ce of safety. Then, as the hour
approaches for the arrival of the Lodorians, we will escape by plane
from one of the rear terraces. They will land in search of us
and--well, then they will feel the force of our power."

"I will follow your orders explicitly," promised Fragoni. "I wonder," he
added, "where Stanton is? He should be advised of what we are going to
attempt."

"He will return in due time," replied Dirk. "And, if not, it will be the
worse for him. Lazarre will remain here with you," he then told Fragoni,
"and Steinholt and I will now go about our part of the task at hand."

* * * * *

Dirk, followed by Steinholt, hurried across the terrace and, leaving the
shelter of its quartzite plates, sought the landing stage.

The rain still was falling and the heavens were congested with dark and
heavy clouds.

Dirk, selecting one of the smaller planes, entered the cabin and
Steinholt, following after him, closed the door and threw on the
lights.

Swiftly they shot straight up into the air, Dirk ignoring all of the
rules of flight in his haste to be under way. Once in the westbound
lane, he headed his plane toward Manhattan and threw his rheostat wide
open. In a few minutes they were skimming over the great city and past
the three-thousand-foot steel tower of the Worldwide Broadcasting
Station.

For fifteen minutes more he kept the plane on a straight course and
then, bringing it to a quick stop, he let it drop like a plummet toward
the earth.

It landed, among many other planes, on the transparent, quartzite roof
of a vast building and, looking down into the interior, they could see
several rows of great dynamos. Some of them were turning, and the
humming that they made could be heard plainly.

* * * * *

Dirk and Steinholt ran rapidly across the roof until they came to a
superstructure, which they entered. There was a shaft inside. Dirk
pressed a button, and an elevator shot up and stopped at the door,
which automatically flashed open.

He closed it after he and his companion had entered the cage and,
dropping rapidly downward, they came to a stop in a lighted chamber that
was far below the surface of the ground.

A stoop-shouldered old man greeted them, an expression of surprise on
his face.

"Gentlemen!" he exclaimed. "What is--"

"Power, Gaeble!" commanded Steinholt tensely. "Power! Let every dynamo
run its swiftest. To-night we have