ion
and his eyes afire.

"We are still beyond their effective range. Let us get closer in order
to make sure work when we strike."

The ship moved on. One could hear the heartbeats of its inmates. The
other members of the squadron, thinking for the moment that disaster had
overtaken the flagship, had paused and seemed to be meditating flight.

"Signal them to move on," said Mr. Edison.

The signal was given, and the circle of electrical ships closed in upon
the asteroid.

In the meantime Mr. Edison had been donning his air-tight suit. Before
we could clearly comprehend his intention he had passed through the
double trapped door which gave access to the exterior of the car without
permitting the loss of air, and was standing upon what served as the
deck of the ship.

In his hand he carried a disintegrator. With a quick motion he sighted
it.

As quickly as possible I sprang to his side. I was just in time to note
the familiar blue gleam about the instrument, which indicated that its
terrific energies were at work. The whirring sound was absent, because
here, in open space, where there was no atmosphere, there could be no
sound.

My eyes were fixed upon the Martian's engine, which had just dealt us a
staggering, but not fatal, blow, and particularly I noticed a polished
knob projecting from it which seemed to have been the focus from which
its destructive bolt emanated.

A moment later the knob disappeared. The irresistible vibrations darted
from the electrical disintegrator and had fallen upon it and
instantaneously shattered it into atoms.

"That fixes them," said Mr. Edison, turning to me with a smile.

And indeed it did fix them. We had most effectually spiked their gun. It
would deal no more death blows.

The doings of the flagship had been closely watched throughout the
squadron. The effect of its blow had been evident to all, and a moment
later we saw, on some of the nearer ships, men dressed in their air
suits, appearing upon the deck, swinging their arms and sending forth
soundless cheers into empty space.

The stroke that we had dealt was taken by several of the electrical
ships as a signal for a common assault, and we saw two of the Martians
fall beside the ruins of their engine, their heads having been blown
from their bodies.

"Signal them to stop firing," commanded Mr. Edison. "We have got them
down, and we are not going to murder them without necessity."

"Besides," he added, "I want to