Curious marks! I say burned, for perhaps that best describes it. But it was not that. A queer irritation of the skin and flesh where they had been exposed to contact with the crimson radiance. It departed within a week; and the ringing in our ears, which for a day we all feared might presage deafness, was gone in a like period. Our eyes, too, were left smarting and burning. For a day afterward I found my sight queerly blurring at intervals; and any sudden light blinded me momentarily, as one is blinded who steps abruptly from darkness into daylight. But all these unpleasant sensations passed in a few days. This crimson radiance had been undoubtedly of a very weak intensity. It had not been used as a weapon, but merely as a cloak of invisibility, behind which the intruder had evidently felt he could steal the cylinder and escape. This we realized, though of the nature of the radiance we knew not much more than before; nor was there anything in father's data to enlighten us. We feared a repetition of this encounter; but none was attempted. All our work was done under guard in Miami; and everywhere in the world the secret service of every government was alert. It was incredible, of course, that upon earth there would be one man of Xenephrene--and no more. We learned afterward that there were many, but at this time no trace of them was found. * * * * * It was the 4th of June when at last our vehicle was completely ready--save its provisioning, some earth scientific apparatus which father had bade us bring, and our personal effects. The assembling was complete; the navigating mechanism was installed, tested and in working order. It was then, but not until then, that success seemed assured. And with the relief of it, we all realized what a strain we had been under. By comparison, what lay ahead seemed simple. But that fancy passed; and, though we never said so, apprehension soon descended upon us again. For myself a thousand doubts and fears assailed me. Could Freddie successfully navigate us from one whirling world to another? By mathematical formula which to me seemed incredibly abstruse, and mechanisms in our vehicle which even he only half understood? Alone, unaided, a pioneer into trackless space, with only father's complicated notes to guide him! Freddie, during these last days, was very pale and silent. Not for anything would Dan or I have voiced our fears; but Freddie was aware of them, for they matched his own. Thin-lipped and solemn he sat for hours each day within the vehicle; and sometimes he would slip away from Dan and me during the hours of sleep, and we would find him there, poring over father's data, or working at seemingly endless calculations.