But while our two lines were whirling upward at as steep a slant as they had descended, the battle seemed to deepen in furious intensity. New York and Peking were stabbing still at each other with all their forces, each colossal city seeming too mighty to be struck down, though each was flaming under a terrible fire of shells. Behind us, after a running duel that had achieved almost the magnitude and fully the intensity of our own, Chicago had given London the finishing stroke; and that great city was wavering, staggering, then slipping and falling in white-hot annihilation toward the earth! And, as all along both lines, other cities staggered and fell, I saw that above us the two whirling cruiser-fleets had almost entirely vanished. They had almost entirely annihilated each other by the insane fury of their attacks! I felt my brain spinning, felt all things about me resolving into a wild whirl of thunderous sound and flaring light. I heard, as though from a great distance, the orders of Yarnall beside me, and the frenzied voice of Connell sending those orders flashing out from the distance-phone; heard the thunder of guns and sound of motors and propellers and wild noises that were coming from all the city about us. Then, before our two onrushing lines, there loomed another great mass of drifting vapors; and again our two lines dipped downward to avoid those masses. But, as we shot downward, the line opposite us with Peking at its head shot as quickly upward again, in answer to some command; it raced on _through_ the vapor-masses instead of beneath them! In the next moment we had shot our own line upward again to race side by side with them still; but we were too late, for that moment had given them, at their tremendous speed, the advantage for which they sought. For in that moment, rushing on through the vapor-masses instead of beneath them, they had gained a little; so that when we shot upward again to their level they were ahead of us as well as beside us! And then their line ahead of us was swiftly curving back and around our other side! As we slowed instantly, to avoid a collision that would annihilate us and all our mass, they swept the end of their longer line around the rear of our own, and thus in the next instant were forming a complete circle around our cities. They had at last accomplished their great objective, had managed to surround our mass of mighty cities, outnumbering us still. As their circle closed lightning-like about us, we three sat in that moment as though stunned; and then, from all the air-cities that encircled us, a terrific thunderous fire was pouring upon us! Encircled, we were a perfect target now for all the European and Asiatic gunners around us, pouring all their mighty broadsides upon us. And now Yarnall had leaped to his feet, the tense agony in his eyes reflected in those of Connell and myself in that terrible moment.