Show i EN Ira w co Co UDE IDE J lly y 7 s Ed M lf P l T ilir Y Ctr-Y J uw w U Sonic B 1 SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAPTERS David D Rans Ransdell ell arrives at New York Tork Dr from South South A i i graphic plates plate for tor or Cole tony r rn Drake calla at the t e Hendron n Evo Eve Hendron with Tn apartment whom Tony l In love loe ir v Introduces to Ransdell Professor or Bronson eminent astronomer Tony Tony- has ha discovered dl o d two t planets F that Inevitable have been r collision brought 1 under the of our r sun eun The There i suit cult of the must bo be the end of the earth The approach ing bodies are referred to as AJ Bronson Alpha and plans plan a Space on which he hopes to make Bronson Beta Hendron a oon on 0 the tho destruction of Beta Deta before the earth canh but has sn not been able to And nd which will withstand the heat atomic atomic a metal and nd pre r of of e to be tobe used In propelling the Space Ship Tidal waves and Quakes energy surface of the earth The change t e entire ce on colony suffers Buffers but b s s Ransdell and Eliot James leave on an aerial toas to ascertain er ln conditions elsewhere They are ar re attacked and badly alive wounded but return CHAPTER VIII-Continued VIII VIII Continued 14 14 I Bronson and Dodson were al nl already ready there when they arrived A dozen other men joined them and last Jast to appear was him him- himself himself self It was easy casy to perceive hIs excitement now lie fie commenced to speak Immediately My friends the word 1 I have to add to my announcement In the hall Is of stupendous Importance 1 I When we took off of clothes we found belted to his body and heavily wrapped a note a map and a chunk of metal You Sou will re- re remember remember re remember member doubtless that Ransdell was once a miner and a prospector HIs main Interest had always 8 been dIamonds And his Ills knowledge of geology and metallurgy Is self taught self taught and of the practical sort Bronson unable to control him himself self burst forth Into speech Good d O-d d Hendron He tie found it I The scientist continued Impassively The TIle eruptions caused by bythe bythe the passage of the Bodies were of so Intense a nature that they brought to earth not only modern rock hut but cast quantities of the Inter Internal nal substance of the which earth earth which as ae you know Is presumably of metal as the earths earth's total density Is slight slightly ly Jy greater reater than that of Iron Rans nans Ransdell dell noticed on the edge of such a at tl t tow ow a quantity of solid Realizing that the heat surrounding It had been enormous he made a landing and secured specimens lie He found the substance to be a metal or natural alloy hard but Remembering our dilemma here In the matter of ha- ha lin Un lining ing lag for the power powel tubes tubes for the Space Ship he carefully carrIed back a sample protecting sample protecting It In fact with his life lite life My Iy frIends Hendron's friends voice began to tremblE for tremble for the past Ove seventy five minutes this metal has bas withstood not only the heat hent of an anatomic anatomic anatomic atomic blast but the greater grenter heat of Professor Kanes Kane's re- re recently recently re re- recently developed atomic furnace We Weare Weare Weare are at the end of the quest Suddenly to the astonishment of hIs Ms hearers Hendron bowed his head bead in his arms and cried like a woman C e Hendron stood before an audIence of nearly n a thousand persons It was a feverish fc audience He lie bowed to the applause I speak to you tonight ht my frIends In the first full flush of the knowledge that your sacrifices and sufferings have bave not been In vain He Ho Made Mado a Landing and Secured Specimens He Ho Carefully Carried Back a S Sample Protecting It It In Fact With His Hit Life has solved our l last last st tech technical meal problem We have han assured ourselves by observation that life on the be planet will be possible man shall live we are ure the of his new history The wU wild applause proclaimed the hopes no one had bad dared to declare before But lint tonight I do not wish to talk of oC the future There Is time enough for that I wish to talk talk-or talk or rath rath- rather rather er to read read-of read of the present lie He tIcked clicked eked up from a n small table the of n a number of ordinary note books I 1 have here hero James record of the journey that brought us Ui salvation atlon I 1 cannot read you all of It It This rids Is the first of the seven notebooks James filled filled- d t He opened the book He fie read read August 16 Tonight Vanderbilt and I 1 descended at six o'clock precisely ly on a u small body ot of water which Is a n j Jo a Ii bed bedot ot of Lake Hc w We ar are lying nt at anchor about abou a mlle mile mH from Crom Chicago Following south along 1 south south- along what once iwa the co coast st of Lake Michi Michl Michigan gan we llew Hew over oyer scenes scenes of desola desola- desolation desolation t tion on and destruction Identical den identical with those described after our our- first reconnaissance The world h has hasin sr n deed been wrecked wrecked We had landed on the water from Crom the north We anchored near shore and quickly made our way to land All An of us were ere armed Lots were drawn