er
the English side of the certificate. Their vows were there, word for
word, with their own signatures beneath them, all deeply engraved into
the metal. Seaton smiled as he saw the legal form engraved below their
signatures, and read aloud:

"I, the Head of the Church and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed
forces of Kondal, upon the planet Osnome, certify that I have this
day, in the city of Kondalek, of said nation and planet, joined in
indissoluble bonds of matrimony, Richard Ballinger Seaton, Doctor
of Philosophy, and Dorothy Lee Vaneman; Doctor of Music; both of
the city of Washington, District of Columbia, United States of
America, upon the planet Earth, in strict compliance with the
marriage laws, both of Kondal and of the United States of America.

TARNAN."

Witnesses:
ROBAN, Emperor of Kondal.
TURAL, Empress of Kondal.
DUNARK, Crown Prince of Kondal.
SITAR, Crown Princess of Kondal.
MARC C. DUQUESNE, Ph. D., Washington, D. C.

"That is SOME document," remarked Seaton. "Probably a lawyer could find
fault with his phraseology, but I'll bet that this thing would hold in
any court in the world. Think you'll get married again when we get back,
Mart?"

Both girls protested, and Crane answered:

"No, I think not. Our ceremony would be rather an anticlimax after this
one, and this one will undoubtedly prove legal. I intend to register
this just as it is, and get a ruling from the courts. But it is time for
breakfast. Pardon me--I should have said 'darprat,' for it certainly is
not breakfast-time by Washington clocks. My watch says that it is
eleven-thirty P. M."

"This system of time is funny," remarked Dorothy. "I just can't get used
to having no night, and...."

"And it's such a long time between eats, as the famous governor said
about the drinks," broke in Seaton.

"How did you know what I was going to say, Dick?"

"Husbandly intuition," he grinned, "aided and abetted by a normal
appetite that rebels at seventeen hours between supper and breakfast,
and nine hours between the other meals. Well, it's time to eat--let's
go!"

* * * * *

After eating, the men hurried to the Skylark. During the sleeping-period
the vessel had been banded with the copper repellers: the machine guns
and instruments, including the wonderful Osnomian wireless system, had
been installed; and, except for the po