should be able
to hit a gnat right in the left eye at this range--and the difference in
proper motions couldn't have thrown me off more than a few hundred feet.
Nope, I was too anxious--hurried too much on the settings of the slow
verniers. I'll snap back and try it again."

He adjusted the verniers very carefully, and again threw on the power.
Again there was the sensation of the barest perceptible moment of
unimaginable speed, and they were in the air some fifty feet above the
ground of Crane Field, almost above the testing shed. Seaton rapidly
adjusted the variable-speed motors until they were perfectly stationary,
relative to the surface of the earth.

"You are improving," commended Crane.

"Yeah--that's more like it. Guess maybe I can learn in time to shoot
this gun. Well, let's go down."

They dropped through the roof into the laboratory where Maxwell, now in
charge of the place, was watching a reaction and occasionally taking
notes.

"Hi, Max! Seaton speaking, on a television. Got your range?"

"Exactly, Chief, apparently. I can hear you perfectly, but can't see
anything," Maxwell stared about the empty laboratory.

"You will in a minute. I knew I had you, but didn't want to scare you
out of a year's growth," and Seaton thickened the image until they were
plainly visible.

"Please call Mr. Vaneman on the phone and tell him you're in touch with
us," directed Seaton as soon as greetings had been exchanged. "Better
yet, after you've broken it to them gently, Dot can talk to them, then
we'll go over and see 'em."

The connection established, Dorothy's image floated up to the telephone
and apparently spoke.

"Mother? This is the weirdest thing you ever imagined. We're not really
here at all you know--we're actually here in Norlamin--no, I mean Dick's
just sending a kind of a talking picture of us to see you on earth
here.... Oh, no, I don't know anything about it--it's like a talkie sent
by radio, only worse, because I am saying this myself right now, without
any rehearsal or anything ... we didn't want to burst in on you without
warning, because you'd be sure to think you were seeing actual ghosts,
and we're not dead the least bit ... we're having the most perfectly
gorgeous time you ever imagined.... Oh, I'm so excited I can't explain
anything, even if I knew anything about it to explain. We'll all four of
us be over there in about a second and tell you all about it. 'Bye!"

Indeed, it was even less t