Zetta very often was in the cabin when I was brought in to my meal. Occasionally I saw the woman Brea. Once, when for a moment Zetta and I were alone, I glanced behind us to see Brea's giant figure lurking in the doorway. Watching us; I caught a glimpse of her face--white, thin-lipped, with eyes that seemed smoldering with fury. There is a menace in the aspect of a man who is a scoundrel; but it is mild and meek indeed compared to the scoundrel woman! "Zetta, is that Brea ever left near you? Alone with you?" "No. Oh, no. I watch her." "She's there now in the passage doorway." "Yes. I see her." "Don't forget. She tried to have you murdered! Does Graff know that?" "I think so. She would not dare harm me here--he would kill her." "Don't you be too sure. A woman--a jealous woman--might do anything." But Zetta only laughed. "Perhaps we may use her, Peter. When we get to earth--" She would not say any more. Graff was constantly questioning me. The chaos Xenephrene's coming had brought to earth seemed intensely interesting to him. He understood astronomy far better than I did, undoubtedly. We talked of the changed inclination of earth's axis; the changed climate. He questioned me about the different countries--most of them were only names to him. He wanted to know the distribution of the people; the different races; the present great centers of population; the agricultural areas. "You are ver' helpful, Peter." He seemed to mean it. "It is all quite confusing. So big a worl'--populate' over all its surface. A ver' great conquest for me, Zetta, don't you think so?" I tried to get information from him. It was not easy. He only wanted to talk generalities, both about earth, and about himself. He had asked me nothing about airplanes or warships--nothing at all about the weapons of war on earth. Except the Essen automatic of mine which he had taken. He laid it on the table before us. I explained it to him; the whole theory of explosives. "That is mos' interesting." But he did not seem greatly impressed. "I suppose you make these things quite large?" "Yes," I agreed. And since he asked no more, I volunteered nothing further. From Graff I learned that there were already on earth several hundred of his men. Hiding, as he put it. They had with them only a very small hand battery with which they could fling around them the crimson barrage. The fellow who had attacked us at Cains', trying to steal the Reet battery, was one of them. I said: "That crimson barrage--in a larger form--was all you had yourself, when you were on earth before?" He laughed. "I had other things--it was no time to use them." "But now--you have other things with you now?" "Oh, yes, I have other things, Peter."