Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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l ■. £ ' \v Edwin Balmer ■ * and Philip Wylie sites. These plants reproduce from 1JNABLE TO sporac** * ~ * ' ■ THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING Under the leadership of Cole Hendron, American scientist, over 300 persons escape in two Space Ships Just before Alcosmic collision wipes out the earth, and land on Bronson Beta. Vegetation is found, and great forests of dead, trees, preserved by the absolute cold of space. An airplane flies over the camp, making no attempt to communicate with its people, who realise that they are not alone on the new planet, and that their visitors may be enemies. Exploring, Tony Drake and Eliot James come upon a city, enclosed under what seems like half gn iridescent glass bubble. Among their finds, in the city, is an edible grain— millions of bushels, pn their flight back they stumble on the camp of more than 200 persons who left the earth when 4hey did, in a second Space Ship piloted by Dave Itansdell. Tony learns that Russian, Japanese and Oerman scientist Com munists have reached Bronson Beta, and probably sent the mysterious plane to spy on Hendron's camp. The Asiatics gas the Hendron camp, but when they return in an armada of the Bronson Betans' planes Tony and his men anni hilate them with atomic blasts from the Space Ship’s propulsion tubes. Hett- dren's health failing, he orders Tony to remove everybody to one of the Sealed Citlev This Tony succeeds in doing. Von Beitz, a leader, disappears. Hendron dies. Tony’s party realizes that it receives heat, light, and power only because the Asiatics ration power to them. They find passages two^mlles underground and great stores of food. j CHAPTER X—Continued -—16 - “It Is evident that the Mldlanites are engaged in a war of attrition. They mean to conquer us. They mean to have Bronson Beta for themselves— or at least to Insure that all human beings upon the planet will be governed by them and will live by their pre cepts. And Lady Cynthia has left no doubt In our minds about their desire for our women. They need what they call ‘breeding females.’ I think that •need’ in Itself would be sutlicient to cause every man and woman here to fight to the death. “Yes, we could and should be happy here now. But-* “More than three hundred English men and Englishwomen are living in subjugation, and we are unable to set them free. They are our own blood and kin. They are living under con ditions at best odious, at worst horri ble to them. We cannot be happy while they are virtually slaves. “And also—Bronson Beta moves ever into cold. Bitter cold! Sixty days ago the surface of the planet was chilly. Then, for a while, it warmed again, so that we enjoyed a long fall or Indian summer. But now the chill is returning. Our seasons are due not to an inclination of our axis, as on earth, but to our eccentric orbit. The earth In winter was actually near er to the sun than in the summer, but in winter the earth's' l nxls caused the sun’s rays to fall obliquely. Here on Bronson Beta we move from -a point close to the orbit of Venus to a point near that of Mars— fttfd the change In' - distance from the sun will bring ex tremes of temperature. “That is not all. That is not-the only problem—anxious problem—which faces us in these autumn days. Shall we turn back toward the sun? Our scientists say so; hut shall we? This planet has not done it yet. Its spe cialty seems - to be a drift out Into space. “Our astrophysicists and mathema ticians burn their lights far into the night of this new planet^ In order to anticipate the'posMbllirtes'tn our state. They are not romantic men. . - • “Meanwhile as we move out Into sp^ce 'toward Mars, that red world In creases in size and brilliance. Already ^ it is a more vivid body than was Venus frofn the earth, and its color is malev olent and ominous. * ' “So the days and nights pass. “Yes, our colony Is'returning to the happy human pursuits of love and knowledge and social relationships. But we are surrounded by mysteries, terrors, spies within our’’city, enemies who would conquer us; and always the red planets draw nearer—as^ not long ago the two bodies from cosibos drew toward the condemned and ter- rl fled Earth. - — — As Eliot James finished that entry In his diary, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. “Come in,” he called. Shirley Cotton entered. She said something that soundld like “Hopayla- to.” ' “HopayiAto yotirself,” Eliot James answered. “That’s a Bronson Beta word," she said. “It means, ‘How the devil are you?’