ack to that zone. We've got to get
through it some way."

The course alarm sounded, and they saw that a planet lay directly in
their path. It was "X," and enough negative acceleration was applied to
make an easy landing possible.

"Isn't it going to be a long, slow job, chopping off two tons of that
metal and fighting away those terrible animals besides?" asked Margaret.

"It'll take about a millionth of a second, Peg. I'm going to bite it off
with the zone, just as I took that bite out of our field. The rotation
of the planet will throw us away from the surface, then we'll release
the zone and drag our prey off with us. See?"

The _Skylark_ descended rapidly toward that well-remembered ledge of
metal to which the object compass had led them.

"This is exactly where we landed before," Margaret commented in
surprise, and Dorothy added:

"Yes, and there's that horrible tree that ate the dinosaur or whatever
it was. I thought you blew it up for me, Dick?"

"I did, Dottie--blew it into atoms. Must be a good location for
carnivorous trees--and they must grow awfully fast, too. As to its being
the same place, Peg--sure it is. That's what object compasses are for."

Everything appeared as it had been at the time of their first visit. The
rank Carboniferous vegetation, intensely, vividly green, was motionless
in the still, hot, heavy air; the living nightmares inhabiting that
primitive world were lying in the cooler depths of the jungle, sheltered
from the torrid rays of that strange and fervent sun.

"How about it, Dot? Want to see some of your little friends again? If
you do, I'll give them a shot and bring them out."

"Heavens, no! I saw them once--if I never see them again, that will be
twenty minutes too soon!"

"All right--we'll grab us a piece of this ledge and beat it."

Seaton lowered the vessel to the ledge, focussed the main anchoring
attractor upon it, and threw on the zone of force. Almost immediately he
released the zone, pointed the bar parallel to the compass bearing upon
Osnome, and slowly applied the power.

"How much did you take, anyway?" asked Dunark in amazement. "It looks
bigger than the _Skylark_!"

"It is; considerably bigger. Thought we might as well take enough while
we're here, so I set the zone for a seventy-five-foot radius. It's
probably of the order of magnitude of half a million tons, since the
stuff weighs more than half a ton to the cubic foot. However, we can
handle it as eas