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Show LTAH LEW FREE PRESS. LEH1. 0000000000000 When By EDWIN BALMER and PIIIUP WYLIE Copzrt.ht hy Edwin Balmar and Wylia S.rrtcs 00 OOOCC 000000 CHAPTER VIII ff flow-er- Worlds Collide WKIJ rled It away. After they Isad prothct be assisted la the take-oof the big plane two days later. Eve ceeded silently for some distance, she emerged from the crowd at the ede said: "It's strange to think ahoat of the landing field and walked to matters like this flower. Te think a Ransdell; and Tony saw the light Is that there will never be any more unIn universe in the like cornea this woman her eye mhich to a age less we take avds with us! Did watching a man embark on high ad venture. Tony walked around to the David ever tell you that In bis first other aide of the plane and stayed eoiii'erpnce at Capetown with Lord there and Ere bad said good by to Rhonuin and Professor Bronson. they were excited over realizing there would the pilot be no more lions?" Many ef the more prominent members of the colony were shaking hands "No," said Tony, very quietly. "He never mentioned it to me." with Vanderbllt and Eliot James. aftame Continued 12 few areas which, like our own, were relatively undisturbed. This district, as you know, la sparsely settled. I will complete my wholly Inadequate report to you by satisfying what must be your major curiosity: we saw in the course of our flying a number of human belncs. Some of them wandered over this nude, tumultuous country alone And obviously without resources for their sustenance Others were gathered together In small communities In the aheltered places. They had fires going, and they were apparently secure at least for the time being. All of them attempted to attract our attention to themselves, and It Is with regret that I must say that not only Is their rescue Inadvisable from the sheer necessity of our own self preservation, but that In most cases It would be difficult If not Impossible, as we found no place In which we might have landed a plane, If the surface of the water that remains In Lake Superior be excepted, and a few other ponds and lakes." After the speech, people crowded around James. Peter Vanderbllt, moving through the crowd, glimpsed Hans-del- l as he was walking through the front doors of the hall The New Yorker stepped out on the porch beside the pilot; the sophisticated Manhattan dilettante with his smooth, grayand weary ing hair, his worldly-wis- e eyes, his svelte accent, beside the blue-eyerugged, powerful adventurer. "I wanted to ask you something," Vanderbllt said: Itansdell turned, and as usual he did not speak but simply waited. "Do you think it would be possible to hop around the country during the next few months?" "With a good ship an amphibian." Vanderbllt tapped his cigarette holder against one of the posts on the poith. "You and 1 are both supernumeraries around here, in a sense. I was wondering If It might not be a good. Idea to mnke an expedition around the country and see for ourselves Just what has happened." Ransdell thought Inarticulately of Eve. He was drawn to her as never o any, girl before; but, he reckoned, she must remain here. Not only that but tinder fhe discipline which was clamped upon the settlement no rival could claim her while he would be gone. And the adventure that Vanderbllt' offered x tremendously allured him. "I'd like to try It," Itansdell replied (Imply. Then Til see Hendron." Itansdell was struck by a thought "Shall we take James, tooT He'll join, I think." Vanderbllt accepted, "Excellent," 'lie could write up the trip. It would 'be Ignominious, If any of us got to Bronson Beta with no record of the real history of this old earth's last days." Together they broached the subject to Hendron. He considered for sev-eiminutes without replying, and then said: "You realize, of course, that such an expedition will be hazardous? You could carry fuel and provisions for a long (light, but nothing like what you'd need. We observed tan-face- . where you went: and whenever rou net the ship down, you would be a target for any and every person lurking In the vicinity. The conditions prevailing, physically, socially and morally, must be wholly without prece- dent" "That," replied Vanderbllt calmly, "la precisely why we cannot be men and fear to study them." "Exactly," Jerked Hendron; and he eyes gazed at Itansdell. The gray-blufixed steadily on Hondron's, and the scientist - abruptly decided ; "Very well, I'll sanction It." Itansdell and Vanderbllt knocked on the door of Eliot James' room, fron which Issued the sound of typewriting. The poet swung wide the door. They told him their plans. "Go?" James repeated, his face "Of course alight with excitement I'll go. What a record to write whether or not anyone lives to read e