Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930

Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930 Page 5

by Various

  Vandals of the Stars

  _By A. T. Locke_

  A livid flame flares across Space--and over Manhattan hovers Teuxical, vassal of Malfero, Lord of the Universe, who comes with ten thousand warriors to ravage and subjugate one more planet for his master.

  _Many planes and Zeppelins were circling around themysterious visitant._]

  It came suddenly, without warning, and it brought consternation to thepeople of the world.

  A filament of flame darted down the dark skies one moonless night andthose who saw it believed, at first, that it was a meteor. Instead ofstreaking away into oblivion, however, it became larger and larger,until it seemed as though some vagrant, blazing star was about to plungeinto the earth and annihilate the planet and every vestige of life uponit. But then it drew slowly to a stop high up in the atmosphere, whereit remained motionless, glowing white and incandescent against theStygian background of the overcast skies.

  In shape it resembled a Zeppelin, but its dimensions very apparentlyexceeded by far those of any flying craft that ever had been fabricatedby the hand of man.

  As it hung poised high up in the air it gradually lost its dazzling glowand became scarlet instead of white. Then, as it continued to cool, thecolor swiftly drained from it and, in a few minutes, it shone only withthe dull and ugly crimson of an expiring ember. In a half-hour after itfirst had appeared its effulgence had vanished completely and it wasbarely visible to the millions who were staring up toward it from theearth.

  It seemed to be suspended directly above Manhattan, and the inhabitantsof New York were thrown into a feverish excitement by the strange andunprecedented phenomenon.

  * * * * *

  For it scarcely had come to a stop, and certainly it had not been poisedaloft for more than a few minutes, when most of those who had notactually witnessed its sensational appearance were apprised of theinexplicable occurrence by the radiovision, which were scatteredthroughout the vast metropolis. In theaters and restaurants and othergathering places, as well as in millions of homes, a voice from theWorldwide Broadcasting Tower announced the weird visitant. And itsimage, as it glowed in the night, was everywhere transmitted to thepublic.

  Only a short time after it first had been observed people were throngingroof-tops, terraces, and streets, and gazing with awe and wonder at thegreat luminous object that was floating high above them.

  There were those who thought that the world was coming to an end, andthey either were dumb with fright or strident with hysteria. People withmore judgment, and a smattering of scientific knowledge, dismissed thething as some harmless meteorological manifestation that, whileinteresting, was not necessarily dangerous. And there were many,inclined to incredulity and skepticism, who believed that they werewitnessing a hoax or an advertising scheme of some new sort.

  But as the moments went by the world commenced to become stirred andalarmed by the reports which came over the radiovisors.

  For powerful planes and metal-shelled Zeppelins had climbed swiftlyaloft to investigate the incomprehensible Thing that was poised highabove Manhattan, and almost unbelievable reports were being sentearthward.

  * * * * *

  Dirk Vanderpool had been sitting alone on the broad terrace of hisapartment that occupied the upper stories of the great Gotham GardensBuilding when he saw that streak of fire slip down against the darknessof the night.

  For a moment he, too, had believed that he was watching a meteor, but,when he saw it come to a slow stop and hang stationary in the heavens,he rose to his feet with an exclamation of surprise.

  For a while he gazed upward with an expression of astonishment on hisface and then he turned as he heard someone walking softly in hisdirection. It was Barstowe, his valet, and the eyes of the man werealive with fear.

  "What is that thing, Mr. Vanderpool?" he asked in a voice that trembledwith alarm. Barstowe was a man of middle age, diminutive in size, and hehad the appearance of being nearly petrified with terror. "They aresaying over the televisor that--"

  "What are they saying about it?" asked Dirk somewhat impatiently.

  "That no one can explain what it is," continued Barstowe. "It must besomething terrible, Mr. Vanderpool."

  "Wheel out the luciscope," ordered Dirk.

  * * * * *

  Barstowe disappeared into the apartment and returned with a cabinet thatwas mounted on small, rubber-tired wheels. The top of it was formed of ametallic frame in which a heavy, circular, concave glass was fitted. Theframe was hinged in front so that it could be raised from the rear andadjusted to any angle necessary to catch the light rays from any distantobject. Within the cabinet the rays passed through an electrical devicethat amplified them millions of times, thus giving a clear, telescopicvision of the object on which the luciscope was focused.

  This instrument, years before, had supplanted entirely the old-fashionedtelescopes which not only had been immense and unwieldly but which alsohad a very limited range of vision.

  Dirk adjusted the light-converger so that it caught the rays that werebeing emanated by the weird and shimmering mass that was suspendedalmost directly above the lofty terrace on which he was standing.

  Then he switched on the current and glanced into the eye-piece of theapparatus. For several moments he remained silent, studying the imagethat was etched so vividly on the ground-glass within the luciscope.

  "It is a queer thing, there is no doubt about that," he confessed whenfinally he raised his head. "It resembles a gigantic Zeppelin in shapebut it does not seem to have any undercarriage or, as far as I can see,any indication of propellers or portholes. I would say, though,Barstowe, that it might be a ship from some other planet if it wasn'tfor the fact that it seems to be in an almost molten state."

  * * * * *

  Dirk again looked into the luciscope and then he made a few adjustmentswith a thumb-screw that projected from the side of the apparatus.

  "It is up about forty thousand feet," he told Barstowe, "and it must bemore than a half-mile in length. Probably," he added, "it is a planetaryfragment of some odd composition that is less responsive to gravitationthan the materials with which we are familiar. You will find, Barstowe,that there is nothing about it that science will not be able to explain.That will be all now," he concluded.

  Barstowe walked over the terrace and disappeared into the apartment.Dirk, left alone, wheeled the luciscope over by the chair in which hehad been sitting and near which a radiovisor was standing.

  He switched on the latter and listened to the low but very distinctvoice of the news-dispatcher.

  "--and planes and Zeppelins now are starting up to investigate thestrange phenomenon--"

  Again Dirk placed an eye to the lens of the luciscope and once more theThing leaped into his vision. The powerful machine brought it so closeto him that he could see the heat waves quiver up from it.

  The light that it radiated illuminated the night for thousands of feetand Dirk could see, by means of that crimson glare, that many planes andZeppelins were circling around the mysterious visitant. None of them,however, approached the alien freak, the heat apparently being toointense to permit close inspection.

  * * * * *

  Dirk himself was tempted for a moment to jump into a plane and go up andtake a look at the fiery mass.

  But, after a moment's consideration, he decided, that it would be farmore interesting and comfortable to remain right where he was and listento the reports which were being sent down from above.

  "--thus far there seems to be no cause for alarm, and people are advisedto remain calm--careful observations of the luminous monster are beingmade and further reports concerning it will be broadcast--"

  Dirk Vanderpool rose to his feet, walked to the coping of the terraceand peered into the magnascope that was set into the wall.

  He saw that the street, far below him, was
jammed with struggling peopleand the device through which he was looking brought their faces beforehim in strong relief. Dirk was deeply interested and, at the same time,gravely concerned as he studied the upturned countenances in the mob.

  Fear, despair, reckless abandon, mirth, doubt, religious ecstasy and allthe other nuances in the gamut of human emotions and passions werereflected in those distorted visages which were gazing skyward.

  * * * * *

  The silvery humming of a bell diverted his attention from the scene ofcongestion below him and, turning away, he walked across the terrace andinto the great living room of his luxurious abode.

  Stepping to the televisor, he turned a tiny switch, and the face of agirl appeared in the glass panel that was framed above the sound-box. Hesmiled as he lifted the receiver and placed it to his ear.

  "What is the matter, Inga?" he asked. "You look as if you wereexpecting--well, almost anything disastrous."

  "Oh, Dirk, what is that thing?" the girl asked. "I really am frightened!"

  He could see by the expression in her blue eyes that she, too, wasbecoming a victim of the hysteria that was taking possession of manypeople.

  "I wouldn't be alarmed, Inga," he replied reassuringly. "I don't knowwhat it is, and no one else seems to be able to explain it."

  "But it is frightful and uncanny, Dirk," the girl insisted, "and I amsure that something terrible is going to happen. I wish," she pleaded,"that you would come over and stay with me for a little while. I am allalone and--"

  "All right, Inga," he told her. "I will be with you in a few minutes."

  He hung up the receiver of the televisor and clicked off the switch. Theimage of the golden-haired girl to whom he had been speaking slowlyfaded from the glass.

  * * * * *

  Attiring himself for a short sixty-mile hop down Long Island, Dirkpassed out to the landing stage and, stepping into the cabin of hisplane, he threw in the helicopter lever. The machine rose straight intothe air for a couple of hundred feet and then Dirk headed it westward towhere the nearest ascension beam sent its red light towering toward thestars. It marked a vertical air-lane that led upward to the horizontallanes of flight.

  Northbound ships flew between two and four thousand feet; southboundplanes between five and seven thousand feet; those eastbound confinedthemselves to the level between nine and eleven thousand feet, while thewestbound flyers monopolized the air between twelve and fourteenthousand feet.

  All planes flying parallel to the earth were careful to avoid those redbeacons which marked ascension routes, and the shafts of green lightdown which descending planes dropped to the earth or into lower levelsof travel.

  When Dirk's altimeter indicated seventy-five hundred feet he turned thenose of his ship eastward and adjusted his rheostat until his motors,fed by wireless current, were revolving at top speed.

  The great canyons of Manhattan, linked by arches and highways whichjoined and passed through various levels of the stupendous structures ofsteelite and quartzite, passed swiftly beneath him; and, after passingfor a few minutes over the deserted surface of Long Island, he completedhis sixty-mile flight and brought his ship to a rest on a landing stagethat was far up on the side of a vast pile that rose up close to theshore of the Sound.

  * * * * *

  As soon as he stepped from the door of the cabin he was joined by a girlwho, apparently, had been lingering there, awaiting his arrival.

  She was perhaps twenty years old, and she had the golden hair, the lightcomplexion, and the blue eyes which still were characteristic of thewomen of northern Europe.

  The slender lines of her exquisite figure and the supple grace which shedisplayed when she moved toward Dirk were evidence, however, of theLatin blood which was in her veins.

  For Inga Fragoni, the daughter and heiress of Orlando Fragoni, seemed tobe a culmination of all of the desirable qualities of the women of thesouth and those of the north.

  The terrace on which Dirk had landed was illuminated by lights whichsimulated sunshine, and their soft bright glow revealed the violet hueof her eyes and the shimmering gloss of her silken hair. She wore asleeveless, light blue tunic which was gathered around her waist with abejeweled girdle.

