s
entire body glowed like a torch, then crumpled to the floor in a
heap of ashes.

* * * * *

Scarcely daring to breathe, the captain watched the sphere float
over the ashes of its victim for a moment; then, apparently
satisfied that the man no longer lived, floated back through the
doorway.

Taylor took a deep breath. It might be well if the bomb would
explode, but he knew now it had been silenced.

In an insulated panel on the wall were the remains of an electric
switchboard. The copper switches were fused, the wires burned
through. The huge cables that brought the electric current to the
switchboard lay molten on the floor.

The bomb probably was electrical and undoubtedly had been fused
like the switchboard.

The captain had one objective now, to get out of the plant before
the orange spheres discovered him. He didn't know what he faced,
but something told him that it had never faced mankind before. He
had no weapon to combat the sphere.

Taylor reached the forge room again. He stepped over more
glowing piles of ashes.

Then his ears caught a crescendo of the whispering that he had
heard before. He looked behind him. In the doorway was an orange
glow. The sphere was coming--looking for him!

Behind the forge was a machine which had been used to operate the
crane. Beyond it was stygian darkness. He might hide there.

The captain slipped toward the machine. Every bit of electrical
wiring on the controls had been fused.

The room grew lighter, the whispering louder and then, through
the doorway, floated the dazzling sphere.

Something gripped Taylor's shoulder muscles. A mild electrical
shock coursed through his body, as if an invisible feeler had
passed over him.

The sphere halted, changed its direction and floated slowly
toward the captain.

Instinctively, Taylor backed into the corner behind the machine.
He dropped to his hands and knees and was free of the invisible
feeler! Again the orange sphere halted, as if trying to relocate
its victim.

Taylor rounded a pillar which supported the track for the crane.
His fingers struck an accumulation of rubbish that had been
tossed into the corner. He started to push it out of the way,
when the floor beneath it moved. It was a trap door!

A gasp of surprise came from Taylor's lips. He had a chance. But
the sound gave him away. The electrical feeler touched him again.
The shock jerked at his muscles and the sphere start