omers of the expedition locate for
me the most vulnerable points upon the planet, where the population is
densest and a hard blow would have the most effect, and I am going to
pound away at them, through the smoke, and see whether we cannot draw
them out of their shell."

A Plan Arranged.

With his expert assistants Mr. Edison set to work at once to transform
a number of the disintegrators into still more formidable engines of
the same description. One of these new weapons having been distributed
to each of the members of the squadron, the next problem was to decide
where to strike.

When we first examined the surface of the planet it will be remembered
that we had regarded the Lake of the Sun and its environs as being
the very focus of the planet. While it might also be a strong point
of defence, yet an effective blow struck there would go to the enemy's
heart and be more likely to bring the Martians promptly to terms than
anything else.

The first thing, then, was to locate the Lake of the Sun on the
smoke-hidden surface of the planet beneath us. This was a problem that
the astronomers could readily solve.

Fortunately, in the flagship itself there was one of the star-gazing
gentlemen who had made a specialty of the study of Mars. That planet, as I
have already explained, was now in opposition to the earth. The astronomer
had records in his pocket which enabled him, by a brief calculation,
to say just when the Lake of the Sun would be on the meridian of Mars
as seen from the earth. Our chronometers still kept terrestrial time;
we knew the exact number of days and hours that had elapsed since we had
departed, and so it was possible by placing ourselves in a line between
the earth and Mars to be practically in the situation of an astronomer
in his observatory at home.

Then it was only necessary to wait for the hour when the Lake of the Sun
would be upon the meridian of Mars in order to be certain what the true
direction of the latter from the flagship was.

Having thus located the heart of our foe behind its shield of darkness,
we prepared to strike.

The Smoke Must Be Shattered.

"I have ascertained," said Mr. Edison, "the vibration period of the smoke,
so that it will be easy for us to shatter it into invisible atoms. You
will see that every stroke of the disintegrators will open a hole through
the black curtain. If their field of destruction could be made wide
enough, we might in that manner clear aw