It!" Tony realized that his position as vice to Hendron In command of the cantonment did not leave him free for adventure, yet It was almost with Van-derbll- farewells were debonair and light "We'll send you postcards picEliot turing latest developments." James was receiving advice from the scientists, who had burdened him with questions, the answers of which they wished him to discover by observation. Ransdell came around the fuselage of the plane. Eve behind him. He cast one look at the sky, and one at the available half of the landing tast-mlnu- field. "Let's go," be said. The plane made a long bumpy run across the field, rose slowly, circled once over the beads of the waving throng, and gradually disappeared toward the south. Eve signaled Tony. "Aren't they One, those three men? Going off Into nowhere like that I like Dave Itansdell." "No one could help liking him," Tony agreed. . "He's so interested In everything, and yet so aloof," went on Eve, still watching. "In spite of all he's been through with us, he's still absolutely terrified of me." "I can understand that" said Tony grimly. "But you've uever been that way about Die.? "I didn't show It that way ; no. But I know and you know what It means." "Yes, I know," Eve replied simply. The sun, which bad been shielded by a ctaud, suddenly shone on them, and both glanced toward It Off there to the side of the sun, and hidden by its glare, moved the Bronson Bodies on their paths which would cause them to circle the sun and return-o- ne to pass close to the earth and the other to shatter the world In little more than seven months more. "If they are away only thirty days, we're not to count them missing," Eve was saying of the crew of the airplane, of course. "If they're not back In thirty we're to forget them. Especially we're not to send anyone to search for them." "Who said so?" "David. It's the last thing he asked." The thirty days raced by. Under the circumstances, time could not drag. s of the people at Hendion's encampment spent their waking and sleeping hours under a No one could be sure of a place on the Space Ship. No one. In fact was ' positive that the colossal rocket would be able to leave the earth. Hendron spent most of his time In the rocket's vast hangar, the laboratories and the machine shop. Under the pressure of Impending doom, the group laboring under blm had "liberated" the amazing energy in the atom Nine-tenth- death-sentenc- rim III A a Eve Walked to Ransdell; and Tony Saw the Light In Her Eyes Which Ctmes to a Woman Watching a Man Embark on High Adventure. under laboratory conditions. They had possessed, therefore, a potential power enormously In excess of that ever made available before. They could "break up" the atom at will, and set tts almost endless energies to work; but what material could harness that energy and direct It Into a driving force for the Space Ship? Hendron and his group experimented for hour after desperate hour through their days, with one metal, another alloy and another after another. The Space Ship still lacked Its engine. Tony perceived an evidence of the Increasing tension In Eve when they walked, late one afternoon, through the nearby woods. She saw on the carpet of the forest a white flower. She plucked It looked at It smellcd it and car- pine-needl- e THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING ; David Ransdell arrives at New York from South Africa, bear his a case containing photographic plates to Dr. Cole Hendron. Tony Drake calls at the Hendroni' apartment. Ransdell arrives and Kve Hendron, with whom Tony la deeply In love. Introduces Tony to Ransdell. Newspapers publish a statement by Hendron saying that Professor Bronson has discovered two planet, which have been brought under the attraction of the earth's aun. The result of the inevitable collision must be the end of the world. The approaching bodies are referred to as Bronxon Alpha and Bronson Beta. Bronson Beta will pass, but the other will hit the earth and demolish It To devise means of transferring to Bronson Beta Is what la occupying the minds of the memhers of the League of the Last Hays. Hendron plans to build a "Space Ship," with the Idea of able to find a metal which will landing on Bronson Beta. He has not been withstand the heat and pressure of store'- - energy which must be used In the Fp--the entire surface of the earth Ph!p Karthniif kes bringing rWth tn half the world's pnnnlat'on. The Hendron settlement survive Tb shcoks Rrnnvnn Alns collides wlfh the moon and "Ines It juL pro-pelti- "Tell me. Tony." she asked quickly, "you aren't Jealous?" "How, under the conditions laid down Dy your father," retorted Tony, "could anybody be 'Jealous'? You're not going to be free to pick or choose your own husband or mate or whatever he'll be called, on Bronson Beta. And