Glasses were trained upon the colossal world as the spaceship sped close to the giant world in a gradual curve to the sunward side. From afar, they had recognized the fact that the planet possessed an atmosphere. Observations confirmed the strange coloring of the planet as vegetation. Where the machine men found vegetation, they invariably found animal life as well. The topography of the huge world loomed nearer, so much nearer that 744U-21 cautioned 20R-654 not to navigate closer. "I am not," came the startling announcement. "I am trying to get clear of the planet's grip. There is a slight drift of the spaceship, which I am having trouble counteracting." The looming orb grew larger, swelling in diameter and obscuring a greater portion of the sky beyond. The difficulties of 20R-654 were becoming increased. Alarm spread among the machine men. The intense gravitation held their ship and was threatening to draw it down with a smashing blow. "We are starting to fall! The ship is accelerating its descent!" "Turn!" cried the professor. "Turn away and give it all the power we have!" The course of the spaceship had been parallel to the planet's orbit. 20R-654 now turned the ship directly away from the looming world and unleashed a tremendous burst of power. Instruments showed a slackening of their descent, yet their fall continued. "Something is wrong with the resisters!" 20R-654 explained. "That is why the ship came so much closer to the planet than I had intended!" "We are still falling but not so fast as before!" "At full repulsion, too!" "Yes--we are too close, and the gravity is so great! Without the strength of the resisters we can only hope to come down as lightly as possible!" The professor knew this latter statement to be nothing but hope. Their fall was rapid enough to smash them all to bits of wreckage when the spaceship crashed. And their precious brains would be scattered among the ruins. * * * * * The great world swelled on their vision, its proportions so vast that it filled the sky before them. Mountainous country reached giant fingers to receive them. On the horizon, the topography was obscured by cloud masses drifting in the great, dense sea of atmosphere. Already, they were able to feel the mighty attraction of the planet's gravity upon their metal bodies. "Keep the reverse charges going until the last minute--until we strike!" "The unusual density of the atmosphere may help slow our descent!" This, they knew, was a long chance. The density of the atmospheric lower levels was commensurate with the planet's strong gravity.