they're starting a war! And we, Sylva, must
warn our people. How are we going to do it?"

She pressed his hand confidently, but it did not look promising. Thorn
Hard was on foot, without a transmitter, armed only with his
belt-weapons and with a girl to look after, and moreover imprisoned in
a colossal dome of force which hexynitrate had failed to crack....

* * * * *

It was August 20, 2037. There was a triple murder in Paris which was
rumored to be the work of a Com-Pub spy, though the murderer's
unquestionably Gallic touches made the rumor dubious. Newspaper
vendor-units were screaming raucously, "Martians land in Colorado!"
and the newspapers themselves printed colored-photos of hastily
improvised models in their accounts of the landing of a blood-red
rocket-ship in the widest part of the Rockies. The inter-continental
tennis matches reached their semi-finals in Havana, Cuba. Thorn Hard
had not reported to Watch headquarters in twelve hours. Quadruplets
were born in Des Moines, Iowa. Krassin, Commissar of Commissars of the
Com-Pubs, made a diplomatic inquiry about the rumors that a Martian
space-ship had landed in North America. He asked that Com-Pub
scientists be permitted to join in the questioning and examination of
the Martian visitors. The most famous European screen actress landed
from the morning Trans-Atlantic plane with her hair dyed a light
lavender, and beauty-shops throughout the country placed rush orders
for dye to take care of the demand for lavender hair which would begin
by mid-afternoon. The heavy-weight champion of the United Nations was
warned that his title would be forfeited if he further dodged a fight
with his most promising contender. And ... Thorn Hard had not reported
to Watch headquarters in twelve hours.

He was, as a matter of fact, cautiously parting some bushes to peer
past a mountain-flank at the red rocket-ship. Sylva West lay on the
ground behind him. Both of them weary to the point of exhaustion. They
had started their descent from Mount Wendel at the first gray streak
of dawn in the east. They had toiled painfully across the broken
country between, to this point of vantage. Now Thorn looked down upon
the rocket-ship.

* * * * *

It lay a little askew upon the ground, seeming to be partly buried in
the earth. A hundred feet and more in length, it was even more
obviously a monstrosity as he looked at it in the bri