  On her tiny feet she wore sandals which were spun of webby filaments ofgold and platinum.

  "Dirk, I am so glad that you are here!" she exclaimed. "I felt so muchalone when I called you up. Dad is locked in the observatory withProfessor Nachbaren and three or four other men and the servants--well,they all are so terrified that it simply alarms me to have themaround."

  "But that is Stanton's plane there, isn't it?" asked Dirk, indicating apowerful looking machine that stood on the terrace.

  * * * * *

  "Yes, Dirk," the girl replied. "He arrived here three or four minutesbefore you did. I thought, at first, that it was you coming. And Dirk,"she continued, with a note of excitement in her voice, "he flew up tolook at that thing, and I know that he is as frightened about it as Iam."

  Dirk grunted, but he gave no expression of the dislike and distrust thatStanton aroused in him. The latter, he knew, was very much inclined tolook with favor on Inga, and his presumption annoyed Dirk because, whilehe and the girl had not declared their intention of living together,they were very much in love with each other.

  "You will want to hear him tell about it, I know, Dirk," the girl said."I left Stanton up on the garden terrace when I saw you coming down.Come; we will go and join him."

  Dirk and Inga strolled slowly along paths which were lined with exoticshrubbery and plants. Here and there a fountain tossed its glitteringspray high into the air while birds, invisible in the feathery foliage,warbled and thrilled entrancingly. Soft music, transmitted from theauditoriums below, blended so harmoniously with the atmosphere of theterraces that it seemed to mingle with and be a part of the drifting,subtle scents of the abundant flowers which bloomed on every side.

  For these upper terraces of Fragoni's palace were enclosed, duringinclement weather, with great glass plates which, at the touch of abutton, automatically appeared or disappeared.

  Winding their way easily upward, Dirk and Inga came finally to asecluded terrace which overlooked the Sound. Here they saw Stanton, whowas unaware of their approach, looking skyward at the dim and sinistershape which was outlined against the sky. Stanton's brow was contractedand his expression was filled with apprehension. He started suddenlywhen he became conscious of the presence of Dirk and the lovely daughterof Fragoni.

  He rose to his feet, a short man in his forties, stocky in build andsomewhat swarthy in complexion. He contrasted very unfavorably withDirk, who was tall and well-built and who had abundant blond hair andsteady steel-blue eyes.

  "What do you make of that thing, Vanderpool?" he asked, almost ignoringthe presence of Inga.

  "I don't know enough about it yet to be able to express an opinion,"Dirk replied. "We will find out about it soon enough," he added, "so whyworry about it in the meantime?"

  "It is well enough to affect such an attitude," said Stanton, with atouch of sarcasm in his voice, "but let me tell you, Vanderpool, thatthere is good reason to worry about it."

  * * * * *

  Dirk frowned at the statement as he saw a shadow pass over the fair faceof Inga.

  "That thing up there," continued Stanton, with conviction in his voice,"is not a natural phenomenon. I flew fairly close to it in my plane andI know what I am speaking about. That thing is some sort of a monster,Vanderpool, that is made of metal or of some composition that is anunearthly equivalent of metal. It is a diabolical creation of some sortthat has come from out of the fathomless depths of the universe." Heshuddered at the fantasy that his feverish imagination was creating. "Itis metal, I tell you," he continued, "but it is metal that is endowedwith some sort of intelligence. I was up there," he breathed swiftly,"and I saw it hanging there
in the sky, quivering with heat and life."

  "You are nervous, Stanton," said Vanderpool coolly. "Get a grip onyourself, man, and look at the thing reasonably. If that thing hasintelligence," he added, "we will find some way to slay it."

  "Slay it!" exclaimed Stanton. "How can you expect to slay a mad creationthat can leap through space, from world to world, like a wasp goesdarting from flower to flower? How can you kill a thing which not onlydefies absolute zero but also the immeasurable heat which its frictionwith the atmosphere generated when it plunged toward the earth? How canyou kill a thing that seems to have brains and nerves and bones andflesh of some strange substance that is harder and tougher than anyearthly compound we have discovered?"

  * * * * *

  He stopped speaking for a moment. They listened to the voice that wasbroadcasting from the Worldwide Tower.

  "--our planes have approached to within a few thousand feet of itand are playing their searchlights over the surface of the leviathan.It is not a meteorite of any kind that scientists have heretoforeexamined--its surface is smooth and unpitted and shows no apparenteffect of the tremendous heat to which it was subjected during its dropthrough the atmosphere. It seems to be immune to gravity--its weightmust be tremendous, and it is fully three-quarters of a mile long andbetween seven and eight hundred feet in diameter at its widest part, butit lies motionless--motionless--at about forty thousand feet."

  "It doesn't appear now as if it would prove very dangerous," remarkedDirk.

  "--and people are warned again to maintain their composure and to go totheir homes and remain there for their own protection and the protectionof others. Riots and serious disturbances are reported from cities inall parts of the world--mobs are swarming the streets of Manhattan andthe other boroughs of New York, and the police are finding it difficultto restrain the frenzied populations in other centers...."

  * * * * *

  There was a pause, then, of some moments, and then the voice of thebroadcaster, vibrant with excitement, was heard again.

  "--a plane has made a landing on the surface of the monstrosity, which,it seems, has not only lost its heat but is becoming decidedly cold--"

  A servant appeared from among the shrubbery and paused before Dirk.

  "There is a call for you, Mr. Vanderpool," he said respectfully.

  Dirk excused himself and, entering the sumptuous apartment that openedfrom the terrace, went to the televisor. He saw the face of Sears, thechief secretary of Fragoni, in the glass panel.

  "There will be a meeting of the council at nine o'clock in the morning,Mr. Vanderpool," came the voice over the wire.

  "Thank you, Sears," replied Dirk. "It happens that Stanton is here atthe present time. Shall I notify him of the conclave?"

  "If you will, please," Sears responded. "By the way, Mr. Vanderpool, isthere anything wrong at your apartment? I tried to call you there beforeI located you here and I failed to get any response."

  "I guess that all of my servants have run out from under cover becauseof their fear of that thing in the sky," Dirk responded. "Do you knowanything about it, Sears?" he asked.

  "It will be discussed at the meeting to-morrow morning," replied Searsshortly. "Good night, Mr. Vanderpool."

  * * * * *

  Dirk, upon returning to the terrace, saw that both Stanton and Inga weresilently and fearfully looking up into the night.

  "A meeting of the council at nine o'clock in the morning, Stanton," Dirksaid abruptly. "I told Sears I would notify you."

  "I thought that we would be called together very soon," said Stanton."It's concerning that damn thing up there."

  "Perhaps," agreed Dirk carelessly. "Well," he added, "I believe that Iwill hop home and get some sleep."

  "Sleep!" exclaimed Stanton. "Sleep? On a night like this?"

  "Oh, Dirk," pleaded Inga, "stay here with me, won't you? I am not goingto bed because I just know that I wouldn't be able to close my eyes."

  "Let him go, Inga, if he wants to sleep," urged Stanton. "I will stayhere and keep watch with you."

  "--and if order is not restored in the streets of Manhattan within thecourse of a short time, the authorities will resort to morphite gas toquell the turbulence and rioting--"

  "The streets must be frightfully congested," said Inga. "It is the firstoccasion in a long time that the police have had to threaten the use ofmorphite."

  "--we do not want to alarm people unnecessarily but we have to report,"came the hurried voice of the broadcaster, "that the monstrous mass thathas been hanging above the city just made a sudden drop of five thousandfeet and again came to a stop. It is now a little more than six milesover Manhattan and--again it has dropped. This time it fell like aplummet for twelve thousand feet. It is now about twenty thousand feet,some four miles, above Manhattan and--"

  * * * * *

  A cry of alarm came from the lips of Inga as she gazed upward and sawthat gigantic, ominous-appearing object loom dim and vast in thedarkness above them.

  She went to Dirk and threw her arms around him, as if she were clingingto him for protection.

  "Don't leave me, Dirk," she whispered. "I can just feel that somethingterrible is going to happen, and I want you with me!"

  "I'll stay with you, of course," whispered Dirk. Something of thatfeeling of dread and apprehension which so fully possessed his twocompanions entered into his mind. "Don't tremble so, Inga," he pleaded."It is a strange thing, but we will know more about it in the morning.Be calm until then, my dear, if you can."

  He looked over the shoulder of the girl, whose face was buried againsthis breast, and he saw a hundred great red and green shafts of lightshooting up into the air. Fleeting shadows seemed to pass swiftly up anddown them, and he knew that thousands of planes were abroad, some ofthem seeking the heights and others dropping down.

  The great towers of Long Island were all aglow, and it was apparent thatfew people were sleeping that night. The scarlet sky over Manhattanindicated that the center of the metropolis, too, was alive to themenace of the weird visitant that now was so plainly visible.

  All night long they remained on the terrace. Dirk and Inga seated closetogether and Stanton, at a distance, brooding alone over the disasterwhich he felt was impending.

  The illuminated dial of the great clock that was a part of thebeacon-tower on the Metropole Landing Field told of the slow passing ofthe hours.

  All night long they listened to the reports that came through theradiovisor and watched that immobile, threatening monster of metal.

  But it remained static during the rest of the night. And, with thecoming of a gray and sunless dawn, it still hung there, motionless,silent and sinister.

  * * * * *

  The next morning the President of the United States of the World, fromthe capitol at The Hague, issued a proclamation of martial law, tobecome effective at once in all parts of the world.

  The edict forbade people to leave their homes, and it was vigorouslyexecuted, wherever the police themselves were not in a state ofdemoralization.

  At about the same time a special meeting of the Supreme Congress wascalled, the body to remain in session until some solution of the mysteryhad been arrived at.

  At the same time that martial law was declared, however, and the specialassemblage of lawmakers convened, a statement was issued in which anattempt was made to eliminate from the minds of the people the idea thatthe undefinable object above the metropolis was at all dangerous.

  It was, indeed, suggested that it very probably was some sort of newdevice which had been constructed on the earth and which was beingintroduced to the people of the world in a somewhat sensational mannerby the person or persons who were responsible for it.

  The fears of the populace were, to some extent, allayed by this means,and some degree of order restored.

