he visible rays which could
not pass through the heaviside layer because of the lack of a
synchronized carrier wave of shorter wave-length.

Despetier replied at great length and showed by apparently unimpeachable
mathematics that Carpenter was entirely wrong and that his statements
showed an absolute lack of knowledge of the most elementary and
fundamental laws of light transmission. Carpenter replied briefly that
he could prove by mathematics that two was equal to one and he
challenged Despetier or anyone else to satisfactorily explain the
observed facts in any other way. While they vainly tried to do so,
Carpenter lapsed into silence in his Los Angeles laboratory and delved
ever deeper into the problems of science. Such was the situation when
the attack came from space.

My first knowledge of the attack came when McQuarrie, the city editor of
the San Francisco _Clarion_, sent for me. When I entered his office he
tossed a Los Angeles dispatch on the desk before me and with a growl
ordered me to read it. It told of the unexplained disappearance of an
eleven year old boy the night before. It looked like a common
kidnapping.

"Well?" I asked as I handed him back the dispatch.

With another growl he tossed down a second telegram. I read it with
astonishment, for it told of a second disappearance which had happened
about an hour after the first. The similarity of the two cases was at
once apparent.

"Coincidence or connection?" I asked as I returned it.

"Find out!" he replied. "If I knew which it was I wouldn't be wasting
the paper's money by sending you to Los Angeles. I don't doubt that I am
wasting it anyway, but as long as I am forced to keep you on as a
reporter, I might as well try to make you earn the money the owner
wastes on paying you a salary, even although I know it to be a hopeless
task. Go on down there and see what you can find out, if anything."

I jotted down in my notebook the names and addresses of the missing
children and turned to leave. A boy entered and handed McQuarrie a
yellow slip. He glanced at it and called me back.

"Wait a minute, Bond," he said as he handed me the dispatch. "I doubt
but you'd better fly down to Los Angeles. Another case has just been
reported."

I hastily copied down the dispatch he handed me, which was almost a
duplicate of the first two with the exception of the time and the name.
Three unexplained disappearances in one day was enough to warrant speed;
I drew s