n of what might be a river in the distance, with the
reddish starlight glinting upon it. To our left, half a mile away
perhaps, was a row of buttes and rocks which stood like a miniature
range of mountains. The city seemed entirely to encompass them; and
every little rock-peak had upon its top a globelike dwelling.

Lights were winking everywhere and figures bounded a hundred feet and
more, and sailed in an arc, coming down to the ground to bound again.
A row of workers went by overhead, not swimming or leaping but stiffly
motionless. Tiny opalescent rays went from them to the ground, as
though to give them power.

Five minutes of Earth-time might have passed while Snap and I gazed at
this busy night scene in this Wandl city upon the occasion of the
landing of their ship so triumphantly returned from its mission to
Earth. As I stood, certainly a helpless captive if ever there was one,
nevertheless a strange sense of my own power was within me.

This was so small a world; the people were so flimsy. With a poke of
my fist I could kill any one of these master brains. The ten-foot
workers seemed mere shells, light and fragile; even the buildings were
light and flimsy. The little globe-houses on their sticks seemed to
waver, almost like nodding flowers. If we ran amuck we could smash
everything we saw here on Wandl.

We became aware of Molo approaching. What a solid giant this
seven-foot Martian seemed now in the midst of this buoyant, almost
weightless city! He was still bare-headed and wearing his garments of
ornamented leather, with his brawny legs bare. Upon his feet were
strange-looking, wide-soled shoes. His hands and forearms were thrust
into loops of small shields. These shields appeared to be constructed
of a heart-shaped flexible framework, covered with an opaque membrane.
They were about two feet long and half as wide. With a hand and
forearm thrust into fabric loops, the shield appeared to serve as
wings so that the arms had more thrust against the air. He came at us
with a sort of swimming stroke. He landed somewhat awkwardly,
half-stumbled and almost fell, but gathered himself up and confronted
us.

He gained his balance and waved our guard aside. His gaze went to me.

"You are the new prisoner taken from that wrecked Earth-ship?"

"Yes."

"What is your name? You are an Earthman, evidently."

"Yes." I hesitated. I had seen Molo and heard him talk, back there in
Greater New York; but he had not seen m