to determine whether or Vanderbilt would re- re remaIn re- re remain re remain main on guard beside the ship I 1 Iwas Iwas was useless In that rapacity capacity as I would be unable to fly It In case of oC emergency It was agreed that the lone guard was to take off ofT in- in instantly In Instantly upon the approach of any persons whatever Our ship was our only refuge Vanderbilt was elected to re- re remaIn re- re remain re remain main Ransdell and I started off of at once toward the city As we scram scram- scrambled scrambled bled to the top of a wall sea the streets of the metropolis stretched i before empty us-empty us empty Chicago was a aI I dead city We strained our ears and eyes There was nothing No NoI NolI I lI light ht In the staring windows No plume of steam on the lofty build build- buildings buildings ings Unconsciously we had bad both drawn our revolvers Directly ahead of us were the skyscrapers of oC the northern ness ness district Large sections of brIck and stonework had been shaken from the sides of the build build- buildings buildings ings leaving yawning holes which looked as If caused by shellfire shell shell The great reat windows had been shaken Into the street and the sidewalks were literally burled buried In broken glass We moved mo forward Into the business district We had crossed the railroad tracks before we found my any bodies but on the other side they appeared here and there It was Immediately manifest that the people who had bad left Chicago had bad taken with them every object upon which they could lay their hands bands The stores were like open bazaars their glass windows had been bro bro- brol bro bro- broken broken l ken en In by marauders or burst ou out by the quakes and their contents had bad he been en ra n ravaged ed We We continued to notice that the dead on the street did not rep rep- represent represent represent resent even a n tithe of the metro metro- metropolitan metropolitan politan population and I expressed the opinion that the passing of oC the Bronson Bodies must have ha caused a mighty exodus It reply was a shrug and abruptly my mind was ills dis discharged charged upon a n new course You think they're all upstairs I asked He ile He nodded d A block farther along we came to an open fissure As we approached It tIle the wind ind blew us a wisp of this exuding gas as and Instantly we were thrown Into fits of oC coughing Our lungs burned our eyes stun stung and we snatched each others other's arms and ran uncertainly from Crom the place Gas Ransdell sold said gasping No other words were necessary to Interpret the frightful fate of Chicago nothing could better hetter dew dem demonstrate how profound was the dis disturbance under the earths earth's crust For In this region noted for tor Its freedom from Crom seismic shocks and remote from Crom the recognized vol volcanic canic region It was evident that d deadly eull 3 suffocating gases ases such as previously had foun found tho the surface only through h volcanoes here had seeped up op and blotted out the pop pop- population population These gases ases largely hy- hy hydrochlorIc hydrochloric hy hydrochloric were heavier than air and apparently they lay like a choking cloud on the ground round When those who escaped the fIrst suf sut- suffocating currents and currents and apparently they were In the majority climbed majority to upper floors to escape they were followed by the tho rising vapors That frightful theory explained why there were so few dead on the street and why no ono one bad had re- re returned re- re returned re returned turned to the silent city Darkness was waR approaching and moreover our single Io experience with the potency of the gas even In dilution warned us that a deeper penetration of the metropolItan area was more than dangerous We We found Vanderbilt sitting upon a stone on the shore beside the plane We pushed out to It ItIn it itin ItIn In the collapsible boat boat and while we ate supper we told him Wm what we had seen Ills His comment perhaps Is 18 suit suit- suitable suitable suitable able for closing this record of ot the great grent city of Chicago Sitting alone I realized what you were in- in investigating in investigating and for the first time gentlemen I understand what the end of the world orld would mean I have ha never come so close to losing my nerve It was as awful Hendron turned a few Cew pages 1 am now skipping a portion of Mr James record It covers their In- In Investigation In Investigation of the Great Lakes and describes with care the geological uplifting of that basin From Chi Chi- Chicago Chicago cago they flew fie to Detroit In De De- Detroit Detroit troit they found a different form of desolation The TIle waters of Lake LakeHuron LakeHuron Huron had poured through the cIty and the surrounding district com completely depopulating It and largely d destroying It They were Here able to toland toland toland land their plane on a n large boule bottle boulevard yard vard a n section of ot which was un- un unbroken un unbroken broken and they refueled In the vIcinity They saw v no one Cleve Cleve- Cleveland Cleveland Cleveland land had suffered a similar fate Then they continued their flight to Pittsburgh I read rend from Mr James record Jamesj Like Like God leading the children of Israel Pittsburgh remains