de, and tear down that
cliff--throw it down into the valley. Fuller, turn the heat beams on
with all the power you can get and burn that refuse he tears down into a
heap of molten lava!

"I'm going to show them what we can do! And, Wade--after Fuller gets it
melted down, throw the molten lava high in the air!"

From the ship, a long pencil of rays, faintly violet from the air they
ionized, reached out and touched the cliff. In an instant, it had torn
down a vast mass of the solid rock, which came raining down into the
valley with a roaring thunder and threw the dirt of the valley into the
air like splashed mud.

Then the violet ray died, and two rays of blinding brilliance reached
out. The rock was suddenly smoking, steaming. Then it became red, dull
at first, then brighter and brighter. Suddenly it collapsed into a great
pool of white-hot lava, flowing like water under the influence of the
beams from the ship.

Again the pale violet of the molecular beams touched the rock--which was
now bubbling lava. In an instant, the great mass of flaming incandescent
rock was flying like a glowing meteor, up into the air. It shot up with
terrific speed, broke up in mid-air, and fell back as a rain of red-hot
stone.

The bright rays died out, but the pale fingers of the molecular beams
traced across the level ground. As they touched it, the solid soil
spouted into the air like some vast fountain, to fall back as
frost-covered powder.

The rays that had swung a sun into destruction were at work! What chance
had man, or the works of man against such? What mattered a tiny planet
when those rays could hurl one mighty sun into another, to blaze up in
an awful conflagration that would light up space for a million light
years around with a mighty glare of light!

As if by a giant plow, the valley was torn and rent in great streaks by
the pale violet rays of the molecular force. Wade tore loose a giant
boulder and sent it rocketing into the heavens. It came down with a
terrific crash minutes later, to bury itself deep in the soil as it
splintered into fragments.

Suddenly the _Ancient Mariner_ was jerked violently again. Evidently
undaunted by their display of power, the aliens' rays had gripped the
Earthmen's ship again and were drawing it with terrific acceleration.
But this time the ship was racing toward the city, caught by the beam of
one of the low-built, sturdy buildings that housed the protective ray
projectors.

Again