If we never get there, certainly I'll have nothing to be Jealous about" The strain was telling, too, on Tony. "He may not even return to us here," Eve reminded. "And we would never know what happened to the three of them." "It would have to be a good deal, to stop them. Each one's d n' resourceful In his own way; and Ransdell Is sure a flyer," Tony granted ungrudgingly. "Yet if the plane cracked, they'd never get back. This certainly has become a mess of a world; and I suppose the best we can expect Is some such state awaiting us," Tony smiled grimly, "if we get across to Bronson Beta." "No. If we get across to Bronson Beta, we'll find far less damage there." "Why?" Tony had not happened to be with the scientists when this had been discussed. "Because Bronson Beta seems certain to be a world a lot like this. It wasn't the passing of Bronson that tore us up so badly; It was the passing of the big one, Bronson Alpha. Now, Bronson Beta has never been nearly so close to Bronson Alpha as we have been. Beta circles Alpha, but never gets within half a million miles of it So if we ever step upon that world, we'll find It about as it has been." "As it has been for how many yea re?" Tony asked. "The ages and epochs of travel through space. . . . You ought to talk more with Professor Bronson, Tony. He just lives there. He's so sure we'll get there I Exactly how, he doesn't bother about; he's passed that He starts, with the on to Father. landing; what may we reasonably expect to find there, beyond water and air and soil? Which of us, who make up the possible crew of the ship, will have most chances to survive under the probable conditions? What Immediate supplies and Implements-fo- od and so on must we have with us? What ultimate supplies seeds and Beedllngs to furnish us with food later? What animals, what birds and Insects and Crustacea, should we take along? "You see, that world must be dead, Tony. It must have been dead, preserved In the frightful, complete cold of absolute zero for millions of years. . . . You'd be surprised at some of the assumptions Professor Bronson makes. "He assumes, among other things, that we can find some edible food-so- me sort of grain, probably, which absolute zero would have preserved. He assumes that some vegetable life the vegetation that springs from spores, which mere cold cannot destroywill spring to life automatically. "Tony, you must see his lists of most essential things to take with us. What animals, do you suppose, he's figured we must take with us to help us to survive?" The three explorers had agreed on September 14 as the first pogslble day for their return; but so great was the longing to learn the state of the outside world that on the twelfth even those who felt no particular concern for the men who ventured In the airplane began to watch the sky. No one went to bed that night until long after the usual hour. Tony was In charge of the landing arrangements. At three a. m. he was sitting on the edge of the field with Eve. At four, nothing had changed. It began to grow light Eve stood up stiffly and stretched. "Maybe I'd better leave. I have some work laid out for morning." But she had not walked more than ten steps when she halted. "I thought I heard motors," she said. Tony nodded, unwilling to break the stillness. Then the sound came unmistakably. For a full minute they heard the rise and fall of a churning motor remote, soft yet unmistakable. "It's coming!" Eve said. She rushed to Tony and held his shoulder. Their eyes swept the heavens. Then they saw It simultaneously a speck In the dawning atmosphere. The ship was not flying well. It lurched and staggered In Its course. Tony rushed to the cot where Dodson slept "They're coming," he said, shaking the doctor. "And they may need you." The ship was nearer. Those who beheld It now appreciated not only the Irregularity of Its course, but the fact that it was flying slowly. "They've only got two motors," somebody said. The plane made a dizzy line toward them. It flew like a duck mortally wounded. There was no sign of the men In the cabin. The pilot did no; wiggle h!a wings or circle. In a sham bllng slip he dropped toward the ground. "She'a going to crash I" some one yelled. Tony, Dodson and Jack Taylor were already In a light truck. Fire appara--tu- a and stretchers were to the spac behind thea. The tmctt TREMENDOUS the ground touched touched again, ran heavily, bounce nosed over. forward and slowed U on the forward er.g.ne Phtse The bent clutch of the Tony threw in the doctor ear and shot to it With the and Jack at bis heels, he flue open into the the cabin door and looked canted chamber. comfortable Everything that the was gone. cabin had once contained the for at floor on the men lay Two James. and ward SCOTT WATSON By ELMO FERDINAND GORGES was