forehead. The terrific powers of the Atom Smasher were unveiling
themselves more and more each moment. Jim felt Lucille's hand on his
arm. He looked into her face.

"Jim, darling, what's going to happen to us if dad can't find how to
work the machine?"

"I don't know, dear. I've thought that we might all jump out and
chance it. If we held each other tight, we'd probably land in the same
place--"

* * * * *

Old Parrish stood up. "I can't work it, Jim," he said. "Tode's got us
beat. There's only one thing for us to do. You can guess what it is."

"I think I can," said Jim, glancing askance at Lucille. Yes, he knew,
but he lacked the heart to tell her. "If we were all to jump out,
tied together--don't you think we might land--somewhere near where we
want to land?" he asked.

"Jim, do you realize what each vibration of this boat means?" asked
Parrish. "There's a table on the instrument-board. It's a wave length
of four thousand miles in space and nineteen years in time."

"You mean we're moving to London or San Francisco and back--"

"Further than that, every infinite fraction of a second," answered
Parrish. "No, Jim, we--we wouldn't land. So we must just go back to
where we came from, and--"

He had been speaking in a low voice, calculated not to reach Lucille's
ears. The girl had been leaning back, her eyes closed, as if half
asleep. Now she rose and stepped up to her father and lover. "You can
tell me the truth," she said. "I'm not afraid."

"We've got to go back, Lucille," answered her father. "It's our only
chance. By following the course in reverse we can expect to make
Atlantis again--"

"Back to that horrible place?"

"No, my dear. The chart will lead us, obviously, back to the cave
where Tode has his headquarters. We must try to surprise him, and
force him to bring us back to Long Island."

"And then?" asked Lucille.

Parrish shrugged his shoulders. "We'll face that problem when we come
to it," he answered.

"But how do you expect to be able to land at the other end any more
than this?" asked Jim. "Suppose the machine continues to vibrate
instead of coming to a standstill?"

"I think," said Parrish, "that we'll be able to strike a bargain with
Tode. Obviously he will be willing to bring the machine to a
standstill in order to parley with us. We'll make terms--the best we
can. After all, he can't afford to remain marooned on the isle of
Atlantis without the Atom