[Footnote 18: _Reno Shopping News_, Mar. 16, 1950, by Geo. S. Benson, President Harding College, Searcy, Ark.] CHAPTER V _The Bee Hive_ When I met the Lieutenant the following day, he smiled somberly. "My emotional outburst yesterday was a relief to me," he said, "but I would have preferred having it in privacy. Since I am now calm I have here a typewritten copy of the narrative of what happened to me at Amboria, the city on Mars. * * * * * "I don't want to take up your time in giving you a detailed description of my room. I will leave it to your own imagination that it was more beautifully decorated and comfortable than any we Earth people can conceive. "I was in a daze, pleasantly exhilarated by my strong feeling for Xora, and utterly bewildered by the wonderful experiences and new ways of living." Several sheets of paper on a small table attracted my attention. It was a message in English from Sun-Rank Banard, saying that my crew members and I could present ourselves any day that week to the airport for instruction in flying and traffic rules. There was also on the table what seemed to be a large Ingersoll pocket watch lying on a couple of sheets of paper. Picking the watch up, I saw another message, which stated that the instrument was made especially for our use on Mars, but that, like their radios, it could not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere. The front dial had about a hundred consecutively numbered lines, with a needle attached to the center. After tuning in, by pointing the needle at the number I had looked up in a directory lying there, I could contact and speak to any person I chose. Listed in the directory were not only the names of my new acquaintances on Mars, but those of my fellow crew members, my Earth friends as well. In the center of the dial was a very much smaller dial which gave the exact time. By tuning in to the weather bureau, I could learn of the weather conditions twenty-four hours in advance. The message also informed me that as I increased the number of my acquaintances, I could remove the present dial and put on one of the few additional dials lying on the table. After tuning in and dialing the number, by unscrewing the back cover and placing it to my ear, and talking into the back of the instrument, I could hear and speak to the person, no matter where he might be, unless a red light on the instrument indicated that he was busy talking to someone else. While talking, I could look at the instrument and see clearly, not only the person, but even all his facial expressions. I could keep the instrument in my pocket when I was awake; and if someone wished to speak to me, the instrument would inflate and deflate with a throbbing movement, which I could feel immediately.