The European and the Asiatic cities were breaking from me, in wild panic, disorganized and shattered; since there came now no commands to them from this city of Berlin that had held their commander. And as they broke into a disorganized mass, the half-hundred American cities massed in the center, who had seen the terrible havoc that Berlin, beneath my hands, was wreaking upon their enemies, were themselves rushing to the attack once more; and all their guns were thundering toward the disorganized mass of their enemies! Up toward Berlin from that mass as we rushed forward there rose to meet us the giant air-capital of Peking, battered, scarred; its commander seeking to stay this crazy destruction its sister-capital was wreaking upon their own forces. Up it came; and for an instant it seemed that Berlin and Peking must crash together bodily, but with a last wrench of the speed-control I sent Berlin racing higher. And then, as we met Peking, crashed over it, that mighty capital's power-tower also, with its other clustered towers, was sheared from it by our great base. Peking was wavering for a moment and then went whirling down to death! Yet even as it wavered, slipped and fell, its great guns were thundering savagely upon us until it had crashed to earth far below! Victory! And now, down through the night upon the mass of our enemy cities, I sent Berlin slanting down toward them, at its full speed, and across them in a tremendous ramming swoop that sheared the towers from a dozen of them, even as they attempted confusedly to rise and meet the onthundering mighty city! Of that confused, disorganized and broken mass there remained of them at last hardly more than a score, still savagely belching death from their guns toward our half-hundred American cities and still sending an occasional one downward! But now as I whirled the giant mass of Berlin back toward them like a striking, gigantic bird of prey, I was aware of a tremendous battering and clanging of metal; and at the same moment Hilliard was shouting to me from the great doors that opened from the ante-rooms into the plaza. "They're breaking down the doors, Brant!" he was screaming above the wild thunder of battle and the clamor of giant crowds that surged against those doors outside: "Fight on, though--we'll try to hold them back!" "Hold them a moment longer!" I yelled back to him: "A moment more--!"