ppeared. By this time the atmosphere had thinned almost
imperceptibly--and only by the aid of his scientific instruments had man
been able to detect its thinning. Less and less rain fell, and finally
even the ice-caps about the poles trickled away. Cold and gaunt and
shadowy those regions lay silent and lifeless throughout the long
nights, and loomed like gray ghosts in the hushed light of the summer.
The sun blazed on relentlessly and the shores of the seven seas receded
age after age, but with his science and his machines man had doggedly
followed the retreating waters, husbanded and harnessed them and thus
retained his grip on life.

But now at last life on earth had come to its final battlefield. The
plans of the battle were sharply drawn, but there could be no doubt of
the issue. No one knew this better than Omega, for the sun shone on with
undiminished power. Yet the rotation of the earth had slackened until
twenty-five hours constituted a day, while the year was 379 days and a
fraction in length. Man, gradually adjusting himself to the new
conditions and environment, had triumphed even in the face of a losing
fight. For he had learned to smile into the hollow sockets of death, to
laugh at the empty promises of life.

* * * * *

Back in their ship Omega and Thalma gazed out over the dead world, where
the salt crystals gleamed and sparkled in the sunshine.

"Will all this ever become green again and full of joy and life?" asked
Thalma wearily.

"Why not?" asked Omega. "Although the race has come to its last stand,
water is here and before it is gone who knows what may happen?"

Omega spoke only to please his wife, for well he knew in his heart that
the star of hope had forever set. And always he was thinking of that
commotion in the waters of the lake. What could have caused it? What did
it portend? He was sure that the answer was to be one of tragedy.

"We know that for uncounted ages the world was green and beautiful, was
vibrant with life and joy," he went on. "And why may it not be so again,
even though now it is garbed in the clothes of the sepulchre? Let us
trust in the power of our son."

Thalma did not answer, and Omega, seeing that she was terribly
depressed, fell silent. So they sat in their great airship, strangely
dejected despite the close proximity of the life-giving water, while the
sun flamed through the cloudless sky and set in a crimson flood beyond
the life