ferent form, and that
the cage was to protect any one from going too close. The light from
these illuminators was much the same in aspect as the ray, except that it
seemed to diffuse itself readily and carried only a comparatively short
distance.

The scene now, under this red-green glare, was weird in the extreme. The
work all about me went on steadily. The Mercutians were all dressed in
white furry garments now--I concluded because of the cold--with the
exception of those who had on the suits and helmets of black.

The reddish-green light made them all appear like little gnomes at work.
Indeed, the whole scene, with its points of color in the darkness, and the
huge monstrous shadows all about, was more like some fantastic picture out
of a fairy book than a scene on this earth.

Soon after nightfall Tao stopped me, and one of his men brought me
something to eat. I still had the slices of bread and meat in my pocket,
but, thinking I might need them later on, I kept them there. Tao and I sat
down near one of the lights and ate together. We were served by one of the
men. My guard still kept close at hand.

The food was nothing more than hard pieces of baked dough and a form of
sweet something like chocolate. For drink there was a hot liquid quite
comparable to tea. This was served us in small metal cups with handles
that seemed to be insulated from the heat.

This meal was brought to us from inside the vehicle. While we were eating
I could see many of the Mercutians going inside and coming out with pieces
of this food in their hands, eating as they worked. Quite obviously the
business of assembling their apparatus was uppermost in the minds of all
of them.

The whole atmosphere about the place, I realized now, in spite of the
opposite effect their dragging footsteps gave, was one of feverish
activity. When we had eaten Tao seemed willing to sit quiet for a while.
My efforts to talk to him amused us both greatly, and I noticed with
satisfaction that he seemed to trust me more and more.

Finally my guard spoke, asking permission, I judged, to leave us and go
have his dinner. My heart leaped into my throat as I saw him go, leaving
me alone with Tao. I concluded that now, if ever, was my opportunity. Tao
trusted me--seemed to like me, in fact. No one else in the camp was paying
the least attention to us. If only I could, on some pretext, get myself a
reasonable distance away from him I would make a run for it.

I was