ends. There were heavy windows, open
+exhaust ports, a door in the side, pierced through thick walls.
+Winslow vanished within, while Jerry watched in pitying wonder.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Despite its size, it was a toy, an absurd and pitiful toy. Real genius
+and lunacy had many an over-lapping line, Jerry reflected as he
+approached to look inside. But he found Winslow in a room surrounded
+by a network of curving, latticed struts. The machine was no makeshift
+of a demented builder: it was a beautiful bit of construction that
+Jerry Foster examined.
+
+"How did you ever get it here?" he marveled. "What you had in the
+cave you could pack in, but this--all these parts--castings--cases of
+supplies--"
+
+The inventor did not even turn. He was busy with some final
+adjustments.
+
+"Flew it in," he said shortly. "Built it in an old shop I owned out
+near Oakland."
+
+"And it flew?" Jerry was still incredulous.
+
+"Certainly it flew! On a drop or less of the liquids you saw." He
+pointed to a heavy casting at the center of the machine. There were
+braces tying it strongly to the entire structure, braces designed to
+receive and transmit a tremendous thrust.
+
+"This is the generator. Blast expelled through the big exhaust at the
+stern. These smaller exhausts go above and below--right and left at
+the bow. Perfect control!"
+
+"And you flew it here!" Jerry was still trying to grasp that
+incontrovertible fact. "And you were going to take me to the moon, you
+said."
+
+He looked above him where a pale, silvery segment showed dimly in the
+sky. "But why the moon?" he questioned. "Even granting that this will
+fly through space...."
+
+"It will," the other interrupted. "I tried it. Went up to better than
+fifty miles."
+
+Jerry Foster took a minute to grasp that statement, then continued:
+"Granting that, why go to the moon? There is nothing there, no air to
+speak of, no water! It's all known."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The inventor turned to face the younger man in the doorway.
+
+"There is _nothing_ known," he stated. "The modern telescopes reach
+out a million light years into space. But the one place they have
+never seen--can never see--is less than two hundred and fifty thousand
+miles away. The moon, as of course you know, always keeps the same
+side toward us. The other side of the moon has never been seen.
+
+"Listen," he said, and his deep-set eyes were afire with an intense
+emotion. "The moon is no tiny satellite; it is a sister planet. It is
+whirled on the end of a rope (we call it gravitation), swung around
+and around the earth. How could there be water or anything fluid on
+this side? It is all thrown to the other side by the centrifugal
+force. Who knows what life is there? No one--no one! I am going to
+find out."
+
+Jerry Foster was silent. He was thinking hard. He looked about him at
+the clean hills, the trees, the world he knew. And he was weighing the
+secure life he knew against a great adventure.
+
+He took one long breath of the clear air as one who looks his last at
+a familiar scene. He exhaled slowly. But he stepped firmly into the
+machine.
+
+"Winslow," he said, "have you any rope handy?"
+
+The inventor was annoyed. "Why, yes, I guess so. Why? What do you want
+of it?"
+
+"I want you to tie me up again," said Jerry Foster. "I want you to
+carry me off as you planned. I want to go with you."
+
+The tall man stared at the quiet, determined face before him. Slowly
+his own strained features smoothed into kindly lines. He grasped tight
+at Jerry's hand.
+
+"I was dreading that part of it," he confessed slowly: "going alone.
+It would have been lonely--out there...."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The shining cylinder of aluminum alloy was hurtling through space. No
+longer was it a ship of the air; it had thrown itself far beyond that
+thin gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; out into the black and
+empty depths that lay beyond. And in it were two men, each reacting in
+his own way to an adventure incredible. One was deep in the
+computation of astronomical data; the other athrill with a quivering,
+nerve-shaking joy that was almost breath-taking.
+
+A metal grating that had formed the rear wall of their cabin was now
+the floor. Winslow had thrown the ship into a vertical climb that made
+of their machine a projectile shooting straight out from the earth.
+Gravitation held them now to the grating floor. And, stronger even
+than the earth-pull, was the constant acceleration of motion that made
+their weight doubled again and again.
+
+The inventor moved ponderously, with leaden limbs, to take sights from
+the windows above, to consult his maps of the sky, check and re-check
+his figures. But Jerry had eyes only for the earth they had left.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Flat on the grating he lay, his eyes over a thick glass in a
+proturbance of the shell that allowed him to stare and stare at what
+lay directly below. He watched the familiar things of earth vanish in
+fleecy clouds; through them there formed the great ball, where oceans
+and continents drew slowly into focus.
+
+And now he was filled with a sense of great solitude. The world, in
+its old, familiar companionship, was gone--probably forever. The
+earth--_his_ earth--_his_ world--that place of vast distances on land
+and on sea, of lofty mountain ranges and heaving oceans, of cities,
+countries, continents--was become but a toy. A plaything from the
+nursery of some baby god, hanging so quiet in space he could almost
+reach and take it in his hands.
+
+Beyond it the sun was blaring, a hard outlined disc in the black sky.
+Its rays made shining brilliance of a polar ice-cap.
+
+Jerry Foster closed his eyes and drew back from the glass. Again he
+was aware of the generator, whose endless roar reverberated in their
+compartment. A smaller but similar apparatus was operating on one of
+the liquids from the inventor's laboratory to generate oxygen and
+release it inside the room. An escape valve had been set to maintain
+one atmosphere of pressure about them. Water dripped from a condenser
+where both gases were formed to burn into water vapor and cool to
+liquid form.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One of the windows below admitted a shaft of direct sunlight; it
+illumined their room with a faint glow. It would never cease, Jerry
+knew. They were in a place of eternal sunshine, yet a realm of an
+endless night. Above him, as Jerry raised his head, the windows framed
+nothing but utter blackness, save where some brilliant point marked
+the presence of a star. He missed the soft diffusion of light that
+makes daylight on earth. Here was only the one straight beam that
+entered one window to make a circle of light on the opposite wall.
+
+Jerry looked from a window of heavy glass at the side. This had been
+the bottom of their ship when they left. And he found in the heavens
+the object of their quest. Clear-cut and golden was half the circle;
+the rest glowed faintly in the airless void. He tried to realize the
+bewildering fact--the moon, this great globe that he saw, was rushing,
+as were they, to their trysting-place in space.
+
+Jerry stared until his eyes were aching. His mind refused to take hold
+upon the truth he knew was true. He was suddenly tired, heavy with
+weariness that was an aftermath of his emotional turmoil. He let his
+heavy body relax where some blankets had piled themselves upon the
+grated floor. The roar of the generator faded into far silence as he
+slipped into that strange spaceless realm that men call sleep.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The human mind is marvelous in its power of adjustment, its
+adaptability to the new and the strange. The unbelievable is so soon
+the commonplace. Jerry Foster was to sleep more than once in this tiny
+new world of Winslow's creating, this diminutive meteor, inside which
+they lived and moved and thought and talked. The fact of their new
+existence soon ceased as a topic of wonder.
+
+They alternated in their rest. And they counted the passage of time by
+the hours their watches marked, then divided these hours into days out
+there where there were no days. Seven of them had passed when the hour
+came that Winslow chose for checking their speed.
+
+They were driving directly toward the moon, which was assuming
+proportions like those of earth. The pilot admitted a portion of the
+blast to a bow port, and the globe ahead of them gradually swung off.
+The pilot was reversing their position in space to bring the powerful
+blast of their stern exhaust toward the moon, so as to resist somewhat
+its increasing pull.
+
+Now their stern windows showed the approaching globe. It was slowly
+expanding. They were falling toward it. The inventor moved a rheostat,
+and from behind them the stern blast rose to a tremendous roar. The
+deceleration held them with unbearable weight to the rear of the
+cabin.
+
+No thought now for the shining earth, yellow and brilliant in the
+velvet sky above. Jerry Foster watched through the slow hours as the
+globe beneath them enlarged and expanded in ever-increasing slowness.
+Slowly their falling motion slackened as they cushioned against the
+terrific thrust of the exhaust below.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The globe ceased to grow and held constant. Winslow cut the exhaust to
+a gentler blast. They were definitely within the moon's gravitational
+field; their last hold upon the earth was severed. The great globe was
+revolving beneath them.
+
+"How about it?" Foster asked breathlessly. "It doesn't revolve like
+that--not the moon!"
+
+"We have approached from the earth side," said the other, "but we have
+overshot it. Say that the moon is revolving, or say that we are
+swinging about it in an orbit of our own--it is all the same thing."
+
+"And soon," he added slowly, "we shall see...." He faltered and his
+lips trembled and refused to frame the words of a dream that was
+coming true. "We shall see ... the lost side of the moon. What will it
+be ... what--will--it--be...?"
+
+To Foster the whole experience had now the unreality of a dream. He
+could not bring himself into mental focus. His thoughts were blurred,
+his emotions dead.
+
+They were approaching the moon, he told himself. It was the moon that
+was there below them, slowly enlarging now, as their own earth had
+hung below them, but dwindling, when they left.
+
+"The moon!" he told himself over and over. "The moon--it is real!" But
+the numbness in his brain would not be shaken off.
+
+His voice, when he spoke, was casual. He might have been speaking of
+any commonplace--a ball-game, or a good show.
+
+"The sun is coming from my right," he said. "We are going around
+toward the dark side of the moon. Shall you land there?"
+
+Winslow shook his head. "Wait," he said, "and watch."
+
+Jerry returned to his circle of glass.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was a shading of light on the surface below him. From the right
+the sun's brilliance threw black shadows and bright beams transversely
+over a wilderness of volcanic waste. And beyond, where the rays could
+not reach, was a greater desolation of darkness, its blackness
+relieved only by a dim light. He realized with a start of amazement
+that the dim light he saw was that of their own earth far above: it
+was lighting their approach to this sister orb.
+
+Their side-motion was swift as they drew nearer. Another hour and
+more, and they were drawing toward an expanse of utter darkness. The
+earth-light was fading where they passed. They were approaching, in
+very fact, the other side of the moon.
+
+What was below? What mysteries awaited them? He shivered, despite the
+warmth of the generator, cherry-red, that heated the snug cabin;
+shivered with unformed thoughts of unknown terrors. But he forced his
+voice to calm steadiness when he repeated his question to Winslow.
+
+"Must we land there?" he asked. "In the dark?"
+
+The inventor was piloting his ship with ceaseless concentration. Their
+falling speed was checked; they were close enough so that the
+whistling of air was heard merging with the thunder of their exhaust.
+He moved the rheostat under his hand, and the thunder slackened.
+
+"No," he said. "You are forgetting your astronomy. This 'other side'
+is subject to the same conditions as the near side. The sun shines on
+them alike, but alternately. We are rounding the limb away from the
+sun. We find, as you see, a darkness that is absolute except for the
+light of the stars. Here the earth never shines, and the sun only
+during the lunar day. But the sun is creeping down this other side.
+Their day, equal to fifteen of our days, is beginning. We shall come
+into the light again. I am checking our motion across the surface. We
+shall land, when it seems best, later on. There will be light."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The thin strong hands of the pilot played over the current and valve
+controls. Their ship slowly swung and dipped to a horizontal position.
+A blast from below held them off from the moon. A bow port was roaring
+as their speed slowly decreased.
+
+Minutes merged endlessly into long hours as Jerry's eager eyes
+strained to detect some definite form on the surface beneath. Dimly a
+glow appeared far ahead; slowly the darkness faded. They were moving
+ahead, but their wild speed was checked. And slowly the new earth
+below took on outline and form as the sun's glow crept over it.
+
+What would the light disclose? His mind held irrationally to thoughts
+his reason would have condemned. He found himself watching for people,
+for houses, lights gleaming from windows. This, in a region of cold
+that approached the absolute zero. The reality came as a shock.
+
+The first rays that crept into vision were silvery fingers of light.
+They reflected up to the heights in glittering brilliance. They
+gathered and merged as the ship drove on toward the sunrise, and they
+showed to the watching eyes a wondrous, a marvelous world. A world
+that was snowbound, weighted and blanketed with a mantle of white.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+To Jerry the truth came as a crushing, a horrible blow. He turned
+slowly to look at his companion; to look and be startled anew by the
+happiness depicted on the lean face.
+
+"I knew it," the pilot was saying. "I always knew it. But
+now--now...." He was speechless with joy.
+
+"It's terrible!" said Foster. He almost resented the other's elation.
+"It's a hell! Just a frozen hell of desolation."
+
+"Man--man!" was the response, "can't you see? Look! The whiteness we
+see is snow, a snow of carbon dioxide. The cold is beyond guessing.
+But the clear places--the vast fields--it's ice, man, it's ice!"
+
+"Horrible!" Jerry shuddered.
+
+"Beautiful," said the other. "Marvellous! Think, think what that
+means. It means water in the hot lunar day. It means vapor and clouds
+in the sky. It means that where that is there is air--life, perhaps.
+God alone knows all that it means. And we, too, shall know...."
+
+The ship settled slowly to the surface of the new world. Black blobs
+of shadow become distinct craters; volcanoes rose slowly to meet them,
+to drift aside and rise above as they sank to the floor of a valley.
+They came to rest upon a rocky floor.
+
+On all sides their windows showed a waste of torn and twisted rock.
+Volcanic mountains towered to the heights, their sides streaked with
+masses of lava, frozen to stillness these countless years from its
+molten state. The rising sun, its movement imperceptible, cast long
+slanting rays between the peaks. It lighted a ghostly world, white
+with thick hoar-frost of solid carbon dioxide. A silent world, locked
+in the stillness of cold near the absolute zero. Not a breath of air
+stirred; no flurry of snow gave semblance of life to the scene. Their
+generator was stillen, and the silence, after the endless roaring of
+endless days, was overpowering.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But Winslow pointed exultantly from one window, where an icy expanse
+could be seen. "That will be water," he said; "water, when the sun has
+risen."
+
+He turned on the generator for warmth. The cold was striking through
+the thick insulated walls. They sat silent, peering out upon that
+boundless desolation, upon a world's breathless nakedness, exposed for
+the first time in all eternity to human eyes.
+
+Jerry's mind was searching for some means of expression, but the words
+would not come. There were neither words nor coherent thoughts to give
+vent to the emotions that surged within him.
+
+Their watches showed the passage of nearly two earth days before they
+dared venture forth. They watched the white mantle of frost vanish
+into gas. From the darkness that they called "west," winds rushed
+shriekingly into the sunrise.
+
+"Convection currents," Winslow explained; "off under the sun. In the
+direct rays the heat grows intense; the air rises. This is rushing in
+to fill the void. It will serve our ends, too. It will churn the air
+into a mixture we can breathe, dispel the thick layer of CO_2 that
+must have formed close to the ground."
+
+More hours, and the icy sheet was melting. A film of water rippled in
+the gusts of wind. Winslow opened the release valve that would permit
+the escape of air from their chamber, equalizing the pressures within
+and without. The air hissed through the valve, and he closed it so the
+escape was gradual.