  * * * * *


  At nine o'clock Dirk Vanderpool was shown into the council chamber inthe palace of Orlando Fragoni, and he was closely followed by Stanton.Fragoni was already there, and he greeted the two men with a countenancethat was serene but that, nevertheless, revealed indications of concern.He was a man past middle age, tall and strikingly handsome inappearance. His eyes were dark and penetrating and his forehead, highand wide, was crowned by an abundance of snow-white hair. His voice,while pleasing to the ear, was vibrant with life and energy, and hespoke with the incisive directness of one accustomed to command.

  For Orlando Fragoni, as nearly as any one man might be, was the ruler ofthe world.

  It was in the early part of the twentieth century that wealth hadcommenced to concentrate into a relatively few hands. This was followedby a period in which vast mergers and consolidations had been effectedas a result of the financial power and genius for organization which afew men possessed. A confederation of the countries of the world wasbrought about by industrial kings who had learned, in one devastatingwar, that militarism, while it might bring riches to a few, was, in thefinal analysis, destructive and wasteful.

  Mankind the world over, relieved of the menace of war, made moreprogress in a decade than they had made in any previous century, but allthe time the invisible concentration of power and money continued.

  And, in 1975, the affairs of the world were controlled by five men, ofwhom Orlando Fragoni was the most powerful and most important.

  * * * * *

  His grandfather had been a small banker, and out of his obscuretransactions the great House of Fragoni had arisen. The money power ofthe world was now controlled by Orlando Fragoni. Dirk Vanderpool, partlyas a result of a vast inheritance and partly through his own ability anduntiring industry, dominated the transportation facilities of the world.Planes and Zeppelins, railroad equipment and ships, were built in hisplants and operated by the many organizations which he controlled.

  Stanton had inherited the agricultural activities of the world and, inaddition to this, he was the sovereign of distribution. He owned immenseacreages in all of the continents; he not only cultivated every knownvariety of produce, but also handled the sale of his products throughhis own great chains of stores. His father had been one of the greatgeniuses of the preceding generation, but Stanton, while inheriting thecommercial empire which he had ruled, had not inherited much of theability which had gone into the establishment of it.

  There were two other members of that invisible council of Five, thevery existence of which was not even suspected by the general populaceof the world.

  Sigmund Lazarre was the world's mightiest builder, and millions of greatstructures, which were built of material from his own mines, were underhis control. It was Lazarre, too, who owned the theaters and otheramusement centers in which millions upon millions of people soughtrelaxation every day. The creation and application of electrical powermade up the domain of Wilhelm Steinholt, who also owned the factoriesthat made the machinery of the world.

  Absolute control of all of the necessities and luxuries of life, infact, were in the hands of the five men, who used their vast powerwisely and beneficently.

  Ostensibly the peoples of the world ruled themselves by means of ademocratic form of government.

  In reality their lives were directed by a few men whose power and wealthwere entirely unsuspected by any but those who were close to them.

  * * * * *

  The council room in which Fragoni had received Dirk and Stanton waslofty and sumptuously appointed.

  The rugs which covered the floor were soft to the tread, and the wallsand ceiling were adorned with a series of murals which represented thevarious heavenly constellations.

  At the far end of the chamber there was a staircase, and Dirk was amongthose who knew that it led up to the great observatory in which Fragoniand certain of his scientific associates spent so much of their time atnight.

  For men had commenced to talk about the conquest of the stars, and itwas generally believed that it would not be many years more before a waywould be found to traverse the interplanetary spaces.

  "We are rather fortunate, my friends," Fragoni said to his twoassociates, "to have been the witnesses of the event that transpiredlast night."

  "Fortunate!" exclaimed Stanton. "Then you know that the thing isharmless?"

  A little smile lit the benign and scholarly countenance of Fragoni as hecalmly regarded Stanton.

  "We know very little about it," he replied after a brief pause, "and, ifour surmises are correct, it may be very far from harmless. It isintensely interesting, nevertheless," he continued, "because that thing,as you term it, unquestionably is directed by intelligence. Without theslightest doubt the people of the earth are about to behold a form oflife from some far-away planet. What that form will be," he added, withan almost imperceptible shrug of his shoulders, "it is impossible toforecast."

  "But it was so hot," commenced Stanton, "that--"

  "True," agreed Fragoni, "but it also is large and it may be that onlythe outer shell of it was affected by friction with the atmosphere thatsurrounds the earth. Nachbaren," he continued, "is certain that there isintelligent life within it; and Nachbaren," he added dryly, "is usuallyright."

  * * * * *

  While Fragoni had been speaking, two more men had quietly joined them.

  "Good morning, Lazarre," Fragoni said, addressing a short, swarthy manwho, very apparently, was of Jewish extraction.

  "Good morning," the other replied in a soft and mellifluous voice. "Itseems," he continued, with a twinkle in his eyes, "as if some of mypretty buildings may be toppled over soon."

  "Maybe," agreed Fragoni. "And maybe," he added more seriously, "muchmore than your buildings will be toppled over, Lazarre."

  "That thing, then, is...?" questioned the heavy-set, slow-speaking,blue-eyed Teuton who had come into the room with Lazarre.

  "We do not know, Steinholt," admitted Fragoni, "but our knowledgeundoubtedly will be increased considerably within the next few hours.And now," he said, "we will consider the problem at hand."

  "--the object which has created such unrest is slowly rising. It is nowsome twenty-five thousand feet above Manhattan. It is--"

  The voice from the radiovisor attracted the attention of the five men,and, with one accord, they rushed to the terrace and looked towardManhattan. They saw the great leviathan high in the air for a moment,and then, suddenly, it seemed to vanish from sight.

  "It's gone!" exclaimed Stanton, with a sigh of relief. "It must havebeen some odd atmospheric freak, that's all."

  They searched the skies through the luciscope that was on the terrace,but failed to detect any trace of the monster.

  * * * * *

  "That seems to simplify matters," remarked Fragoni as they again walkedback into the great conference room. But here, once more, they heard thevoice from the Worldwide Tower.

  "--we are advised by Chicago that the thing, dull-red with heat, ishovering only a couple of thousand feet over the city. Thousands in thestreets are being killed by the heat it is radiating--panic reigns,despite a rigorous enforcement of martial law. The strange object justrose suddenly to a high altitude and disappeared--"

  "It's another one of those damned things," asserted Stanton. "Thatcouldn't go a thousand miles a minute!"

  "It can go faster than that, if I am not mistaken," said Fragoni. And itpresently appeared that he was right, for in a couple of minutes theradiovisor transmitted the news that it was over San Francisco, where itremained for only a few seconds. It was not more than a minute laterthat word came from Shanghai that it had passed slowly over that city.Then again it was poised high over Manhattan, crimson with heat.

  "Is there any possible defense against it, Steinholt?" Fragoni asked.The Teuton shook his head with an air of finality.

  "None," he said, "as far as I can determine
now. We can create anddirect artificial lightning that would reduce this building to a mass ofpowdered stone and fused metal in a fraction of a second. But I amcertain that it wouldn't leave as much as a scratch on that monster upthere. We might try the Z-Rays on it, but an intelligence that coulddevise such a craft would undoubtedly have the wisdom to protect itagainst such an elementary menace as rays. Even the mightiest explosivesthat we have wouldn't send a tremor through that mighty mass."

  * * * * *

  "Why not await developments?" asked Dirk. "We do not even know thenature of the thing we are trying to combat."

  "It's solid metal," insisted Stanton tenaciously. "It's a metal bodywith a metal brain."

  "Don't be ridiculous," said Steinholt. "It seems quite apparent that thecraft has come from another planet, and, if I am not greatly mistaken,there are intelligent creatures inside it."

  "In any event," said Dirk, "it seems impractical to make any plans untilwe know more about it. I suggest that we empower Fragoni to act for therest of us in this matter."

  "That is very agreeable to me," said Steinholt. "A crisis very possiblymay arise in which the quick judgment of one man may be necessary toavert the danger that always is inherent in delay."

  "You hold my proxy," Lazarre said to Fragoni, "and I assume that Stantonis agreeable to this procedure."

  "--the thing is moving very slowly eastward in the direction of LongIsland Sound. It is, at the same time, losing altitude. Its movementsare being carefully watched. As yet we see no cause for immediatealarm--people are advised to remain calm--"

  "Yes, I am agreeable," said Stanton nervously and hastily. "If there arethings in it with which we can compromise, I would suggest that we donot offend them."

  "I am, then, empowered to act for all of you," said Fragoni, ignoringthe suggestion of Stanton.

  * * * * *

  He rose from his chair and walked out on the terrace. The othersfollowed after him.

  Looking westward, they saw the mammoth craft descending slowly in theirdirection.

  Its vast dimensions became more and more apparent as, spellbound, theywatched it approach closer and closer to them.

  The thing in the sky was now not more than three thousand feet abovethem and only a few miles to the westward.

  The observers on the terrace regarded it for a moment in silence as itdrifted forward and downward.

  "It's colossal!" Steinholt then exclaimed, lost in scientific admirationof the mammoth craft. "Magnificent! Superb!"

  "But it's coming right toward us!" cried Stanton.

  "What makes it move, I wonder?" asked Dirk. "And how in the world is itcontrolled?"

  "It surely is not of this world," said Fragoni quietly. "That giganticthing has come to us from somewhere out of the infinite and terribledepths of space."

  * * * * *

  Another minute elapsed while they watched it, speechless with wonder.

  "Do you know," Lazarre then said calmly, "I believe that it is going toland in the waters of the Sound. It appears so to me, anyway."

  It was nearly opposite them by this time, and not more than a thousandfeet above the water. A few planes which, very apparently, were beingflown by intrepid and fearless flyers, were hovering close around it.

  Then finally it came to rest, as Lazarre had predicted, in the watersome two miles off shore, and it was obscured by a great cloud of vaporfor several minutes.

  "Steam," asserted Steinholt. "That trip around the world, which it madein a few minutes, generated considerable frictional heat in the shell."

  "Come," said Fragoni, "we'll fly out and look the thing over."

  Around the corner of the building, on the level of the terrace, therewas a landing stage which was occupied by a number of planes of varioussizes.

  Dirk entered the door of a small twenty passenger speedster, and theothers filed in after him.

  "Ready?" he asked, after he had seated himself at the controls.

  "Ready!" replied Fragoni.

  The plane rose straight up into the air and then darted gracefully outover the Sound.

