ch they
belonged. Busy with their preparations for battle and watching the
stricken city to which already mere terror had brought the horror of
disease and death.

It seemed now that this Fourth Dimension terrain co-existing within
in the space of New York City, must be a tumbled, mountainous region
of crags and spires, and yawning pits, ravines and valley depths.
Jagged and precipitous indeed, for there were apparitions encamped
in the air above Manhattan and harbor--higher in altitude than the
Chrysler or the Empire State towers. Other wraiths showed in a dozen
places lower down--some within the city buildings themselves. And
yet others were below ground, within the river waters, or grouped
seemingly a hundred feet beneath the street levels.

Fantastic army of wraiths! In the daylight they almost faded, but at
night they glowed clearly. Busy assembling their weapons of war.
Vanishing and reappearing at different points. Climbing or
descending the steep cliffs and crags of their terrain to new points
of vantage; and every hour with their numbers augmenting. And all so
silent! So grimly purposeful, and yet so ghastly silent!

It was near midnight of May 19th when the wraiths began
materializing and the attack upon New York City began!

CHAPTER VII

_The Invisible World_

Tako showed us how to operate the transition mechanism. The little
banana grove on the Bermuda hilltop began fading. There was a
momentary shock; a reeling of my head; a sudden sense of vibration
within me. And then a feeling of lightness, weightlessness; and
freedom, as though all my earthly life I had been shackled, but now
was free.

The thing was at first terrifying, gruesome; but in a moment those
feelings passed and the weightless freedom brought an exuberance of
spirit.

Don and I were sitting with Jane between us, and the figure of Tako
fronting us. I recall that we clung together, terrified. I closed my
eyes when the first shock came, but opened them again to find my
head steadying. Surprising vista! I had vaguely fancied that Tako,
Jane and Don would be sitting here dissolving into apparitions. But
my hands on Jane's arm felt it as solid as before. I stared into her
face. It was frightened, white and set, but smiling at me.

"You all right, Bob? It's not so difficult, is it?"

She had endured this before. She reached out her hands, one to Don
and one to me.

"We're dropping. I don't think it's far down, but be careful.