We nosed upward through the trailing fringe of the swarm in safety. The great field of meteorites was now below and ahead of us. We had won through! The _Ertak_ was safe, and-- "There seems to be another directly above us, sir," commented Correy quietly, speaking for the first time since we had entered the area of danger. "I believe your disc is not picking it up." "Thank you, Mr. Correy," I said. While operating on an entirely different principle, his two charts had certain very definite advantages: they showed the entire space around us, instead of but a portion. I picked up the meteorite he had mentioned without difficulty. It was a large body, about three times the mass of the _Ertak_, and some distance above us--a laggard in the group we had just eluded. "Will it coincide with our path at any point, Mr. Correy?" I asked doubtfully. The television disc could not, of course, give me this information. "I believe so; yes," replied Correy, frowning over his charts. "Are the rays on it, sir?" "Yes. All of them, I judge, but they are making slow work of it." I fell silent, bending lower over the great hooded disc. There were a dozen, a score of rays playing upon the surface of the meteorite. A halo of dust hung around the rapidly diminishing body, but still the mass melted all too slowly. * * * * * Pressing the attention signal for Kincaide, I spoke sharply into the microphone: "Mr. Kincaide, is every ray on that large meteorite above us?" "Yes, sir," he replied instantly. "Full power?" "Yes, sir." "Very well; carry on, Mr. Kincaide." I turned to Correy; he had just glanced from his charts to the clock, with its jerking second hand, and back to his charts. "They'll have to do it in the next ten seconds, sir," he said. "Otherwise--" Correy shrugged, and his eyes fixed with a peculiar, fascinated stare on the charts. He was looking death squarely in the eyes. Ten seconds! It was not enough. I had watched the rays working, and I knew their power to disintegrate this death-dealing stone that was hurtling along above us while we rose, helplessly, into its path. I did not ask Correy if it was possible to alter the course enough, and quickly enough, to avoid that fateful path. Had it been possible without tearing the _Ertak_ to pieces with the strain of it, Correy would have done it seconds ago. I glanced up swiftly at the relentless, jerking second hand. Seven seconds gone! Three seconds more. The rays were doing all that could be expected of them. There was only a tiny fragment of the meteorite left, and it was dwindling swiftly. But our time was passing even more rapidly. The bit of rock loomed up at me from the disc. It seemed to fly up into my face, to meet me. "Got us, Correy!" I said hoarsely. "Good-by, old-man!" I think he tried to reply. I saw his lips open; the flash of the bright light from the ethon tubes on his big white teeth.