  * * * * *

  Dirk swooped straight down at the leviathan which lay so quietly on thesurface of the Sound and then slowly circled around it. No sign of anaperture of any sort could be seen in the craft. Then he dropped theplane lightly on the water, close to the metallic monster, which toweredfully four hundred feet above them, despite the fact that more than halfof it was submerged.

  "It must be hollow," remarked Steinholt, "or it wouldn't be so far outof the water. In fact, it most certainly would sink, if it was solid."

  At the touch of a lever which lay under one of Dirk's hands the planerose straight out of the water, and he maneuvered it directly over thetop of the strange enigma. Then he touched a button and the pontoonswere drawn up into the undercarriage of the craft.

  "Shall I make a landing on it?" he asked, turning his head andaddressing Fragoni.

  The latter nodded his head, and Dirk dropped the ship gently onto thesmooth surface of the monster, the pneumatic gearing completelyabsorbing the shock of the landing.

  Dirk relinquished the controls and, opening the door of the cabin, hestepped out onto the rough and pitted substance of which the leviathanwas compounded. He stood there while the others came out after him.

  A large area on the top of the monster was perfectly flat and, within avery few moments, Dirk discovered that it was decidedly warm. He hadbrought the plane down close to the middle of the length of the strangecraft in the belief that there, if anywhere, some indication of anentrance might be found.

  * * * * *

  The voice of Steinholt, tense with suppressed excitement, appraised himthat his surmise had been correct.

  "There is a manhole of some sort," the electrical wizard exclaimed. "Andlook, it is turning!"

  They saw, not far ahead of them, a circular twelve-foot section of thedeck slowly revolving, and, even as they watched, it commenced to riseslowly upward as the threads with which it was provided turned graduallyaround.

  Almost involuntarily they retreated a few feet and stood there,spellbound, as they stared at the massive, revolving section of thedeck.

  It continued to turn until fully ten feet of the mobile cylinder hadbeen exposed. Then the bottom of it appeared. Even then it continued torevolve and rise on a comparatively small shaft which supported it and,at the same time, thrust it upward. Dirk and his companions kept theireyes on the rim of the well which had been exposed, and awaited theappearance of something, they knew not what. When the top of the greatcylinder was fully twelve feet above the deck of the craft it slowlyceased to revolve.

  Moment succeeded moment as the members of the little group rigidly andalmost breathlessly awaited developments.

  Then Dirk, with an impatient ejaculation, stepped forward toward theyawning hole and cautiously peered over the edge of it.

  He stood there for a moment, as if transfixed, and then, with anexclamation of horror, retreated swiftly to where his friends werestanding.

  * * * * *

  "What is it?" gasped Steinholt. "What did you see when--"

  But the words died on his lips for, swarming swiftly over every side ofthe well, there poured an array of erect, piercing-eyed beings, who hadall the characteristics of humans. They were clad in tight-fittingattire of thin and pliant metal which, with the exception of theirfaces, shielded them from head to foot. On their heads they woreclose-fitting helmets, apparently equipped with visors which could bedrawn down to cover their unprepossessing features.

  Each one of them carried a tube which bore a striking resemblance to aportable electric flashlight.

  Swiftly they advanced, in ranks of eight, toward Dirk and his companionswho, gripped with amazement, held their positions.

  The first line came to a halt not more than four f
eet from the littlegroup on the deck. The other lines halted, too, and formed a greatplatoon. Then a shrill whistle sounded and the formation parted in themiddle, leaving an open path that led backward to the entrance, to thewell.

  A moment later the watchers saw the regal figure of a man emerge fromthe orifice and, after a moment's pause, advance slowly in theirdirection with a stately stride.

  He was tall and muscular and blond and his attire, golden in texture,glittered with sparkling gems.

  As he approached them he raised his right hand and, inasmuch as hiscountenance was calm and benign, his gesture appeared to be one ofpeace and good-will.

  * * * * *

  Following close behind him there was a younger man who, very apparently,was of the same lineage. His expression, however, was petulant andhaughty and it contained more than a suggestion of rapacity and evil.

  Behind him there were others of the same fair type, all of themsumptuously and ornately attired.

  Fragoni stepped forward, himself a dignified and striking figure, as theleader of the strange adventurers came forth from the lane that had beenformed by his immobile guard of warriors.

  The two men confronted each other, one whose power and wealth gave him adominate position on earth, and the other a personage from some domainthat was remote in the abyss of space.

  Fragoni bowed and spoke a few friendly words of welcome and thestranger, to the utter amazement of the banker and his associates,responded in an English that was rather peculiar in accent but that theycould understand without any difficulty.

  "From what part of the world do you come," asked the astounded Fragoni,"that you speak our language?"

  "We come from no part of this world," replied the stranger. "The empireof my ruler is infinitely far away. But language, my friend, is not athing of accident. Life grows out of the substance of the universe andlanguage comes out of life. The speech of mankind, in your state ofdevelopment, varies but little throughout all space and I have heardyour English, as you call it, spoken among those who dwell in many, manyworlds."

  "And your world?" asked Steinholt with avid curiosity. "Tell us of theplanet from which you come."

  * * * * *

  But Fragoni, smiling at the eagerness of Steinholt, interposed with akindly but arresting gesture.

  "My name is Fragoni," he said to the stranger, "and I would have youpartake, of my hospitality and refresh yourself after your long journey.These," he added, "are my friends, Steinholt, Vanderpool and Lazarre."

  "I am Teuxical, vassal of his Supreme Highness, Malfero of Lodore," theother replied. "This is my son, Zitlan," he continued, indicating theyoung man behind him, "and the others are my high captains, Anteucan,Orzitza and Huazibar. More of my officers are below together with tenthousand armed and armored men such as you see before you."

  If the last part of the statement was intended as a threat or a warning,the expression on Fragoni's face gave no indication that he was aware ofit.

  "You carry a large crew, sir," Fragoni replied, "but we gladly will makeprovisions for all of your men. As for yourself, your son, and yourcaptains, if you will come with me...."

  He nodded in the direction of the plane which rested on the greatinterplanetary vessel and started to walk slowly in the direction of it.The leader of the skymen walked by his side and the other men fromLodore followed close after them.

  Dirk, Steinholt and Lazarre brought up the rear, while the soldiersremained motionless in their serried array.

  * * * * *

  Innumerable planes were circling overhead and hundreds of them hadlanded on the water in the vicinity. Dirk saw that the wanderers fromthe stars regarded them curiously as if they never before had seenaircraft of that particular type.

  When the cabin door of the plane was thrown open, Teuxical turned to oneof his captains.

  "Remain here, Anteucan, with the soldiers," he commanded, "and await ourreturn."

  Teuxical then entered the plane with his men and Fragoni, Steinholt andLazarre followed after them. Then Dirk took his seat at the controls.

  "These are strange craft you use," he heard Teuxical say. "I have seenthem in only one of the multitude of other worlds on which I have set myfeet, worlds which all pay tribute to Malfero of Lodore. It is safer andswifter to ride the magnetic currents than it is to ride the unstablecurrents of the air."

  Dirk caught the significance of the reference to tribute and he admiredthe clever diplomacy of Teuxical while, at the same time, he wondered ifthe earth and all of those who dwelt upon it were doomed to fall underthe sway of some remote and unseen despot.

  He also realized that the Lodorians had, in some way, devised a craftthat rode the great magnetic streams which flowed through the universein much the same way that men, in ships, navigated the streams of theearth.

  He threw on the helicopter switch and the plane rose swiftly into theair, the myriad other flying craft which were circling nearby keeping ata safe distance from it.

  "Land on the grand terrace," Fragoni directed. The flight was short andrapid and it was only a matter of seconds before Dirk brought the planedown on the landing stage which they had left only a scant half-hourbefore.

  He opened the cabin door and stepped out of the plane and the othersfiled out after him.

  * * * * *

  Fragoni led the way along the stage, walking and chatting with Teuxical,and Dirk, following after the others, was the last to turn a corner thatbrought him a sweeping view of the magnificent terrace that fronted theprivate apartments of the banker and his daughter.

  And, when he did, he saw that Inga was standing there, superblybeautiful, with Stanton a few paces behind her.

  Her lovely eyes were alive with awe and wonder and her slender whitehands were crossed over her heart.

  And Dirk saw, too, that Zitlan, son of Teuxical, had paused and wasstanding quite still, with his unwavering and insolent eyes fixed onthe girl. Resentment, and a touch of apprehension, agitated Dirk when hesaw the expression on the face of the young Lodorian.

  There was admiration in that disagreeable countenance, but it wasblended with arrogance, haughtiness and ill-concealed desire.

  Dirk went quickly to Inga, standing between the girl and the one fromLodore who was staring at her so brazenly.

  "What does it all mean, Dirk?" she asked in a low voice. "Those strangepeople, where are they from?"

  Stanton had come quickly forward and had joined Inga and Dirk.

  "They are from some far-off world, Inga," he explained, "that we knownothing about as yet."

  "But what do they want?" she persisted. "What do they intend to do? Isaw those horrible creatures through the magnascope when they cameswarming out of the inside of that thing on the water and I thought, atfirst, that they were going to kill you all."

  "No, they seem to come in peace," Dirk replied. "Teuxical, their leader,seems to be gracious and kindly."

  * * * * *

  "We are all doomed," asserted Stanton, "unless something happens. Theycan crumble our cities with heat and bury us under the ruins of them."

  "Keep your silence!" breathed Dirk, quietly but tensely. "We will find away to destroy those creatures if it becomes necessary."

  "That man who keeps staring at me, who is he?" asked Inga in a voicethat betrayed her nervousness.

  Dirk turned and saw that Zitlan was still standing where he had pausedand that he still was looking with searching eyes in the direction ofthe girl.

  He returned the insolent gaze of the young Lodorian with an impatientand threatening stare and the countenance of Zitlan at once becamestern and menacing. He came striding in the direction of Inga, Dirk andStanton and paused within a few feet of them, his rapacious eyes stillfixed on the girl.

  "My lady," he said, "your beauty pleases me. I have walked on manyworlds but never before have I seen one as lovely as yourself.
Of thespoils of this world, all that I crave possession of is you. When wereturn to Lodore," he added with an air of finality, "I will take youwith me and place you with my other women in the Seraglio of theStars."

  Dirk swiftly stepped close to Zitlan and the latter quickly clasped atube that hung at his side, a tube of the sort that the soldiers hadcarried.

  "Your words and your manner are insolent," asserted Dirk angrily, "and Iwarn you now to cease making yourself offensive."

