folded their safety suits and added the bundles to the other equipment on their backs. Then, with their instruments held before them, they probed their way into the twisted wreckage, still following the faint, dust-filled footprints. Bent and rusted girders rose on all sides like the bones of prehistoric monsters. Nothing stirred. The dust lay ages-thick on everything. "Gives you the spooks, doesn't it?" Jarvis was still tense, poised to respond to the first signal of danger. "Feels like we're the last men alive!" "Funny about Hank and Garland. There's nothing here to harm anyone." Jarvis looked at his watch. "Better contact HQ for instructions." The two stepped off the path, into the shade of a grotesque chunk of broken masonry. Mark set up the radio and twirled the dials. "Team Four, calling HQ. Team Four, reporting!" "HQ here." The voice from the radio blared loud in the stillness. "Give your report, Team Four." "Looks like nothing's moved here in a thousand years. Safe as a baby's dream. Rock-solid, air morning-pure. But--" He hesitated, trying not to sound like a scared school boy. "No sign of Team Three. Or of Teams One and Two, either. Over." "Look here, Team Four. It's your job to find out. The earth didn't just swallow them. Final report from each team placed them well within the city. It's been ten days since the last contact. Probe every inch of the place." "Right!" "But be careful. We can't afford to lose any more men! Roger!" "Roger!" There was only one way now--ahead. It lay clearly marked. The dim footsteps never strayed or faltered. Three hours of search revealed no pitfalls, no dangers, and no trace of the missing men. Then night was upon them and they bedded down gratefully. "Strange, isn't it? The war over. The invaders blasted from the earth. All peril gone. And yet--men disappear." Jarvis stared at the ruins around them. "I can't take much more, Mark. Twelve years of war is enough. Are we never to have a life--have our home and women back, and--_peace_?" "Sure, it's been
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