cross the grass to the machine and into the car. They
could see the driver behind the glass of the narrow compartment in which
he sat, and when he turned the polished metal wheel the machine rose
like a liberated balloon.

Thorndyke looked out of the window. The blue haze of the fifth hour of
the morning was breaking over everything, and as the domes, pinnacles,
and vari-colored roofs fell away in the beautiful light, the breast of
the Englishman heaved with delightful emotions. Bernardino was watching
his face with a gratified smile.

"You like Alpha," she said, half anxiously, half inquiringly.

"Very much," he replied; "but I want to show you the great world I came
from;--and some day perhaps I can."

The blood ran into her cheeks suddenly, and then as quickly receded,
leaving a wistful expression in her eyes. She sighed. "It has been my
dream for a long time. I have always imagined that it is more wonderful
than Alpha; but you know there is no chance for you to return now."

"I shall manage to escape some way and you shall go with me as my wife."

Her blushes came again. "I did not know that you cared that much for
me," she said. Then, as if to change the subject, she pointed through
the window. "See, we are approaching the Park, and shall descend in a
moment."

He looked out of the window and then drew his head in quickly.

"We are coming down into a big lake!" he cried out. "Oh, no, it is only
the glass roof of the park," she laughed; "true, it does look like water
in the sunlight."

The machine sank lower and finally rested on a plot of grass in a little
square ornamented with beds of flowers and white statues. Thorndyke
saw a seemingly endless wall, so high that he could not calculate its
height. Bernardino preceded him in at a great arching door in the wall,
and they found themselves in a stone-paved vestibule several hundred
feet square.

A maid servant came forward at once and brought heavy fur clothing
for them and invited them into separate toilet rooms. When he came out
Bernardino was waiting for him. He could hardly breathe, so thick were
the furs he had put on.

"It is warm here, but it will be colder in a moment," said the princess.
And she led him to a door across the room. When the door was opened,
Thorndyke uttered an exclamation of astonishment. Before their eyes lay
a wide expanse of snow-covered roads, woodlands and frozen lakes and
streams. The air was as crisp and invigorating as a