Like painted puppets carved from wood, the men and women on the deck stood and gazed at the appalling ruin of that fell disaster. It was only a moment in the happening, but a moment that bore the burden of many moments in its intensity. * * * * * The pillar of light moved, and those that watched saw that everything that it touched it destroyed. It swayed toward them, and the deck crumpled away before its advance. It swung back. In its path was one of the massive steel turrets of the cruiser. The light played against it. The turret tottered; the steel of it seemed to melt and disintegrate. The entire structure crumbled and crashed down, disappearing through the gash in the decking. With the fall of the turret the light vanished also. From the companionway came the horrid remnant of a man who crossed the deck to Everson. One of his arms had been torn away between the wrist and elbow. His features were blackened and marred beyond recognition. An eye was gone. His clothing hung about him in tatters, and the tatters were burning. He halted in front of the lieutenant and raised the maimed arm, from which the blood was spurting, in the semblance of a salute. "The ship--sinks. The--sea--on fire." He croaked the words brokenly, and fell, and died at the feet of his commander. Up through the gap in her bottom surged the sea water, and the ship began to settle. The _Minnetonka_ was sinking. Everson pulled himself out of the daze which in that moment of dread had benumbed his faculties. A glance he gave to the settling decks and the useless boats. He had neither men nor the time to unship them. He turned to his companions. "Those who have prayers to say had best say them; for this is the end of our traveling," he said simply. Suiting his action to the words, he knelt on the deck. At the side of Polaris Janess appeared the red-haired stranger. As he had once before, he now caught up the hand of the son of the snows. Holding it, he looked into Polaris's face and smiled, a fearless and whimsical smile. "A strong hand, my brother, strong to hold a kingdom. This is not your death that is coming. I will save you and these with you. I promise," he said--and the marvel to Polaris and to the others was that the man who before had been speechless now spoke readily and in excellent English. Not waiting for the answer, which, in his surprise, Polaris was slow to give, the stranger left his side and ran across the deck. He strapped his odd mask over his face, clapped his helmet on his head and fastened it. He caught up from the deck a length of steel chain. With a run and a leap, he was gone--over the fast settling rail and into the sea. Scarcely had the golden helmet disappeared over the side when the waves crossed the decks to meet the water that was spouting from the interior of the cruiser. "A madman!" Polaris muttered. He turned and gathered Rose Emer in his arms. She clung to him, sobbing softly.