VI. TREACHERY It was after five o’clock when all the reports were in. Five projectiles, larger than the former, and each destructive over a fifty mile radius, had struck the earth. The one which had so shaken Chicago had struck at Rochelle, Illinois, completely destroying that city and spreading death and destruction up to the very suburbs of Chicago on one side and across the Mississippi into Iowa on the other. The second projectile had demolished Cincinnati, Covington and surrounding cities and hamlets with terrific loss of life. The third had struck squarely in the center of Birmingham, England, destroying, killing and maiming as far as Stafford, Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Worcester and Rugby. The fourth, alighting in the harbor of Tunis, had sunk and destroyed shipping, and created a tidal wave which had drowned many people on shore. The fifth had laid waste to Quito, Ecuador and the surrounding territory. At five thirty, a report from Peiping stated that Khobr and nearby towns had been destroyed or suffered terrific casualties from a sixth projectile. Leaving Roger in charge, Ted promptly took a super-electroplane to Washington. While he was closeted that morning in conference with the President, fifty aerial fleets of army engineers left the Capital, flying in various directions, but with their destinations kept secret. During the day, representatives of various nations were called into the conference. Each representative, as he left the President’s office, was seen to speed away in a fast electroplane. Not one representative of a Mongoloid Asiatic nation was asked into conference. After a busy day, Ted rushed back to his office where he found Roger up to his eyebrows in work, endeavoring to placate his wife for his tardiness to dinner, over his wrist radiophone. “Listen, Leah,” he was saying. “I simply can’t get away now. I’m trying to manage things alone, you know, and—hello! Ted’s here now. Be home, toot sweet, honey. Bye bye.” “You married men—” began Ted. “Have got it all over you single ones in many ways,” interrupted Roger. “Get things going in Washington?” “Pretty well. I’ve organized our defense force, and have warned every nation that we have reason to believe is friendly. Before the moon gets into favorable firing position again we’ll have enough powerful magnetic poles set up to take care of the United States, and if the other countries keep on their toes they’ll be ready, too.” “How do you know the poles will work?”