th
an almost imperceptible shrug of his shoulders, "it is impossible to
forecast."

"But it was so hot," commenced Stanton, "that--"

"True," agreed Fragoni, "but it also is large and it may be that only
the outer shell of it was effected by friction with the atmosphere that
surrounds the earth. Nachbaren," he continued, "is certain that there is
intelligent life within it; and Nachbaren," he added dryly, "is usually
right."

* * * * *

While Fragoni had been speaking, two more men had quietly joined them.

"Good morning, Lazarre," Fragoni said, addressing a short, swarthy man
who, very apparently, was of Jewish extraction.

"Good morning," the other replied in a soft and mellifluous voice. "It
seems," he continued, with a twinkle in his eyes, "as if some of my
pretty buildings may be toppled over soon."

"Maybe," agreed Fragoni. "And maybe," he added more seriously, "much
more than your buildings will be toppled over, Lazarre."

"That thing, then, is...?" questioned the heavy-set, slow-speaking,
blue-eyed Teuton who had come into the room with Lazarre.

"We do not know, Steinholt," admitted Fragoni, "but our knowledge
undoubtedly will be increased considerably within the next few hours.
And now," he said, "we will consider the problem at hand."

"--the object which has created such unrest is slowly rising. It is now
some twenty-five thousand feet above Manhattan. It is--"

The voice from the radiovisor attracted the attention of the five men,
and, with one accord, they rushed to the terrace and looked toward
Manhattan. They saw the great leviathan high in the air for a moment,
and then, suddenly, it seemed to vanish from sight.

"It's gone!" exclaimed Stanton, with a sigh of relief. "It must have
been some odd atmospheric freak, that's all."

They searched the skies through the luciscope that was on the terrace,
but failed to detect any trace of the monster.

* * * * *

"That seems to simplify matters," remarked Fragoni as they again walked
back into the great conference room. But here, once more, they heard the
voice from the Worldwide Tower.

"--we are advised by Chicago that the thing, dull-red with heat, is
hovering only a couple of thousand feet over the city. Thousands in the
streets are being killed by the heat it is radiating--panic reigns,
despite a rigorous enforcement of martial law. The strange object just
rose suddenly to a h