promoter and hi greedy uneves looked across the sea Into the world. New the of charted territory coloU s dreams were concerned with Twice he had sent expedinization. on the way. tions, only to meet disaster to be Warwick agreed of earl The Both gentleSir Ferdinand's partner. in men had heard rumors of a group Into sent be to were eager I eyden who America. This group had already purchased and nianued the Speedwell and three-mastewere also buying the large The vessel named the Mayflower. here two titled schemers thought that colony for the takwas a ready-madworth risking ing. The rewards were a fortune. Sir Ferdinand placed his own capwas tain on the Mayflower. The man paHis one Mr. Jones, an tron had rescued him from Jail and he was ready to take orders. The Mayflower left London late in July. 1C20, with Captain Jones and a rowdy crew of his gathering. They were to meet the Speedwell, out from Leyden, and then the two boats were to proceed to Virginia or so their passengers thought The had other orders from his master. Twice the Speedwell sprung a leak and twice put back for repairs. Members of her crew later confessed that they had deliberately caused the vessel damage because they knew the was headed for the hardships of New SIR d e a Landing and Secured Soecimens. He Carefully Carr'ed Back a Sample Protecting It, In Fact With His Life." "He Made Ransdell was unconscious over the InVanderbilt looked strument paneL at Tony. His face was paiwr-whlte- ; his shirt was blood soaked. And yet there showed momentarily In the fading light in his eyes a spark of unquenchable, deathless, reckless and almost diabolical glee. His voice was quite distinct. He said: "In the words of the immortal Lindbergh, 'Here we are.'" Then he fainted. James was unconscious. The truck came back toward the throng very slowly and carefully. In its bed Dodson looked op from his three charges. He announced briefly as way was made for them : "They've been through helL They're shot But so far, I've bruised, found nothing surely fatal" An hour later, with every member of the community who could leave his post assembled, Hendron stepped to the rostrum In the dining hall. "All three will live." be said England. Finally, In September, the Mayflower sailed. After a perilous trip land was sighted but it was not the Virginia coast that the passengers' patents had promised. The Pilgrim lead- half-starve- Cheering made It Impossible for hlra to continue. He waited for silence. "James has a broken arm and concussion. Vanderbilt has been shot through the shoulder. Ransdell brought In the ship with a compound fracture of the left arm, and five machine-gubullets in his right thigh. They undoubtedly have traveled for some time In that state. Ransdell's feat is one of distinguished heroism." Again cheering broke tumultuously through the hall. Again Hendron stood quietly until It subsided. "This evening we will meet again. At that time I shall read to you from the diary which James kept during the past thirty days. I have skimmed some of Its pages. It is a remarkable document. I must prepare you by saying, my friends, that those of our fellow human beings who have not perished have reverted to savagery, almost without notable exception." When Hendron stepped from the platform, he went over to his daughter. He seemed excited. "Eve," he said, "I want you and Drake to come to the office right away." Bronson and Dodson were already there when they arrived. A dozen other men Joined them; and last to appear was Hendron himself. It was easy to perceive his excitement now. He commenced to speak Immediately. "My friends, the word I have to add to my announcement In the hall la of stupendous Importance! "When we took off Ransdell's clothes, we found belted to his body, and heavily wrapped, a note, a map, and a chunk of metal You will remember, doubtless, that Ransdell was once a miner and a prospector. His main Interest had always been diamonds. And his knowledge of geology and metallurgy is and of the practical sort." Bronson, unable to control himself, burst into speech. "Good G d, Hendron! He found it!" The scientist continued Impassively : "The eruptions caused by the passage of the Bodies were of so intense a nature that they brought to earth not only modern rock, but cast quantities of the Internal substance of the earth which, as you know, is presumably of metal, as the earth's total density Is slightly greater than that of Iron. Ransdell noticed on the eilfje of such a flow a quantity of solid unmelted material. Realizing that the heat surrounding It hod been enormous, he made a landing and secured specimens. He found the substance to be a metal or natural alloy, hard but machinable. Remembering our dilemma here In the matter of lining for the power tubes for the Space Ship, he carefully