"Then back to Tellus at maximum?"

"Right--back to Tellus, as fast as we can possibly go there."

While the _Chicago_ hurtled through space at full power, Cleveland and
the ranking officers of the vessel grouped themselves about the salvaged
wreckage. Familiar with space-wrecks as were they all, none of them had
ever seen anything like the material before them. For every part and
instrument was weirdly and meaninglessly disintegrated. There were no
breaks, no marks of violence, and yet nothing was intact. Bolt-holes
stared empty, cores, shielding cases and needles had disappeared, the
vital parts of every instrument hung awry, disorganization reigned
rampant and supreme.

"I never imagined such a mess," the captain said, after a long and
silent study of the objects. "If you have any theory to cover _that_,
Cleveland, I would like to hear it!"

"I want you to notice something first," the visiray expert replied. "But
don't look for what's there--look for what _isn't_ there."

"Well, the armor is gone. So are the shielding cases, shafts, spindles,
the housings and stems...." The captain's voice died away as his eyes
raced over the collection. "Why, everything that was made of wood,
bakelite, copper aluminum, silver, bronze, or anything but steel hasn't
been touched, and every bit of steel is gone. But that doesn't make
sense--what does it mean?"

"I don't know--yet," Cleveland replied, slowly. "But I'm afraid that
there's more, and worse." He opened a space-suit reverently, revealing
the face; a face calm and peaceful, but utterly, sickeningly white.
Still reverently, he made a deep incision in the brawny neck, severing
the jugular vein, then went on, soberly:

"You never imagined such a thing as _white_ blood, either, but it all
checks up. Someway, somehow, every particle--probably every atom--of
free or combined iron in this whole volume of space was made off with."

"Huh? How come? And above all, _why_?" from the amazed and staring
officers.

"You know as much as I do," grimly, ponderingly. "If it were not for the
fact that there are solid asteroids of iron out beyond Mars, I would say
that somebody wanted iron badly enough to wipe out the fleets and the
planetoid to get it. But anyway, whoever they were, they carried enough
power so that our armament didn't bother them at all. They simply took
the metal they wanted and went away with it--so fast that I couldn't
trace them with an ultra-beam. There's only o