hamber, and then he saw the door of the rocket close. He
knew that the automatic mechanism must have been touched in the battle.

And even as the thought ran through his mind he heard a sudden roar of
flaming sound. The night lit up in a sheet of brilliant light and a wave
of flame spread out from the base of the rocket.

Trent pulled the girl away from that blinding sheet of exploding energy,
and his eyes stared in grim fascination as they ran.

He saw the rocket shudder in its cradle and then lift slowly. It was as
if time had turned back and he were watching an identical scene that had
happened earlier that day.

Only it wasn't the same scene. It was now a scene of horror. For he knew
that the monster and the dog were in that rocket. The rocket that would
shoot skyward in moments, even as its companion had done. Would reach
into the outer fringes of the Earth's atmosphere where the cosmic rays
would envelop it, would react upon the animals inside it.

And a terrible dread spread through Trent at the thought. For if the
first change had been terrible enough, what would happen now?

And as he thought, he saw the rocket lift slowly from its cradle and
gather speed as it shot upward into the night.

* * * * *

The blinding light of the exploding rocket fuel lit the proving grounds
like a huge beacon of incandescence, and Trent was aware of shouts ahead
of him, and running feet.

Then he was surrounded by men from the project, and he caught the glint
of alert weapons and uniforms.

He felt arms grab him and the girl and heard questions pounding at him.

But then he saw a face he knew. And he tore away from the arms of the
guards and shouted.

"Dr. Mathieson! Listen to me!"

The scientist stepped up to him and Trent gripped his arm in the fading
light of the vanishing rocket.

"What's happened here?" the scientist demanded. "Aren't you one of the
newsmen--"

Trent interrupted him. He poured out a string of words. Words that told
what had happened. And as he talked he saw the eyes of the scientist
widen in disbelief. And he heard the guards grow silent around him. Felt
every ear listening with awe to his words.

And when he had finished there was a long moment of silence. And then
Joan Drake moved tremblingly up beside Trent and she spoke:

"It's true, doctor! Every word Fred said is true!"

And one of the guards broke in:

"The word just came in from post four. The fenc