w the hull,
and a series of mirrors corrected this defect.

But Walt Harkness had eyes solely for the black void ahead. Only the
brilliant stars shone now in the mantle of velvety night. No flashing
lights denoted the passing of liners, for they were safe in the harbor
of the lower levels. He moved the controls once to avoid the green
glare of an ascending area, then he knew that there were no ships to
fear, and let the automatic control put him back on his course.

Before him, under a hooded light, was a heavy lens. It showed in
magnification a portion of the globe. There were countries and seas on
a vari-colored map, and one pin-point of brilliance that marked his
ever-changing position.

He watched the slow movement of the glowing point. The Central
Federated States of Europe were behind him; the point was tracing a
course over the vast reaches of the patchwork map that meant the many
democracies of Russia. This cruiser of Schwartzmann's was doing five
hundred miles an hour--and the watching man cursed under his breath at
the slow progress of the tiny light.

But the light moved, and the slow hours passed, while Harkness tried
to find consolation in surmises he told himself must be true.

Chet had been delayed, he insisted to himself; Chet could never have
finished the work in two days; he had been bluffing good-naturedly
when he threatened to fly the ship alone....

* * * * *

The Arctic Ocean was beneath. The tiny light had passed clear of the
land on the moving chart.

He would be there soon.... Of course Chet had been fooling; he was
always ready for a joke.... Great fellow, Chet! They had taken their
training together, and Chet had gone on to win a master-pilot's
rating, the highest to be had....

Another hour, and a rising hum from a buzzer beside him gave warning
of approach to the destination he had fixed. The automatic control was
warning him to decelerate. Harkness well knew what was expected of the
pilot when that humming sounded; yet, with total disregard for the
safety of his helicopters, he dived at full speed for the denser air
beneath.

He felt the weight that came suddenly upon him as he drove through and
beneath the repelling area, and he flattened out and checked his
terrific speed when the gauges quivered at forty thousand.

Then down and still down in a long, slanting dive, till a landmark was
found. He was off his course a bit, but it was a matter of