—or something like that.” “Sit,” I aaid the writer. “I’m fine. What’s news?” Shirley grinned. “Want a nice mauve-and-yellow shirt? Want a pair of red-and-silver shorts?" v “Any rags? Any old Iron? What’s the trouble? Your clothing department running out of orders?” “Nope. And when we do, we’U re vive fashions—so you’ll have to pat- —ronlze STUrley Cotton’r mtits, whether you want to or not" “Just like a woman!” said James with mock anger, “you’d think that afteft-managlng to abolish styles for a couple of years, people would be glad enough to give them up forever!” She shook her head. ’This' year we're going In for light Clothing with animal designs. Hext year 1 plan flow ers. Higgins Is going to present some putter ns—” “He never will, 1 trust" “I’ll bribe him with a waistcoat In Bronson Beta orchids and mushrooma. By the way—how Jong have you been sitting in this cramped hole?” “All morning. Why?” “Then you haven't heard about the green rain.” James looked at her with surprise. “Green rain.?” “Sure. Outdoors. Didn’t amount to anything—but for about ten min utes It rained green.” “I’ll be d—d! What was It?” I Shirley shrugged. “Search me. A green sky Is bad enough. But a green rain—w-ell, anything can happen. Hig gins has botthes full of whatever it was—more like snow than rain—only not frozen. It misted the dome a lit tle. And then—you probably haven't heard the rumor about Von Beitz that was going around.” “News?” "Not news. A rumor. Scandal, I’d call It. People have been saying this morning that the spies hiding here are undoubtedly from the Midianite gang. Some of them are Germans. Von Beitz was a German. So they say that he wasn't kidnaped, but that he had al ways belonged to them, and merely Joined them at the first opportunity.” — Eliot James swore. “That's a lousy libel. Why, Von Beitz is one of the whitest men 1 know. A great brain, and nerve! I fought side by side with that guy in Michigan, and—why— h—1! He’s practically a brother of mine. Why do you think I've been in every corner of this burg looking? Be cause Von Beitz w<uildn't turn us In for his life—that’s Why.” The handsome Shirley Cotton nod ded. “I agree. But everybody's nerv ous these days.” "Heaven knows there's enough to make them nervous—” They were interrupted hy a banging on the door. “Come in!” James calfecl. The door swung inward automatical ly. On-the threshold stood Duquespe. He was ordinarily of ruddy com plexion, but now his face was white. “Have you seen Tony?” he asked. “No. What's the trouble?” The Frenchman ^ stepped hito the room, and the door closed behind him. “1 have searched everywherje.” James* leaped to his feet. “Joti don’t mean that Tony—” “Oh—no, not lost Just busy some where." Duquesne regarded the man and woman for a moment. “1 was in a hurry to' find him, because I have some very interesting information. I shall tell you. It Is for the moment confidential.” “Sit,” said The writer, as he had to his previous guest. “What's it about?" “The source of our power." James leaned forward. “You found It?” “Not specifically. 1 have clung to the theory that power was generated under the city. Whan we lean the interior of the planet was still warm. It seemed plausible that the power was generated from that heat— deep in the earth. S8 I explored. It was difficult. All the electrical con nections are built Into the very foundation of the city. They cannot be traced. My assistants meanwhile studied the pjpns of the city—we found many. The clue In them point ed always toward a place in the earth. We fidaHy—this morning—located that place. It Is far underground. Rut it is not a generating plant No.” “What Is It then?” James asked. “A relay station. A mere series of transformers. Stupendous In size and capacity. From it lead the great con- duita—out, underground, deep down— toward the north. The statlon for this city Is not here. It is, as we suspected, in some ether city—or place. And all -the cities near here derive their power “So that—when it gets colder—they can cut our power and not only put out our lights, but stop our beat,' “Right.” James tapped on his desk with pencil he liad been using. “How much chance,” l)e asked, “have we of setting up a power station of our own—a- station big enough to heat a couple of buildings, and light them, all winter?” Duquesne shrugged. “What do we use for fuel?” “Not coal—we’ve seen none. Or oil. tL«!R About wood? Those forests?” “And how do we get wood here?” "Trucks.” “And If oar enemies are trying to freeze us into submission, would -they let us save ourselves by running trucks day and night to distant forests for fuel? No. They would blow up the roads and bomb