he soon found that, with active
resistance, there was no fear of it overcoming him again. One thing
persisted, however, and that was the curiously refreshed and stimulated
condition of his body. Nor was he anxious that this should go away.

They were within yards of the great column, now, and at an ever
shortening range their eyes began to make out certain details which they
had missed during their progress under that inexplicable half-trance.

It was not actually a column, they realized, for it was hollow and they
could dimly make out the shapes of objects within. It was a vast,
room-like cylinder or enclosure, with walls of transparent green. In the
center, and midway between floor and ceiling, there hung what seemed to
be a ball of vivid green fire.

Upon reaching the cylinder, they pressed closely to its hard surface and
peered intently within. But at first the great, flaming ball obscured
such early details as they could discern. It was like looking upward
through water at the blinding disc of the sun. Then, as their eyes grew
accustomed to the emerald brilliance, they found themselves gazing at an
unbelievable scene.

High above floated the fiery, green ball. Directly below it glittered
the complex mass of a great machine. This was spread upon a huge base
and narrowed as it rose. Circling the apex were a multitude of rod-like
projections, the ends of which terminated in large crystal cones. The
bases of these were pointed upward, and from each a pale, almost
invisible, beam shot up and into the green ball, as though at once
nourishing and supporting it.

But it was not this which held the incredulous fixity of their gaze. For
arranged in concentric circles about the machine were hundreds of tables
or low platforms and upon each a still figure lay. The nearest table was
some distance from the wall through which Nellon and Austin peered, and
this, added to the weird, green light of the globe, made a clear
delineation of physical characteristics impossible. Yet they were able
to make out enough to become convinced, that, as their earlier
examination of the clothing in the rooms had suggested, the figures were
hauntingly human.

* * * * *

For a long moment they stood there. Then Big Tim turned, and Nellon,
looking around in response to the action, was amazed at the bright and
feverish gleam in the other's eyes. Words tumbled from Big Tim's lips in
a hoarse rush.

"Brad, this i