+
+"We must exercise," he told Jerry. "We will decompress slowly, like
+divers coming up from deep-sea work. But watch yourself," he warned.
+"Remember you are six times as strong as you were on the earth. Don't
+jump through the roof."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE valve had ceased to hiss when Winslow opened it wide. The air in
+their cabin was thin; their lungs labored heavily at first. Jerry felt
+as he had felt more than once at some great elevation on earth. But
+they lived, and they could breathe, and they were about to do what
+never man had done--to set foot on this place men called the unknown
+side of the moon.
+
+Earth habits were strong: Jerry brought his pistol and a hunting knife
+out of his pack and hung them at his belt, as the inventor opened the
+door and sniffed cautiously of the air.
+
+Jerry Foster's blood was racing; the air was cold on his face as he
+rushed out. But it brought to his nostrils odors strange and yet
+strangely familiar. He was oddly light-headed, irresponsible as a
+child as he shouted and danced and threw himself high in the air, to
+laugh childishly at the pure pleasure of his light landing.
+
+The sun made long shadows of two ludicrous figures that went leaping
+and racing across the rocks. Their strength was prodigious, and they
+were filled with an upwelling joy of living and the combined urge of
+an eternity of spring-times. The very air tingled with life; there was
+overpowering intoxication in this potent, exhilarating breath from a
+world new-born.
+
+The ground that they crossed so recklessly was a vast honeycomb of
+caves. Between the rocks the soil was soft with the waters from
+melting ice, and the men laughed as they floundered at times in the
+oozing mud. Beyond was a lake, and it was blue with a depth of color
+that was almost black, a reflection of the deep, velvet blackness of
+the sky overhead. And beyond that was the sloping side of an extinct
+volcano.
+
+"Up--up!" Jerry shouted. "From up there we will see the whole
+world--the whole moon!" He laughed as he repeated the exultant phrase:
+"The moon--the whole moon!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Despite their strength which carried them in wild bounds across
+impassable chasms, their laboring lungs checked them in the ascent.
+The joyous inebriation was wearing off. Winslow met his companion's
+eyes sheepishly as they stopped where a sheer cliff of basalt above
+caught and held the warmth of the sun's rays. Behind them it rose a
+straight hundred feet, and before stretched a vast panorama. The sun
+was mounting now in the sky. It brought into strong relief the welter
+of volcanic waste that extended in bold detail through the clear air
+far out to the horizon, where, misty and dim, the first vaporous
+clouds were forming from the steaming earth.
+
+And as they watched, the depressing bareness and emptiness of that
+gray-black expanse was changing. Far to the east a pink flush was
+spreading on the hills. It wavered and flowed, and it changed, as they
+watched, to deep areas of orange and red. The delicate pink swept in
+waves over valleys and hills, a vast kaleidoscopic coloration that
+rioted over a strange world.
+
+In silence it spilled into the valley below. The slope they had
+traversed was radiant with color.
+
+At their feet the ground was in motion: it heaved and rolled in
+countless places. Rounded shapes in myriads were emerging.
+Plants--mushroom growths--poured up from the earth to drink in the
+sunshine of their brief summer. They burst the earth to show
+unfolding leaves or blunted, rounding heads, that grew before the
+men's incredulous eyes.
+
+Winslow was the first to recover from the stupefying beauty of the
+spectacle.
+
+"The machine!" he gasped. "Back to the ship! We'll be swamped,
+overwhelmed...." He rushed madly back down the slope.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jerry was beside him, a revulsion of feeling driving him to frantic
+efforts. The piercing beauty that had enthralled him has become a
+thing of terror. The soft, pulpy, growing things that crushed beneath
+his feet were a menace in their lust for life.
+
+They were a mile and more from the machine. Could they ever find it,
+Jerry wondered. The whole landscape was changed; bare rocks were
+half-hidden now under clinging, creeping vines. Only the sun remained
+as a guide. They must go toward the sun and a little north.
+
+He followed Winslow, who was circling a huge area of weird growths
+that already were waist high. They leaped across a gaping chasm and
+fought their way over a low hill, rank with vegetation, only to be
+confronted by a maze of great stalks--stalks that sprouted as they
+watched, dismayed, and threw out grotesque and awkward branches.
+
+They made one futile effort to force their way, but the trunks, though
+pliant, were unyielding. To attempt to find their way through the
+labyrinth was folly.
+
+"We've got to keep on trying," said Jerry Foster. "We've got to get
+back, or...."
+
+Winslow, as the look in his eyes showed, needed no ending to that
+sentence. There was the summer of a lunar day ahead; the inventor did
+not need to be told of the scorching, broiling heat that would wither
+the land when the sun struck from straight overhead. And in their ship
+was food and water and a means of transport to the cooler heights
+above.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was Jerry who took charge of the situation. Here was a prodigious
+laboratory in which Winslow's science was useless, but in fighting
+with nature--even nature in as weird and terrifying a mood as
+this--Jerry felt himself not entirely incompetent.
+
+He looked about him. It had been but an hour since they watched the
+first onslaught of this life that engulfed them. And now they were cut
+off. Through an opening, where bare rocks made a rift in the
+vegetation, he saw again the high ground where they had stood. There
+was more rock there on the volcanic slope: the growing things were in
+clumps--islands, rather than continents of rank growth.
+
+"We must go back," he told Winslow, "and climb while we can. Get to
+the high ground, take bearings on the place where we left the ship.
+We'll look over the ground and figure some way to get there."
+
+Winslow nodded. He was plainly bewildered, lost in the new jungle. He
+followed Jerry, who bounded across a crevice in the earth. The ground
+was rotten with the honeycomb of caves and cracks.
+
+Jerry forced his way through and over a rock heap, where the thick
+trunks of nightmare trees were spaced farther apart. There was an
+opening ahead; he started forward, then stopped abruptly and motioned
+the other to silence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From beyond there came sounds. There was rending of soft, pliant
+tissue. The sound came through the thin air from a grove up ahead,
+where big plants were waving, though the wind had long since ceased.
+To their ears came a snoring, blubbering snuffle. A stone was
+dislodged, to come bounding toward them from the hillside; the soft
+plants were flattened before it. The men cowered in the shelter of a
+giant fungus.
+
+Beyond the rocks, above the mottled reds and yellows of the grotesque
+trees, a head appeared. It waved at the end of a long, leathery neck.
+All mouth, it seemed to the watchers, as they saw a pair of short
+forelegs pull the succulent tops of the giant growth into a capacious
+maw. Below, there was visible a part of a gigantic, grayish body. It
+was crashing down toward them, eating greedily as it came.
+
+"Back," said Jerry softly. "Go back to that cave. We will hide there
+in some crack in the ground."
+
+They picked their way noiselessly over the rocks. The cave they had
+crossed offered a refuge from the beast. It went slantingly down into
+the ground, a great tunnel, deep in the rock. They dropped into the
+opening and started forward, only to recoil at the fetid stench that
+assailed their nostrils.
+
+"A bear pit," gasped Jerry. "Great Heavens! What a smell!"
+
+They stopped, dismayed. Far below them in the bowels of some
+subterranean passage was the crashing of loose stone; a scrambling and
+scratching of great claws came echoing to them. They leaped madly for
+the outer air.
+
+"Over here," Jerry directed, and led the way, crouching, to the
+concealment of great stalks and vine-covered rocks. He pointed toward
+the open ground where they had been a few moments before. The
+tree-eater was out in full view. Its flabby, barrel-like body was
+squatted like that of some unearthly, giant toad, on massive hind
+legs. It sat erect, its forelegs hung in air, as a hoarse, snarling
+cry came from the cave. The great head, perched on the long leathery
+neck, waved from side to side.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The noise from the cave ceased. The rift in the earth was in plain
+sight from where they cowered, and the eyes of the men were upon it.
+One instant it was empty; the next, in uncanny silence, it was filled
+with huge hideousness--an enormous, crouching beast.
+
+It was black, a dull leathery black. Its thick, hairless hide hung in
+creases and folds on a gaunt frame. Shorter than the tree-eater, it
+was still a thing of mammoth ugliness. Its hind legs were powerful and
+armed with claws that curved deep into the earth; its front legs
+displayed the same fearful weapons. A thick, heavy tail slashed
+forward and back over the ground. And from this to the grinning,
+heavy-toothed jaws and beady eyes where the long neck ended in a warty
+head, it was an incarnation of pitiless ferocity.
+
+Was the scent of the hidden, shuddering men in its red nostrils? It
+forgot them at the sight of the beast in the clearing. The snarling
+cry echoed hideously in the thin air as the frightful body came erect
+with neck extended, jaws open and dripping. It hurled itself through
+the air in one terrific leap.
+
+Had there been any lingering hope in the minds of the men that they
+had no carnivores to deal with, the ensuing struggle ended it. The
+attacker tore great masses of living flesh from the struggling,
+screaming body. The first cumbersome brute was helpless before its
+destroyer.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jerry was trembling and sick at the sight, but he grasped his
+companion's arm and drew him after as he slipped quietly away.
+
+"To the high ground," he whispered. "It's our only hope. Perhaps we
+can fight them off there--find some steep rock we can climb." They
+worked their way desperately through the rubbery, obstructing growth.
+
+At the foot of the hill there was better going; the bare rock gave
+winding and twisting passage to the heights. They could have leaped
+over the stunted growths here, could have raced frantically for the
+high ground, but they dared not. To leap up into view of those fierce,
+searching eyes! It was unthinkable. They crouched low as they darted
+from their concealment to new shelter, and crawled behind rocks when
+open ground must be crossed.
+
+They had dared regain hope when again the paralyzing scream ripped
+through the silence. It was answered by another and another from
+distant points. The valley of the caves was spewing out its loathsome
+dwellers from their winter's sleep.
+
+The men raced openly now for the heights. As he leaped, Jerry turned
+to see over one shoulder a pursuer appear. It was one of the
+flesh-eaters, head to the ground on their trail. At sight of them its
+cry rang out again. It bounded forward in pursuit. And again there
+were answering screams from the jungle growth.
+
+The men threw themselves frantically up the mountainside. Once Winslow
+landed in a sprawling heap and groaned as he drew himself to his feet.
+The beast was below them. Jerry seized a great boulder, whose
+earth-weight would have made it immovable. He raised it above his head
+and sent it crashing down the slope.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Another and another he threw. One struck the great beast in mid-air;
+it was pure luck that drove the stone crashing against the creature's
+head. It fell back with a blood-chilling snarl that was half shriek.
+Another monster appeared, to throw itself upon the first and tear at
+the crushed, waving head.
+
+Jerry took his companion by the arm. His voice came strangled from his
+straining lungs. "Are you hurt?" he gasped. "Can you run?"
+
+Winslow nodded breathlessly. Again they gathered themselves for their
+wild, leaping retreat toward the top. An uproar of furious fighting
+behind them marked where a score of the monsters had gathered for the
+feast.
+
+Jerry watched vainly for some refuge, some pinnacle of rock or
+precipice they could climb, and from which they could beat down their
+attackers. There was nothing but the welter of volcanic waste: rock
+heaps and boulders and smooth streams of solid lava. Perhaps in the
+crater, he thought, over the ragged crest of the cone, might be some
+place of safety.
+
+The pack was in full cry again as they climbed gaspingly to the top.
+Beyond lay the funnel-shaped crater. Its vast inner slopes were less
+steep than the hill they had climbed. They were covered with a jungle,
+like those they had seen--a maze of red toadstools and distorted
+trees.
+
+Jerry turned savagely to face the oncoming brutes. This, he knew, was
+the end. For this they had hurled themselves through space--to make a
+morning morsel for these incredible beasts.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+About the men was a confusion of granite rocks, thrown from the crater
+to provide weapons, crude and futile, for two puny earth-dwellers. The
+men raised great rocks in the air and threw them with all their
+strength. Jerry struggled with a mammoth boulder,--Winslow leaping to
+his aid. They toppled it over to start an avalanche of devastation
+that swept into the oncoming monsters.
+
+And again there was respite for their aching arms, while the
+hunger-crazed brutes tore at the bruised bodies of their fellows.
+
+Jerry Foster looked longingly again toward the crater. Should they
+chance the shelter of the jungle growth? Hopeless, he knew when these
+monsters could crash their way through while the men were impeded at
+every step. The mottled, orange-green stalks, as he watched them,
+seemed to move. He dashed the sweat from his face--his hair hung
+matted on his forehead--and passed a grimy hand across his eyes.
+Plainly, one of those stalks crossed a rocky-floored clearing.
+
+Was he dreaming? Was this all a dream--a mad nightmare from which he
+could force himself to wake? Another moved. He saw definitely a
+mushroom growth pass swiftly to lose itself in a neighboring clump.
+Dreaming? No! The screams from behind him and Winslow's hoarse yell
+proved the stark reality of his surroundings.
+
+The vile creatures were close: Jerry could see their fierce heads
+dripping with blood. He reached for his pistol, knew instantly it was
+useless against these mammoth brutes, and joined Winslow, who was
+straining desperately at another great rock. It toppled and fell.
+Jerry hurled himself at a heap of smaller boulders and sent them
+crashing as fast as he could seize them and throw.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One quick look behind him showed still the impossible vision he had
+seen. And now there were figures--a mob of them--figures that threw
+off their wrappings of vegetation as they ran, cast to the ground the
+toadstool disguises that they held. They were caricatures of men that
+were swarming up the hill....
+
+He swung again in one last hopeless stand against the first horrible
+enemy. The two men poured a torrent of stones down the slope; they
+were useless, except for their delaying the advance. The beasts leaped
+and dodged. They were close when the rock-rain increased to a deluge.
+
+Jerry was fighting in a red haze through which he saw dimly. He was
+aware of the hailstorm of boulders that were thick in the air. He saw
+vaguely the white faces and copper-clad bodies of strange men leaping
+about him, and he heard the wild bedlam of their shrieks as they
+joined in the mad battle against the common enemy.
+
+The beasts were swept off in a landslide of loose rock--all but one.
+Above them, on a high point of stone, it was crouching to spring. A
+wild human figure, its flesh white as chalk, leaped forward with a
+tangle of fibers. The tangle was thrown as the brute was in air. A net
+spread and wrapped around the monster. It fell, clawing and tearing,
+to roll helplessly down the slope.
+
+The battle was won. Jerry swayed drunkenly on his feet. About him the
+mountains seemed whirling, where unreal figures of men with dead
+white skin and shining copper armor danced dizzily.
+
+He met for an instant the look from Winslow's dazed eyes. Out of the
+past a picture flashed clearly: Winslow--this same Winslow--arguing
+that the moon might hold mysteries still. He laughed thickly.
+
+"And I said it was all known," he muttered through slack lips.
