Then, suddenly, as if by some quick heat, the ice vanished from the windows, and, if he felt surprise at the wizardry of their descent into the snow, what he beheld now was with a staggering shock.

The ship floated down into a cavernous box-like place that stretched out into miles of smooth floor surrounded by white, glistening walls of sheer ice. On the floor, long geometrical rows of flat buildings, like an automobile factory, striped one side of a wide smooth landing field. On the other side of the field stood a large house like an office building and behind it lay a silver, windowed dome from which ran heavy tubes curving into the ground. Upon the field, forming a great dotted circle around it, rested literally thousands of egg-shaped space ships.

Ricker stared through the viewplate as if watching the very gates of Hades open before him. They landed slowly. And despite his astonishment, he absorbed everything he saw with the photographic memory of a good telenewsman.

The place was an immense chamber deep in the icy rind of the planet—apparently resting on the very surface of Neptune itself for the floor appeared to be rock, different from the glistening walls and the roof. And the roof—glancing up, Ricker saw the low sleek dome held no mark of their entrance! The ice had instantly frozen behind them again as they passed through. This place was impregnable, perfectly hidden. A hundred miles of snow was at once a shield and camouflage.

But how?

Then he saw how. Along the walls reared tall tripods, similar to radio towers. At the top of each flared a ring of yellow light—it was blinding to look at. Like looking full at the noonday sun. And through the windows, he could feel the sweaty penetration of—heat!

"Show Miss Borden to her room, Hines." The Martian's voice brought Ricker's staring eyes back to the cabin. "I'll call for you shortly, Molly. And you, Gurren, lock up our meddlesome journalist till I have time for him."

The ship landed like a feather. Vanger opened the door, ogled a twittering good-by to the woman, and jumped to the ground. He strode off toward the office-like building beside the ship-encircled field. All the planes were shiny and new, Ricker noticed.

Gurren and Hines motioned the woman and him out. The floor was a kind of granite underfoot, Ricker saw. The field was about the size of a baseball diamond, the ships staggered in a wide circle around it like 

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