In my memory as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night As we ap ap- approached ap- ap approached approached the city we saw smoke arising against the sky Vander Vander- Vanderbilt butt bilt the motors and we dropped toward the Monongahela river which was full Cull to the brim of the tho levees and threatened to Inundate the city Earthquakes had half wrecked Its structures Smoke and steam emerged from a rent in Mount Washington The bridges were all down Our ship came to rest and we taxied cautiously toward one of the submerged bridges 1 I threw a rope over one of the girders and we made fast We IVe went ashore b by byway byway way of ot the taut rope It It was easy to perceive the cause of the smoke A large area of what remained of Pittsburgh was In flames and to our ears fors came clearly the tube din of or battle Rifles cracked Incessantly machine guns machine clattered and occasionally we heard the cough of a hand grenade It It was not wise to proceed far farther ther Nevertheless I Insisted on go go- goIng goIng going ing forward while my companions returned to guard our pt ship I bad not Invaded the city I deeply before bullets buzzed over over- overhead overhead i head bead I took cover Not far away in a street that was a shambles I saw meo men moving They carried rUles rifles which they fired frequently and they wore the tattered d rem remnants nants aunts of oC the uniform of the Na Na- National National Guard A A squad of ot these men retreat retreat- retreated retreated ed toward me and as they did so soI I perceived ed their enemy Far ar down the street a mass of people surged over o the like barricade-like ruins of a building The They were terrible to see even eten at that distance Half naked savage screaming armed with every ery tool that might be usel used as a a weapon a mob of the most desper desper- desperate desperate ate sort The retreating squad stopped took aim and several of the approaching savages fell Cell In their united voices I detected the tones of women As As the guardsmen reached my vicinity one of them clapped his hand band to his arm and stag staggered ered ereda a away way from his bis fellows to shelter rhe fhe squad squall was at that Instant rein forced reinforced by a number of ot soldiers who carrIed a machine gun The mob was temporarily checked by Its clutter clatter I I made my way to the wound wound- wounded wounded ed man and he gratefully accepted the ministrations I 1 could offer from the small kit I 1 carried In my pocket His Ella right arm had been pierced It was from him that I Iwas Iwas Iwas was able to learn the stor story of oC Pitts Pitts- Pittsburgh Pittsburgh burgh CHAPTER IX tt man was George Schultz Schultz 1 a National GUArdsman Hendron continued reading rending from Eliot's diary lIe He said s the mills at Pittsburgh had been working to the thelast thelast thelast last moment The government deemed that the gre great t steel city Was in no danger from the tides and had used it for Cor manufacturing during the last du days s 's After the quake what was wa left lert ot of the tho administrative powers vers im- im immediately Im Immediately mediately or organized the remnant of the police and National rational Guard Food ran low medical supplies gave out tho the populace rebelled Three days before our arrival a mob armed Itself and attempted to take over oer the distribution of the remainIng food and supplies I had appeared on the scene apparently after the mob and the forces of law lawand lawand aw awand and order had been fighting for tor three days and It was not necessary necessary sary for Cor Schultz to explain to me that In a very short time the Na Na- National National Guardsmen and police would be routed their numbers numbers were vast vast- vastly vastly ly Iy Inferior their ammunition was being exhausted and organized war war- warfare warfare fare was out of oC the question In that madman's terrain It abandoned Schultz to his I 1 com com- comrades comrades rades and made my way back to the river We lost no In tak talc taking ing ofT off Mr r James diary next descrIbes a hazardous flight across the Ap- Ap Ap Appalachians and their arrival at Washington or rather the site of Washington on When I say that the ocean covered ered what had been the Capital Capita of our nation I mean It pre pre- precisely precisely precisely No spire no pinnacle no monument no tower appeared above the blue water that rippled to the feet of the Appalachian chain There was no trace of Chesapeake bay bayno no sign of the Potomac river no memory of the great works or of architecture which had bad existed at atthe atthe atthe the Capital It was gone and over It was the sea stretching to the ut utmost ut- ut utmost most reaches of the eye The east east- eastern eastern east ern ern seaboard has lias dropped We turned back after atter assuring our our- ourselves ourselves selves that this condition obtained along the entire co coast St Mr James Hendron said now adds to our geographical knowl knowl- knowledge knowledge edge by revealing re that the whole MIssissippi basin as well as the l r Dr ly f k I i iI id I d 41 iI I i L y r I I Had Appeared on the Seen Scena Apparently After the Mob and the Forces of Law and Order Had Been Fighting for Three Days east coast and Gulf states had been submerged |