the trucks. It would take much wood to keep us warm. We could not run any sort of blockade— or cut wood under fire from an enemy. No,” “The river, then?” Duquesne spread his hands. “You have iraagintaion, my boy. But al ready it is too cold. And to build a dam and a hydro-electric plant takes months. I have thought of those things.” “In other words,” Shirley said slow ly. “if you are right about the Mid- ianites being in possession of the pow er plant, we’ll have to take It away from them—or beat them somehow. Or else—” James grinned bitterly. “Why not The Frenchman rose. “That Is told in confidence. I may he mistaken, in my conjectures. I. shall now search for Tony further. He will In any case appear for luncheon.” He left them, and they heard the nervous click of his heels as his short legs carried his large body down the hall. “Not so good," said Shirley Cotton. Higgins sat down. His brief description was greeted by applause in which the botanists and biologists were most vehement. rttf 1 ^Carter stood 'up. “About their pre- FIND THRILL IN . UNCOVERED PAST What type of heart could It be that CHAPTER XI _ v Higgins entered the dining hall at luncheon lime In great excitement. In stead of taking his place he went to Tony and spoke for a moment. Tony stood, then, and struck a note on a dpltatlon, Higgins?" Again Higgins “took the frodf. ‘"I bate* only a theory to offer. Temperature. I believe that, although they are re sistant to cold, an adequate drop in temperature will cause them to crack and lose their hydrogen: Then, nat urally, they fall to earth.” “So you anticipate more green rain?” “I do—a tremendous volume of it. And I may add that these plants fix nitrogen, so that their dead bodies, so to speak/will constitute a fine fertil izer,Taid^fhbuaily upon the soil of the entire planet” Carter nodded. “Excellent, Higgins! Have you made calculations relattve to the possible and probable depth of ‘green rain’ we may expect?” “Only the roughest sort But to give the color-intensity we observe In the sky I should Imagine that the atmos phere contained enough of these veg etable balloons to cover the ground to a depth of two feet, at the least Of course, decay, would soon reduce the green blanket to a half Inch or less; but In their expanded state two feet would be conservative as an estimate." During that noonday meal the guards on the north gate saw one of the Midianite planes moving toward the city. It was not uncommon for an enemy plane to pass across their range of vision. This plane, however, was evi dently headed for the city of Hendron. it—swift car from The north gate brought news of the danger. Arms were taken from racks, and at vantage points near the gates, men and women—some still carrying has tily snatched bits of food—took their posts. The plane, meanwhile, had reached the dome of the city. It did not fly over, however. It did not drop bombs, or a message. Instead, it circled twice to lose altitude, and from a hatch In Its fuselage a white flag was run up on a miniature mast. Then It landed. By the time it touched the ground more than two hun dred persons were on hand to see. The transparent cover of their city gave would not beat Just a little faster over the rieWs thut a Harvard exp<£ dition will delve Into the wilderness of Sinai for the secrets of the Moon G< doess? Wh&t type of mind could it be that did not get a thrill out of Richard Halliburton’s experience ift the tun nel through which Joab led David’s army into the Jebuslte city of Jeru salem 700 years before Christ trod its streets? Isn’t there a. thrill in contemplation of digging into the Mayan ruins In Mexico and Central America, or In uncovering the stone- written Jilstory of Rome? It was In the wilderness of Sinai that the Hebrews, led oat of Egypt by Moses, wandered 40 years work ing up the nerve to enter the Land of Canaan. It was on Mt. Sinai that Moses obtained the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. Jerusalem, a shrine to Jew and Gentile alike, a pawn In wars that reach back Into the dimmest history, holds secrets most normal persons yearn to solve. The Mayans had a civilization on this continent when our ancestors still were dodging the powerful In Europe .And dallying with the idea of political and religious Yreedom. It was In Rome that Paul preached the new gospel, and where martyrs to it were burned in pitch to light the arena for gladiatorial combats In the Colosseum, which' attn Most of our thrills over expeditions of that type are vicarious. Ws don’t go, we can’t go; most of os wouldn’t go if we. could, hut that doesn’t pom, vent ns from believing we would nor ffom envying the Cprumale few mb# do go.