But now my own eyes had penetrated the dusk enough to recognize the features of the man who was gripping my arms, the keen, daredevil countenance that I remembered at once. "Connell!" I cried. "You prisoned here! Then you're the other American the European First Air Chief ordered us prisoned with. But I had thought you dead!" "Dead I might be as well as here," said Connell, suddenly somber. "For four weeks I have been here, Brant--for weeks before the beginning of this war. And now that this war has begun I, who alone might save our American Federation from annihilation in it, am prisoned here with only death awaiting me, and that in a few days." I stared at him, astonished. Connell had been one of the cruiser captains of the American Federation forces for several years, and had been a friend of my own in those years. A year before he had withdrawn from active duty, no one knew to where, and finally, but a few weeks before the breaking forth of this war, our First Air Chief had told us in answer to our queries that Connell had been sent upon a special mission, but that since he had not reported for several weeks he had undoubtedly met death in the course of it. To meet him here, in the heart of Berlin and prisoned with ourselves, astounded me, and the more so since from his first words we understood that he had been confined thus for weeks even before war had burst upon us. But now, motioning us to seats on the bunk-racks beside us, Connell was questioning us eagerly as to the course of the combat between the great Federations so far, and his eyes shone when we described to him that terrific battle over and in the Atlantic that we had fought but a day before, and that daring attack on Berlin that he had himself witnessed from his window. "I saw the European Federation's fleet massing and sailing westward yesterday," he said, "and knew it was launching its great attack, knew when it returned disorganized and shattered that the American fleet had beaten back that attack. But I did not expect this attack you made on Berlin tonight, and was as astounded as all in the city when you swooped down with your great bombs. A great blow, Brant--a great and successful blow against the whole European Federation, yet such a blow alone cannot halt the menace which it and the Asiatic Federation are preparing to loose upon our own nation. Such a blow, nor a hundred such blows, would avail but little in the end against the stupendous plans and forces that are preparing and massing even now to roll out upon the American Federation in an avalanche of doom!" A Strange Tale He paused, and in the dusky cell Macklin and Hilliard and I sat as silent as himself, gazing toward him in sudden startled surprise. From far out over the great air-city about us came the droning of rushing ships and the dim roar of voices from beneath. But Connell was speaking again--