+"Nothing on the moon that wasn't known...."
+
+He was still laughing in a wild inebriation as a net settled close to
+entangle his swaying figure and bear him helpless to the ground. He
+saw Winslow similarly bound, saw him lifted to the shoulders of
+shouting, yelling men, whose stupid, pasty faces were wide-eyed with
+excitement.
+
+He, too, was raised into the air.... They were being carried toward
+the crater's mouth....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A fight for life in thin air does not make for clear thinking. Jerry
+Foster knew only that a nightmare world was whirling about him; that
+beneath him powerful shoulders supported, while the one who carried
+him leaped at racing speed down the slope.
+
+They went more slowly down pathways cleared through the rank
+vegetation. Soft, pulpy vines from the grotesque trees brushed his
+face. He tried vaguely to shield himself, but his hands were bound
+fast. He was helpless in the entangling folds of the net.
+
+The touch of cold stone brought him to his senses. He was lying on
+smooth rock. They were in a clearing. He turned his head to find
+Winslow, but could not find him.
+
+Across the open ground were naked men, their bodies, like these
+others, dead white in the sun's glare. They were dragging giant stalks
+to earth by means of ropes. Trunks and branches, bright in their
+colors of yellow and orange and flaming red, were hacked to short
+lengths and piled on all sides. The workers, as Jerry watched,
+dropped their implements to race toward him. There was a press of
+flat, white faces above. His captors, in their copper armor, beat the
+newcomers back. The babel of chattering voices was deafening.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Again he was lifted into the air--plainly these were no weaklings he
+had to deal with--and again the warrior band surrounded him as the
+march was resumed. The milling, shrieking crowd of workers followed in
+an ear-splitting mob.
+
+The forest ended, and the men went slowly now down smooth, rocky
+slopes to stop upon a wide, level expanse. Before he was placed on the
+ground Jerry had a glimpse of a funnel-shaped pit--the mouth of the
+extinct volcano. And toward it, bound and helpless, was being carried
+a struggling form which he thought he recognized.
+
+"Winslow!" he shouted. But the bodies in their gleaming copper armor
+closed about him in a solid throng and cut off his view.
+
+In the sky the sun had moved slowly upward since first they landed. It
+slanted brightly now into the eyes of the prostrate man and made a
+spectacle of his twisting contortions as he tried to get his hands on
+his knife in its sheath at his belt. This and his pistol were under
+his coat. But he could not reach them. He lay panting with his
+exertions.
+
+One of the warriors seemed to have authority, for his arms alone of
+all the group were sheathed with copper circlets, and the others
+obeyed his orders. Jerry addressed himself to this one. He knew the
+words were unintelligible, but he pleaded desperately for a chance.
+
+"Take this off," he said. "We are friendly--friends--friends!" He
+struggled to keep himself from shouting, to keep his voice under
+control. "The other man," he said, "bring him back." And again he
+repeated: "We are friends."
+
+He scanned his captors' faces.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The pasty face above him was impassive; the eyes stared
+uncomprehendingly into his. Then the figure barked an order. One of
+the warriors swung Jerry lightly to his shoulder, and started toward
+the pit.
+
+At its edge was a basket, a huge affair of knotted fiber ropes. Dimly,
+Jerry saw other baskets standing about: they were filled with the
+fragments of fungus. Still bound, he was placed in the empty
+container. Hands grasped the meshes, and he was swung out over the
+edge. A rope was above him: he was lowered steadily into the dark
+shaft.
+
+Jerry breathed a sigh of relief. This was not death--not yet. And
+Winslow? Safe, perhaps, for he had traveled this same road.
+
+There was figures outlined above against the circle of light, figures
+that clambered like apes down swaying ropes. The light glinted and
+sparkled from their shining armor. His escort was still with him.
+
+The circle of light changed to a glowing ring, where only the rim was
+lighted. Above was the deep black of the lunar sky. Then the circle
+faded to a mere point as he went down into the pit.
+
+The rope basket came to rest upon a rock floor, and Jerry was lifted
+out. He saw plainly the figures about him, and he wondered vaguely at
+the light that came from the walls of the cavern. There were long
+lines of soft light, leading off into the dark, lines that marked
+plainly a labyrinth of passageways, leading in all directions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Beyond a narrow entrance was one brighter than the rest, a broad
+avenue that led downward still further into the depths. Here he was
+carried. He tried vainly to keep some mental map of their course. He
+would return some day--he _must_ return--he and Winslow. They would
+escape.... But the passage turned and twisted; there were many
+branching corridors, each with its lines of light. Jerry gave up the
+attempt. It was a maze of serpentine streets beyond his power to
+remember and recall.
+
+Before him the passage was still wider. It was opening into a great
+room.... Jerry found himself upon the floor. He strained cruelly at
+the cords about his head as he twisted and turned to get a view of his
+surroundings.
+
+The room was a cave, its vast vaulted ceiling sprung high above a
+level floor, where the figures of men--odd, plaster-white figures like
+animated statues--were small in the distance. His eyes were drawn
+quickly to the brilliant glow of the farther wall. There was the
+bright black of basaltic formation, and in it--though he knew the
+impossibility--was shining the sun.
+
+Jerry blinked his eyes to look again and again; the golden circle was
+dazzling. It was set at a point well above the smooth floor, and up to
+it there led a sloping pathway of gold. It was as if they had indeed
+captured their god, these worshipers of the sun, had captured and held
+it for the adoration of the grovelling people.
+
+Jerry saw them upon the floor. The copper of the armored men gleamed
+bright in the glow from beyond, as they abased themselves and crept
+slowly toward the light. At each side of the dazzling orb was a
+platform. There were figures upon it, seated figures, Jerry saw, even
+at a distance, that were robed in vestments of the sun. Their forms
+gleamed gold in the light.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The leader that Jerry had noted among his captors crept on in advance
+of his men. From among the bright figures on the platform above one
+rose to extend a glowing arm. He spoke, and the tones rolled
+majestically back from the high vault above. The crawling man below
+him stopped rigidly where he was. Another word from above, and he rose
+slowly to his feet. He stood full in the glow of the captive sun, to
+be outlined in black against the brilliance beyond.
+
+Haltingly he spoke. Then, seeming to gain confidence, he launched into
+a torrent of words. He gestured and waved, and, to Foster, the sign
+language was plain. He saw reenacted the surprise of the warriors upon
+beholding these intruders; saw how they had spied out upon them, using
+trunks and branches of the fungus as a screen; saw in pantomime their
+own battle with the beasts, then the rush of the armed men to the
+rescue. Again the net was thrown, and the gesturing figure turned to
+point dramatically where Jerry lay bound, then pounded his armored
+chest with unconcealed pride.
+
+He ceased to speak, and there was utter silence in the room as the
+figure above crossed to stand before the golden sun. He too abased
+himself before the sign of their god, then rose, to stand motionless,
+listening....
+
+For a breathless interval he waited before the oracle, then prostrated
+himself again and returned to his place.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He repeated, it seemed, a command, congratulation, to judge by the
+ecstasy of the figure below. The warrior turned once to throw himself
+before the image of the sun; he repeated this again and yet again
+before he crept back to his fellows. The group arose and rushed
+swiftly toward the bound man.
+
+They brought him quickly into the presence. With scant ceremony Jerry
+was unrolled from the net; he lay free and gasping upon the floor. The
+men scurried like mad from out the pathway of light that shone down
+from the false sun. Jerry rose to his feet; the brilliance before him
+almost blinded, but he saw now whence it came.
+
+There was a hollow in the wall, a great parabola, deep and wide, and
+it was lined throughout with beaten gold. In a straight path the light
+was reflected from every point--every point but one for at the far
+end, where the curved sides joined, was a circle of darkness. It
+stared like an eye, evil, portentous. Jerry nerved himself for an
+ordeal, unknown but imminent. The black eye glared at him unwinkingly.
+
+Before him was the pathway of light: it shone brilliantly down the
+sloping ramp where a floor of bright gold led up to the sun god
+itself.
+
+The figure on the dais raised its hand. Jerry heard the words come
+from its lips and roll sonorously back from above. The figure waited
+for an answer.
+
+Jerry's hands slipped beneath his coat to rest reassuringly upon his
+weapons. He withdrew his hands empty and raised one toward the figure
+above.
+
+"I do not understand your words," he said. "Your language is strange.
+No doubt mine is as strange to you. I come as a visitor--I am
+friendly." He held out both his hands, palms upward.
+
+"We have come, my friend and myself, on a friendly errand." He paused
+to look vainly about for Winslow. "And you have received us as if we
+were wild animals."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jerry Foster, of San Francisco, U. S. A., was suddenly resentful of
+their treatment. His words were meaningless, but his tones were not.
+"You have tied us," he said, "bound us--dragged us before you. Is that
+the way you receive your guests from another world?"
+
+The golden-clad figure stood in majestic silence while Jerry was
+speaking. It waited a moment after his outburst, then crossed again to
+bow low in the floodlight of gold. As before, it seemed listening to
+words from the black heart of the strange sun, words quite
+inaudible--soundless. He returned quickly and waved Jerry's attention
+to the place of light.
+
+The sense of a presence there in the central blackness was strong upon
+the waiting man. In that other life that now seemed so remote--his
+life on earth--Jerry had once felt the threat of a concealed intruder
+in the dark. He recalled it vividly now. The sensation was the same.
+
+But it was magnified. There was no denying the reality of a malign
+something at the heart of that golden glow. The black center of it
+vibrated with cold and venomous hate. It struck upon the waiting man
+like a physical force. His head was swimming, his thoughts refused to
+form. He was as if suspended in a great void, where all that was lay
+deep in the center of that radiant orb. And it drew him irresistibly
+on.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Like a dazed bird, held and stricken in the hypnotic gaze of a snake,
+Jerry took one stiff, unconscious forward step. Another, and another.
+He strove dumbly, helplessly, for realization--there was nothing in
+the universe but the certain thing ahead.
+
+His foot was upon the golden incline leading to his doom, when that
+buried something which marks a man--the spark of divinity which sets
+him apart as one alone--reasserted itself.
+
+"I am," he heard his own voice shouting in strangled tones, "I am
+Jerry Foster! I am I ... I am myself!"
+
+He awoke from his stupor with a shock that set every nerve-fiber
+quivering. For long minutes he stood silent. Then, realizing his
+victory and proving it to his own soul, he looked straight into the
+black center of the threatening sun god, and he laughed, loudly and
+contemptuously. Then, turning, and with steady stride, he walked
+calmly from the light.
+
+The great hall was silent with a silence that was breathless. Then
+pandemonium broke lose. The priests and the god had been defied, and
+screaming and shouts rang throughout the vast chamber to re-echo
+batteringly from ceiling and walls. There was tumult and confusion
+where the populace thronged. Even the figures above on the dais were
+milling about in disorder; the rippling gold of their robes made a
+spectacle that forced Jerry's involuntary admiration.
+
+Then one from among them sprang forward. His voice roared above the
+shattering din. The room was still. Another order, and the guard of
+armed fighting men formed in a circle about the defier of their god.
+
+Jerry waited. Trouble was about due, he told himself. One hand was on
+his pistol, tense and ready. As the ranks stood silent and made no
+move to attack, Jerry Foster did a curious thing.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It was not done intentionally, but Jerry Foster had nerves, and they
+had been under a strain. His hand went unconsciously to his pocket and
+extracted a cigarette. There were matches there, too, and he struck
+one and lighted the white cylinder. The match made a tiny flame where
+he flipped it.
+
+The whole room whispered and hissed with one loud gasp of amazement,
+but the moan that followed, that echoed and resounded from the roof,
+was of nothing but horror. Even the warriors drew back in trembling
+dismay. And before them the stranger they had brought to the very
+portal of their sanctum of holies blew clouds of white smoke that
+eddied and whirled as they rose round his head.
+
+The effect was not lost upon Jerry. And his mind was working. Was fire
+unknown to these strange beings? Here in the deep caverns, far from
+the surface, was fire a thing of terror to them? He looked back toward
+the wall.
+
+"If they rush me," he thought, "there's a good place to be. That will
+feel mighty comfortable at my back."
+
+He walked slowly, the smoke rising thick about his head. The
+copper-clad figures before him withdrew, the ranks parting to let him
+through. Unharmed he reached the safety of the wall. The enemy now
+formed a semi-circle before him.
+
+The inertia of the stricken beings on the platform was broken by his
+move. Again their head priest gave an order; from another side a
+second detachment of armed men came on. They were carrying something.
+Jerry leaned forward in quivering preparedness as he saw, in the
+floodlight of radiance, the body of Winslow lying on the floor.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Was he injured? Dead? The devastating loneliness that swept him at the
+sight of the still body was unnerving. He breathed a long sigh of
+relief as the lanky figure rose slowly to its feet. Winslow was alive!
+They would show these beastly, unearthly humans something yet.
+
+There was no preparation--no preliminaries. Whether Winslow could have
+reacted as Jerry had would never be known. He seemed stunned and
+helpless, and it was with no resisting hesitation that he began the
+climb to the unknown.
+
+Jerry's crouching tenseness snapped. No thought of the gun as he
+sprang toward the enemy between him and his friend. "No, Winslow--no!"
+he shouted as he leaped at the figures in front of him.
+
+Their strength had seemed startling to Jerry when they had carried him
+like a child. He had forgotten his lightness here on this unheavy
+world. And he had forgotten his own great strength.
+
+No panting, exhausted, beaten fighter of beasts was this that hurled
+himself against the ranks before him. One coppery sword flashed upward
+above his head. Its bearer was seized in two hands that picked him
+bodily from the floor and crashed him, a living projectile, among the
+others. Jerry waited for no more. There was an opening ahead, and
+beyond was Winslow, walking stiffly, certainly, up that damnable
+slope. He threw himself in giant leaps across the floor.
+
+His companion was half-way up the glittering ramp when Jerry seized
+him. Holding him in his arms, he leaped outward, to land rolling on
+the floor. He was on his feet in an instant. He dragged Winslow to a
+standing posture.
+
+"Wake up, man," he was shouting. "Winslow--wake up!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The onrushing horde was upon them while the tall man was still
+brushing his hand over weary eyes, and Jerry, for the moment, had the
+fighting to himself.
+
+No time for anything but parry and strike. He caught one white face on
+the jaw; the man went bodily through the air. Jerry landed again and
+again. His weapons were his fists, and they did fearful execution. And
+he knew, at length, that he was not alone.
+
+The long arms of the inventor tore a sword from an upraised hand. Its
+owner was thrown, as Jerry had thrown one previously, to catapult
+among its fellows.
+
+They were clear for an instant. "Back to the wall!" shouted Jerry. He
+had time and room to reach for his pistol, and drew it quickly from
+its holster. They backed hastily to the protection of the stone wall.
