here and there like fireflies. Ben mounted a chair.

"Just a minute, folks," he began. "I want to say something.... What we have to do here is build civilization up all over again. Undoubtedly there are more people alive—if not in New York, then in other places. We have two jobs—to get in touch with them and to find out what we can do. Mr. Beeville is going to find out about the second one for us, but we can do a lot without waiting for him.

"In the first place, there's that funny-looking bird that we all saw and that chased Roberts. There may be others like it and a lot of new queer forms of animal life around that would be dangerous to us. Therefore, I think it's in line to get some weapons. Miss Lami, you and Mr. Tholfsen are delegated to dig up a hardware store and find guns and cartridges.... Now for the rest, I'm open to suggestions."

Everybody spoke at once. "Wait a minute," said Ben. "Let's take things in order. What was your idea, Mr. Stevens?"

"Organize regular search parties."

"And a good idea, too. We don't even need to wait for daylight. Everybody who can drive, get a car and trot along."

"X-ray machines are going to be awfully useful in my work," offered Beeville. "I wonder if there isn't some way of getting enough current to run one."

"As far as I remember, this building supplies its own current. Murray, you and Massey trot down and get a fire up under one of the boilers. Anything else?"

"Yes," came from Dangerfield, the editor. "It seems to me that the first thing anyone else in the world would try to do if he found himself made into a tin doll like this is get hold of a radio. How about opening up a broadcasting station?"

"I don't know whether you can get enough power, but you can try. Go to it. Do you know anything about radio?"

"A little."

"All right. Pick whoever you want for an assistant and try it out. Any more ideas?"

"What day is it?" asked Ola Mae Roberts.

Nobody had thought of it, and it suddenly dawned on the assemblage that the last thing they remembered was when the snow on the roof-tops bespoke a chilly February, while now all the trees were in leaf and the air was redolent of spring.

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