espite the roaring of wind about the gliding plane. The absence of
the motor roar was the thing that made it horrible.

"Paula," said Bell harshly, "one of those plugs came out, I guess. The
motor's ruined. Dead. The ship's going to crash. Ready with your
parachute?"

* * * * *

It was dark, up there, save for the glare of fires upon the under
surface of the wings. But he saw her hand, encarmined by that glare,
upon the combing of the cockpit. A moment later her face. She turned,
light-dazzled, to smile back at him.

"All right, Charles." Her voice quavered a little, but it was very
brave. "I'm ready. You're coming, too?"

"I'm coming," said Bell grimly. Below them was the city of The Master,
set blazing by their doing. If their chutes were seen descending....
And if they were not.... "Count ten," said Bell hoarsely, "and pull
out the ring. I'll be right after you."

He saw the slim little black-clad figure drop, plummetlike, and prayed
in an agony of fear. Then a sudden blooming thing hid it from sight.
Thick clouds of smoke lay over the lights and fires below.

Bell stepped over the side and went hurtling down toward the earth in
his turn.

(_To be continued_)

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The Cavern World

_By James P. Olsen_

[Illustration: _He aimed it, and the Thing gripping him was hurled
back upon the others._]

[Sidenote: A great oil field had gone dry--and Asher, trapped far
under the earth among the revolting Petrolia, learns why.]

"Impossible! What sort of creatures would they be, that could live two
miles beneath the surface of the earth? Surely, Asher, you are
joking!"

R. Briggs Johns, mighty power back of Stan-America Oil Corporation,
looked at Blaine Asher closely, expecting to see the chief geologist
and scientist of the company laugh. But Blaine Asher did not laugh.
Serious, his rather thin face grave at he leaned his tall, muscular
body above a torsion machine he was adjusting, there was nothing to
indicate he had the faintest idea of a joke.

"Why damn it, Asher!" Johns insisted wrathfully, "you don't really
mean that. And"--he took a nervous turn around the laboratory--"if
such a wild thing were possible, what has that to do with our trouble?
You haven't led me on to spend a million dollars drilling a
thirty-six-inch hole, just so you could test a fantastic theory?"

"You know better than that." Asher wiped his hands and leaned against
a table.