oice asked. "You have come safely to Mars by means of that
station?"

"We have come safely." Milton's voice was shaken and he could find no
other words.

"That is well. Long had we desired to have such a station built on
earth, since with it there to flash back and forth between the two
worlds is easy. You have come, then, to learn of this world and to
take back what you learn to your races?"

"That is why we came." Milton said, more steadily. "We want to stay
only hours on this first visit, and then flash back to earth as we
came."

* * * * *

The head's awful eyes seemed to consider them. "But when do you intend
to go back?" its strange voice asked. "Unless the one at your earth
station has its receiver operating at the right moment you will simply
flash on endlessly as radio waves--will be annihilated."

Milton found the courage to smile. "We started from earth at our
midnight exactly, and at midnight exactly twenty-four earth hours
later, we are to flash back and the receiver will be awaiting us."

There was silence when he had said that, a silence that seemed to
Randall's strained mind to have become suddenly tense, sinister. The
great triple-bodied creature before them considered them again, its
eyes moving over them, and when it again spoke the hissing words came
very slowly.

"Twenty-four earth hours," it said; "and then your receiver on earth
will be awaiting you. That time we can measure to the moment, and that
is well. For it is not you three Earth-beings who will flash back to
earth when that moment comes! It will be Martians, the first of our
Martian masses who have waited for ages for that moment and who will
begin then our conquest of the earth!

"Yes, Earth-beings, our great plan comes to its end now at last! At
last! Age on age, prisoned on this dying, arid world, we have desired
the earth that by right of power shall be ours, have sought for ages
to communicate with its beings. You finally heard us, you hearkened to
us, you built the matter-transmitting and receiving station on earth
that was the one thing needed for our plan. For when the
matter-receiver of that station is turned on in twenty-four of your
hours, and ready to receive matter flashes from here, it will be the
first of our millions who will flash at last to earth!

"I, the Martian Master, say it. Those first to go shall seize that
matter-receiver on earth when first they appear there, shall buil