* * * * *

It happened just after midday when the city and its harbor were at their
most glamorous. Coburn and Janice were above when it began. There was an
ensign assigned to escort Coburn about and keep an eye on him, and he
took them on a carefully edited tour of the carrier. He took them to the
radar room which was not secret any longer. He explained reservedly that
there was a new tricked-up arrangement of radar which it was believed
would detect turtle-shaped metal ships if they appeared.

The radar room was manned, of course. It always was, with a cold war in
being. Overhead, the bowl cages of the radars moved restlessly and
rhythmically. Outside, on deck, the huge elevator that brought planes up
from below rose at the most deliberate of peace-time rates.

The ensign said negligently, pointing to the radar-screen: "That little
speck is a plane making for the landing field on shore. This other one
is a plane coming down from Genoa. You'd need a good pair of binoculars
to see it. It's a good thirty-five miles away."

Just then, one of the two radar-men on duty pushed a button and snapped
into a microphone: "Sir! Radar-pip directly overhead! Does not show on
normal radar. Elevation three hundred thousand feet, descending
rapidly." His voice cut off suddenly.

A metallic voice said: "Relay!"

The ensign in charge of Coburn and Janice seemed to freeze. The
radar-man pressed a button, which would relay that particular
radar-screen's contents to the control room for the whole ship. There
was a pause of seconds. Then bells began to ring everywhere. They were
battle gongs.

There was a sensation of stirring all over the ship. Doors closed with
soft hissings. Men ran furiously. The gongs rang.

The ensign said politely: "I'll take you below now."

He led them very swiftly to a flight of stairs. There was a monstrous
bellowing on the carrier's deck. Something dark went hurtling down its
length, with a tail of pale-blue flame behind it. It vanished. Men were
still running. The elevator shot into full-speed ascent. A plane rolled
off it. The elevator dropped.

An engine roared. Another. Yet another. A second dark and deadly thing
flashed down the deck and was gone. There was a rumbling.

The battle gongs cut off. The rumbling below seemed to increase. There
was a curious vibration. The ship moved. Coburn could feel that it
moved. It was turning.

The ensign led them somewhere and s