open now, and the luminous fog that constituted the Carrier was drifting forward with purposeful intent.
Ardath and Court had raced to one side of the stage. Scipio appeared, wheeling a small contrivance no larger than a dictaphone. A conical tube topped it, ending in a translucent lens.
'Good,' Court snapped at the Carthaginian. 'But for God's sake, be careful now!'
The giant nodded with a flash of white teeth. Court turned to the paralyzed audience.
'Stay where you are! There's no danger, unless you get hysterical and riot.'
A uniformed man in the aisle shouted an oath and whipped out his revolver. He pumped bullets at the glowing creature. Naturally there was no result. Court waited till the echoes had died.
'No one will deny that this is an authentic Carrier. Watch!'
The creature was at the edge of the platform when Scipio swung his weapon to focus upon it. The result was unspectacular. A ray of intense white light struck from the lens, and the glow surrounding the Carrier merely began to fade. The thing remained motionless, all its glory dulling.
At last there was only something hike a mummy collapsing to lie motionless on the stage. Scipio switched off the light.
'Take your seats, please,' Court said. 'I have no more surprises for you. I shall welcome a committee to examine the body of this Carrier.' The first man to hasten down the aisle was a strongly built, handsome man with grizzled gray hair. He went directly to Court.
'Mr. President!' Court cried. 'I didn't know you intended to be here, or I wouldn't have—'
'I'm glad you did make that experiment,' said the President of the United States. 'I doubt if the scientists will fail to approve your plan now.' There was a little twinkle in the level gray eyes. 'Even if they do, I have authority under martial law to order you to build your Earth Shield, and to give you every assistance you require.'
The big figure turned toward the audience, and the President waved at the group of reporters.
'Put that on your front pages, boys. Stephen Court's in charge!'
With silent, incredible speed, Earth swung into action to fight the cosmic menace. Stephen Court was in charge. Beside him Ardath worked, untiring, unsparing of himself. Li Yang, Scipio, and Marion Barton lent their aid.
Staffs of trained scientists gathered from all over the world. Factories were hastily commandeered, and their machinery altered so they could turn out quantities of the atomic energy portable guns.
From San Francisco, to New York, from New Orleans to Chicago, trained men went busily to work. Production of the guns was left to subordinates. Once provided with the plans, they executed their orders with swift precision.
Troops of militia were armed with the weapons and sent into Plague-infested areas. New York was cleared of the Carriers, and the other cities as well. Dozens of the guns were stored in airports, ready for instant transportation whenever a case of the Plague was reported. Such reports were constant these days. Earth was approaching dangerously close to the nucleus of the cosmic cloud.
Ardath flew to China, with Li Yang and two hundred famous scientists. A job had to be done there. Two gigantic towers had to be erected, on each side of the Earth—one in the Orient, one in America. Court was in charge of constructing the latter. He remained in constant telephonic communication with Ardath.
Speed was essential. Every resource of the country was turned to building the Earth Shield. Business was neglected. The Government issued their orders, delegating certain jobs to certain groups. The people had to be fed, of course, but every capable man was mustered to the task for which he was best fitted. Factories worked day and night.
Every other country lent its aid. Canada, England, Germany, France, Italy, Japan—all forgot their imperialistic and trade quarrels in order to battle the common enemy. There was no time for war.
Build the Towers! Create the Earth Shield! These aims were foremost.
Slowly the mighty obelisks rose. They resembled the Eiffel Tower, but were far taller and larger. Immense girders buckled huger beams together as the monoliths rose against the sky day by day. Faster, faster, the men worked.
At night, searchlights were used. New roads were built and old ones widened, all converging on the Towers. A railroad was laid to each one from the nearest line.
Nearby towns found themselves incredibly augmented in populations. Emergency barracks rose. Dapper physicists and chemists slept side by side with burly roustabouts and riveters.
No thought of class, and few quarrels, arose. Each man knew that the Plague might strike his own family next. Under his breath he whispered:
'Build the Earth Shield! Hurry! Hurry!'
Two Towers loomed at last, visible for many miles. Each one was topped with a shimmering, bright sphere of metal, fifty feet in diameter. From these globes the atomic energy would flame out, to encircle the planet and transform the atomic structure of the Heaviside Layer into an impregnable barrier.
CHAPTER XX
Thordred Returns
Court had little time to rest. He had frequent reports from the Chief of the F.B.I., whom he had requested to track down the vanished Thordred. But the bearded giant had disappeared without trace. His continued presence meant danger, however. Thordred possessed the knowledge he had stolen from the minds of both Ardath and Court. The drag-net searched for him vainly.
One night Court, Scipio and Marion stood in the control room just beneath the huge globe that topped the Tower. The task was finished. The last workman had just departed in the elevator that led to the ground. The three stood quietly, staring out at the land that stretched far beneath them. Bright moonlight bathed everything weirdly, yet beautifully.
The room was fifty feet square, a flat platform around which a low railing ran. There were no walls. Metal supports stood up like thick columns at intervals. The globe above their heads was hollow, else not even the tough reinforced steel of the Tower could have supported its weight.
They could not see the sphere. Nine feet above their heads, the ceiling was plated with thickness after thickness of Ardath's alloy, the only thing that would halt the radiation of atomic energy. Court fumbled with a televisor.
'Wish I'd had this finished weeks ago,' he complained. 'Ardath showed me how to build it, but I didn't have time. Let's see—'
The screen ran riot with color that swiftly faded into a uniform gray.
'Trying for China?' Marion asked, coming to stand close to Court.
He nodded.
'The other Tower. I'm getting it. Here it is!'
On the screen, the fat, butter-colored face of Li Yang appeared. The beady black eyes stared.
'Court? Hello. How is the work?'
'All finished,' Court sighed. 'We're just waiting for you. Bolted the last connection half an hour ago.'
'Fine!' the Oriental applauded. 'We'll be ready tomorrow, perhaps sooner. Wait a moment. Here's Ardath.'
The Kyrian's thin, ascetic face replaced that of Li Yang. His eyes were red-rimmed with fatigue.
'So you're finished, Court,' he said. 'Good. My workmen were not much slower. We'll be done in a few hours, not tomorrow, Li Yang. Then we can turn on the power. Don't forget'— Ardath's lips thinned—'we must be careful. Both of us must turn on the switches at exactly the same moment. Otherwise there will be disaster.
'The atomic screen must meet just halfway around the Earth. If you turn on your power too soon, your energy screen will smash mine back and destroy this Tower completely. We must be completely accurate.'
Court glanced at an instrument panel near him.
'I will. Wait a minute. Someone's coming up in the elevator.'
The warning bell was ringing. Presently the lift rose into view. An overalled figure, half hidden under the weight of a wooden box, stepped out of the cage.
