osphere.
There the power units can find some heat to work on, and we can really
slow down. But we'll have to use the rocket tubes to get the
acceleration we'll need to drive the ship into the air."

There was a sudden clanging of a bell, and everyone dived for a hold,
and held on tightly. An instant later there was a terrific wrench as the
rocket jets threw the plane out of the way of a meteor.

"We're getting near a planet. This is the third meteor we've met since
we were more than a million miles from Earth. Venus and Earth and all
the planets act like giant vacuum cleaners of space, pulling into
themselves all the space debris and meteors within millions of miles by
their gravitational attraction."

Swiftly the planet expanded below them--growing vaster with each passing
moment. It had changed from a disc to a globe, and now, as the molten
silver of its surface seemed swiftly clouding, it turned grey; then they
saw its true appearance, a vast field of rolling, billowing clouds!

The _Solarite_ was shooting around the planet now at ten miles a second,
far more than enough to carry them away from the planet again, out into
space once more if their speed was not checked.

"Hold on everybody," Arcot called. "We're going to turn toward the
planet now!" He depressed a small lever--there was a sudden shock, and
all the space about them seemed to burst into huge, deep-red atomic
hydrogen flames.

The _Solarite_ reeled under the sudden pressure, but the heavy
gyroscopic stabilizers caught it, held it, and the ship remained on an
even keel. Then suddenly there came to the ears of the men a long drawn
whine, faint--almost inaudible--and the ship began slowing down. The
_Solarite_ had entered the atmosphere of Venus--the first man-made
machine to thus penetrate the air of another world!

Quickly Arcot snapped open the control that had kept the rockets
flaming, turning the ship to the planet--driving it into the atmosphere.
Now they could get their power from the air that each instant grew more
dense about them.

"Wade--in the power room--emergency control post--Morey--control board
there--hang on, for we'll have to use some husky accelerations."

Instantly the two men sprang for their posts--literally diving, for they
were still almost weightless.

Arcot pulled another lever--there was a dull snap as a relay in the
power room responded--the lights wavered--dimmed--then the generator was
once more humming smoothly--wo