t Britain, France, Germany and Russia, came immediate offers of
their air fleets to assist in fighting off the Terror.

* * * * *

In less than an hour there were nearly five thousand cruisers in
air-level six, patroling its entire depth from thirty-five thousand to
one hundred thousand feet altitude.

We resumed work in the hangar, but the news service was kept in
operation as far as the amplifiers were concerned, though the television
screen was switched off on account of the likelihood of its distracting
the workers.

Again came the report of a major disaster, this time over Butte in
Montana. Four American vessels and one British were the victims in level
six. And the city of Butte was in flames; blue, horrible flames that
literally melted the city into the ground. Again there was no trace of
the invaders.

How puny were the efforts of the five thousand air cruisers! Marvels of
engineering and mechanical skill, these vessels were. Deadly as were the
weapons they carried--weapons so terrible that war on earth was
considered impossible since their development--they were helpless
against an enemy who could not be located. Though our vessels were
capable of boring high into the stratosphere, the enemy worked from
still higher.

"Holy smoke!" gasped Hart Jones, who had stopped at my side. "What a
contract I have on my hands!"

* * * * *

He looked in the direction of the partly dismantled _Pioneer_, and I
could see by the fixedness of his stare that he was thinking of her
insignificant size in comparison with the job she was to undertake.

Above the din of the machines in the hangar rang the startled voice of a
news announcer. Panic-stricken he seemed, and we stopped to listen.
Another blow of the terror of the skies--and now close by! Over
Westchester County in New York State there was a repetition of the
previous attacks. Only two of the cruisers had vanished this time; but
several towns, including Larchmont and Scarsdale, were pools of molten
fire!

Sick at heart, I thought of my little home in Rutherford and of the dear
ones it contained. I thought of telephoning, but, what was the use?
There was no warding off of this terrible thing that had so suddenly
come to our portion of the world. It was the blowing of the last
trumpet, the way things looked.

The announcer had calmed himself. His voice droned tonelessly now, as
was the custom. Another