+There were scores upon scores of copper-clad figures that followed
+them held out of reach. With a flashing of gold, the head priest
+himself sprang to urge on his men.
+
+"Ready!" said Jerry. "I wish you had a gun! Here! Take this!" He
+handed his companion a long-bladed knife, then turned to aim his
+pistol with steady hand at the oncoming figure in golden robes.
+
+The priest stopped for a brief scrutiny of this new menace, then
+screamed out an order and hurled himself into the sheltering press of
+men.
+
+Jerry fired into the whirl of bodies. The roar of the forty-five tore
+like a battery of siege guns throughout the great room. But the
+creatures before them were fighting now in an insane frenzy. Their
+bodies pressed the two men to the wall. Jerry fired again, and the
+fall of a limp, gold-robed body gave him a thrill of delight.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The inventor was holding a white body as a shield, while he thrust
+past it incessantly with a red blade. There were huddled figures
+before them that lay quiet or crept painfully away. The body of the
+head priest was being carried off.
+
+The dark mouth of a passage had impressed itself upon Jerry; he
+remembered it now. It offered a means of escape.
+
+"Off to your right," he said. "Work off to your right. There's a hole
+in the wall--"
+
+They fought off the struggling eruption of bodies that drove at them.
+Jerry was saving his ammunition, but once more he fired as a sword was
+falling over Winslow's head. He drove strongly with his left and beat
+at the white skulls with the butt of the gun gripped in his other
+hand.
+
+The passage was suddenly behind them. One last stand against the
+screaming, frothing faces, and they backed, panting, into the
+sheltering dark. Jerry stopped and took Winslow by the arm.
+
+"Are you hurt?" he demanded. The inventor was too breathless for
+reply.
+
+"Nothing much," he panted, after a moment. "One got me along the
+cheek--you shot him just in time. How about you?"
+
+"O.K.," was the assurance. "But, man, I've been hammered!"
+
+"What a peach of a fight," he added. "But now what?"
+
+Winslow laughed mirthlessly in the dark. "This looks like a one-way
+street," he said. "We can't go back.
+
+"Say," he demanded, with sudden, dim recollection. "I remember
+something of a dream--a ghastly sort of thing. I was ... I was ...
+where was I when you collared me? Where was I headed?"
+
+"For something too damnable for us to imagine," Jerry stated
+emphatically.
+
+They were walking as rapidly as they dared through the dark passage.
+There were high-pitched voices from the rear. From somewhere ahead
+came the sound of running water.
+
+"Too damnable to imagine!" he repeated. "But we'll hunt the vile thing
+out if we get a chance, and we'll slaughter--"
+
+The words ended in a startled exclamation as the ground fell beneath
+their feet. They pitched headlong into nothingness--
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was water in Jerry's face as he fell. A torrent engulfed him as
+he struck into it, pouring in from a lower passageway to plunge
+straight down the shaft. The roaring crash of water tore madly at his
+body; his arm was shot through with stabbing pain as Winslow's falling
+body was torn from his grasp.
+
+He was conscious only of his bursting lungs when he came to the
+surface from the depths into which he plunged. With one arm he swam
+weakly, the other trailing at his side, while he gulped greedily at
+the air.
+
+A voice came hoarsely from a distance. "Foster," it called.
+"Jerry--where are you, Jerry?"
+
+Ah, the good air in his lungs--he could swim more strongly now. He
+managed to gasp an answer: "Here, Winslow, over here!" There was a
+splashing in response to his voice. He heard it over the noise of the
+waters he had been swept away from the cataract.
+
+A hand was upon him in the dark. "Hurt?" asked the welcome voice. "Can
+you swim, Jerry?"
+
+"A little. One arm's working."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The hands fumbled over him quickly, and his good arm was drawn over
+the other's back. "Hang on," Winslow told him. "I can swim. I'm half
+fish."
+
+Jerry clung to the folds of the coat. He was light in the water, he
+felt--riding high--and the man beside him was swimming with strong
+strokes. He released his hold on the other as he felt strength ebbing
+back into his body.
+
+"I can paddle," he said: "but stick around. Where are we going?"
+
+"In a circle, probably," was the reply, "though I'm trying to hold a
+straight course. How big is this lake, I wonder?"
+
+They swam slowly, saving their strength, but it was a time that seemed
+like endless hours before the answer to Winslow's question was found.
+Jerry was fighting weakly, exhausted, and the hand supporting him was
+failing when they felt sharp rocks against their dragging feet. The
+hand that had held him still clung tightly to his shoulder as they
+struggled upward and fell together where great rocks gave safety in
+the darkness. In his arm the sharp pain had dwindled to numbness;
+Jerry Foster asked only for sleep.
+
+There was light about him when he awoke. In his stupor he had found
+again the surroundings he knew so well--the clash and clatter of a
+distant city--the roaring traffic--signals, and glowing lights. He
+came slowly back to unwelcome reality. The light was there, but it
+shone in luminous lines along the wall to illumine the hateful
+familiarity of the honeycombed rock that composed the moon.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+It showed, too, a familiar figure, breathing heavily where it lay on
+the far side of the small room. Winslow's face was pale in the dull
+light, and his eyes were closed. He was on a thick pallet of soft
+fibers and across his body a cloth was spread, shot through with gold
+in strange designs.
+
+Jerry Foster threw aside a robe of the same material that covered him.
+He stifled an involuntary word as a twinge of pain shot through his
+arm, then crossed noiselessly to shake softly at the shoulder of the
+sleeping man. Winslow, too, came slowly from his sleep of complete
+exhaustion, but his eyes were clear when they opened.
+
+"Where are--" he began a question, but Jerry's hand was pressed
+quickly against his lips.
+
+They stared slowly about. The room that held them was in the natural
+rock, but whether hewn out by hands or a natural formation they could
+not tell. The rock was rotten with perforations, through which air
+flowed in a cool stream.
+
+Jerry came softly to his feet to feel cautiously of the glowing,
+luminous mounds along the wall. They were spread upon a ledge. The
+light was cold to his touch, the material like fine soil in his hands.
+
+"Fluorescent," whispered Winslow. "Calcium sulphide, possibly; I saw
+them spreading it above ground in the sun. It absorbs light and gives
+it off slowly." Jerry nodded; the source of the endless glowing lines
+had been puzzling to him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Their whispers ceased at a sound beyond a doorway. In the opening a
+figure appeared, tall and erect, the figure of a girl. Her face was
+white like the others of these whose lives were lived below the
+surface, but there was a kindly softness in the eyes, a refinement and
+intelligence of no low order, that contrasted with the cold eyes of
+the warriors and the priests. Not beautiful, perhaps, by earth
+standards, yet it required no straining of chivalry on Jerry's part to
+find her human and lovely.
+
+In silence the men stood staring. Then Foster, with unconscious
+gentleness, made a revealing gesture. This woman--this girl--had saved
+them. He knew it without words, and he was wordless to reply. He
+dropped swiftly to his knees and pressed a bit of the golden robe
+against his lips.
+
+A flush of scarlet swept across the white face and receded. The hand
+dropped from its startled poise and rested, gently, questioningly, on
+the brown head bent before her.
+
+She murmured unintelligible words in a guarded voice as Jerry arose.
+"Marahna," she said, and touched her breast lightly. "Marahna." Her
+head was erect, the whole attitude imperious, commanding. She
+questioned them with swift, liquid words. The men shook their heads in
+utter incomprehension.
+
+Again she spoke, and again they shook their heads. Jerry felt foolish
+and dumb. He took his turn at questioning, and this time, with a
+trace of a smile, it was the girl's turn to shake her head. She had
+mastered one sign at least.
+
+Pointing toward the great hall they knew was somewhere above, she
+reenacted the scene there; she evidently knew what had transpired. And
+now Jerry nodded in confirmation. That she approved of the part they
+had played was evident.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now she questioned whence they had come. She pointed down, and her
+fluttering hands and graceful posture spoke eloquently. She showed
+them more than a trace of fear, too, as she marked them coming from
+the depths. Jerry shook his head in vehement denial.
+
+He pointed above, spread his hands wide, tried as best he could to
+indicate vast distance beyond. She stared, wide-eyed, then in her turn
+knelt as if before a god.
+
+"She thinks we have come down from the sun," Winslow surmised. "Well,
+let it go at that." But Jerry Foster was embarrassed in the strange
+role of a god; he raised the humbled, kneeling young woman to her
+feet.
+
+He pointed to her gold-clad figure and repeated the name she had
+given. "Marahna," he said. "Marahna!" Then, placing his hand on his
+companion, he repeated: "Winslow--Winslow!" And, pointing to himself,
+he completed the introduction with: "Foster, Jerry--Jerry Foster!"
+
+The pale lips formed themselves slowly to the strange and unaccustomed
+sounds.
+
+"Cherrie," she repeated, and smiled in comprehension. "Cherrie."
+
+This was the first of many lessons, and it was amazing to both men how
+rapidly they learned to get their thoughts across. In turn, they
+learned to read the messages that the slim hands and graceful,
+undulating body conveyed. Even words were linked one by one with their
+indicated objects and meanings.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+One syllable the girl used only in a hushed and awe-stricken tone. It
+was "Oong" that she whispered, while her eyes filled with terror and
+dread. And they knew this for the name of the horror that waited in
+the black center of that unholy place where the pathway of light
+ascended. It was later that they learned to read hatred as well as
+sheer terror in the emotions that the word _Oong_ aroused.
+
+The first lesson ended in a soft exclamation from the girl. She
+withdrew, to return in a moment with a beaker of hammered gold, filled
+with cold water. In her hands, too, were strange fruits and branches
+of fungus. She ate bits of them to show they were food. And Jerry, as
+he watched her, was aware that he was famished. But the two men ate
+sparingly at first of the strange food.
+
+It was tasteless, they found, except for an elusive flavor, but the
+reception of the food in their gnawing stomachs was satisfactory.
+Their strength was returning, and with it came hope of release. The
+moon-people, evidently, were not altogether villainous.
+
+"Thank you," said Jerry in a normal tone, "that was--" White fingers
+trembled against his lips to enforce silence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The girl listened intently, then stole softly out into the corridor
+from which she had come. She motioned the men to follow, and pointed
+there in the dim light to a far room.
+
+There were others, they saw; a group of young women lying at ease on
+their pallets, or moving slowly about. The need for quiet was
+apparent, more so when the figure of a man appeared as they watched.
+Quickly the girl, Marahna, stepped before them and motioned them back
+to their room.
+
+She followed and glanced quickly about. In the farther wall was an
+opening, close to the floor, and low, but they managed to work their
+way through at her silent command. A passage, much like the others,
+lay beyond. It widened and grew higher, until they could stand erect.
+Back in the circle of light they saw, for a moment, the man, bowing
+low in respect before Marahna. He carried a basket of light that shone
+brightly in the room.
+
+"Replenishing the supply of sulphide," whispered Winslow.
+
+A current of air came cool and refreshing from a branching tunnel in
+the rock. There was no lack of ventilation, as they well knew,
+throughout all the tortuous passages, but this came with a scent of
+outdoors that set both men a-tingle with hope. Jerry forgot even the
+dull ache in his arm as he breathed deep of this messenger from the
+outside.
+
+But exploration must wait. They needed to rest, to learn and to plan.
+They returned when Marahna called softly from the room.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Time had lost all its meaning. They could only guess at the hours that
+had passed since the hour they left their ship, could only make
+unanswered surmises as to where was the sun or how much was left of
+the long lunar day. They must escape--they would escape--but their one
+stroke for freedom must not be made when darkness and paralyzing cold
+should force them back into the hands of the enemy tribes.
+
+Marahna was with them much of the time, and always they struggled and
+strove with desperate concentration to grasp at the meanings of the
+thoughts she tried to convey. And they learned much.
+
+Of the passage they believed they had found out to the surface, she
+knew little. But she showed them, with doubt in her face, that there
+was almost hopeless struggle along that path to the freedom above.
+Sadly she touched Jerry's injured arm, and she shook her head in
+dejection.
+
+The arm had had a bad wrench, Jerry found. No fracture, but the
+muscles and ligaments had been painfully torn. But Jerry set his teeth
+firm at the thought of a possible escape.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Once, peering along the dark passage that led to the room where the
+others had been seen, the men noticed the deep bows that unfailingly
+marked the entrance of Marahna. They questioned her and learned that
+here was royalty among the people of the moon. This, as they
+considered the proud poise of her head and her whole attitude of
+unassuming superiority was not entirely surprising. But they marveled
+the more at the truth that she finally made plain to them.
+
+Marahna, she told them, as plainly as if she were speaking in their
+own tongue, Marahna was chosen for death. And her white face was
+pitiful and her eyes full of horror as she enacted for them the slow
+march she must take up the long golden slope and into the horror that
+waited.
+
+"A sacrifice to that god!" Jerry spoke with dismay. "No, no!" But the
+face of the Princess Marahna of the moon people was unutterably sad
+with unspoken thoughts as she touched her breast with one slender
+finger, then indicated the outer room and showed there were two there
+beside herself who were to go.
+
+"Help us to get out," Jerry begged, and with fierce eagerness he
+showed them going through the passage to the outside. "We will come
+back, and we will find some way to end all this damnable thing."
+
+She gave them to understand the time that was left. The sun, she
+showed, was long past the meridian and was on its return. The day was
+now reaching a close. And then, as the sun set, the great sacrifice
+would be made--had always been made--to insure the return of their
+god.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Their watches were useless, for the water had entered their cases. The
+two men waited what they judged was the length of a day, while Jerry
+tried to believe that his arm was improving. Then, putting a small
+supply of food in their pockets, they were ready for the attempt.
+
+Jerry saw that his gun and knife were ready at his belt, and patted a
+pocket where his matches were safe in their watertight container. The
+prospect of escape almost unnerved him. To breathe the clear air; to
+stand in the radiant light of the sun--he could understand now how
+these people made a god of the sun. He turned to Marahna.
+
+"Good-by," he said, "but not for long. We'll be back. And we'll save
+you, Marahna, we'll save you. Winslow will figure some way to do
+it.... We'll be back...."
+
+The girl was silent. She touched Jerry's arm, and shook her head
+slowly, doubtfully.
+
+He reached for the hand. It trembled, he felt, in his. The impulse to
+take the slim form within his arms, to hold her close, was strong upon
+him. Would he ever see her again ... would he?
+
+"Won't you say good-by, Marahna?" he asked.
+
+But she smiled, instead--a friendly smile, and encouraging. Then
+dropped in silence to her knees to press with both her trembling hands
+his hand upon her forehead. And, still in silence, she rose to vanish
+from the room.
+
+The men entered the narrow opening to start forward into the dark. But
+Jerry Foster was puzzled, puzzled and more than a trifle hurt. Marahna
+could at least have said good-by. She knew the word, for he had taught
+it to her. And she had let him--them--go....
