"The red-world cannot be banished completely, here on Xenephrene," father answered. "Too great a use of the purple--it would swing our plane too far toward the Ultra-violet--be injurious to human life. The best balance which can be maintained--that is the purpose of these two globes--this control room." A solemnity, greater than I had ever heard before came to father's voice. "The Brauns had no spreading rays on earth, like these. They tell me, here in Garla, that these two little globes are the only ones of their kind in existence. Without them, in a month, or a few months at the most, Xenephrene, bathed in our sunlight, would be overrun with the demons of the Infra-red! A world gone mad!" * * * * * "A world gone mad!" His words rang shudderingly in my head all the rest of that afternoon; echoed through the evening meal, and those tense hours while we waited for the time when we were going to hear Graff's speech in the stadium. "A world gone mad!" Father meant Xenephrene. But with what diabolical, prophetic vision, my thoughts kept swinging to earth! A world gone mad! From our visit to the grotto we returned home where we had left the girls. I was suddenly impatient to get there. A feeling was upon me that it had been wrong to leave them. Would Zetta take this opportunity to slip away? To attempt to see Graff? My fears were dispelled. The insects were quietly patrolling the grounds. The girls were busy about the house. Hulda whispered to me, "We're getting ready to leave." "Leave?" "Yes. If you should be successful to-night--if you get the weapons--you might want to leave for earth at once." And we had thought to keep our secret from these girls! Hulda added, "Zetta is coming with us. Kean also. Neither has any ties here--" Zetta coming! If only everything would work out like this-- With the afternoon passed, I thought no more of Zetta's threatened attempt to see Graff. After the evening meal, we all tried to sleep for a time. But I was restless. After an hour in our room with Freddie and Dan, I slipped away to the roof to smoke alone. I found it vacant; dim with straggling moonlight. I had no thought of Zetta, save that she was resting beneath me in the house. She was coming back with us to earth. When these terrible times were over, I would take her in my arms--claim her--I wondered if she loved me. I am not unduly vain; truly it seemed at once impossible, but inevitable-- I have no idea how long, with roaming fancy, I sat there. Half an hour perhaps. Above me a figure suddenly came fluttering down from the foliage, landed lightly on the roof, within a few feet of where, in a stunned surprise, I was sitting. It was Zetta. Her face was flushed; she was panting. "Zetta!" I sprang to my feet. "Oh--is it you, Peter? I did not know you were up here." "Where have you been? I thought you were downstairs. Zetta, have you been up to see--"