et it pass.

I knew just how he felt.

* * * * *

I have never liked to wear a breathing mask. I feel shut in, frustrated,
more or less helpless. The hiss of the air and the everlasting
_flap-flap_ of the exhaust-valve disturb me. But they are very handy
things when you walk abroad on a world which has no breathable
atmosphere.

You've probably seen, in the museums, the breathing masks of that
period. They were very new and modern then, although they certainly
appear cumbersome by comparison with the devices of to-day.

Our masks consisted of a huge shirt of air-tight, light material which
was belted in tightly around the waist, and bloused out like an ancient
balloon when inflated. The arm-holes were sealed by two heavy bands of
elastic, close to the shoulders, and the head-piece was of thin copper,
set with a broad, curved band of crystal which extended from one side to
the other, across the front, giving the wearer a clear view of
everything except that which was directly behind him. The balloon-like
blouse, of course, was designed to hold a small reserve supply of air,
for an emergency, should anything happen to the tank upon the shoulders,
or the valve which released the air from it.

They were cumbersome, uncomfortable things, but I donned mine and
adjusted the menore, built into the helmet, to full strength. I wanted
to be sure I kept in communication with both Hendricks and the sentries
at the air-lock exit, and of course, inside the helmets, verbal
communication was impossible.

I glanced at Hendricks, and saw that he was ready and waiting. We were
standing inside the air-lock, and the mighty door of the port had just
finished turning in its threads, and was swinging back slowly on its
massive gimbals.

"Let's go, Hendricks," I emanated. "Remember, take no chances, and keep
your eyes open."

"I'll remember, sir," replied Hendricks, and together we stepped out
onto the coarse gravel of the beach.

* * * * *

Before us, waves of an unhealthy, cloudy green rolled slowly, heavily
shoreward, but we had no eyes for this, nor for the amazing vegetation
of the place, plainly visible on the curving shores. We took a few
hurried steps away from the ship, and then turned to survey the monsters
which had attacked it.

They literally covered the ship; in several places their transparent,
glowing bodies overlapped. And the sides of the _Ertak_, ord