+
+"Oh, well," he thought, "how can I know how a princess feels--a
+princess of the moon? And why should I care--why should she? But...."
+He refused to complete the thought. He hurried instead, as best he
+could, to follow Winslow, fumbling ahead of him in the dark.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jerry had used plenty of muttered invective with the massage he had
+given his arm, but he cursed his handicap wholeheartedly at the end of
+some several hours.
+
+They were standing, he and Winslow, in a dark tunnel. They had climbed
+and clawed their way through the absolute dark, over broken fragments,
+through narrow apertures, down and up, and up again through a
+tortuous, winding course. And now they had reached the end. They had
+found the source of the fresh air, had come within reaching distance,
+it seemed, of sunlight and all that their freedom might mean. And they
+had come, too, to a precipitous rock wall.
+
+They stared long and hopelessly at the shaft that reached, vertical
+and sheer, high, high over their heads. And a curse like that of
+Tantalus was theirs. For, far at the top, slanting in through some
+off-shooting passage, there was sunlight. It was unmistakable in its
+clear glare, beautiful, glorious--and unattainable.
+
+There were roughnesses in the wall, footholds, handholds here and
+there. "It might be ... it might be...." Jerry tried to believe, but
+the ache in his arm made the thought hopeless and incomplete. He
+turned to his companion.
+
+"I believe you can do it," he said steadily.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Winslow's dark eyes were gleaming in the dimness that surrounded.
+"Possibly," he replied, and eyed the ascent with an appraising stare.
+"Even probably. But you know damn well, Foster, that I'm not going to
+try."
+
+"Don't be an ass." Jerry's tone was harsh, but the tall man must have
+known what emotions lay underneath.
+
+"We'll play it out together," he said.
+
+Jerry was silent as he reached in the darkness for Winslow's hand.
+
+"Of course I knew you were that sort," he said. He waited a moment,
+then added: "But you're going, old man, you're going. Don't you see
+it's our only hope?"
+
+Winslow shook his head emphatically. Jerry could see him in the dim
+reflection from that radiance above. "Nothing doing," the calm voice
+assured him. "Don't bother to think up more reasons why I should
+desert."
+
+"Listen!" Jerry gripped roughly at the other's shoulder. "Listen to
+reason.
+
+"If you go and I go back there, what will happen? With Marahna gone we
+are helpless, and we will be helpless to save her. The long night is
+ahead. How can we live? Where can we live? We will be wiped out as
+sure as we're alive this minute.
+
+"If you go--and if you make it to the ship--there's a chance. Alone, I
+may manage to stick it out." He knew he was lying, knew that the other
+knew it too, but he went on determinedly. "You can wait for me up
+above. My arm will be well--" Winslow stopped him with a gesture.
+
+"There's a chance," the older man was muttering, "there's a
+chance...." He swung quickly toward Foster, to grab hard at the good
+right hand.
+
+"I'm going," he stated. "I'm on my way. I won't say good-by; what's
+the use--I'll be back soon!"
+
+He released his hold on Jerry to leap high in the air for a ledge of
+projecting rock. He caught it and hung. His foot found a toehold and
+he drew himself up to where another rough outcrop gave grip for his
+hand.
+
+Jerry Foster stood frozen to throbbing stillness. Words were
+strangling in his throat, an impulse, almost irresistible, to call. If
+there were only a rope....
+
+He was still silent when the tiny figure of his companion and friend
+was lost in the heights, where it vanished into that tunnel from which
+came the light. He turned blindly, to stumble back into the dark.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Marahna was waiting when he regained the safety of her room. "Safety!"
+The thought was bitter when linked with the certain fate that lay
+ahead.
+
+Silently she stroked the bent head of the man who dropped dejectedly
+upon the hard stone floor. Her fingers were gentle, comforting,
+despite the utter hopelessness and discouragement that lay heavily
+upon him.
+
+They sat thus, nor counted the flying minutes, while the fog of
+despair in the mind of the beaten man was clearing. He raised his head
+finally to meet the look in the dark eyes. And he managed a smile, as
+one can who has thought his way through to the bitter end and has
+faced it. He patted the hand that had stroked his bowed head.
+
+"It's all right," he said gently. "What is to be, will be--and we
+can't change it. And it's all right somehow."
+
+His sleeping, during their long stay, had been a cause for amusement
+to Marahna, whose habits were tuned to the long days and nights on the
+moon. And he was sleepy now, sleepy and tired. She spread the robe
+over him as he rested on the soft fiber bed.
+
+He awoke from a deep sleep with a light heart. For Jerry Foster, as he
+faced his own certain death, had seen certain things. It was the
+end--that was one fact he couldn't evade. But he grinned cheerfully,
+all by himself in that strange cheerless room, as he thought of what
+else he had visioned.
+
+"And it will be just one hell of a fight," he said softly aloud.
+"There will be some of those priests that will know they have been in
+a war."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He examined again the knife and the automatic, and counted the
+cartridges left in the magazine. There were more he had found in a
+pocket of his coat, enough to replace those he had fired. He slipped
+the pistol into its holster at the sound of soft footsteps
+approaching.
+
+It was Marahna who entered, a strange and barbaric Marahna. She was
+clad in a garment of spun gold that enveloped her tall figure. It
+trailed in rippling beauty on the floor--draped in resplendence her
+slim body, to end in soft folds about a head-dress that left Jerry
+breathless.
+
+Her face was entirely concealed. The gold helmet covered her head. It
+was tall, made entirely of hammered gold in which spirals of jewels
+reflected their colors of glittering light. She was quite
+unrecognizable in the weird magnificence.
+
+Only her voice identified the figure. She murmured chokingly some soft
+words, then raised her head with its barbaric helmet proudly high as
+she concluded. There were words become familiar now to Jerry. Together
+with the spectacle she presented, her meaning was more than plain.
+
+"The time has come," she was telling him. "The sun ... the hour of
+sacrifice."
+
+Jerry leaped to his feet. His plans for battle were being revised. An
+idea--a plan, half-formed--was beating in his brain.
+
+A sound was beating upon him, too. There were drums that throbbed in
+steady unison, that echoed hollowly along resounding walls, that
+approached in loudly increasing cadence.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The plan was complete. "No!" said Jerry Foster, with a wild laugh. He
+reached to remove the golden helmet.
+
+He placed it upon his own head, under the startled gaze of the
+wondering girl. He reached out for the robe.
+
+"You shall not go," he told her. "I will go in your place. And when I
+reach that room...." His eyes were savage behind the slits in the
+golden head-dress.
+
+"No--no!" the girl protested. Her face showed plainly the complete
+hopelessness of what Jerry proposed. To pit himself against that
+antagonist--she knew how futile was the brave gesture.
+
+Jerry was undaunted. "I've got to die anyway," he tried to explain,
+"and if I can get in one good crack at whatever is there--well, I may
+be of help."
+
+His hand was taking off the cloak. Marahna's eyes were steady upon
+him. She ceased to resist. She whipped one of the covers from the
+couch about her and helped him with the golden robe.
+
+The throbbing of drums was hammering at Jerry's temples. They were
+close at hand! Marahna, without a word, rushed frantically back toward
+the room where the others waited.
+
+And again Jerry Foster felt that odd tightening of disappointment
+about his heart. But what was the difference, he told himself, in a
+hundred years--or a hundred minutes. He set his lips tight and walked
+slowly out and down the passage.
+
+The room he entered was deathly quiet. There were figures standing
+about, figures robed in their gold-threaded drapes, that stared
+strangely, wonderingly, at him, and drew themselves into a huddled
+group against the wall. And two there were, who stood apart: the other
+victims--their sacrificial garments wrapped them round where they
+waited for the third who was to accompany them. Jerry joined them as a
+guard came in from the outer hall.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The drums were rolling softly in their rhythmic beat. The priests who
+entered showed annoyance at the delay; they gave a curt order, and
+motioned the three to follow.
+
+Outside, the corridor was broad, and the double rows of lights on
+either side glowed brightly to illumine a pageant grotesque and
+terrible in its barbaric splendor. The drums throbbed louder. Jerry
+saw them in their fire of burnished metal, beaten by the bands of
+naked men. Beyond, a group of warriors waited. Stalwart and strongly
+muscled, they stood erect in copper armor beside a platform of metal
+bars, whose floor was of latticed gold. The victims were placed upon
+it to stand erect. Jerry balanced himself upon the golden floor as the
+warriors raised it slowly to their shoulders.
+
+Priests, in robes of heavy golden rope, were ranged about; they formed
+a guard and escort ten deep about the living sacrifice. At that the
+drums increased their volume, and to this was added a nerve-racking,
+discordant and rasping jangle, when sheets of copper, paper-thin, were
+struck with a heavy hand. The pulsing, throbbing pandemonium was
+terrific as the march began.
+
+Slowly they made their way through a winding gallery. Slowly they came
+to where a portal, high-arched, gave entrance upon the great hall.
+Solemnly, proudly, the priests lead the way as they circled the vast
+room. Their wrappings of gold were a scintillant quiver of light;
+above each hard face a circle of gold--symbol of the sun--was borne
+imperiously high.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The priestly guard surrounded the platform where the three standing
+figures were huddled. And behind, and on either side, the men with the
+drums and the discordant, ringing sheets gave full force to their
+blows. The high vault above thundered and roared to the thunder and
+roar of the drums. And, high over all, a wailing began.
+
+The thin shrillness beat with the tempo of the drums in a pitch that
+steadily descended. The glittering procession had come to rest at its
+appointed place in the pathway, of light as the wailing came down to a
+moan. "_Oong! Oong!_" the voices groaned, while the walls re-echoed
+the despairing tones. Only from the band of warriors did the ear of
+Jerry Foster detect anything but misery and despair. The priests were
+silent, but the warriors, in their shining armor, stood erect and
+roared out the syllables in exultant joy.
+
+The priests were now upon the dais--the rocky platform, divided by the
+great, glowing parabola of light. They stood erect as a new high
+priest, replacing the one Jerry had killed, crossed to bow and grovel
+in the radiance from their god.
+
+The room was silent with the silence of a great tomb as the march of
+death began. Softly, from the silence, the drums resumed the merest
+whisper of their former thunderous booming. Beside him. Jerry heard
+the soft sobs of a girl. One of the figures swayed and threatened to
+fall as the platform was lowered to rest upon the floor. The other
+pressed close to support the drooping figure.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Now the entire directed ray of light from the round, glowing hole
+struck full upon them. It blinded and dazzled, yet, plain and
+distinct, Jerry saw at its heart the circle of blackness, the eye of
+the mysterious, hypnotic parabola--the entrance to what lay beyond.
+
+The beat of the drums was hypnotic. As if in a trance he saw, at the
+side of the way they must go, the form of the head priest beckon them
+on. The two victims at his side took one step on the path to their
+death. And the same stiff rigidity held Jerry as he, too, moved onward
+and up the golden ramp.
+
+The drums were bearing them on. Louder they throbbed in a steady
+crescendo, to carry the three rigid figures a step at a time up the
+pathway of light.
+
+The priest, Jerry felt more than saw, was beside them. Close ahead was
+the blackness that held the set stare of his eyes. One of the golden
+figures was before him. He saw the priest reach out to take the helmet
+from her head.
+
+The movement aroused him from his numb horror. An impulse to escape
+surged through him; every nerve was tense and ready for a spring. He
+looked quickly about. The warriors were behind, the priests ready on
+their platform to direct them. And in the doorway, from where he first
+had seen this chamber, on the only way he knew that led to freedom,
+another figure, tall in its priestly robes, blocked the passage.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Hopeless, he knew. And then there swept through him a wave of hate. Gone
+was his horror, and gone the dull deadness of brain and body. There, facing
+him, was the mouth of the pit, where waited a something--horrible,
+rapacious--demanding the lives of these people ... of Marahna ... of
+others--more and yet more.
+
+No thought now of life or escape. For the moment, Jerry Foster's whole
+being held nothing but hot hate, and the wish for revenge.
+
+Before him the priest was stripping the robe from the girl at his
+feet. She stood like a statue, a carving of purest alabaster, slim and
+erect in her white, slender nakedness. And the face that he saw
+through incredulous eyes was that of Marahna.
+
+Marahna! The realization and quick understanding held him spellbound.
+She had come, had taken the robes from another poor victim ... to be
+with him in this, the last hour....
+
+Marahna--a princess among these strange folk--was giving her life when
+another could have been in her place. And she smiled tremulously,
+bravely, as her eyes locked with his, as, speechless and spellbound,
+he stared through the eyelets of gold.
+
+The priest was reaching for his head-dress, Jerry tensed. The moment
+had come.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He was ready. As the weight left his shoulders, he dropped, with one
+swift movement, his golden disguise. The robe fell in folds at his
+feet. He stared in silence, through narrowing eyes, at the face of the
+head priest above him. Then, leaping straight up, he fastened one
+hand, sinewy, sun-browned and strong, on the white neck below the
+white face. They crashed back, to land on the ramp and roll,
+struggling, toward the edge.
+
+Jerry's hold never slackened. He felt his fingers sink deep in the
+flesh. He came to his knees, then up, to hold the writhing figure at
+arm's length. Then, heaving with all his strength, he whipped the man
+into the air, to drag him in one leaping bound for the sheltering
+darkness beyond.
+
+A figure was entering with him--a slim, naked figure, with glowing and
+worshipping eyes.
+
+Behind them the silence was shattered. Jerry saw, as he stepped from
+the light, the riot of figures that surged in hysterical frenzy
+through the great hall. The priests were leaping among them ... the
+tall priest who had guarded the door was fighting his way through the
+mob.
+
+Jerry loosed his quivering hand from the throat it held. He cast the
+figure from him. And he blinked his eyes to make them serve him in the
+blackness all about.
+
+Beside him, a form, invisible in the dark, was stroking at his face,
+and a voice was whispering tremulously: "Cherrie ... Cherrie!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The tumult in the great hall reached them but faintly. Jerry Foster
+strove desperately to focus his eyes in that darkness of utter night.
+A dim glow from the portal crept softly in to bring faint illumination
+to the farther wall. Slowly his eyes found that which they feared yet
+sought.
+
+Off in the dark, directly opposite the entrance, was a white and
+ghostly thing. Formless and vague, it wavered and blurred to his
+straining eyes. He fumbled clumsily for a match, one of his treasured
+store. He must see--he must know what was waiting--
+
+The match flared to a point of brilliance in the murky gloom. It
+showed, on the floor where they stood, a litter of dried
+vegetation--food, doubtless placed there as an offering. It was dry
+now, and dusty, and through it there shone the bleak whiteness of
+bones. Beyond was the floor, and beyond that.... The whiteness that
+had been but a blur grew sharply distinct.
+
+Jerry could not have told what he expected the light to disclose.
