never known before. Each new story meant
a new front make-up, another extra. Even now the presses were
thundering, even now papers with the ink hardly dry upon them were being
snatched by the avid public from the hands of screaming newsboys.

* * * * *

A man raced toward the city desk, waving a sheet of paper in his hand.
Sensing something unusual the others in the room crowded about as he
laid the sheet before the editor.

"Just came in," the man gasped.

The paper was a wire dispatch. It read:

"Rome--The Black Horror is in full retreat. Although still
apparently immune to the weapons being used against it, it is
lifting the siege of this city. The cause is unknown."

The editor ran his eye down the sheet. There was another dateline:

"Madrid--The Black Horror, which has enclosed this city in a ring of
dark terror for the last two days, is fleeing, rapidly
disappearing...."

The editor pressed a button. There was an answering buzz.

"Composing room," he shouted, "get ready for a new front! Yes, another
extra. This will knock their eyes out!"

A telephone jangled furiously. The editor seized it.

"Yes. What was that?... White says he must have help. I see. Woods and
the others are weakening. Being badly beaten, eh?... More men needed to
go out to the other plane. Wants reinforcements. Yes. I see. Well, tell
him that he'll have them. If he can wait half an hour we'll have them
walking by thousands into that light. I'll be damned if we won't! Just
tell White to hang on! We'll have the whole nation coming to the
rescue!"

He jabbed up the receiver.

"Richards," he said, "write a streamer, 'Help Needed,' 'Reinforcements
Called'--something of that sort, you know. Make it scream. Tell the
foreman to dig out the biggest type he has. A foot high. If we ever
needed big type, we need it now!"

He turned to the telephone.

"Operator," he said, "get me the Secretary of War at Washington. The
secretary in person, you understand. No one else will do."

He turned again to the reporters who stood about the desk.

"In two hours," he explained, banging the desk top for emphasis, "we'll
have the United States Army marching into that light Woods walked into!"

* * * * *

The bloody sun was touching the edge of the weird world, seeming to
hesitate before taking the final plunge behind the towering black crags
that hung above the