e'd dreamed of adventures before now. But never of such
as this! It just couldn't happen! A nightmare--fantasy of an
over-tired brain--it was.

There came a violent wrench that must have torn the hull plates from
their bracings. The ship seemed to close in on him and crush him. A
terrific concussion flattened him to the bunk. Then all was still.
Carr Parker's thoughts broke short abruptly. He had slipped into
unconsciousness.

CHAPTER IV

_Europa_

When Carr opened his eyes it was to the normal lighting of his own
sleeping cabin. The _Nomad_ was intact, though an odor of scorched
varnish permeated the air. They were unharmed--as yet. He turned on
his side and saw that Mado was moving about at the side of his couch.
Good old Mado! With a basin of water in his hand and a cloth. He'd
been bathing his face. Brought him to. He sat up just as Mado turned
to apply the cloth anew.

"Good boy, Carr! All right?" smiled the Martian.

"Little dizzy. But I'm okay." Carr sprang to his feet where he wabbled
uncertainly for a moment. "But the _Nomad?_" he asked. "Is she--are we
safe?"

"Never safer. What in the name of Saturn did you do?"

Carr passed his hand across his eyes, trying to remember. "The D-ray,"
he said. "I turned it on and dived into the thing with full
attraction. Then--I forget. Where is it--the thing, I mean?"

"Look!" Mado drew him to the stern compartment.

Far behind them there shone a misty wreath, a ring of drifting matter
that writhed and twisted as if in mortal agony.

"Is that it?"

"What's left of it. You shot your way through it; through and out of
its influence. D-ray must have devitalized the thing as it bored
through. Killed its energies--for the time, at least."

Already, the thing was closing in. Soon there would be a solid mass as
before. But the _Nomad_ was saved.

"How about yourself?" asked Carr anxiously. "Last time I saw you you
were flat on the floor."

"Nothing wrong with me now. A bit stiff and sore, that's all. When I
came to I put all the controls in neutral and came looking for you. I
was scared, but the thing's all over now, so let's go."

"Where?"

"Europa."

"Where's that?"

"Don't you remember? The third satellite of the fifth planet. That's
Europa, third in distance from Jupiter, the fifth planet. It is about
the size of Terra's satellite--your Moon. We'll find the city of the
golden domes."

* * * * *

Carr's eyes renewed