unt
it out. They landed several in New York; how long ago it all seems
that the threat of utter destruction hung over the whole nation--the
whole world.

And now from my window I see the sparkling flash of ships. The air is
filled with them; I am still unaccustomed to their speed. But a wisp
of vapor from each bell-shaped stern throws them swiftly on their way;
it marks the continuous explosion of that marvel of a new
age--tritonite! There are tremendous terminals being built; the
air-transport lines are being welded into efficient units that circle
the world; and the world is becoming so small!

The barriers are gone; all nations are working as one to use wisely
this strange new power for the work of this new world. No more
poverty; no more of the want and desperate struggle that leads a whole
people into the insane horrors of war; it is a glorious world of which
we dream and which is coming slowly to be....

But I think we must dream well and work well to bring to actuality the
beautiful visions in those far-seeing eyes of the man called
Paul--Dictator, one time, of the whole world.

LISTENING TO ANTS

Two scientists of the University of Pittsburgh recently perfected an
apparatus for detecting the sounds of underground communications among
ants. A block of wood was placed upon the diaphragm of an ordinary
telephone transmitter, which in turn was connected through batteries
and amplifiers to a pair of earphones. When the termites crawled over
the block of wood the transmitter was agitated, resulting in sound
vibrations which were clearly heard by the listener at the headset.

When the ants became excited over something or other their soldiers
were found to hammer their heads vigorously on the wood. This action
could be clearly seen and heard at the same time. The investigators
found that the ants could hear sound vibrations in the air very poorly
or not at all, but were extremely sensitive to vibrations underground.
For this reason it was thought that the head hammering was a method of
communication.

Because of this sensitivity to substratum vibrations, ants are seldom
found to infest the ties of railroads carrying heavy traffic, or
buildings containing machinery.

The Earthman's Burden

_By R. F. Starzl_

[Illustration: _And then he jumped._]

[Sidenote: There is foul play on Mercury--until Denny Olear of the
Interplanetary Flying Police gets after his man.]

Denny Olear was playing black