  "Dog!" exclaimed Zitlan fiercely, leveling the metal tube, "I'll--"

  But the left fist of Dirk cut short his threat as it made a suddenimpact with his chin, and the Lodorian went crashing backward into someexotic shrubbery with a look of surprise on his countenance.

  Then Dirk heard an odd hissing and crackling sound, and he felt himselfbecoming dizzy and weak.

  Darkness seemed to sweep in upon him; he felt that he was droppingswiftly through space, and then he lost consciousness.

  * * * * *

  A vague and shadowy figure was standing close by his side and peeringdown into his face. After a while he realized that it was Steinholt.

  "Steinholt!" he gasped. "Why--why am I here--in Fragoni's? I must havehad a dream--and yet...."

  He furrowed his brow in thought and, gradually, he commenced to rememberwhat had happened.

  "It was no dream," said the scientist softly. "Do you remember thetrouble that you had with Zitlan?"

  "Yes," replied Dirk. "I remember that he was insolent to Inga and that Ilost my temper and struck him. But what happened to me? I don't recallthat anybody hit me. I did hear sort of a peculiar sound just before Istarted to pass out, but--"

  "Teuxical took a shot at you," said Steinholt, "and you have beenunconscious for over thirty-six hours."

  "Took a shot at me!" exclaimed Dirk. "What did he shoot me with?"

  "That is what we all would like to know," said Steinholt. "He leveledone of those damn tubes at you and pressed a button on it. There was ahissing sound, a flash of light, and you got groggy, and went out. Hepotted Zitlan, too," continued Steinholt, "and he apologized for thetrouble that his son was responsible for. Do you know," he added, "Isort of like the old man."

  * * * * *

  Lazarre, with a sympathetic smile on his face, entered the room at thatmoment and overheard the conversation.

  "Old man is right," he remarked, with a little note of awe in his voice."Teuxical admits that he is three thousand years old and that he has atleast two thousand more ahead of him. That Lodore must be a queerworld," he commented, shaking his grizzly head.

  "It is not so queer when you take everything into consideration," saidSteinholt. "It seems quite natural when Teuxical explains it. Lodore itseems, is something like a hundred thousand times as big as thisminiature world we live on. It took Lodore infinitely longer to solidifyfrom a gaseous state than it took this world, and its entire evolutionhas been relatively slower than ours. Therefore, according to Teuxical,the people up there live longer and, incidentally, know infinitely morethan we do."

  * * * * *

  "What time is it now?" asked Dirk, after a moment of thought.

  "It is just about twelve o'clock at night," Steinholt informed him.

  "Have these Lodorians made any demands yet?" Dirk asked. "Does anybodyknow what they are going to do or what they want?"

  "They are liable to do almost anything," said Lazarre, "and it looks asthough they will be able to get anything that they want. Teuxical, as Iunderstand it, just gave you a slight shock with his death-ray device.If he had pulled the trigger all the way you would have become just alittle pile of dust that the first breeze would have blown away."

  "Our own death-rays are somewhat similar," said Steinholt, "but they arenot a hundredth as powerful. And they won't work on the Lodorians,either," he added, "because those metal sheaths that they wear make themimmune to all kinds of destructive rays."

  * * * * *

  "It appears," remarked Lazarre morosely, "as if this little world ofours is going to be taken for a ride. And it's too bad, considering thatit's the only world we've got. There has been no formal presentation ofdemands yet, but it seems to be sort of understood that the earth isgoing to become a tributary of Lodore. It is a good thing," he added,"that Teuxical, and not Zitlan, is the boss of that outfit. I don't likethe looks of that young fellow. He's only twelve hundred years old andhe is sort of hot-blooded, I guess."

  "I was talking with Anteucan," said Steinholt, "and he told me that theLodorians usually make heavy levies on worlds which they discover anddominate. As soon as Teuxical returns to Lodore and announces a newdiscovery a fleet of those damned monsters is sent out to mop up the newplanet. That Malfero, who is the emperor of Lodore, is considerable of amonarch, and it seems that he has a passion for piling up wealth. Goldand platinum are as precious on Lodore as they are here and he alsolikes pretty stones."

  "And what is worse," added Steinholt, "is his practice of enslavingentire populations and making toilers or warriors out of them. Thosesoldiers on the ship are not Lodorians. Millions of them were seized onsome planet and converted into troops. It was a strange conversion,too," said Steinholt with a shudder. "Their brains were operated on andmost of their faculties removed. They have no sense of fear, noconsciences, no power of reasoning. They respond only to certain signalson a whistle and their only definite and active impulse is that ofmurder and destruction."

  "There is nothing to do," said Dirk positively, "but to kill all ofthese interlopers, if we hope to save our world from being desolated."

  * * * * *

  The three men looked at each other in silence for a moment and thenDirk, somewhat weakly, rose into a sitting position in the bed which hehad been occupying.

  "But how," asked Steinholt, "can we kill them? We might, of course, getrid of a few of them, but that simply would lead to our destruction bythose who were left."

  "There must be some way," asserted Dirk, "and it is up to us to think ofit without delay. If we let those Lodorians get a foothold on the worldall will be lost."

  "The old man seems to be reasonable enough," said Lazarre. "He doesn'tseem inclined to be destructive."

  "We must not trust him or any of the others," said Dirk imperatively."We must rid the earth of every one of them. And the sooner we strikethe better!"

  "It had best be soon if it is to be at all," said Steinholt. "Fragonihas arranged to have Teuxical appear before the Congress, and themeeting has been called for to-night when, I imagine, certain specificdemands will be made upon us. We all will go to The Hague together onthe ship of the Lodorians."

  "And we leave?" questioned Dirk.

  "The meeting is set for ten P. M., New York time," said Lazarre. "Wewill start east at about four o'clock in the morning, I guess, becauseit will only take a minute or so to arrive at our destination."

  "Is Fragoni going?" asked Dirk.

  "Naturally," replied Lazarre.

  "And Inga?"

  "I believe so," Lazarre told him. "Fragoni was both afraid to take herand to leave her behind, but finally he decided that he wanted her withhim in case of trouble."

  * * * * *

  "And are they--the Lodorians--still here?" queried Dirk.

  "Yes," responded Lazarre. "Teuxical returned to his ship last night withZitlan and his other followers, but they came back late this afternoon,and they are still here. Zitlan seemed to be all right this afternoon,too. They must have used some means of bringing him out of the daze thathe was in. We did everything we could to revive you, but none of ourmeasures were effective."

  "I'm all right now," asserted Dirk, as he finished attiring himself. "Iwant to see Fragoni at once."

  "We'll go out on the terrace then," said Steinholt. "They are all outthere."

  Dirk, with his two companions, strolled out through the m
aze of roomsand corridors that led to the garden which hung so high above the cityand the Sound below it.

  The first thing that Dirk saw, when he passed out onto the terrace, wasthe white tunic of Inga, who was leaning against a coping and talkingwith Zitlan.

  The latter was pointing skyward and, very apparently, he was telling herof worlds which circled high among the stars.

  As if she were suddenly aware of his presence, Inga turned and saw Dirkand he realized, by the expression on her face, that she was distraughtand nervous. She came toward him quickly, after a few words to Zitlan,and the face of the latter darkened. There was hatred in his expressionas he stared malevolently at Dirk.

  * * * * *

  Steinholt and Lazarre passed along and joined Fragoni and Teuxical, whowere the center of a group that had formed in another part of theterrace.

  "Oh, Dirk," said Inga, "I am so afraid of that frightful Zitlan. He hasbeen telling me again that he is going to take me back to his own worldwith him and it makes me shudder to think of it. He is so strange andqueer and his eyes are so terrible. He can't be as young as he looks,because he speaks of years like we speak of minutes. I will die if Iever find myself in that monster's power! He has been telling me of allthe creatures he has slain on the worlds on which he has landed, and Itell you, Dirk, that he is cruel and ruthless and horrible."

  "He will never have you!" swore Dirk. "And if I hear of any more of hisinsolence, I will throw him headlong from this terrace."

  "Please, Dirk," she begged, "don't do anything--not yet. He is utterlyunscrupulous, Dirk. He told me that, even now, he is plotting againstsome Malfero who rules Lodore like a god, and that he is planning toseize the throne of the planet. He wants to make me the queen of thatfearful world when he becomes king. He boasted that, if I were on thethrone, millions of people from other worlds would be sacrificed in myhonor in the temples of Lodore." Her voice trembled and her eyes wereterror-stricken as she continued. "They tear out the hearts of livingvictims," she whispered, "and burn them on their high and mammothpyramids."

  * * * * *

  Rage took possession of Dirk and, casting a glance at Zitlan, he sawthat the Lodorian was smiling insolently at him.

  "I'll kill that beast, if it's the last thing that I do!" he exclaimedto Inga.

  "Dirk, Dirk," she implored, "don't even look at him. He is proud andimpetuous, and he will kill you in defiance of his own father."

  "We will find some way to rid the world of the scourge that hasdescended upon it," asserted Dirk confidently, "and he will die with therest of that monstrous crew."

  "I am going in, Dirk," Inga said. "Please," she begged, "don't doanything rash. If--something--should happen to you, I would lose all thehope that I have and I would, I think, kill myself."

  "Don't lose hope, my dear," said Dirk reassuringly. "I believe that Iknow of a way to destroy the plague that menaces us."

  He pressed her hand and, after she left him, he walked over and joinedthe other men on the terrace. Zitlan, coming from the terrace wall,stretched out in a chair not far from Dirk.

  Teuxical regarded the latter with a countenance that was calm andamicable. "I am sorry, my young friend," he apologized, "that I had tointervene between you and my son." He paused a moment and sat insilence, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Ah," he then said, "whatdisasters have arisen out of the desire of men for women. In mywanderings over the starlit worlds, I have seen...." He ceased speaking,brooded for a moment, and then shook his head slowly. "But you cannotsay that I was not just," he continued, addressing Dirk. "I punishedZitlan for his presumption. Fragoni tells me that the woman has pledgedherself to you. Let her pledge be kept!" he exclaimed sternly, lookingstraight at Zitlan.

  "We are the conquerors," asserted the latter boldly, "and to us shouldbelong the spoils of our daring!"

  "Silence!" thundered Teuxical. "My own son, above all others, shall beobedient to my commands! Or, like others have done, he shall die becauseof insubordination!"

  * * * * *

  Zitlan, a defiant expression on his face, ceased to speak, but Dirkcould see that he was livid with suppressed rage.

