had experienced,
and there was a possibility that some of the crew had survived the
crash. The entire stern of the huge vessel had been torn off, and
evidently the ship was unable to rise, but there were lights glowing
through the portholes on the side, indicating that power had not failed
completely.

"I think we'd better treat that monster with respect," remarked Wade,
looking down at the lighted windows. "They have power, and the hull is
scarcely dented except where the stern was caught by a beam. It's lucky
we had those ray projector ships! They've been in service only about
four months, haven't they, Lieutenant?"

"Just about that, sir," the Air Patrolman replied. "They hadn't gotten
the hand weapons out in sufficient quantities to be issued to us as
yet."

Morey scowled at the invader. "I don't like this at all. I wonder why
they didn't greet us with some of their beams," he said in worried
tones. It did seem that there should be some of the rays in action now.
They were less than a mile from the fallen giant, and moving rather
slowly.

"I've been puzzled about that myself," commented Arcot, "and I've come
to the conclusion that either the ray projectors are fed by a separate
system of power distribution, which has been destroyed, or that the
creatures from space are all dead."

They were to learn later, in their exploration of the ship, that the
invaders' ray projectors were fed from a separate generator, which
produced a special form of alternating current wave for them. This
generator had been damaged beyond use.

The little machine was well toward the stern of the giant now, and they
lowered it till it was on a level with the torn metal. It was plain that
the ship had been subjected to some terrific tension. The great girders
were stretched and broken, and the huge ribs were bent and twisted. The
central tube, which ran the length of the ship, had been drawn down to
about three quarters of its original diameter, making it necessary for
them to use their ray to enter. In moments their speedster glided into
the dark tunnel. The searchlight reaching ahead filled the metal tunnel
with a myriad deceptive reflections. The tube was lighted up far ahead
of them, and seemed empty. Cautiously they advanced, with Arcot at the
controls.

"Wade--Morey--where will we stop first?" he asked. "The engines? They'll
probably be of prime importance. We know their location. What do you
say?"

"I agree," replied Wade, a