Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930

d insignia of the air force and leaned back in his c

er old Earth hovers a mysterious visita

The captain was deep in a game of solitaire,

ire and smoothed the paper across hi

up his cards. "Not interested," he annou

uire responded; "about seventy m

bout?" The captain shuf

shes a week or so ago. If you'll cut out your solitaire and listen, I'll read you something to improve

which Lieutenant McGuire read. "Professor Sy

th of all the planets, is now at its eastern elongation, showing like a half-moon in the big telescopes on Mt. Lawson. Shrouded in impenetrable clouds, its surface has never been seen,

fe there? Are the people of Venus trying to communicate? One guess is as good as another. But it is interesting to recall

ated their cloak of cloud masses with a visible light? The planet will be watched with increased int

f this infernally hot night? Carry you out through the cool reaches of inte

e game came out back in New York-and you don't know that. Le

vainly for the brilliant star as they walked out into the night. There were clouds of fog from the near

McGuire, despite his ready amusement at the idea, found his thoughts clinging to the words he had read. "Was the plan

zable signals-words-or some mathematical sequence to prov

ly at himself for the asking. "Any new dots and dashes? The scientis

him strangely and l

added after a pause: "

racles is past; we don't want to commit you to the psychopathic ward. Now here is so

to leave. His voice was hesitating as he stopped the

sir," he said

. And again the man waite

d dashes. I have not; but ... well, the fact is, sir, that I have been getti

now-" He listened again to some signal inaudible to the ot

he said. "If

of suggestion," he whispered, but the smile was erased from his lips

rose and fell and wavered into shrill tremolos, a ghostly, unearthly soun

er from his ear, but the operator stopped

d crackle of some far distant mountain storm. Then, fa

down the scale to catch and tremble and again ascend in endless unvarying ups and

is that?" Capta

" McGuire said slowly, and he caught the o

hat screech." He listened again. "Darned if it d

hear this?" he deman

ir. I did not report

but it is some form of broadcasting on a variable

"all night, most. Notice the loud one and the

silence. "Wait-wait!" he or

hem with unbearable sound. The sense of something approaching, driving toward them swiftly, was strong upon Lieutenant McGuire. He tore the head-phones from his ears and rushe

ck of flying shadows formed an opening as they watched, a wind-blown opening like a doorway to the infinity be

shone twinkling against the black sky-portholes in multiple rows on the side. The craft was i

concealing cloud blanket. It shot with dizzy speed and the roar of a mighty meteor straight up into the night

d. They stared at each other in disbe

n Blake. "A-a-liner! Mac

swung in a great spiral down over the field and dropped a white flare as it straightened away; then returned for the landing. It taxied at reckl

ted, his voice a cracked

g as-" He sought vainly for a proper comparison, the

ed; he was bre

d his superior. "Any

ime to see much. I came out of a cloud, and there the thing was. I was flying at five thousand, and they hung there dead ahead. I couldn't believe it;

ptain's turn

cle," said Lieuten

t it is no miracle of ours, and I am betting it doesn't mea

-not a word-get that? Let me have a written r

om, and the operator there r

g to do?" the lieu

o link up that impossible ship with those messages, then report at once to the

Again the room was still, and again from the far reaches

f that variable shriek. Musical at times as it leaped from one clear note to another, again it would merg

heck me on this. There are two of t

said Capt

e stops, and the big boy cuts in immediately. No w

the capt

int one answers. Call the loud one the ship and the

efore the answer that whispered so fain

aid in corroboration of McGuire's re

e," said McGuire; "the s

inquired t

required for the message to go from the s

claimed, "-with radio! Why, a few seconds, even,

tain: "it is no coincidence. And if that other station is out in space-another ship

s a fellow-man suddenly insane. But the look in his eyes changed slowly, and his

t ship did go straight up out of sight-an acceleration in the upper air beyond anything we know. It might be-" And he, too, s

"Forget it, Mac: we've got to render a report to sane men, you and I. Wha

ential offensive action. Who made it? Who mans it? Red Russia? Japan? That's

d to the radio man. "You

en man, instead of the cool, methodical Captain Blake of ordinary days, who went in search o

his subordinate curtly and reached for a phone. And his words over that instrument brought a quick conference of of

heir stories were told in a disconcerting silence, broken only by so

. But he did not need Captain Blake's warning to hold himself strict

on as he finished, a silence that almost echoed from the grim walls. And the faces of the men

He sat beside another whose insignia proclaimed him of ge

olonel, that my unofficial visit came at just th

"It is in your hands. Mr. Secretary," he said. "You and General Clinton have

thes nodded assent. He

told us what you saw. I should like greatly to know what y

rtly, but his words

nd anything we are capable of. I can only regard it as a menace. It may or may not have been armed, but it had the size to permit the armament of a cruiser; it had power

ut-maneuvered and out-fought in the air. It means that the pla

ther matter. Who mans that ship-what country's insignia she carries-is something

Blake's words, and he exchanged quiet, grav

nswer that soon. It would be my idea that this craft should be-ah-drawn out, if we can do it. We would not atta

e officers for their able reports and e

minutes by themselves. The eyes of Lieutenant McGuire roamed upward to the scudding clouds and the glimpse of far,

on' neatly? If we mix it with that stranger ther

, they have something to think about, that bunch; so

silence. "I'm going to bed; but I would like

hink you would like to stick around. Perhaps w

Lawson," said Lieutenant McGuire. "I