  "As I was saying," Teuxical remarked, turning to Fragoni, "I am gettingold and long have I been weary of conquest. I have seen your world andit pleases me. It is a tiny and peaceful place, far removed from thestrife and turbulence of the restless centers of the universe. So it ismy will to leave you unscathed and return to Lodore for a brief time toask of the mighty Malfero the grant of this little provincial land. Andthen, with his permission, I will return here and rule it with wisdomand benevolence.

  "I will bring to you much knowledge, and peace will be to the people ofthis earth and peace will be to me."

  "It is well," replied Fragoni. "No world, I am certain, could hope for awiser and more just ruler than yourself, and our Congress surely willreceive you with acclaim."

  Teuxical bowed in recognition of the compliment, and his countenanceindicated that he was gratified.

  "We will go, now, back to our vessel," he said, addressing the otherLodorians. "We will return for you at the appointed hour and conduct youto our ship," he added, speaking to Fragoni.

  "We will be ready," Fragoni replied.

  * * * * *

  Zitlan had arisen with the rest of them and Dirk, with a look ofcontempt and amusement in his eyes, regarded him casually.

  "May I have the honor of conducting our guests back to their ship in aplane?" Stanton requested of Fragoni.

  The latter nodded and Stanton walked across the terrace in the directionof the landing stage.

  Zitlan, as he followed after the others, passed close to Dirk and,pausing for a moment, fixed his hateful eyes on him.

  "You dog," he whispered malignantly, "remember what I tell you! Thetime will come when I will cast you to the carnaphlocti in the dark andicy caverns of sunless Tiganda. You will die," he swore, "the death of amillion agonies!"

  For a moment Dirk felt an almost irresistible impulse to hurl himself onthe Lodorian and slay him.

  He managed to maintain his control, however, and only regarded Zitlanwith disdain as the latter turned and went on his way.

  In another moment the plane, containing Stanton and the Lodorians, washigh up in the darkness.

  Dirk glanced at the great clock that gleamed atop of the beacon-tower onthe Metropole Landing Field.

  The hour was close to twelve-thirty A. M.

  * * * * *

  A moment of silence on the terrace followed the departure of the planethat bore the Lodorians back to their craft.

  For an hour the clouds had been gathering in the sky and now a fine,cold rain commenced to fall.

  A peal of thunder echoed above them after a sharp flash of lightning hadstreaked across the black night above them.

  A servant appeared from the entrance to the apartment and pressed abutton close to the door.

  Protective plates of glass noiselessly enveloped the terrace, shelteringthose upon it from the inclement weather.

  "It is well," remarked Fragoni, breaking the silence, "that we werefound by a leader like Teuxical. Our tribute will not be unbearable, andhe will bestow many benefits upon us."

  "But surely," protested Dirk, "you do not intend to surrender without astruggle! Nothing but disaster," he asserted earnestly, "will come uponthe earth if you do. Teuxical may be honest and just but, after all, heneither is immortal nor all-powerful, and something may happen to him atany moment. And there are those like Zitlan who would turn the worldover to ravage and rape, and then convert it into a blazing pyre, ifthey had their way. These vandals," he insisted, "must be slain one andall, or, mark my words, our world will be laid waste."

  * * * * *

  Dirk spoke with such a sense of conviction that his words held hislisteners spellbound.

  "Who is Teuxic
al," he asked, "but the vassal of a monarch whosecorsairs, very apparently, are carrying on a war of conquest in theuniverse? It will be disastrous, I say, to place any dependence in thegood will of this one Lodorian. If he, or any of his men, return to thatfar-off planet where they dwell word will be carried there of theexistence of our world. But who can say that Teuxical ever will returnhere again? It may be the whim of his ruler to refuse his request, orany one of a thousand other events might arise to thwart his desire tolive among us. No," concluded Dirk passionately, "it never will do tolet that great engine of destruction rise into the skies again!"

  "He is right!" asserted Steinholt positively. "It will be far better toannihilate these raiders, if such a thing can be accomplished!"

  Lazarre was rather inclined to take sides with Fragoni.

  "But how," he demanded, "can such destruction be brought about? We knownothing of the capabilities of that monster that is lying down there inthe Sound. It is undoubtedly equipped with the deadliest of devices andthey all will be turned upon us if we fail in an effort to destroy thething and those who have come from space upon it. If there was a way tosmite them suddenly, to bring death to the Lodorians and to thoseswarming, mindless, murderous minions who act in obedience to them, Iwould favor doing it.

  "But, as it is," he concluded, "it seems like inviting disaster even tothink of such an attempt, much less to try it."

  "It can be done, though," asserted Dirk, "or there is at least afighting chance of accomplishing it. The electrosceotan--" He paused,and looked questioningly at Steinholt. "The top of that monster is openand...."

  * * * * *

  The Teuton furrowed his brow and considered the proposition for amoment.

  "Yes," he said, nodding his head, "it might be done." Again he silentlygave the subject his thought. "It is well worth trying," he assertedwith an air of decision. "But we will have to make haste," he warned,"if the thing is to be done before the flight to The Hague."

  "So be it," said Fragoni. "We will apply ourselves to the task at hand.I, too," he confessed, "had rather see these vandals destroyed like somuch vermin rather than have them carry the news of the existence ofthis earth back into those strange worlds in the depth of space. I willonly regret the passing of Teuxical, who could have taught us muchwisdom. And now," he continued briskly, "I will place myself under yourorders, Dirk. You are the one who suggested this plan and upon you willfall the responsibility of executing it. And, if it succeeds," he added,"the glory will be yours."

  "I care little for the glory," replied Dirk, "but I gladly accept theduties and the responsibilities. These," he said to Fragoni, "are myinstructions to you. Inasmuch as Teuxical and his captains will returnhere at about four o'clock in the morning to convey us back to theircraft, it will be necessary to have this building emptied of itsinhabitants by that time. Let all of those who dwell here depart fromit, a few at a time, so as not to excite suspicion. Inga, above allothers, must leave and retreat to a place of safety. Then, as the hourapproaches for the arrival of the Lodorians, we will escape by planefrom one of the rear terraces. They will land in search of usand--well, then they will feel the force of our power."

  "I will follow your orders explicitly," promised Fragoni. "I wonder," headded, "where Stanton is? He should be advised of what we are going toattempt."

  "He will return in due time," replied Dirk. "And, if not, it will be theworse for him. Lazarre will remain here with you," he then told Fragoni,"and Steinholt and I will now go about our part of the task at hand."

  * * * * *

  Dirk, followed by Steinholt, hurried across the terrace and, leaving theshelter of its quartzite plates, sought the landing stage.

  The rain still was falling and the heavens were congested with dark andheavy clouds.

  Dirk, selecting one of the smaller planes, entered the cabin andSteinholt, following after him, closed the door and threw on thelights.

  Swiftly they shot straight up into the air, Dirk ignoring all of therules of flight in his haste to be under way. Once in the westboundlane, he headed his plane toward Manhattan and threw his rheostat wideopen. In a few minutes they were skimming over the great city and pastthe three-thousand-foot steel tower of the Worldwide BroadcastingStation.

  For fifteen minutes more he kept the plane on a straight course andthen, bringing it to a quick stop, he let it drop like a plummet towardthe earth.

  It landed, among many other planes, on the transparent, quartzite roofof a vast building and, looking down into the interior, they could seeseveral rows of great dynamos. Some of them were turning, and thehumming that they made could be heard plainly.

  * * * * *

  Dirk and Steinholt ran rapidly across the roof until they came to asuperstructure, which they entered. There was a shaft inside. Dirkpressed a button, and an elevator shot up and stopped at the door,which automatically flashed open.

  He closed it after he and his companion had entered the cage and,dropping rapidly downward, they came to a stop in a lighted chamber thatwas far below the surface of the ground.

  A stoop-shouldered old man greeted them, an expression of surprise onhis face.

  "Gentlemen!" he exclaimed. "What is--"

  "Power, Gaeble!" commanded Steinholt tensely. "Power! Let every dynamorun its swiftest. To-night we have to use for the electrosceotan!"

  "But I thought it was peace that those from the stars desired," said theold electrician. "Through my radiovisor I heard--"

  "That was sent out," explained Steinholt, "to relieve the fears of thepeople and to keep them in order."

  Swiftly the distorted figure of the old man sped to a great switchboard,where he pressed button after button.

  The very ground commenced to vibrate around them and the massivestructure seemed to be alive with straining power.

  Then Steinholt, going to a corner of the intricate board, adjusted a fewlevers, while his gnomelike companion watched him carefully.

  "And now, Gaeble," the scientist said impressively, "these are yourorders. At precisely the hour of four o'clock in the morning make oneconnection with this switch."

  * * * * *

  He indicated, with a stubby finger, the lever to be operated.

  "Keep the circuit closed for just four seconds," he added slowly, "andthen break it. Do you understand, Gaeble?" he demanded.

  "I do," replied the old man.

  "Then," continued Steinholt, "after you break that connection youquickly will close this next circuit. Keep it closed for four secondsand then, after opening it for one second, close it again for fourseconds. Repeat the procedure twice more, Gaeble, after that, and thenawait my further instructions. Is everything clear?" he asked.

  "It is, sir," the old man replied. "I will follow your ordersimplicitly."

  "There is one thing more," Steinholt said. "Get the Worldwide Tower onthe televisor and warn them of what is to happen."

  "I will do that immediately," Gaeble replied.

  Dirk and Steinholt shot up to the roof again and the building over whichthey walked seemed to be quivering with life.

  They could see that all of the mammoth dynamos beneath them wererevolving and the humming which they had heard before had changed intoan ugly, vibrant roar.

  * * * * *

  Again they took flight and, reaching Manhattan, they continued north andeast to the shore of Long Island Sound.

  Long before the old East River had been filled in and the space which ithad occupied reclaimed for building purposes. All indications of itsformer bed had been obliterated by mammoth terraced structures.

  When they reached their destination on the shore of the Sound a smallsubmarine, which Dirk had ordered by radio, was awaiting them.

  "Submerge and proceed up the Sound," Dirk ordered the officer, "and takeus directly under the craft of the Lodorians."

  In a few minutes they wer
e skimming over the surface of the water and,when a sufficient depth had been gained, the tiny boat disappearedbeneath the rain-rippled sea.

  Dirk sat at a port and watched the aquatic life as it was illuminated bythe powerful aquamarine searchlights.

