ery strong
beside these two delicate, graceful little creatures of whom he was
protector.

A noise in the hallway outside brought the Very Young Man to himself.

"We must get out," he said swiftly. "There's no time to lose." He went
to the window; it faced the city, fifty feet or more above the ground.

The Very Young Man make a quick decision. "If we go out the way we came,
it will take a very long time," he explained. "And we might be seen. I
think we'd better take the quick way; get big here--get right out," he
waved his hands towards the roof, "and make a run for it back to Arite."

He made another calculation. The room in which they were was on the top
floor of the palace; Aura had told him that. It was a room about fifty
feet in length, triangular in shape, and some thirty feet from floor to
ceiling. The Very Young Man estimated that when they had grown large
enough to fill the room, they could burst through the palace roof and
leap to the ground. Then in a short time they could run over the
country, back to Arite. He measured out the drug carefully, and without
hesitation his companions took what he gave them.

As they all three started growing--it was Loto's first experience, and
he gave an exclamation of fright at the sensation and threw his arms
around Aura again--the Very Young Man made them sit upon the floor near
the center of the room. He sat himself beside them, staring up at the
ceiling that was steadily folding up and coming down towards them. For
some time he stared, fascinated by its ceaseless movement.

Then suddenly he realized with a start that it was almost down upon
them. He put up his hand and touched it, and a thrill of fear ran over
him. He looked around. Beside him sat Aura and Loto, huddled close
together. The walls of the room had nearly closed in upon them now; its
few pieces of furniture had been pushed aside, unnoticed, by the growth
of their enormous bodies. It was as though they were crouching in a
triangular box, almost entirely filling it.

The Very Young Man laid his hand on Aura's arm, and she met his anxious
glance with her fearless, trusting smile.

"We'll have to break through the roof now," whispered the Very Young
Man, and the girl answered calmly: "What you say to do, we will do."

Their heads were bent down now by the ever-lowering ceiling; the Very
Young Man pressed his shoulder against it and heaved upwards. He could
feel the floor under him quiver and the roof gi