ions were very small,
but above them were enormous chests sheltering lungs of tremendous
power, for thus nature had armored man against the rarefaction of the
earth's atmosphere. But the most remarkable parts about this truly
remarkable couple were there massive heads set upon short, slim necks.
The cranial development was extraordinary, their bulging foreheads
denoting great brain power. Their eyes--set wide apart--were large and
round, dark and luminous with intelligence and their ears were
remarkably large, being attuned to all the music and voices of life.
While their nostrils were large and dilated, their mouths were very
small, though sensuous and full-lipped. They were entirely hairless--for
even the eyebrows and the eyelashes of man had entirely disappeared ages
before. And when they smiled they betrayed no gleam of teeth, for nature
had long discarded teeth in man's evolution.

The great, silver ship of the sky now rested in a deep pocket on the
floor of an ancient sea. Millions of years, under the sucking energy of
the sun and the whip of many winds, had sapped its waters, until only a
shallow, brackish lake remained. Along the shores of this lake, which
covered scarcely more than a hundred acres, a rim of yellowish, green
grass followed the water's edge and struggled against the inevitable,
and here and there among the grasses flowers of faded colors and
attenuated foliage reared their heads bravely in the burning sunshine.
And this lone lake, nestled in the lowest spot among the mountains and
valleys which once floored the Pacific, now held the last of earth's
waters. Barren and lifeless the rest of the world baked under a
merciless sun.

* * * * *

Now clasping hands, like children at play, Omega and Thalma approached
the lake. They glided over the ground, merely touching their feet to the
highest points, and finally stopped with their feet in the warm, still
water.

Omega ran his cupped hand through the water, then drank eagerly.

"It is good," he said in a low, musical voice. "And there is much of it.
Here we may live a long time."

Thalma laughed with sheer joy, her large, red-rimmed eyes aglow with
mother light and love.

"I am glad," she cried. "I know that Alpha will be happy here."

"It is so, my love, and--"

Omega checked and stared out over the glassy lake. A spot in its center
was stirring uneasily. Great bubbles rose to the surface and eddied to
one sid