the wreckage of the huts. What the dinosaurs had started, fires
would finish.

When the last of the beasts had gone, Michaelson, his squad of sailors,
and Guru came hurrying through the darkness. Guru was accompanied by
dozens of his people, hastily recruited for the task of firing the
swamp. Craig yelled at them.

"Come up here and stand guard!" he shouted. "I'm going to take a nap."

CHAPTER VIII

The End of Adventure

Craig stood at the rail of the ship.

The sun was setting and the long shadows of dusk reached across the
world. Michaelson stood beside Craig. As usual, the scientist was
excited.

"The Ogrum presented a strange case of warped development," he said. "Do
you know what they were?"

"Devils," Craig grunted. He was not much interested in what the
scientist was saying.

"Chemists!" Michaelson said triumphantly. "Through some freak, nature
developed a type of life that had the mentality to become excellent
chemists but with little or no ability in any other line. The acid they
used on the Idaho, the gas they had developed, everything points to the
conclusion that they were chemists. From what was left of their hangar,
their planes were made of plastics--not a piece of metal in them. Even
the ruined motors looked as though they were made of plastics. The
Ogrum knew nothing of the wheel, the arch, or of architecture, yet they
were almost perfect chemists."

The scientist sounded very pleased with himself for having made this
discovery. "If you had not destroyed their temple, we might have found
out more about them," he said accusingly.

On the dawn of the next day the systematic destruction of the entire
city had been carried out. Hundreds of grenades had been planted in the
temple and it had been demolished.

"Survival," Craig said. "We've got to live in this world and it's not
big enough to hold us and the Ogrum. Certainly I destroyed their city.
Some of them probably managed to escape alive. I'm not going to leave
any rat's nest where they can get together again."

"Well, you were right about it," the scientist said. "The only thing is,
I would have liked to know more about them."

"I know enough about them to last me a life-time," Craig said bitterly.
"Oh, hello." The last was spoken to the girl who had emerged from below
and had come to the rail.

"Good evening," she answered. She said nothing more but stood at the
rail and stared into the gathering dusk. Craig was silent too.