tal
necessities--but every working part functioned with a smooth precision
to delight the senses of any good mechanic.

In a cavern under the falls was the great turbine, to be full-fed by the
crude but tight penstock which clung to the wall of the gorge, angling
up to the brink of that stupendous cataract. Bedded down upon solid
rock there was a high-tension alternator capable of absorbing the entire
output of the mighty turbine. This turbo-alternator was connected to
a set of converters from which the energy would flow along three great
copper cables--the receptors of the lifeboats being altogether too small
to carry the load--to the now completely exhausted accumulators of the
"Forlorn Hope." All high-tension apparatus was shielded and grounded,
so that no stray impulses could reveal to the possible detectors of
the Jovians the presence of this foreign power plant. Housings, frames,
spiders, all stationary parts were rough, crude and massive; but
bearings, shafts, armatures, all moving parts, were of a polished
and finished accuracy and balance that promised months and years of
trouble-free operation. Everything ready for the test, Stevens took off
his frayed and torn leather coveralls and moccasins and climbed nimbly
up the penstock. He never walked down. Opening the head-gate, he poised
sharply upon its extremity and took off in a perfect swan-dive; floating
unconcernedly down toward that boiling maelstrom two hundred feel below.
He struck the water with a sharp, smooth "slup!" and raced ashore,
seizing his suit as he ran toward the turbo-alternator. It was running
smoothly, and, knowing that everything was tight at the receiving end,
he lingered about the power plant until he was assured that nothing
would go wrong and that his home manufactured lubricating oil and grease
would keep those massive bearings cool.

Hunger assailed him, and glancing at the sun, he noted that it was well
past dinner-time.

"Wow!" he exclaimed aloud. "The boss just loves to wait meals--she'll
burn me up for this!"

He ran lightly toward "home," eager to tell his sweetheart that the
long awaited moment had arrived--that power was now flowing into their
accumulators.

"Hi, Diana of the silver bow!" he called. "How come you no blow the
dinner bell? Power's on--come give it a look!"

There was no answer to his hail, and Stevens paused in shocked
amazement. He knew that never of her own volition would she be out so
late--Nadia was go