—Kansas City Star. Work Many of us regard work-as a nec essary evil. We work because wo can’t "help ourselves. It never oc curs to us that our dally toll may be made a blessing Instead of s curse. Work Is just what yon make tt—your best fiTend or your worst enemy.—Grit. ■ ' " “So I explored ... My Assistants Meanwhile Studied the- Plant of the City—We Found Many. ..The Clue in Them Pointed Always To- ward a Place in ( the Earth. We Finally—Jhis Morning—Located gong. Immediate silence was the re sponse. “Doctor Higgins,” said Tony, “has made a discovery.” Higgins stood. This ritual had b£en followed In the announcement of hun dreds of discoveries relative to Bfon- son Beta, and the life, arts and sci ences of Its original Inhabitants. ’ “It concerns the greenness of the sky” Higgins said. “We have all re marked upon it We have agreed that normal - light polarization would al ways produce blue. We have agreed that any gases which woul<) cause a green tint In atmosphere—halogens, for example—would also be poisonous. ‘ThtgmoroiojF.-atseveiiTeighty, Brtm- eson Beta time, we had a green rain of nine and* a half Bronson Betta min utes’ duration. I collected the preclp- tated substance. Improved to be the explanation of our atmospheric color.” He took a vial from his pocket and held It up. Its contents were green. “The color is caused by this. A new form of life—a type of plant unknown on earth. You are all familiar with the algae In the sea—minute plants which floated In the oceans of earth In such numbers as to change the color In many places Very well. The high er atmosphere of Bronson Beta is crowded by plants in some ways sim ilar. These plants are In effect tiny balloons. They germinate on the sur face of the earth apparently, In the spring. As they grow (the ground everywhere must be covered by them) they manufacture within- themselves hydrogen -gas^-They swell-.with, It un. That Place.” them a feeling of security. However, the flag of truce upon the plane did not encourage them to any careless maneu ver. , The ship was expertly brought down to the ground, but afterward it be haved badly. It lurched crazily, hit a rock, smashed a wheel, dragged a wing —and Its motor was cut Then, half wrecked,’ It stopped. There it stood, like s bird shol down, for five fi^ll minutes. No one moved Inside it No one made an effort to descend. Tony gathered his lieutenants and advisers together. “Ruse to get the gate open,” Williams said. “I think so,” Tony agreed. “They waited/ Dodson, standing near Tony, m mured: “The Trojan-horse gag.” Tony nodded. . . . Ten minutes. fiom that place. That is the explana I til. like small balloons, they rise. Their tion of why, when the lights came In hydrogen holds them suspended high one city, they came in all. It Was a in the atmosphere during the summer central plant which had been turned on—and which supplied every city." “That’s a very Interesting confirma tion," Jameir laid. Duquesne snorted. “My dear young man! Can’t you think of more to say than that it la Interesting?” James leaned back. “I see. You mean that now It la sure that they have control of our power." “Exactly." and' fall—trillions upon countless tril Hons of them. They make a Jevel of thin, greenish fog overhwid. Examined microscopically, they reveal their secret at once. * “There Is sufficient carbon dioxide and moisture to nourish them. They live by simple photosynthesis; and* It is the chlorophyll they contain which makes them green—a characteristic of all terrestrial plants except the para “Let me go out there,” Jack Taylor said finally. “Just open one gate a crack. They can’t get a wedge In at that distance. It’s some sort of booby trap—but I’ll spring It.” Tony said no. They sat A thought moved through the mind of Eliot James. He went to Tony* “It might be Von Belts. He might be hurt—" Tony lifted a pair of powerful glasses to his eyes. He saw several areas of holes on the plane’s side. Machine-gun bullet holes. “Open the gate a crack—and lock tt behind me." he commanded. He stalked to the pbrtaL It yawned for an in- stant He went out Jack Taylor, linking at the aten who manipulated the gate, followed close behind Tony. ^ Tony turned after the gate clanged, and saw Jack. He grinned. The peo ple Inside the city who watched, were deeply moved. Tony’s decision to ac cept the danger—Jack’s pursuit of his leader Into peril—those were the things of which the sags of Hendron's hun dreds were made. TO BU CONTINUED. God of Kitckoo The Chinese god of the kitchen Is known by the name of Chang. 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