*

Peering into the visiplates, the two men were poised above the immense
central cone of the capital city of the Fenachrone. Viewing with
infra-red light as they were, the fog presented no obstacle and the
indescribable beauty of the city of concentric rings and the wonderfully
luxuriant jungle growth were clearly visible. They plunged down into the
council chamber, and saw Fenor, Ravindau, and Fenimol deep in
conversation.

"With all the other feats of skill and sorcery you have accomplished,
why don't you reconstruct their speech, also?" asked Crane, with a
challenging glance.

"Well, old Doubting Thomas, it might not be absolutely impossible, at
that. It would mean two projectors, however, due to the difference in
speed of sound-waves and light-waves. Theoretically, sound-waves also
extend to an infinite distance, but I don't believe that any possible
detector and amplifier could reconstruct a voice more than an hour or so
after it had spoken. It might, though--we'll have to try it some time,
and see. You're fairly good at lip-reading, as I remember it. Get as
much of it as you can, will you?"

As though they were watching the scene itself as it happened--which, in
a sense, they were--they saw everything that had occurred. They saw
Fenor die, saw the general's family board the airboat, saw the orderly
embarkation of Ravindau's organization. Finally they saw the stupendous
take-off of the first inter-galactic cruiser, and with that take-off,
Seaton went into action. Faster and faster he drove that fifth-order
beam along the track of the fugitive, until a speed was attained beyond
which his detecting converters could not hold the ether-rays they were
following. For many minutes Seaton stared intently into the visiplate,
plotting lines and calculating forces, then he swung around to Crane.

"Well, Mart, noble old bean, solving the disappearances was easier than
I thought it would be; but the situation as regards wiping out the last
of the Fenachrone is getting no better, fast."

"I glean from the instruments that they are heading straight out into
space away from the Galaxy, and I assume that they are using their
utmost acceleration?"

"I'll say they're traveling! They're out in absolute space, you know,
with nothing in the way and with no intention of reversing their power
or slowing down--they must've had absolute top acceleration on every
minute since they left. Anyway, they're so far out already that I
cou