will, take off for the stratosphere day after
to-morrow."

"Then you think the same thing I do?" said Hadley. "If that is so, can't
you start to-morrow? God knows what may happen if we delay
longer--though what two of you can do against something which appears to
blanket the earth, and strikes from the heavens, I don't know. And yet,
the fate of your country may be in your hands."

"We realize that," said Jeter, while Eyer nodded.

Hadley opened his mouth to make some other observation, then closed it
again, tightly, as a horrible thing happened.

The conference was being held on the tenth floor of the Hadley building.
And just as Hadley started to speak the whole building began to shake,
to tremble as with the ague. Jeter turned his eyes on the others, to see
their faces blurred by the vibration of the entire building.

Swiftly then he looked toward the windows of the big room.

Outside the south windows he witnessed an unbelievable thing. Out there
was a twelve-story building, and its lighted windows were moving--not to
right or left, but straight up! The movement gave the same impression
which passing windows give to one in an elevator. Either that other
building was rising straight into the air, or the Hadley building was
sinking into the Earth.

* * * * *

"Quick, Hadley!" yelled Jeter. "To the roof the fastest way possible!"

Even as Jeter spoke every last light in the building across the way went
out. Jeter knew then that it was the other building that was moving--and
that electrical connection with the earth had been severed.

Hadley led the way to the roof, four stories above. Fortunately this was
an old building and they didn't have to wait to travel a hundred floors
or so. The whole conference followed at the heels of Hadley, Jeter and
Eyer.

They reached the roof at top speed.

They were first conscious of the cries of despair, of disbelief, of
horror which rose from the street canyons below them. But they forgot
these the next instant at what they saw.

The Vandercook building, the twelve-story building whose lights Jeter
had seen moving, was rising bodily, straight out of the well which had
been built around it. From the building came shrieks and cries of mortal
terror. Even as the conference froze to horrified immobility, many men
and women stepped to the ledges of those darkened windows and plunged
out in their fear.

"God!" said Hadley.

"It's just as we