e can do." Arcot put a small loop in one end of a
cord, thrust his left wrist through this, and grasped the rope firmly
with his hand. Then he drew his ray pistol, and adjusted it carefully
for direction of action. The trigger gave him control over power.
Finally he turned the ray on the block of metal at the other end of the
rope. At once the metal pulled vigorously, drawing the rope taut, and as
Arcot increased the power, he was dragged slowly across the floor.

"Ah--it works." He grinned broadly over his shoulder. "Come on, boys,
hitch your wagon to a star, and we'll go on with the investigation. This
is a new, double action parachute. It lets you down easy, and pulls you
up easier! I think we can go where we want now." After a pause he added,
"I don't have to tell you that too much power will be very bad!"

With Arcot's simple brake, they lowered themselves into the corridor
below, descending one at a time, to avoid any contact with the ray,
since the touch of the beam was fatal.

The scene that lay before them was one of colossal destruction. They had
evidently stumbled upon the engine room. They could not hope to
illuminate its vast expanse with their little hand lights, but they
could gain some idea of its magnitude, and of its original layout. The
floor, now tilted at a steep angle, was torn up in many places, showing
great, massive beams, buckled and twisted like so many wires, while the
heavy floor plates were crumpled like so much foil. Everywhere the room
seemed covered with a film of white silvery metal; it was silver, they
decided after a brief examination, spattered broadcast over the walls of
the room.

Suddenly Morey pointed ceilingward with his light. "That's where the
silver came from!" he exclaimed. A network of heavy bars ran across the
roof, great bars of solid silver fully three feet thick. In one section
gaped a ragged hole, suggesting the work of a disintegration ray, a hole
that went into the metal roof above, one which had plainly been fused,
as had the great silver bars.

Arcot looked in wonder at the heavy metal bars. "Lord--bus bars three
feet thick! What engines they must have! Look at the way those were
blown out! They were short circuited by the crash, just before the
generator went out, and they were volatilized! Some juice!"

With the aid of their improvised elevators, the three men attempted to
explore the tremendous chamber. They had scarcely begun, when Wade
exclaimed:

"Bod