sinking ever lower and lower toward the cliff. Bennie threw
himself flat on his stomach upon the ridge, pressing his hands to his
ears, and the others, feeling that something terrible was going to
happen, followed his example. Nearer and nearer toward the ridge dropped
the Ray. Bennie held his breath. Another instant and there came a
blinding splash of yellow light, a crash like thunder, and a roar that
seemed to tear the mountain from its base. The earth shook. Into the
zenith sprang a flame of incandescent vapour a mile in height. The
tumult increased. Vivid blue flashes of lightning shot out from the spot
upon which the Ray played. The air was filled with thunderings, and the
ground beneath them rose and fell and swung from side to side. Then came
a mighty wind, nay, a cyclone, and gravel and broken branches fell upon
them, and suffocating clouds of dust filled their eyes and shut out from
time to time what was occurring in the valley. The face of the cliff
glowed like the interior of a furnace, and the blazing yellow blast of
glowing helium shot over their heads and off into space, making the
night sky light as day.

For a moment they all lay stunned and sightless. Then the discharge
appeared to diminish both in volume and in intensity. The air cleared
somewhat and the ground no longer trembled. The burst of flame slowly
subsided, like a fountain that is being gradually turned off. Either the
Ring man wasn't going to rock the earth or he had lost control of his
machinery.

Something was clearly going wrong. Showers of sparks fell from the hood
and occasionally huge glowing masses of molten metal dropped from it.
And now the Lavender Ray began slowly to sweep down the face of the
cliff; and the yellow blast of helium gradually faded away until it was
scarcely visible. The roar of the alternator died down, first to a hum
and then to a purr.

"Something's busted," thought Bennie, "and he's shut it off."

The Ray had now reached the bottom of the cliff and was sweeping across
the ground toward the base of the tower, its path being marked by a
small travelling volcano that hurled its smoke and steam high into the
air. It was evident to Bennie that the hood of the tower was slowly
turning over, and that the now fast-fading Ray would presently play upon
its base and the adjacent cupola in which the master of the Ring was
probably attempting to control his recalcitrant machinery.

And then Bennie lost consciousness.