hat there was nothing he could do. It was clear that
Phaestra had wanted his pal, needed him--come for him. From the fact
that Frank remained behind it was evident that she had succeeded in
retaining him. A sickening fear came to Tommy that she had been too
late; that Frank's body was already partly disintegrated and that he
might have paid the price of her love with his life. But a little
reflection convinced him that if this were the case a portion of his
friend's body would have reached the intended destination. Then,
unexplainably, he received a mental message that all was well.

* * * * *

Considerably heartened, he pressed the starter button and the cold
motor of Frank's coupe turned over slowly, protestingly. Finally it
coughed a few times, and, after considerable coaxing by use of the
choke, ran smoothly. He proceeded to back carefully through the drifts
toward the road, casting an occasional regretful glance in the
direction of the demolished mansion.

He would have some explaining to do when he returned to New York.
Perhaps--yes, almost certainly, he would be questioned by the police
regarding Frank's disappearance. But he would never betray the trust
of Phaestra. Who indeed would believe him if he told the story?
Instead, he would concoct a weird fabrication regarding an explosion
in Leland's laboratory, of his own miraculous escape. They could not
hold him, could not accuse him of murder without producing a body--the
_corpus delicti_, or whatever they called it.

Anyway, Frank was content. So was Phaestra.

Tommy swung the heavy car into the road and turned toward New York,
alone and lonely--but somehow happy; happy for his friend.

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Earth, the Marauder

PART TWO OF A THREE-PART NOVEL

_By Arthur J. Burks_

[Illustration: Closer and closer they came.]

[Sidenote: Deep in the gnome-infested tunnels of the Moon, Sarka and
Jaska are brought to Luar, the radiant goddess against whose minions
the marauding Earth had struck in vain.]

WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE

The Earth was dying. Ever since Sarka the First, king of scientists,
had given mankind the Secret of Life, which prolonged life
indefinitely, the Earthlings had multiplied beyond all count, and been
forced to burrow deep into the ground and high into the air in the
desperate search for the mere room in which to