Brett, indeed, seemed suddenly tired, or perhaps harassed at the thoughts which had come to him. I had been so absorbed--as had all of us--that we had given no heed to the passing hours. Abruptly I realized that the room was chill with early morning; through the window I saw the flush of the eastern sky. Martt followed my glance. "Why, it's dawn! Brett's been talking all night." Brett said strangely: "Too long! Father, this gentle race living out there in such seeming security had just been visited by beings from the great world outside it. A world known to them only by legend of their past ages which they scarce knew to be true or false. Those three assailants of Leela's--and other men like them--had suddenly appeared as dwindling giants coming down out of largeness unfathomable. They had already destroyed a city. . ." Brett's voice had risen; he was talking faster now; and there was a touch of wildness in his tone--a wildness perhaps born of his exhaustion, and the emotional stress under which I knew now he had been laboring all night. "Our arrival there, Father--the three assailants of Leela--I think the larger, him whom we have called the 'giant'--I think he is leader of the invaders from that greater world. Our appearance--our own power to change size which perhaps he observed there in the forest--must have frightened him. The invaders vanished. But at the end of those months we lived there--another of these giants was seen. "They're coming back again--to threaten Leela and all her people! I came here to see you, Father--to tell you all I've told--and to leave Martt. But I'm going back--to do what I can against this threat--this invasion. And I want to go back to Leela. She----" "She was afraid to come with us," Martt put in. "I wanted her to come--and now I want to go back with Brett. We've been arguing about it for days--he won't let me go back with him--he's stubborn----" Brett reiterated: "I'm going back. I'm going alone. As soon as I've slept--I've got to sleep now--you, you'll excuse me--let me take a good long sleep--I'm too tired to argue about it now. . . Good night, Frannie, dear--good night, Father--good night, Frank." He was presently gone from the room. Dr. Gryce had been sitting beside me and I put my hand on his arm. His face was quite colorless; his voice, suddenly very old and helpless, was murmuring, "I don't want him to go out there again. I'm afraid--and I don't want him to do it. . ." _CHAPTER 10_ THE SOLITARY VOYAGER "But Brett," I said, "there are one or two things I want to ask you. About your return voyage--for instance----"