+Certainly it was not the heaping of coils, milk-white and ghastly,
+that took shape before his staring eyes. Above them a head hung in
+air. It was motionless--lifeless, almost--like the coiled body that
+held it. But the eyes, black and staring, in the bloated, bulging
+head, made its poised stillness the more deadly.
+
+Even in the dark Jerry had sensed the hypnotic spell of unseen eyes.
+Visible, they held him in a rigid, unreasoning terror. Unreal,
+unthinkable, this serpentlike horror, tremendous and ghastly in its
+loathsome whiteness. A dweller in the dark, used by the priests as a
+symbol and a threat for the ignorant folk who trusted and believed
+them. And it held him, stilled and stricken, in its evil spell.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The flame was scorching Jerry's hand that nervelessly opened to
+release the match. The man was like a statue, frozen to mental
+deadness. About his feet a light was playing, unseen. A bit of the dry
+stuff sprang brightly to yellow flame. Neither seeing nor feeling, the
+figure of Jerry Foster stood, held in the deadly magic of the
+malignant eyes.
+
+Dimly he sensed that the prostrate body on the floor was that of
+Marahna. Vaguely he knew when the form of the priest took a halting
+step forward. The fire his match had kindled was rising about his
+feet. The flames seared and stabbed with a pain that reached his
+dulled brain. Quivering and shaken, the body of Jerry Foster reacted
+again to a conscious thought. He leaped quickly as the deadly witchery
+left him, and he tore at the smoldering cloth about his legs.
+
+And now he knew the thing before him for what it was. Shocking in its
+gigantic size, more so in the concentrated venom of its gaze, it was
+the flabby, scaly and crusted whiteness of the thing that filled his
+being with a deadly nausea. He stared with a sickened fascination at
+the flabby, drooping pouches beside the mouth, the distorted, bulging
+head and the short legs, armed with long, curving talons--legs that
+sprang from out the neck to clutch and tear at what the jaws might
+hold.
+
+Deadly and hateful--loathsome beyond all imagining--still Jerry Foster
+found it was something a man could meet. Its devilish power to
+paralyze and still the soul of him was gone.
+
+He snatched quickly for the gun at his belt and knelt to aim--then
+checked his finger on the trigger. The figure of the priest had come
+between him and the monster.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The golden robe was dragging. It fell to the floor, to gleam dully in
+the flickering light of the fire. Against the heaping coils of white
+the priest was outlined, drawn, as Jerry sensed, against the protest
+of every fiber of his being. Yet, one stiff step at a time, he went
+faltering on. The hair above his white face was torn in disarray. And
+the face itself, so exultantly fierce in its hour of triumph, now a
+mask of quivering, hopeless terror.
+
+The head of the monster came slowly to life. It raised and raised into
+the air. The mouth gaped open with a hoarse, sucking sound, then
+struck, like a whip of light, at the doomed priest.
+
+His screams, as the thing descended upon him, rang through the roar of
+the forty-five. Jerry fired again where the black eyes showed above
+the writhing body of their prey. The head jerked backward, to tower in
+the darkness overhead. The mouth disgorged its contents to the floor.
+
+Only for a shuddering instant did the monster pause. Then it launched
+its great bulk in a counter-attack, while the automatic poured out the
+rest of its futile lead.
+
+The gun was knocked from his grasp as the great head smashed past,
+swerved from its aim by the blinding bullets. Jerry knew only that his
+knife was in his hand as the great scabrous coils closed
+inevitably about him.
+
+Vaguely he heard the shouting from behind as the writhing folds
+engulfed him. He stabbed blindly at the scaly mass; again and again
+his knife ripped slashingly at the abhorrence that drew him close.
+Then his arm, too, was caught in the crushing loathsome embrace....
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He felt no pain--the pressure alone was insufferable. His head was
+drawn back. Above him the horrible eyes glared into his--there was
+blood dripping from the jaws....
+
+He saw it in the brilliance of a light that flashed in blue heat
+overhead. There came in his ears a vast roaring of sound, a great
+heat-blast that scorched and burned at his face. The crushing pressure
+was relaxed. He went reeling to the floor, as the great coils whirled
+high into the air.
+
+He was stunned by the fall, his body inert and relaxed. But he knew
+through it all that from somewhere above there was shrieking of
+gas--blue, roaring fires--a flame that tore blastingly into a writhing
+contortion beyond.
+
+The tall figure of a priest was bending over him, but it was the voice
+of Winslow that was in his ears--a blessed, human voice--when he
+awoke.
+
+"Thank God, I made it," the voice was saying, over and over. "Thank
+God, I found the ship and got back here in time!"
+
+There was light within the cavern. The burning fungus was extinguished
+by the smothering coils that had crashed upon it, but beyond was a
+waving plume of yellow where a blue flame shot against a wall of rock.
+
+And Jerry, through the stress and riot of emotion that overwhelmed
+him, laughed chokingly, wildly, at the words of his companion.
+
+"It is sodium," Winslow was saying in explanation, as he saw Jerry's
+eyes resting on the light. "A hydrogen flame, but there's sodium in
+the rocks that turns the flame yellow. I rigged up a flame-thrower of
+hydrogen."
+
+"You would," Jerry gasped through hysterical laughter. "You would do
+just that, and make your way back to this hell just to save me--you
+damn fool inventor!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He clung to Winslow, who was raising him to his feet. Marahna was
+beside him, robed in the golden garment of the priest. She placed her
+hands beside his face to turn him toward the further wall. The light
+was fickle, but it showed him, as it rose and fell, the blackened,
+swollen body of the monster, still writhing in its death struggle. And
+beside it, blasted and charred, the head of the obscene sun god,
+severed by the cutting, obliterating blast, lay flabby and black in a
+silent heap.
+
+"Rather effective," said Winslow complacently, "though I didn't have
+much to work with. Two small vials of my liquid and a hand generator
+to furnish the current. A tubular strut from the frame of the ship
+made the blow-pipe."
+
+"And these?" Jerry questioned, and pointed to the priest's vestments
+that Winslow still wore.
+
+"Oh, it was all quiet up above," said the inventor, "and I came down
+the rope. But there was one of them waiting at the bottom. He didn't
+need these any more when I left, so I took them to help get about--"
+
+He stopped, to cross quickly and pick up the flame-thrower as the
+flame died away. It roared as he worked at the mechanism, then
+dwindled again. Its light, for an instant, was reflected in a liquid
+on the floor.
+
+"Broken!" said Winslow in an anguished voice. "The vials are
+gone--smashed! And I counted on this to hold off the mob, to get us
+safely out...."
+
+He regarded the instrument with silent dismay. The blue flame, as he
+held it, flickered and died.
+
+"Not so good!" said Jerry slowly. He stopped to retrieve the knife.
+This, he reflected, was their sole weapon of defense. In the dim light
+his eyes met with Winslow's in mutual comprehension of their plight.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There were caverns beyond, dark and forbidding. Did they lead to the
+outer world? Or, instead, was it not probable that they went to some
+deep, subterranean dens, from which this monster had learned to come
+at the priests' summons? Jerry put from his mind all thought of escape
+in that direction.
+
+"And Marahna, too," he told Winslow. "What will become of her?"
+
+The girl got the essence of the question. Fumbling for phrases that
+they knew, she made them believe that she was safe. Her people, she
+told them, would protect her.
+
+"Yes," Jerry agreed. "I guess that's right. She's a princess, you
+know," he reminded Winslow, "and the great mass of the people look up
+to her. Only the priests and warrior gangs will be opposed. But how
+can we get through them?"
+
+The question was unanswered.
+
+"We've got to knock them cold some way," said the inventor. "Got to
+give them a fright that will last till they let us get through. Once
+at the big shaft where we came down, we can make our getaway. But how
+to do it...." His voice died away in dismal thought.
+
+Jerry's eyes were casting about. The priest's robe? No, not good
+enough. It had brought Winslow through, but it couldn't take them
+back. Marahna? No help there: she had enough to do to protect herself
+from the fury of the priests.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His eyes rested again on the steaming, blackened mass that still
+showed the horrible features that had marked the head of the monster.
+The sun god! There was an idea there.
+
+"Come!" he said to Winslow, and walked swiftly across to the severed
+head.
+
+He had to steel his nerves before he could lay hands upon the vile
+thing. The paws were still attached behind the head. He took a grip on
+one and pulled. The great mass moved.
+
+"I don't get the idea," said Winslow.
+
+"Nor I," Jerry admitted, "but there's an idea here." His thoughts were
+racing in the moment's silence.
+
+"I've got it," he shouted. "I've got it! If only I can make Marahna
+understand!" He led the girl nearer to the door, where his signs
+could be seen more plainly.
+
+"You," he told her, "go out there." He pointed to the place where the
+priests had stood. "Tell your people"--he took the attitude of the
+orator declaiming to his audience--"we have come here from the sun."
+Again his signs were plain. Marahna nodded. This plainly was literal
+truth to her.
+
+"Tell them," he continued earnestly, "we have saved them from this
+thing. Tell them it was no sun god, but a monster that the priests had
+kept. Monster!" he exclaimed, and pointed to the head and to the body
+that still writhed and jerked spasmodically. "No god--no!" And again
+the girl showed her understanding. Her eyes were glowing.
+
+"Then," said Jerry, indicating Winslow and himself, "we will take the
+head that they have worshipped, and we'll drag it out and throw it to
+the priests." His gestures were graphic. The girl nodded her head in
+an ecstasy of comprehension.
+
+"And then," Jerry added softly for Winslow's hearing, "we'll beat it.
+And, with luck, we'll make it safe."
+
+"There's a chance," said Winslow softly, "there's a chance--and that's
+all we ask."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"It's up to you, Marahna," Jerry told her. His words were meaningless,
+but the tone sufficed. She drew herself proudly erect, wrapped herself
+closely in the robe of braided gold, and stepped firmly and fearlessly
+through the portal and down toward the platform of the priests.
+
+The two men watched from the shadows. Beyond the outline of the
+platform they saw the warrior clans, a phalanx of protecting bodies.
+And beyond, drawn back in huddled consternation, were masses of
+white-faced people--Marahna's people--who listened, now, in wondering
+silence to their princess.
+
+Marahna made her way slowly to the platform's edge. Of all the
+countless ones to have gone that road, she was the first ever to
+return. She stood silent, while her eyes found their way scornfully
+over the enemy below. Then looking beyond them, she began to speak.
+
+Her soft voice echoed liquidly throughout the room. She gestured, and
+Jerry knew that she was giving them the message.
+
+From the priests there came once a hoarse, inarticulate growl of hate
+and unbelief. She silenced them with her hand. She pointed to the
+heavens, and she told them of the sun and of the two who were true
+children of the sun, who had come to save them from their false god.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Her voice rose as she told her people in impassioned tones that which
+she had seen. And she was shouting above the tumult of the priests and
+pointing directly at them as she made the roof echo with the message:
+"_Oong devah! Oong devah!_"
+
+"The god is dead," translated Jerry. "_Devah_ means death; she said
+that of herself before we left. Come on!" he shouted, and laid-hold of
+one great claw. "It's our turn now."
+
+Winslow was tugging at the other foot. Between them they dragged into
+the light the obscene burden. Down the long ramp they took it and off
+upon the platform of the priests, where Marahna waited.
+
+The priests, as Jerry's quick glance showed, were milling wildly
+about. It seemed that a charge was soon to follow, but the commotion
+ceased as the two men come upon the platform, hauling between them the
+great scorched head of "Oong." The vast hall was without movement or
+sound as they made their way out to the front. Jerry stood erect and
+faced the crowd.
+
+He pointed, as had Marahna, toward the sun somewhere above those thick
+masses of rock; he traced it in its course across the sky; he pointed
+to Winslow and himself. And in loudest tones he roared throughout the
+room his message. "Oong," he shouted, "_Oong devah!_"
+
+"I'll count three," he whispered in the utter silence. "Then let 'er
+go!"
+
+Again he took a firm hold on the flabby paw.
+
+"One," he whispered, and swung his body with the word. "Two ... and
+_three_!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The men heaved mightily upon the gruesome horror. The head swung
+ghastly in scorched whiteness into the air. The dead jaws fell open as
+it crashed downward among the huddled, stricken priests.
+
+"This way!" commanded Winslow. He had been carefully appraising the
+openings in the crowd. "And don't hurry! Remember, you're a god to
+them--or something a darn sight worse."
+
+Heads proudly erect, the two strode firmly down the pathway of golden
+light. The room was silent as the few they met fell back in cringing
+fear. Slowly, interminably, the long triumphal march was made across
+the rocky cavern of the moon.
+
+Not till they reached the portal did the silence break. The shrieks of
+the priests and the clashing of copper were behind them, as they
+vanished with steady steps from out the room.
+
+"Now run!" ordered Winslow. "Run as if the devils from hell were after
+you--and I think they are!" The two tore madly down the corridor whose
+double rows of brightness made possible their utmost speed.
+
+There was the narrowing of the passage--Jerry remembered it--where
+they came out at the foot of the great shaft, the dead throat of the
+volcano. Behind them the shrieks and clamor echoed close. A rope was
+dangling from far up at the top.
+
+Jerry leaped for it before he recalled the condition of his arm. In
+the excitement of the encounter he had forgotten that the arm was
+still in no shape for a long hand-over-hand climb.
+
+"I can't make it," he said, and looked about quickly. There were
+baskets of fungus growth, already dried from the heat of the mid-day
+sun that had shone where it grew. He dragged one to the narrow part of
+the tunnel. Winslow tugged at another and threw it up as a barricade.
+A chalk-white figure in copper sheathing was clambering upon it as he
+worked at another of the nets.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Jerry let go the fiber basket he was dragging and drew his knife as he
+sprang to meet the assault. A sharp cutting edge was unknown to these
+workers in copper. Jerry slipped under the raised bludgeoning copper
+weapon to plunge the knife into a white throat. Then, without a look
+at the body he helped Winslow, struggling with another load.
+
+They completed the barricade. A heap of fungus made a raised place
+where Jerry leaped. Commanding the top of the pile that blocked the
+choked throat of the passage, he was ready for the next figure that
+leaped wildly up.
+
+It would take them a while, Jerry saw, to learn of this scintillant
+death that struck at them from close quarters. His knife flashed again
+and again as he took the men one at a time and let their limp bodies
+roll back to the passage beyond.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The assault was checked when Jerry shouted to his companion. "Tie the
+rope around me," he ordered, "up under my arms ... then you go on up.
+When you get there pull up--and for the Lord's sake pull fast!"
+
+"Go on," he shouted. "I can hold them for a while--" He turned swiftly
+to take a leaping body upon the red point of his knife.
+
+He felt the rope about him as he fought, knew by its twitching when
+Winslow started the long climb, and prayed dumbly for strength to hold
+his weak fortress till the other could hoist himself up to the top.