  Progress under the water was comparatively slow, as mankind had made butlittle progress in underwater navigation. Air liners long before hadalmost superseded travel by land and sea and the abolition of warfarehad swept all of the old navies from the ocean.

  It was more than an hour before the officer in charge of the boatannounced that the mammoth hull of the monster that was lying on theSound was visible directly above them.

  Both Dirk and Steinholt donned diving apparatus, and the formercarefully adjusted the mechanism that was contained in a metallic boxabout two feet square.

  * * * * *

  Then they stepped up into a chamber in the conning tower of the boatand, after a door slipped shut beneath them, water slowly commenced topour into the compartment.

  When it was full a sliding door that was in front of them slowly openedand they passed out onto the deck of the underwater craft.

  Steinholt had been provided with some welding apparatus and, in a fewminutes, the box which Dirk had carried was attached securely to thebottom of the craft of the Lodorians.

  They then reentered the submarine by reversing the process which hadattended their exit. Very soon they were in the cabin of the boatagain.

  "If everything goes well," said Dirk, "those damned Lodorians will neverknow what struck them."

  "I only hope," said Steinholt, "that we don't destroy that leviathanaltogether. We might solve the secret of it and then we, too, could rideout into the heart of the universe."

  "It is impossible to imagine what will happen," Dirk replied, "untilafter we launch our attack."

  Both of the men were silent during the return trip of the small underseacraft, which emerged at its dock a little before three-thirty in themorning.

  "We'll have to hurry," urged Dirk nervously, "because we will need alittle time to make preparations after we get back to Fragoni's."

  They entered their plane and Dirk shot it swiftly up into the night,following the red shaft of light that rose almost directly from thepoint at which they had made their landing.

  * * * * *

  Then, having reached the eastbound level, he headed straight in thedirection of the palace of Fragoni.

  Dirk cast a glance at the great city that lay far beneath him. High upinto the heavens it tossed the fulgurant fires that betokened its wealthand power. And, down among those myriad lights, millions and millions ofpeople were restless under the danger that menaced them. It was only amatter of moments now before their fate, and the fate of their greatmetropolis, would be decided. By dawn they would be free forever fromthe threat of subjugation and slavery or else they, and all that theyhad toiled and striven for, would be the veriest dust of dying embers.

  And whatever befell them likewise would befall the rest of the world andevery living thing that moved upon it.

  Dirk was high above Fragoni's when he stopped the forward flight of theplane and, dropping it rapidly through the misty night, brought upeasily on the landing stage. The other planes which had been there whenhe and Steinholt had taken their departure were gone and Dirk felt asense of relief when he observed this. Inga, then, must have departedwith the other occupants of the colossal structure. Things were goingaccording to the plan that he had conceived. He stepped out of thecabin, followed by Steinholt, and proceeded hastily along the terraceand turned the corner into the garden.

  Then he came to an abrupt halt because there, before him, was Zitlan,with one of the deadly ray-tubes of the Lodorians in his hand.

  * * * * *

  Dirk knew immediately that something unexpected had happened and that hewas in the power of one who not only hated him but who had an unholydesire for Inga.

  He realized, too, that any show of resistance would be nothing short ofsuicide, for he was well aware of the deadliness of the strange weaponwith which he and Steinholt were being menaced by the gloatingLodorian.

  "One false move and you die!" warned Zitlan. "Come forward, now, andjoin those two others over whom Anteucan and Huazibar are watching."

  Dirk and Steinholt promptly obeyed the command of Zitlan and walked overto where Fragoni and Lazarre were being guarded by two of theconquerors.

  The rain had ceased to fall, but the skies were dark and overcast withheavy clouds. There was an occasional flash of lightning, and thunderrolled and echoed through the night.

  The terrace, however, was brightly illuminated and every detail of thescene around him was visible to Dirk.

  He saw Stanton, on another part of the terrace, standing among someLodorians he had not seen before. Stanton, apparently, was not beingtreated as a prisoner and Dirk wondered, rather vaguely, why this was.

  "What happened?" Dirk asked Fragoni quietly.

  "According to what I have heard," the latter replied, "Zitlan murderedhis father in a fit of rage, and has taken over the command of the ship.Many of the Lodorians are his adherents and even those who do not favorhim are so terrified that they will be obedient to his wishes."

  "And Inga?" questioned Dirk.

  "She is inside the apartment," said Fragoni, a note of desperation inhis voice. "Zitlan surprised us completely and he and his men had uscovered before we realized that Teuxical was not among them."

  * * * * *

  Zitlan, in the meantime, had entered the suite of Fragoni and he nowcame out, Inga walking before him.

  She was silent and proudly erect but there was a pallor in her face thatindicated her realization of the danger that she was threatened with.

  When Dirk saw her she gave him a brave smile, which he answered with aglance of reassurance.

  He could see the great clock in the Metropole Tower, and he noticed,with a feeling of grave apprehension, that it was twenty minutes to fouro'clock.

  There were only a few minutes more in which to make a desperate andapparently a hopeless effort to save Inga, his friends and himself froma catastrophe which he had been instrumental in contriving.

  Then Zitlan stood before him, haughty and arrogant, his loweringcountenance ugly with hatred.

  "So, dog," he said, "you who dared to defy Zitlan now stand before him acaptive!"

  Neither Dirk nor any one of the three others who were guarded with himreplied to the utterance.

  "You and that woman of yours," continued the Lodorian insolently, "bothare my prisoners to do with as I please. Your fate," he continued, "Ialready have planned for you and I assure you that it will not be aspleasurable as the one to which she is destined. You will find thatTigana, on which you and those with you will be cast, is a world ofterror such as you never could dream of. Even the monsters which crawlthrough the deliriums of the mind are not as horrible as those whichinfest the mad and haunted world of which I speak."

  * * * * *

  He paused a moment, a cruel smile on his face, as if he wished the fullimport of his words to sear themselves into the minds of the doomedmen.

  "But the woman," he added, "will return to Lodore with me and be thequeen of all women. And soon," he said savagely, "she may be queen ofall Lodore, of the worlds which pay tribute to Lodore, and of otherworlds which I will conquer and ravage. My father stood in my way and hedied at my own hands. So will others perish who thwart my ambition, andI will become supreme in the universe!"

  A feeling of reckless fury possessed Dirk as he listened to the words ofZitlan and he felt an almost irresistible desire to drive a fist squarebetween the mad, glittering eyes of the Lodorian.

  He glanced at the great clock, however, and he saw that the time to acthad not yet come. At the last moment he would make one desperate attemptto frustrate the evil designs of Zitlan. If it failed--well, all
wouldbe lost. But it was a far better thing to die resisting the despicableZitlan and his minions than it would be to live and to know that,without a struggle, he had abandoned to degradation the girl he loved.

  "This world of yours will be my world," he heard Zitlan boast, "and thespoils from it will add to my riches. This one here," he continued,indicating Stanton, "has offered to show me where all of the treasuresof the earth may be found. And, as a reward, he will return to Lodorewith me and there be elevated to a high position."

  * * * * *

  That, then, was why Stanton was not under guard like the rest of them.

  "Our good friend, Stanton," said Lazarre, "seems to have becomesomething of a Judas."

  "And let his name be forever cursed, like the name of Judas," saidDirk.

  "Silence!" thundered the Lodorian. "I, Zitlan, am speaking." He paused amoment. "When I garner up the treasures of this world in the way ofprecious stones and metals I also shall gather more priceless loot inthe way of women. And then, having taken all that I desire, I will laywaste to this earth so that those who survive will fear the name ofZitlan and will grovel before him like a god when once again he appearsto them."

  While Zitlan had been speaking, Dirk had been studying the opponentswith whom he soon had to clash.

  The two Lodorians who were standing guard over himself and hiscompanions were close to his left side. Zitlan was directly in front ofhim, and there were seven of his minions clustered behind him.

  Again Dirk glanced at the great dial of the clock, and he saw that itwas seven minutes of four.

  The moment had come to act if action was to prove of any avail.

  "I will--"

  But the words of Zitlan were interrupted by Dirk, who suddenly made amighty sweep with his left arm and knocked the deadly tubes from thehands of Anteucan and Huazibar. Startled by the assault, they wentreeling backward. At almost the same instant Dirk leaped forward and,seizing Zitlan, hurled him among those Lodorians who had been massedbehind him. Then he threw himself violently into the tangled mass, hisfists driving in and out with deadly strength!

  * * * * *

  Out of the corner of one eye he saw Inga pass the melee and dart swiftlyto the corner of the terrace. Instead of passing around to the landingstage, however, she lingered there and watched the combat.

  Dirk, as he fought, became conscious that Steinholt and Fragoni were athis side, battling with him against his enemies. He saw, too, thatStanton had retired to the far end of the terrace and that he waswatching the struggle with frightened eyes.

  "We must reach the plane and get away," gasped Dirk. "In another threeminutes--"

  He felled a Lodorian who, having lost his tube, was about to grapplewith him. He saw Steinholt send another one of their opponents reelingbackward.

  "Fragoni!" he exclaimed. "The plane! Get in with Inga! We will come!"

  Even as he spoke his fists were flailing back and forth between each oneof his staccato commands.

  He saw beneath him a hand reaching toward a tube, and he kicked theinstrument of death. It hurtled over in the direction of Stanton andlanded close to his feet. Stanton might have picked it up and been inpossession of the means of aiding his old friends or his new allies. Buthe shrunk away, panic-stricken, from the thing that lay so close to hisreach.

  A Lodorian leaped upon Dirk's back in an effort to bring him to theground, but he stooped swiftly forward and his assailant was catapultedover his head into those who were in front of him.

  * * * * *

  He caught a flash of the contorted face of Zitlan flying through theair, and saw him land with a crash on the terrace, and lie therewrithing in pain.

  "Steinholt, Lazarre!" he said convulsively. "We've got to strike oncemore! And then--run!"

  He plunged into their enemies with every bit of energy that he had left,and saw two of them toppling down. Then, like a flash, he turned toLazarre, who was trying to fight off three of the Lodorians. Seizing oneof them by the waist, Dirk hurled him backward and he disposed ofanother one in the same manner. His sheer desperation seemed to havegiven him unbounded strength and power.

  Lazarre sent his third opponent down with a blow under the chin andthen, with Dirk at his side, they turned to the assistance ofSteinholt.

  With one mad rush they crashed into a group of Lodorians and sent themreeling away like so many nine-pins.

