th
of destruction. Half inclined to let the few remaining vessels escape,
Seaton's mind changed instantly as he saw the bombs spreading
devastation upon the countryside, and not until the last of the
Mardonalian vessels had been destroyed did he drop the Skylark into the
area of ruins which had once been the palace grounds, beside the Kondal,
which was still lying as it had fallen.

After several attempts to steady their whirling senses, the three men
finally were able to walk, and, opening a door, they leaped out through
the opening in the still glowing wall. Seaton's first act was to
wireless the news to Dorothy, who replied that they were coming as fast
as they could. The men then removed their helmets, revealing faces pale
and drawn, and turned to the helpless space-car.

"There's no way of getting into this thing from the outside...." Seaton
began, when he saw that the Kofedix and his party were beginning to
revive. Soon Dunark opened the door and stumbled out.

"I have to thank you for more than my life this time," he said, his
voice shaken by uncontrollable emotion as he grasped the hands of all
three men. "Though unable to move, I was conscious and saw all that
happened--you kept them so busy that they didn't have a chance to give
us enough to kill us outright. You have saved the lives of millions of
our nation and have saved Kondal itself from annihilation."

"Oh, it's not that bad," answered Seaton, uncomfortably. "Both nations
have been invaded before."

"Yes--once when we developed the ultra-violet ray, once when Mardonale
perfected the machine for producing the silent sound-wave, and again
when we harnessed the heat-wave. But this would have been the most
complete disaster in history. The other inventions were not so deadly as
was this one, and there were terrible battles, from which the victors
emerged so crippled that they could not completely exterminate the
vanquished, who were able to re-establish themselves in the course of
time. If it had not been for you, this would have been the end, as not a
Kondalian soldier could move--any person touching iridium was helpless
and would have been killed."

He ceased speaking and saluted as the Karfedix and his party rounded a
heap of boulders. Dorothy and Margaret screamed in unison as they saw
the haggard faces of their husbands, and saw their suits, dripping with
a thick substance which they knew to be red, in spite of its
purplish-black color. Seaton do