+
+He was fighting blindly as they came on in endless succession, the
+figures of frenzied priests leaping grotesquely beyond. Only the
+strategic position he had taken allowed him to turn the wild assault
+again and again. They could only reach him by ones and twos, but the
+end must come soon. There were priests tearing at the foot of the
+barricade.... The cold winds that came down from above revived him,
+but it helped the figures ripping at the fiber cords. The dry fungus
+fragments whirled gaily away and down the passage in the wind.
+
+The wind! The draft was blowing from him, directly upon his attackers.
+Jerry struggled and clinched with another that bounded beside him, and
+knew as he fought that a weapon was at hand. His knife found the lower
+edge of copper, and the figure screamed as he rolled it down the
+slope. He slipped the knife into his left hand as he fumbled with his
+right.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+His precious matches! He struck one on the rock; it broke in his
+trembling fingers. Another--there were so few left. He drew it with
+infinite care on the surface of rock. The figures below tore in frenzy
+at the weakening barricade, while yet others stood waiting at this
+sign of some new form of magic.
+
+They shouted again, as they had when, those long days ago, he had
+lighted a cigarette before their horrified gaze. Jerry shielded the
+tiny blaze in his hand to bring it beneath a papery leaf beside him.
+
+The flame flashed and dwindled. He dared not drop back to set fire to
+the base of the heap. But even in the exhaustion and strain of the
+moment Jerry Foster still knew the value of the showman's tricks in
+reaching the fears of these white-faced fighters.
+
+With grandiloquent gesture he raised another of the tindery fragments
+and ignited it from the first. Another, and he had the beginning of a
+fire. He lit another piece, and, when he had it blazing, dropped it
+behind him and kept on with the show.
+
+A large piece became a flaming torch, and he waved it before him and
+laughed to see the warriors cringe. A cloud of smoke was billowing
+about him--he leaped to safety through a rising wall of flame.
+
+The rear slope of the barricade became a furnace; the wind behind him
+swept the smoke clouds down the passage. He heard, and sank back
+weakly on the ground as it came to him, the screaming riot where a mob
+of terrified warriors fought and struck to turn the horde that
+clamored behind them and pushed them on. The blast roared over the
+heaped fuel and poured downward from the crest. The noise of the
+retreat went silent in the distance.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Spent and exhausted, Jerry Foster lay panting upon the stone floor.
+The breath of cold and life came down the long shaft from the crater.
+Had Winslow gained the top? Was he equal to the climb? Jerry hardly
+felt the jerking of the rope about his shoulders, but he knew as, in
+frantic haste, it drew him scraping up the long side of the shaft.
+
+The biting cold above revived him, and again a scene of desolation was
+spread before his eyes. Winslow fumbled with the knots and released
+him from the rope.
+
+"Come on!" he shouted, and extended a helping hand as they leaped and
+raced across the rocky floor.
+
+Jerry again was vividly, strongly alive as the cold winds swept him.
+He leaped hugely through the whirling wisps of dried out
+vegetation--the sun had stripped the surface of every living thing.
+Again the rocky slopes rose naked in the rosy light of evening. The
+sun was hidden below a distant range of jagged hills. The long night
+was begun.
+
+"You're going the wrong way," Jerry shouted. "We left it over there."
+He stopped to point where the sun had set. "See, that's where we
+fought the beasts--"
+
+"Come on!" repeated Winslow. "Hurry! We mustn't lose out now. I flew
+the ship over this way while I was up here before."
+
+A ridge of rock cut off the view where Winslow pointed. "Bully for
+you!" Jerry shouted and turned to follow. They stopped as the slope
+ahead, from its multitude of honeycomb caverns, erupted men.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The priests were ahead, and behind them swarmed their men. Vindictive
+and revengeful, the wily enemy was fighting to the end. The two
+stopped in consternation.
+
+"What's the use!" demanded Jerry. His voice was tired, utterly
+hopeless. "And the ship's right over there...."
+
+"A million miles away," said Winslow slowly, "as far as we're
+concerned." The army was sweeping down the long slope: they had found
+their quarry. There were other figures, too, pouring from the throat
+of the volcano--white, naked figures that swarmed in growing numbers
+and rushed across upon them from the rear.
+
+"Trapped," said Jerry Foster savagely, "and we almost made it." He
+rose wearily to his feet. "We'll take it standing."
+
+The armored warriors were approaching; in leaping triumph they raced
+to be the first ones at the death. The shouts of the priests were
+ringing encouragement in their ears.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But the leaders from the rear were nearer. One deep breath Jerry drew
+as he turned to meet them. Then stared, astonished, as the figures
+swept past. They streamed by in confusion. They were armed with rocks,
+with clubs or copper metal--some even carried bars of gold above their
+heads. They came in a great swarm that swept past and beyond them. And
+they met, like an engulfing wave, the bounding figures of the men in
+copper. Smothered and lost were the warriors in the horde that poured
+increasingly on.
+
+The wave, before Jerry's eyes, swept on over the crest, while he still
+stood in amazed unbelief at the battle that raged.
+
+It was Marahna who brought understanding. He turned to see her kneel
+in sobbing, thankful abasement at his feet.
+
+Marahna! Her people! She had saved them! There was time needed for the
+full force of the truth to banish the hopeless despair from his heart.
+Then he stooped to raise the crouching figure with arms that were
+suddenly strong.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The pale rose light of the departed sun above shone softly within a
+rocky valley of the moon. It tipped the tall crags with lavender hues,
+and it touched with soft gleaming reflections a blunted cylinder of
+aluminum alloy.
+
+The valley was silent, save for the hushed whispers of wondering
+thousands who peopled the enclosing hills, and the rushing roar from
+the cylinder itself where the inventor was testing his machine.
+
+There were figures in priestly robes--scores of them--and they were
+surrounded by a white throng that, silent and watchful, held them
+captive.
+
+Beyond, in the open, where bare rock made a black rolling floor, there
+were two who stood alone. The golden figure of a girl, and beside her,
+Jerry Foster, in wordless indecision.
+
+Behind him was the ship. Its muffled thunder came softly to his
+unheeding ears. He looked at the girl steadily, thoughtfully.
+
+Gone was all trace of her imperious dignity. The Princess Marahna was
+now all woman. And Jerry, looking into her dark eyes, read plainly the
+yearning and adoration in their depths. The Princess Marahna had
+forgotten her deference to the god in her love for the man. The tale
+was told in her flushed face, openly, unashamed.
+
+And his gray eyes were thoughtful and tender as he gazed into hers. He
+was thinking, was Jerry Foster, of many things. And he was weighing
+them carefully. His hand clasped and unclasped at something safely
+hidden in his pocket. He had taken it from his pack; he had wanted
+something for Marahna, something she would treasure.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And now she was offering him herself. He could take her with him, take
+her to that far-off world that she never dreamed existed. He could
+show her the things of that world, its wonders and beauties. He could
+train her in its ways. He would watch over her, love her.... And she
+would be miserable and heartsick for the sight of this awful
+desolation. He knew it--he told himself it was the truth--and he hated
+himself for the telling.
+
+The voice of Winslow aroused him. The inventor had come from his ship.
+"We had better be starting," he said.
+
+The slim figure of the girl in her robe of pure gold trembled visibly.
+She knew, it was plain, the import of the words. She spoke rapidly,
+beseechingly, in her own tongue. The words were liquid music in the
+air. Then, realizing their impotence, she resorted to her poor
+vocabulary of their own strange sounds.
+
+"No!" she said, and shook her head vehemently. "No--no!"
+
+She motioned to wait, and she called loud and clear across the silence
+to her own people. There was a stir about the priests. One in the
+robes and head-dress of the high priest was brought forward, led by
+two others of her men. They stopped a few steps from her and bowed
+low.
+
+Again she called, and the leaders among the vast throng came, too, and
+made their obeisance before her.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+She turned then to Jerry. And now it was Marahna, Princess of the
+Moon, who stood quiet and poised before him. The light, he saw, made
+soft wavelets of radiance in her hair, and her eyes were still glowing
+and tender. She stepped forward toward the priest.
+
+The helmet of the sun god was upon his head. It marked him, Jerry
+knew, as the master of their world. True, they had bowed in
+submission to that other master, whose vile head lay horrible and
+harmless on the floor of the great hall--they had believed in the
+commands the priests had pretended to receive from him--but this
+emblem on the helmet marked the leader of the race, the master of this
+world, for these simple folk.
+
+Marahna reached her slim hands and lifted the thing of gold. She
+turned, and held it above the startled eyes of Jerry Foster, and she
+placed it upon his head with all the dignity that became a queen. A
+word from her, and the men before him dropped in humbleness to the
+ground. The Princess Marahna was among them in honoring salutation to
+their king.
+
+Jerry was beyond speech. Not so Winslow. "It looks to me," he said
+dryly, "as if you were being offered the kingdom of the earth--I mean
+the moon. Think it over, Jerry--think it over."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+And Jerry Foster thought it over, deeply and soberly. He could rule
+this people, he and Marahna, rule in peace and quiet and comfort. He
+could bring them knowledge and wisdom of infinite help; he could make
+their new civilization a measure of advancement for a whole race. He
+could teach them, train them, instruct them. And he and Marahna--there
+would be children who would be princes born--could be happy--for a
+time. And then ... and then he would be old. Old and lonely for his
+kind, hungering and longing for his own people. As Marahna would be on
+earth, so would he be here....
+
+His decision was formed. And with it he knew he must not hurt the
+heart of Marahna. She loved him, Jerry Foster, the man. He must leave
+her as Jerry Foster, the god, child of the sun. He stood suddenly to
+his full height, and who shall say that for a moment the man did not
+approach the stature of divinity--for he was wholly kind.
+
+He placed a hand upon the head of the kneeling girl before him. He
+held her in her submissive pose, then, turning to the waiting men, he
+spoke in measured tones.
+
+"I thank you," he said, and the words came from a full heart, "but my
+place is not here. I leave with you one more worthy."
+
+Before their wondering gaze he removed the glowing circlet from his
+head; he leaned to place it on the head of Marahna, humbled before
+him. With strong hands he raised her to her feet. His look, so tender
+yet reserved, was full of meaning. She followed his every sign.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+He waved once toward the sun, hidden behind the distant hills: he
+pointed again to Winslow and himself and to their shining ship: and
+again he marked the going of the sun. His meaning was plain--these
+children of the sun must return to their far-off home.
+
+He turned now to Marahna. In his hand was the object he had taken from
+his pack. It was a treasured thing, this locket of platinum on its
+thin and lacy chain; it had been his mother's, and he thought of her
+now as he opened the clasp to show his own face framed within the
+oval. His mother--she had worn this. And she would have approved, he
+knew, of its disposal.
+
+Gravely he faced Marahna. He showed her the picture within the case,
+then held it aloft where all might see. He closed it and taught her
+the pressure that released the spring. Then, with gentle dignity that
+made of the gesture a rite, he placed the chain about the neck of
+Princess Marahna--Queen, now, of the People of the Moon. And he knew
+that he gave into her keeping their only relic of a being from the
+sun. It marked her beyond all future question with a symbol of
+mastery. And it made of him a god.
+
+And even a queen may not aspire to such an one.
+
+It was well that Winslow's hand was there to guide him as he walked
+with unseeing eyes toward the ship.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Time may lose at times all meaning and measure--moments become
+timeless. It seemed ages to Jerry Foster when Winslow spoke in casual
+tones. "I'm going straight up," he said, above the generator's roar.
+"Then we'll swing around above the other side. We'll follow the
+sun--make the full circle of the moon before we start."
+
+But Jerry neither thought nor heard. His eyes were close to a window
+of thick glass. Below him was a shrinking, dwindling landscape,
+wind-swept and desolate.
+
+There was a multitude of faces, turned worshipping toward the sky. On
+one, who stood apart in tiny loneliness, his vision centered. He
+watched and strained his aching eyes until the figure was no more.
+Only the pale rose of a dying sun, and a torn, volcanic waste that
+tugged strangely at his heart.
+
+"Yes," he answered mechanically, "yes, we'll go round with the sun ...
+a couple of sun gods."
+
+He laughed strangely as he regarded his companion.
+
+If Winslow wondered at the weariness in the voice he made no sign. He
+was busy with a rheostat that made thunderous roaring of the blast
+behind their ship: that swung them in a sweeping arc through velvet
+skies, away from the far side of the moon, to follow the path of the
+setting sun--homeward bound.
+
+
+
+
+_The Readers' Corner_
+
+_A Meeting Place for Readers of_
+
+Astounding Stories
+
+[Illustration:]
+
+
+"_Second Better Than First_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     The second number of Astounding Stories is better than the
+     first. "Spawn of the Stars," by Charles Willard Diffin, was
+     the best story, closely followed by "Creatures of the
+     Light," by Sophie Wenzel Ellis and "The Beetle Horde," by
+     Victor Rousseau. I like stories of vibration as in "Mad
+     Music," and of acceleration, as in "The Thief of Time." I am
+     glad to see Harl Vincent in the pages of Astounding Stories.
+     I have read many good stories by him. Interplanetary stories
+     are my favorites, and the more you have of them the better.
+
+     I wish that you would put Astounding Stories out twice a
+     month or put out a quarterly containing twice as much
+     reading material as the monthly. In this you could put one
+     book-length novel and a few shorter stories.
+
+     Are you going to start a department containing the readers'
+     letters soon?--Jack R. Darrow, 4225 N. Spaulding Avenue,
+     Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+_Size and Paper_
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I certainly am glad to see your magazine appear on the
+     newsstands. I also view with appreciation the fact that you
+     have such brilliant authors as Harl Vincent and Captain S.
+     P. Meek, U. S. A., on your list of contributors. Your
+     stories are of the very highest value in the line of Science
+     Fiction. However, I did not like "The Corpse on the
+     Grating." It did not have an inkling of scientific
+     background. I really am surprised it was published in a
+     Science Fiction magazine. Aside from the fact that the idea
+     of the story was merely a fantastical surmise I was very
+     favorably impressed with the author's style and his use of
+     the English language.
+
+     Why don't you try for some more of the works of the other
+     well-known authors in this line of fiction?
+
+     My main object in writing this letter was that I think you
+     rub the name of Science Fiction in the dust by printing it
+     on such paper and in such a small magazine. If you intend to
+     compete with your several contemporaries, you will almost
+     have to alter your size and quality of your paper.
+
+     You might include a full page Illustration for each story
+     also, but, you will admit, that to combat these other
+     influential Science Fiction magazines, you will have to put
+     your magazine on a par materially with the others in your
+     line.
+
+     I admire the type of stories which you publish and want to
+     see your magazine get ahead.--Warren Williams, 545
+     Dorchester, Chicago, Illinois.
+
+
+_They Will!_
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I am a monthly reader of your Astounding Stories and I am
+     greatly interested in them.
