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289
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
·
Various
260
"Then
jump!"
They
jumped,
gripping
each
other's
hands
tightly--and
instead
of
dropping
like
plummets
were
caught
in
a
powerful
field
of
force
and
whirled
gently
downward.
"Oh,
you
were
right!"
gasped
Marjorie,
awed.
"See,
we--"
Then
she
paused,
horror-stricken,
for
it
was
obvious
that
they
were
to
descend
within
that
lake
of
molten
glass,
unless
they
could
change
their
course
at
once.
"Quick!"
he
called.
"Hold
fast!
Now--run!"
Breathless,
they
raced
to
the
left,
across
that
invisible
descending
belt.
Too
far,
Kendrick
knew,
and
they
would
plunge
outside
its
zone,
fall
crushed
and
mangled.
Not
far
enough,
and
they
would
meet
cremation.
It
was
a
fearful
hazard,
either
way,
but
it
had
to
be
taken.
They
were
almost
down,
now,
and
still
not
quite
far
enough
to
the
left.
The
heat
of
that
yawning
crater
rose
toward
them.
"Faster--faster!"
he
cried,
fairly
dragging
her
along
with
him.
A
last
dash--a
breathless
instant--and
they
stood
there
on
the
ground,
not
three
feet
from
the
edge
of
doom.
Swooning
with
the
heat,
Marjorie
swayed
against
him,
murmured
an
incoherent
prayer.
"Take
heart!"
he
whispered,
lifting
her
bodily
and
bearing
her
some
yards
away.
"We're
down--safe!"
Their
safety
was
but
relative,
however,
Kendrick
well
knew.
Until
they
could
put
miles
between
them
and
this
monstrous
disc,
they
were
not
really
safe.
No
telling
how
soon
their
escape
might
be
discovered.
No
telling
what
terrible
means
Cor
might
take
of
curbing
their
flight.
So
as
soon
as
Marjorie
had
recovered
sufficiently
to
proceed,
they
headed
off
across
the
desert
at
a
fast
walk
toward
Ajo,
where
he
hoped
to
catch
the
afternoon
train
for
Gila
Bend.
From
there,
they
could
board
the
limited
for
Tucson
and
points
east,
when
it
came
through
from
Yuma
that
night.
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