ne-room; "besides, you ought to go to your chambers. No one is
allowed to be out when the dead is being removed."

"Where is the dead taken?"

"Over the wall, to be burned in the internal fires," she concluded, as
she was leaving him.

He found everything in order in his rooms and he lay down and tried to
sleep, but he was too much excited over the happenings of the day. Hours
must have passed when his attention was drawn to a bright light shining
on the wall of his room. He went to a window and looked out on the
court. The light came from the rising moon.

Below lay the ruins of fallen columns, capitals, cornices and statues.
Figures in black cloaks and cowls were removing the dead from the
debris. With a fluttering sound something swooped down past his window
to the ground. It looked like a great bird, carrying the car of a
flying-machine. Thorndyke watched its circular descent to the earth, and
shuddered with horror as the black figures filled the car with bodies
and the gruesome machine spread its wings and rose slowly till it was
clear of the domes and pinnacles of the palace, and then flew away
westward.

Other machines came, and, one after another, received their ghastly
burdens and departed. In a short time all the dead was removed, and
hundreds of workmen came from the palace and began repairing the fallen
masonry.

Thorndyke went back to his couch and tried to sleep, but in vain. Slowly
the hours of night passed, and as the purple of dawn rose in the east he
dressed himself and went up on the roof. The moon had gone down and the
stars were fading from the sky. The dark earth below showed no signs of
life; but as the purple light softened into gray he saw that the streets
of the city were filled with silent expectant people, all watching the
eastern sky. And, as the gray light flushed into rose, and the rose
began to scintillate with gold, they began to stir, and a hum of joyful
voices was heard. The promised day had come.

Chapter XV.

The sun was, indeed, slowing up. The two men peered out at the door.

"It would be unlucky for us if it should not come so near to the earth
as it did on the other side," whispered Branasko.

"I can hardly feel any motion to the thing at all," replied the
American. "Look! for some reason it is not so dark below. I can see the
rocks. Surely we have already passed over the wall."

"That's so," returned the Alphian. "Come; we must be quick and watch our
opportunit