cy.
These modern Americans, for instance, knew little of hand to hand
fighting, and nothing, naturally, of trench warfare. Of barrages they
were quite ignorant, although they possessed weapons of terrific power.
And until my recent flash of inspiration, no one among them, apparently,
had ever thought of the scheme of shooting a rocket into a repellor beam
and letting the beam itself hurl it upward into the most vital part of
the Han ship.

Hart patiently placed his men, first giving his instructions to the
campmasters, and then remaining silent, while they placed the
individuals.

In the end, the hundred men were ringed about the valley, on the
hillsides and tops, each in a position from which he had a good view of
the wreckage of the Han ship. But not a man had come in view, so far as
I could see, in the whole process.

The Boss explained to me that it was his idea that he, Wilma and I
should investigate the wreck. If Han ships should appear in the sky, we
would leap for the hillsides.

I suggested to him to have the men set up their long-guns trained on an
imaginary circle surrounding the wreck. He busied himself with this
after the three of us leaped down to the Han ship, serving as a target
himself, while he called on the men individually to aim their pieces and
lock them in position.

In the meantime Wilma and I climbed into the wreckage, but did not find
much. Practically all of the instruments and machinery had been twisted
out of all recognizable shape, or utterly destroyed by the ship's
disintegrator rays which apparently had continued to operate in the
midst of its warped remains for some moments after the crash.

It was unpleasant work searching the mangled bodies of the crew. But it
had to be done. The Han clothing, I observed, was quite different from
that of the Americans, and in many respects more like the garb to which
I had been accustomed in the earlier part of my life. It was made of
synthetic fabrics like silks, loose and comfortable trousers of knee
length, and sleeveless shirts.

No protection, except that against drafts, was needed, Wilma explained
to me, for the Han cities were entirely enclosed, with splendid
arrangements for ventilation and heating. These arrangements of course
were equally adequate in their airships. The Hans, indeed, had quite a
distaste for unshaded daylight, since their lighting apparatus diffused
a controlled amount of violet rays, making the unmodified sunlight