  "Now! To the plane!" exclaimed Dirk, taking to his heels across theterrace. Steinholt and Lazarre followed after him and, turning thecorner, they saw that the ship was in place and that Fragoni wasanxiously waiting by the door of the cabin. Inga, Dirk knew, already wasinside and safe. He stood aside while Steinholt and Lazarre leaped in.During the momentary wait he caught a glimpse of the great clock. Itwas one minute to four. Dirk jumping into the plane and switched on thehelicopter without even waiting to close the cabin door.

  * * * * *

  The ship shot skyward like a rocket. When it reached an altitude ofthirty-five hundred feet, he turned it north and raced at top speed inthat direction.

  It was miles away from the palace of Fragoni in less than thirtyseconds. Dirk then stopped the plane and held it poised in the air withthe helicopter.

  The skies were turgid and black and the massed clouds, reflecting thelights of the great city below them, were permeated with an ugly,feverish, red glow.

  From where they were hanging in midair, the occupants of the plane couldplainly see the sparkling palace of Fragoni towering high up into thedarkness of the night.

  The lights of the magnificent mansion were reflected far out into theSound where, looming in the golden ripples, lay the sinister monsterfrom the terrible depths of unfathomable space.

  Dirk took a watch from his pocket and, after glancing at it, he hastilyreplaced it.

  "Two seconds more," he said, "and--"

  * * * * *

  A sharp and dazzling bolt of greenish fire came hurling suddenly out ofthe west and, with a thunderous concussion, seemed to fasten itself onthe crest of Fragoni's palace.

  It trembled and quivered, as if endowed with some uncanny life andpower, as it remained there against the darkness, throwing a weird,green tinge over the water and up into the skies.

  Blue waves of light could be seen pulsing and racing along the terriblebeam and there, where it had fastened itself, they seemed to disappearin the vast and crumbling structure.

  For four seconds that destructive streak of light, one end of which waslost back in the mists that concealed Manhattan, tore at the proudpile.

  And, as the stone crumbled and the steelite fused under the mightyassault, an ominous roar swept through the night. The air was soviolently agitated that the plane, miles away, tossed up and down like atiny boat on a stormy sea.

  Then suddenly the bolt was gone, but its livid image still burned in theeyes of those who had been watching it.

  Once more, it came hurling out of the west and, like the fang of somegreat and deadly serpent, darted into the monster that lay in the watersof the Sound.

  Dirk and his companions could see plainly, by the light of the boltitself, that it had crashed into the well from which the Lodorians firsthad appeared, and that it was beating and hammering its way into thevery vitals of the craft.

  * * * * *

  Dazzling, blinding fire seemed to pour from the aperture through whichthe bolt had passed. The clamor that arose was deafening.

  Then again the streak of fires was withdrawn, leaving the nightintensely black until, in a moment more, it came thundering out of thewest again and, with an impact that made the land and the sea and thevery heavens tremble, hurled its way into the depths of the doomedleviathan.

  Twice again it fell, a fiery scimitar out of the darkness, and twiceagain it careened at the vitals of the stricken monster.

  Then, after the assault was
over, the ship still floated on the surfaceof the Sound and its shell, as far as Dirk and the others could judge,still was unscathed.

  "We will soon know our fate," remarked Steinholt calmly. "If that didn'tkill those beasts we might as well give up our ghosts."

  "I'll drop the plane a little lower and a little nearer to the ship,"said Dirk. "I don't believe that any life is surviving in that thing."

  "My beautiful palace is nothing but dust," sighed Fragoni, mournfully."And all my beautiful treasures, too."

  "And that beautiful Zitlan," Lazarre reminded him, "and his beautifulboy friends, they are all dust too, thank God!"

  "It was a queer fate that Stanton met," suggested Dirk. "He thought thathe would save his life by going over to our enemies, and, instead ofthat, he lost it."

  * * * * *

  "Poor Stanton," said Steinholt. "He was born that way, I suppose, and I,for one, am ready to forgive and forget him. And now," continued theTeuton, "I hope that we didn't do too much damage to that little boat ofthe Lodorians. If we could get just a little peep at the inside of it wemight learn the secret of its contrivance. And then, my friends, wecould do a little journeying ourselves."

  "Have you any theory regarding it?" asked Fragoni.

  "Teuxical intimated that it rode the magnetic currents which, of course,flow through all the suns and planets in the universe," repliedSteinholt. "We have been working along that line ourselves, of course,and it probably won't be very long anyway before we have the solution ofinterplanetary travel."

  "Those Lodorians would have solved it for us if it hadn't been forthat artificial lightning," said Lazarre. "That's powerful stuff,Steinholt."

  "Yes, with that three-thousand-foot Worldwide Tower to hurl it from,"agreed Steinholt, "we can get fair range with it. If the Lodorianshadn't left the well of their ship open, though, the lightning wouldn'thave done us much good. I was afraid, too, for a time, that we mighthave trouble in welding that automatic wireless circuit box to thebottom of the ship."

  Dirk, in the meantime, had brought the plane down to within a half-mileof the leviathan, and he was holding it poised there.

  "It seems to me," he said, after scrutinizing the monster for a coupleof minutes, "that it is moving in the water. It is!" he exclaimed."Steinholt! Look!"

  * * * * *

  Only a comparatively short time had elapsed since the last bolt oflightning had vanished back into the darkness.

  "It is still rocking with the force of the shock that we gave it,"asserted Steinholt. "You would be rocking, too, if you had been tickledby a bolt like that one."

  "It is rising, I tell you!" said Dirk. "The front end of it is slowlygetting higher in the water!"

  "You're right, Dirk," said Fragoni, excitement straining his voice."Look! It just dropped back into the water!"

  Then, as they watched, the movements of the leviathan became more andmore agitated, until it was churning up the waves around it like awounded and agonized monster of the sea.

  Suddenly the front end tilted upward and the monster rose clear of thewater. It shot straight up into the air at a speed so terrific that theycould scarcely follow it.

  "It's gone!" gasped Fragoni. "Those brainless, mindless automatons musthave survived!"

  "No," remarked Steinholt thoughtfully. "I don't believe that there isany life left on that thing. No one had closed the well when it rose,and it would mean death to go out into space with the ship in thatcondition."

  "Then what made it go up?" demanded Lazarre. "Can the damn thing runitself, Steinholt?"

  "I imagine," recalled the Teuton, "that our bolts killed every livingthing that was on the craft but that, at the same time, they set themechanism of the monster into action. Ah," he moaned, "but that is toobad. We could have learned much by an examination of the interior ofthat liner of the air."

  * * * * *

  A cry from Inga startled them and they saw that she was looking skyward,with terror in her eyes.

  They followed her gaze and there, streaking through the black clouds,they saw a long trail of white fire.

  "It's that thing!" exclaimed Fragoni. "I tell you that those upon itstill live and that they are about to wreak vengeance upon us."

  "No," said Steinholt positively. "You are wrong, Fragoni. What ishappening may be almost as disastrous, though," he admitted. "Thatleviathan is in its death agonies; it is a metal monster gone mad, andnone can say what will happen before it expires."

  "The place for us," asserted Dirk hurriedly, "is in the Worldwide Tower.There we can keep track of what is transpiring and try to decide what todo."

  The others agreed with him and, seeking the westward level of flight, hesped the plane in the direction of the mammoth pyramid from which thenews of the world was broadcast.

  They reached the vast structure in a few minutes, and, after droppingthe plane on a landing stage, they went into the operating room.

  Here they learned quickly that the craft of the Lodorians was doingincalculable damage, and that it was throwing the population of theworld into an unprecedented panic.

  It was, apparently, following an erratic, uncertain orbit that took itfar out into space and then back quite close to the surface of the earthagain.

  * * * * *

  It had passed through the very heart of Chicago within a few yards ofthe ground, and it had cut and burned a swath more than a mile widethrough the buildings of that metropolis.

  Other cities in America had felt the devastating effects of itsirresistible and molten heat and, within a short time, thousands ofpeople had been slain by it.

  Time and again, from the terrace of the great tower, Dirk and hiscompanions saw the skies above them light up as that terrible, blazing,projectile which, uncontrolled, went hurtling on its way through thenight.

  For three hours it careened on its mad course and hysteria reignedthroughout the cities of the whole civilized world.

  But then a report came from a rocket-liner that had left Berlin en routefor San Francisco.

  "Either a great meteor or that leviathan of the Lodorians just sweptdown past us in mid-Atlantic and plunged into the sea. Apparently it hasexploded, for it has thrown a great column of water for miles up intothe air. We are stopping and standing by, although the heat is intenseand clouds of steam are rising from the sea."

  As the minutes passed by after the report from the rocket-ship had beenreceived, the disappearance from the sky of the flaming craft from spaceseemed to confirm the belief that it had been swallowed by the ocean.This was accepted as a certainty by eight o'clock in the morning.

  "Ah," sighed Steinholt, "if only it had crashed on land somewhere. Ifthere only was enough of it left for us to--"

  "Enough of any damn contraption of that kind," swore Lazarre fervently,"is altogether too much. I hope, for one, that its fragments arescattered so far that we never can put them together again."

  * * * * *

  Dirk and Inga leaned against one of the parapets that evening on agardened terrace of his own great mansion in Manhattan.

  Their little party had gone there after leaving the Worldwide Tower inthe morning.

  After resting during the day, Lazarre and Fragoni were somewheretogether, discussing the plans for a new palace to take the place of theone that was destroyed so that Zitlan and his minions might die in itsruins.

  Steinholt, elsewhere, was delving into oceanography and submarineengineering, in an attempt to learn whether or not it would be feasibleto fish for the remains of the lost ship of Lodore.

  "It seems like a dream, doesn't it, Dirk?" the girl remarked. "It isdifficult to believe that we actually have seen and talked with peoplefrom some far-away world."

  Together they looked up into the crystalline skies, where mazes ofshining stars gave testimony to the countless worlds which were wheelingaround them.

  "And just to thi
nk, Dirk," Inga continued proudly, "that it was you whosaved this world and all of its people from that horrible Zitlan and hishorde."

  "I saved you," he told her gravely and tenderly, "and that somehow meansmore to me than saving all of this world and all of the other worldswhich are rolling through the uncharted ways of time and space."

  * * * * *

  COMING-- Murder Madness _An Extraordinary Novel_

  _By_ MURRAY LEINSTER

  * * * * *

 

‹ Prev Next ›