at top speed, men who knew planes and were quick to
grasp new appliances.

"Have any of you got the whole story now?" Eyer asked.

A half dozen men nodded.

"Then pass your knowledge on to the others. Jeter and I must get ready
to be off. Every minute we delay costs untold numbers of lives."

Willing hands rolled their ship out to their own private runway, while
Jeter and Eyer made last minute preparations. There was the matter of
food, of oxygen necessary so far above the Earth, of clothing. All had
been provided for and their last duties were largely those of checking
and rechecking, to make sure no fatal errors in judgment had been made.

Eyer was to fly the ship in the beginning.

A small crowd watched as the partners, white of face now in the last
minutes of their stay on Earth--which they might never touch again in
life--climbed into their cabin, which was capable of being sealed
against the cold of the heights and the lack of breathable oxygen.

Nobody smiled at them, for the world had stopped smiling.

Nobody waved at them, for a wave would have been frivolous.

Nobody cheered or even shouted--but the two knew that the best wishes,
the very hopes for life, of all the land, went with them into the
ghastly unknown.

CHAPTER V

_Into the Void_

Their watches and the clock in the plane were synchronized with Hadley's
time, which was Eastern Standard, and as soon as the plane had reached
eight thousand feet altitude, Jeter spoke into the radiophone and
arranged for a connection with the office of Hadley.

Hadley himself soon spoke into Jeter's ear.

"Yes, Jeter?"

"See that someone is always at your radiophone to listen to us. I'll
keep you informed of developments as long as possible. Everything is
running like clockwork so far. How is it with you?"

"Two additional buildings, older buildings of the city, have been lifted
some hundreds of feet above ground level, then dropped back upon their
own foundations, to be broken apart. Many lives lost despite the fact
that the city will be deserted within a matter of hours. It seems that
the--shall we say enemy?--is concentrating only on old buildings."

"Perhaps they wish to preserve the new ones," said Jeter quietly.

"What? Why?"

"For their own use, perhaps; who knows? Keep me informed of every
eventuality. If the center of force which seems to be causing all this
havoc shifts in any direction, advise us at once."

"All right, Jeter."