carried back a sample protecting it in fact, with his life. "My friends," Hendron's voice began to tremble "for the past seventy-fivminutes this metal has withstood not only the heat of an atomic blast but the Immeasurably greater heat of Professor Kane's recently developed atomic furnace. We are at the end of the quest!" Suddenly, to the astonishment of his hearers. Hendron bowed his head In his arms and cried like a woman n self-taug- e Hendron stood before an audience of nearly a thousand persons. It was a feverish audience. He bowed to Ihe applause. ; 0 COSfTl.VUKD. The "liquid test" ... It ENDS bowel worries for many people This is a test that tells you whetlw the system needs a cathartic char If you have constant slugqish sp2k or bilious attacks, and laxatives seen to make things worse, it would be wise to try this: Stop all use of any laxative that does not encourage variation from a "fixed dose" (which may be entirely too large a dose for your individui need). Use instead, a liquid laxative, that you can measure and regulate as to dose. As necessary to repeat lake smaller doses, less and less often! until the bowels are moving without any help at all. Doctors use liquid laxatives, and a properly prepared liquid laxative, containing natural laxative agenU like senna and cascara is a joy and a comfort; a real help in establishing regularity. Ask your doctor about this! (Doctors use liquid laxatives) You can get Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsin, which is a most dependable liquid laxative, at any drug store. Ji SYRUP PEPSIN Made 'Em Woozy He Did the candidate electrify audience? She No; he only gassed It nswers Magazine. bit A- ers insisted that Captain Jones take them southward but he refused and headed for the dangerous waters of Sir Ferdinand's orders Cape Cod. were orders! simply. ', Not ta HI Quiver Cupid baa absolutely co Inteiw tual equipment ORDERS ARE ORDERS erbllt up Week's Supply of Po.tma viivt iusuc ivy lilt Pfl. Company In another part of tlaZ per. They will send a full week's sut ply of health giving Postum treat anyone who writes for it Adr. TRIFI.ES profiler THOSE MEMENTOFtT" We all lack coum . away Junk that we soure!1 TREMENDOUS STOMACH ACHE a FRANCE was passing through after the fall of the Second Empire during the Franco-Prussiawar of 1S70. The Monarchists were determined to rule, but there was strong sentiment for a republic. The national assembly which would decide the Issue, was almost evenly divided, with a slight edge in favor of the Monarchists. The vote was to As the be taken on June 30, 1S75. roll of the assembly was called the whole atmosphere was tense with excitement for the balloting was very n FLOWERS YOUR NEIGHBORS WILL ENVY close. There was no sound in the chamber but the grave voice of the president t. He called the name of Monsieur There was no answer. Sur prised faces turned toward the chair of that deputy. It was vacant. The absurdities that interfere with politics were operating to prevent his response. Deputy Leurant had a stomachache that morning, a bad one. He managed to sit through the preliminaries, suffering with the griping pains of colic, but finally he could stand it no longer. The presideut called his name In vain. Leurant's vote would have been for the Monarchists as he was known to be unswerving In his devotion to this form of government. While he was absent the assembly was deadlocked, 352 to 352. Finally, as was constitutionally provided for In such the president cast his emergencies, vote In favor of the Republic. France might still be a monarchy, if It hadn't been for this stomach- Don't take a back Beat when it comes to grow- Leu-ran- ing flowers. Plant . Ferry's Purebred Flower Seeds and your garden will be the envy of everyone in your neighborhood. They are pure- bred seeds the offspring of generations of perfect plants. d) ... ache. e LITTLE GADGETS e BIG MONEY TTING GILLETTE, looking at the A nicked chins of American men and counting up the millions of hours they spent in stropping their razors, devised a safety razor with replaceable blades. His profits are said to have been $2,500,000 a year for several years. B. F. Sturtevant devised a wooden shoe peg which was much cheaper and Just as satisfactory as nails. It made $G,000,000 for him. Hyman Lipman made $100,000 out of other persons' mistakes, ne put a rubber tip on the end of a lead pencil so they could rub out their errors of spelling, grammar, etc., and start over again. Samuel Kischbaum, a tailor, had managed to save $120. He Invested the whole amount In a new gadget a hook and eye arrangement for dresses. Within a few years his $120 had grown to $12,000. Jeremiah Geary, a plumber, sold his shop and Invested the proceeds, $000, in a gas mantle. 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