l my
years.

No one spoke aloud. Now and again one man would matter uneasily to
another; there would be a swift, muttered response, and silence again.
We were waiting--waiting.

Ten minutes went by. Twenty. Thirty.

Impatiently I paced up and down before the exit, the guards at their
posts, ready to obey any orders instantly.

Forty-five minutes. I walked through the exit; stepped out onto the
cold, hard earth.

I could see, behind me, the shadowy bulk of the _Ertak_. Before me, a
black, shapeless blot against the star-sprinkled sky, was the great
administrative building of the Chisee. And in there, somewhere, was
Anderson Croy. I glanced down at the luminous dial of my watch. Fifty
minutes. In ten minutes more--

"John Hanson!" My name reached me, faintly but clearly, through the
medium of my menore. "This is Croy. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," I replied instantly. "Are you safe?"

"I am safe. All is well. Very well. Will you promise me now to receive
what I am about to send, without interruption?"

"Yes," I replied, thoughtlessly and eagerly. "What is it?"

* * * * *

"I have had a long conference with the chief or head of the Chisee,"
explained Croy rapidly. "He is very intelligent, and his people are
much further advanced than we thought.

"Through some form of communication, he has learned of the fight with
the weird birds; it seems that they are--or were--the most dreaded of
all the creatures of this dark world. Apparently we got the whole
brood of them, and this chief, whose name, I gather, is Wieschien, or
something like that, is naturally much impressed.

"I have given him a demonstration or two with my atomic pistol and the
flashlight--these people are fairly stricken by a ray of light
directly in the eyes--and we have reached very favorable terms.

"I am to remain here as chief bodyguard and adviser, of which he has
need, for all is not peaceful, I gather, in this kingdom of darkness.
In return, he is to give up his plans to subjugate the rest of Antri;
he has sworn to do this by what is evidently, to him, a very sacred
oath, witnessed solemnly by the rest of his council.

"Under the circumstances, I believe he will do what he says; in any
case, the great canal will be filled in, and the Antrians will have
plenty of time to erect a great series of disintegrator ray stations
along the entire twilight zone, using the broad fan rays to form a
solid wall against