A fourth ship, and a fifth came rushing up, their sides faintly glowing from the speed they had made. The green flood, thick and insistent, was racing up and over the administration building now. It reached the roof, ran swiftly.... The fourth ship shattered into dust. The fifth settled swiftly--and then that ship also disappeared, together with a corner of the building. Then the thick green stuff flowed over the whole building and there was nothing to be seen there but a mound of soft, flowing, gray-green stuff that rushed on now with the swiftness of the wind. * * * * * I looked up, into Barry's face. "You're ill!" he said quickly. "Is there anything I can do, sir?" "Yes," I said, forming the words with difficulty. "Give orders to ascend at emergency speed!" For once my first officer hesitated. He glanced at the attraction meter and then turned to me again, wondering. "At this height, sir, emergency speed will mean dangerous heating of the surface; perhaps--" "I want it white hot, Mr. Barry. She is built to stand it. Emergency speed, please--immediately!" "Right, sir!" he said briskly, and gave the order. I felt my weight increase as the order was obeyed; gradually the familiar, uncomfortable feeling left me. Silently, Barry and I watched the big surface temperature gauge as it started to move. The heat inside became uncomfortable, grew intense. The sweat poured from us. In the operating room forward, I could see the men casting quick, wondering glances up at us through the heavy glass partition that lay between. The thick, stubby red hand of the surface temperature gauge moved slowly but steadily towards the heavy red line that marked the temperature at which the outer shell of our hull would become incandescent. The hand was within three or four degrees of that mark when I gave Barry the order to arrest our motion. When he had given the order, I turned to him and motioned towards the television disc. "Look," I said. * * * * * He looked, and when at last he tore his face away from the hood, he seemed ten years older. "What is it?" he asked in a choked whisper. "Why--they're being wiped out; the whole of that world--" "True. And some of the seeds of that terrible death might have drifted upward, and found a lodging place upon the surface of our ship. That is why I ordered the emergency speed while we were still within the atmospheric envelope, Barry. To burn away that contamination, if it existed. Now we are safe, unless--" I pressed the attention button to the station of the chief of the ray operators. "Your report," I ordered. "Nine ships disintegrated, sir," he replied instantly. "Five before the city was destroyed, four later." "You are certain that none escaped?" "Positive, sir." "Very good." I turned to Barry, smiling.