+
+     The best story I have so far read is "Creatures of the
+     Light." It is a story of Super-science indeed. If the author
+     of this story would write more like it, I am sure they would
+     be greatly appreciated.
+
+     Here is hoping that more of their kind appear in the very
+     near future. Yours for more good stories.--Quenton Stockman,
+     245 Dixon Street, Portland, Oregon.
+
+
+"_Surpasses the First_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I have just finished the February issue of your magazine. It
+     surpasses the first issue by far. I am glad to see that you
+     have eight stories in this issue. That is just enough. I
+     like one serial (not too long), one or two novelettes, and
+     five or six short stories in each issue. Tell Captain S. P.
+     Meek to write more adventures of Dr. Bird.
+
+     I have arranged the stories of the first two issues
+     according to my own liking. Excellent: "The Beetle Horde"
+     and "Phantoms of Reality." Good: "The Care of Horror,"
+     "Tanks" and "Invisible Death." Fair: "The Stolen Mind" and
+     "Compensation."
+
+     In the second issue: Excellent: "Creatures of the Light,"
+     "Old Crompton's Secret," "The Beetle Horde" and "Spawn of
+     the Stars." Good: "The Thief of Time" and "Mad Music." Fair:
+     "The Corpse on the Grating" and "Into Space."
+
+     I hope there will be more stories under "Excellent" next
+     month--Ward Elmore, 2012 Avenue J, Ft. Madison, Ia.
+
+
+"_Only One Trouble_--"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I have just finished reading your new magazine and think
+     it's great. The only trouble with it is that it doesn't have
+     enough stories.
+
+     I liked "Phantoms of Reality," by Ray Cummings, best, and
+     "The Cave of Horror," by Capt. S. P. Meek, next best. "The
+     Beetle Horde," and "Tanks" were also good.
+
+     Ray Cummings and S. P. Meek are among my favorite Science
+     Fiction authors.
+
+     I like best interplanetary stories and stories of the
+     aircraft of the future. I would like to see a good
+     interplanetary story by R. H. Romans in this magazine pretty
+     soon.
+
+     Other good authors whose stories I would like to read are:
+     Dr. David H Keller, Dr. Miles J. Breuer, Lilith Lorraine, Ed
+     Earl Repp and Walter Kateley.
+
+     In your editorial you mention the fact that some day in the
+     future a person can disintegrate his body in New York and
+     reintegrate it in China. I would like to see a good story
+     about that by either Ray Cummings or S.P. Meek.
+
+     Something else: why not make your magazine a little bigger
+     and include a scientific article or two once in a while?--J.
+     W. Latimer, 1000 East 8th Street, National City, Calif.
+
+
+"_No Horror Stories_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I am taking this opportunity to let you know what I think of
+     Astounding Stories. The worst fault is the tendency to print
+     terror stories. Please don't do this. If I never see another
+     story like "The Corpse on the Grating" in your magazine it
+     will be too soon.
+
+     Don't print so many detective stories. Capt. Meek's splendid
+     stories are plenty. Please start a discussion column and put
+     Wesso's drawings inside the magazine, too.
+
+     Are you planning on any reprints? I would like to see some
+     reprints of Ray Cummings', A. Merritt's, H. G. Wells',
+     Garret Smith's and George A. England's stories soon.
+
+     "Phantoms of Reality," "The Beetle Horde," "The Cave of
+     Horror," "Into Space," "Creatures of the Light," and "Old
+     Crompton's Secret" were splendid.
+
+     I hope for fewer detective stories and no horror
+     stories.--Joe Stone, 123 20th Street, Toledo, Ohio.
+
+
+_We Liked It, Too!_
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     Just a line to tell you that I bought my first copy of
+     Astounding Stories and they certainly are good, especially
+     "Creatures of the Light," by Sophie Wenzel Ellis. It's the
+     best short story I've read in ages. I hope to read more by
+     her in the future. Yours for success.--F. J. Michaslow,
+     Battery "D," Ft. Hancock, N. J.
+
+
+"_Strikes a Mystic Chord_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I think that your Astounding Story Magazine is a fine
+     magazine. It seems to strike a mystic cord within me and
+     makes me respond to it.
+
+     One thing lacking--I believe, that is--a department for
+     letters from your readers.
+
+     "Spawn of the Stars" is certainly a fine scientific story.
+
+     I wish that the author of "Into Space" would write a sequel
+     to his story.--Ronald Bainbridge, Rockford, Illinois.
+
+
+_We're Avoiding Reprints_
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I am writing again about Astounding Stories. It seems more
+     people are interested in science to-day than ever before,
+     and an easy and interesting way to gain this knowledge is
+     through reading an entertaining science story.
+
+     Regarding stories in your February issue, will list them
+     according to my likes and dislikes. "Into Space" and "Mad
+     Music" contained science maybe not impossible in the future.
+     "Spawn of the Stars," "The Beetle Horde," "Creatures of the
+     Light," "The Thief of Time" and "Old Compton's Secret" were
+     very interesting science, and good reading, but "The Corpse
+     on the Grating" did not appeal to me.
+
+     I like interplanetary stories and stories of what might be
+     on other planets.
+
+     I notice some familiar names among your authors. Why not
+     print some (not too many) stories from H. G. Wells, E. R.
+     Burroughs and Jules Verne? Some of their stories which were
+     considered just wild dreams of the author at the time of
+     writing have actually become a reality, as, for instance,
+     the submarine. If you keep on as you started or improve I
+     can see only success--C. E. Anderson, 3504 Colfax Avenue
+     South, Minneapolis, Minn.
+
+
+_A Few Favorites_
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I am an electrical engineer. I read the last two issues of
+     your magazine. I liked it very much. It is thrilling and
+     very well edited. I will buy it regularly.
+
+     I liked "Invisible Death" best. "The Beetle Horde" was good,
+     "Phantoms of Reality," good. "Into Space" and "Mad Music,"
+     very good. "Creatures of the Light," "Old Crompton's Secret"
+     and "Spawn of the Stars," good.--Adolph Wasserrogel, Gedden
+     Terrace, Waterbury, Conn.
+
+
+"_Going Some!_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I purchased one of your magazines when I first saw them. I
+     always had a liking for Super-science stories, but your
+     magazine was the best I ever got hold of. Thought I could
+     never wait until the next issue to finish "The Beetle
+     Horde." I believe "The Cave of Horror" was the best story in
+     that issue. It really seemed as if it could be true.
+
+     Due respect must be paid the author of "The Corpse on the
+     Grating," for it was exciting and fantastic. "Phantoms of
+     Reality" was good.
+
+     All the stories in the second magazine seemed as good as the
+     best of the first number, and that's going some.
+
+     May you succeed in getting the same good and better stories
+     as you have in the first two issues of a magazine that I am
+     sure will grow to fame.--Harold Rakestraw, Box 25, Winthop,
+     Wash.
+
+
+_We Intend To_
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     Having read the first two issues of your new magazine, I
+     find it has a larger variety of stories than any of the
+     other Science Fiction magazines now found on the newsstands.
+     Why not keep it that way? It will be unique.
+
+     Mr. Wessolowski, your artist, is great. He is one who can
+     draw when it comes to a good scientific background.
+
+     I consider "Tanks" your best story as yet, with "Spawn of
+     the Stars" close second. "Invisible Death," "Creatures of
+     the Light" and "Mad Music" were also good. Try to give us
+     some stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and A. Merritt. Did not
+     think much of "The Beetle Horde"--too many like it--Ted
+     Shatkowski, 812 Hoffman St., Hammond, Ind.
+
+
+_Some Good Suggestions_
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I received the pleasure of purchasing a copy of Astounding
+     Stories the other day, the first copy I have seen. I have
+     not yet read it, but I am unable to wait that long to inform
+     you of my great joy in greeting a new magazine of this type.
+
+     I am a reader of other magazines similar to A. S., Stories
+     of Harl Vincent, Capt. S. P. Meek, Murray Leinster, and
+     others appear in these magazines, also, so I am familiar
+     with your authors.
+
+     But you have asked me what sort of stories I'd like to see
+     in A. S., so here goes. First of all, I would earnestly beg
+     you not to print such stories as those that deal with
+     ghosts, etc., because in my opinion there are far too many
+     good stories available to cast them aside for trash.
+
+     The type of story I prefer is the kind that is fanciful, odd
+     and interesting. Some tales deal with a new invention of
+     some sort, but contain no action or plot. However, I fail to
+     see any like that in the present A. S., unless it's "Mad
+     Music."
+
+     A few utterly impossible stories are so interestingly told
+     that it is worth while to publish them. Some examples are
+     stories by A. Merritt (whose stories are the most
+     fascinating I have ever read). H. P. Lovecraft (master of
+     the bizarre and the grotesque) and G. A. England.
+
+     My letter seems to be mostly composed of suggestions, but
+     that is only because I am interested in anything pertaining
+     to stories of imagination, or Science Fiction, as it is
+     called. However, Astounding Stories seems to be very
+     satisfying to me. I am glad that you have Wessolowski on
+     your artist's staff. I hope that you will have a story
+     contest some time in the future, as they are very
+     interesting, and often uncover hitherto unknown talent in
+     the contestants.
+
+     I sincerely wish you the utmost of success in Astounding
+     Stories and hope that it will live a long, enduring life.
+
+     I hope, as time goes on, you will favor us with more
+     illustrations, for this type of story needs a large amount
+     of drawings so that the readers won't overwork their
+     imaginations.
+
+     Astounding Stories seems to be very shy, for I heard of it
+     from a friend and got the February, 1930 issue only after an
+     exhaustive search. The place where I got it appears to be
+     about the only one in town selling it. I hope more stores
+     will handle your great magazine. (I didn't intend the words
+     "great magazine" to be sarcastic. I really think it's
+     great!)
+
+     I hope you will have a department in which the readers may
+     discuss the merits or lacks of stories published. Or at
+     least print excerpts now and then.
+
+     Enclosed find twenty cents in stamps for which please send
+     me the first issue.--A. W. Bernal, 1374 E. 32 Street,
+     Oakland, Calif.
+
+
+"_Stories I Like Best_--"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     The stories I like best in your Astounding Stories of
+     Super-science were "The Beetle Horde" by Victor Rousseau,
+     "The Cave of Horror," by Capt. S. P. Meek, "Compensation,"
+     by C. V. Tench, "Invisible Death," by Anthony Pelcher. I
+     have just bought your second copy of Astounding Stories. I
+     like the book very much, and expect to buy it every
+     month--Issac Dworkowits, 1262 Valentine Avenue, Bronx, N. Y.
+
+
+"_Just What Is Needed_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I have read the first two copies of your new magazine and I
+     would like to make a few comments and criticisms. This
+     magazine is very popular in my community and is just what is
+     needed to instill scientific interest in the mind of the
+     general public. Science Fiction will arouse more interest
+     and will be read by more people than any amount of dry
+     science and cold facts. Since you would like to have a
+     reader's opinion, I will say that "The Beetle Horde" is the
+     best story that I have read in a long time and was based on
+     the most excellent science; "The Thief of Time" was good;
+     try to get some more stories by Capt. S. P. Meek; one in
+     every copy would not be too many. I could not get all "het
+     up" over "Spawn of the Stars," it was a little vague; I do
+     not think the author had a very distinct idea about the
+     nature of the invaders.
+
+     The stories do not have to stick to cold science, but should
+     not violate an established fact without a reasonable
+     explanation, as this might cause a mistaken idea in the
+     minds of the readers. A few good authors are: Dr. Keller, A
+     Hyatt Verrill, Walter Kately and R. H. Romans.--Wayne Bray,
+     Campbell, Missouri.
+
+
+"_Literature That Typifies New Age_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     As a member of an organization whose existence was founded
+     through the medium of Science Fiction, I have watched your
+     magazine closely, and here are the results:
+
+     It is all Science Fiction, virile, interesting and new.
+
+     A popular edition of these stories with the name of a great
+     publishing house behind it.
+
+     The authors you have acquired are supreme in this field. Ray
+     Cummings and Captain Meek need no introduction. And Harl
+     Vincent is a notable addition whose stories of "Indefinite
+     Extension" and interplanetary travel are well known to
+     Science Fiction fans.
+
+     Science Fiction, first introduced by Verne, Poe, Wells,
+     Haggard and other old masters in this line, is a type of
+     literature that typifies the new age to come--the age of
+     science. And, in conclusion, may I say that the Science
+     Correspondence Club extends to your new and most acceptable
+     publication heartiest wishes for continued and increasing
+     success. I subscribe myself to the advancement of science
+     and Science Fiction.--Walter P. Dennis, F. P. S., 4653
+     Addison Street, Chicago, Ill.
+
+
+"_Keep Up the Good Work_"
+
+     Dear Editor:
+
+     I have just completed the perusal of the first issue of
+     Astounding Stories and am immensely pleased. I am a high
+     school senior, and though have only a rudimentary knowledge
+     of science, the subject impresses me and I am eager to gain
+     new facts and food for thought.
+
+     I compliment you on securing the services of such writers of
+     scientifiction as Ray Cummings, Harl Vincent, and R. F.
+     Starzl. They are good! Ray Cummings' impressive style, his
+     vivid imagination, and his knowledge of his subject seem to
+     me invincible. His stories are always welcome.
+
+     Now, concerning the services of other writers of Science
+     Fiction, I think the majority of the readers would be well
+     pleased with the following list: Edgar Rice Burroughs, A.
+     Hyatt Verrill, H.G. Wells, David H. Keller, Otis Adelbert
+     Kline and Stanton Coblentz. The above mentioned, I am sure,
+     would greatly please your readers. I believe it would
+     greatly improve the circulation of your magazine to try to
+     secure the services of such writers (especially E. R.
+     Burroughs).
+
+     I am greatly interested in the future of your magazine and
+     wish it every bit of luck in the world. You have made an
+     astounding start. Keep up the good work.--A. G. Jaweett,
+     Jr., 132 Murdock Avenue, Asheville, N.C.
+
+
+"_The Readers' Corner_"
+
+All Readers are extended a sincere and cordial invitation to "come
+over in 'The Readers' Corner'" and join in our monthly discussion of
+stories, authors, scientific principles and possibilities--everything
+that's of common interest in connection with our Astounding Stories.
+
+Although from time to time the Editor may make a comment or so, this
+is a department primarily for _Readers_, and we want you to make full
+use of it. Likes, dislikes, criticisms, explanations, roses,
+brickbats, suggestions--everything's welcome here; so "come over in
+'The Readers' Corner'" and discuss it with all of us!
+
+--_The Editor._
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Astounding Stories of Super-Science,
+June, 1930, by Various
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTOUNDING STORIES ***
+
+***** This file should be named 29848-8.txt or 29848-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/8/4/29848/
+
+Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.