energy from the cables was transformed to a
tangible thing--a vast bulk of gas, of hydrogen and oxygen that had
once been water, and the pressure of the gas made a roaring inferno of
the exhausts. A spark plug ignited it, and the heat of combustion
added pressure to pressure, while the quivering, invisible live steam
poured forth to change to vaporous clouds that filled the hangar.

The man at the control board stood trembling with knowledge of the
power he had unleashed. He moved a lever to crack open a valve, and
the clouds poured now from beneath the ship, that raised slowly and
smoothly in the air. It hung quietly poised, while the hands that
directed it sent a roaring blast from the great stern exhaust, and the
creation of many minds became a thing of life that moved slowly,
gliding out into the sunlight of the world.

The cheers of crowding men, insane with hysterical emotion at sight of
their work's fulfillment, were lost in the thunder of the ship. The
blunt bow lifted where the sun made dazzling brilliance of her
sweeping curves, and with a blast that thundered from her stern the
first unit of the space forces of the Earth swept upward in an arc of
speed that ended in invisibility. No enveloping air could hold her
now; she was launched in the ocean of space that would be her home.

* * * * *

Captain Blake, the following day, sat in Washington before a desk
piled high with telegrams of congratulation. His tired face was
smiling as he replaced a telephone receiver that had spoken words of
confidence and commendation from the President of the United States.
But he pushed the mass of yellow papers aside to resume his
examination of a well-thumbed folder marked: "Production Schedule."
The real work was yet to be done.

It was only two short months later that he sat before the same desk,
with a face that showed no mark of smiles in its haggard lines.

His ship was a success, and was flying continuously, while men of the
air service were trained in its manipulation and gunners received
practice in three-dimensioned range finding and cruiser practice in
the air. Above, in the airless space, they learned to operate the guns
that were controlled from within the air-tight rooms. They were
learning, and the ship performed the miracles that were now taken as
matters of fact.

But production!

Captain Blake rose wearily to attend a conference at the War
Department. He had asked that