Here the unbelievable happened. No sooner did the avalanche touch the flames, than it began turning to water. It seemed that the heat of those flames was so intense and powerful that had the avalanche been a block of solid ice it would not have made any marked difference. As it was, the entire avalanche was being reduced to hot water and steam even before it reached the main shaft of the flame. A torrent of hot water rushing down the mountain was all that remained of the menacing avalanche; and while the water did some damage, it was insignificant. For several minutes after the melting of the avalanche the flames continued to stream from the aerial, and then faded away. Ralph 124C 41+, in New York, four thousand miles distant, had turned off the power of his ultra-generator. He climbed down his glass ladder, stepped over to the Telephot, and found that Alice had already reached her instrument. She looked at the man smiling in the faceplate of the Telephot almost dumb with an emotion that came very near to being reverence. The voice that reached him was trembling and he could see her struggle for coherent speech. "It's gone," she gasped; "what _did_ you do?" "Melted it." "Melted it!" she echoed, "I--" Before she could continue, the door in her room burst violently open and in rushed a fear-stricken old man. Alice flew to his arms, crying, "Oh father--" Ralph 124C 41+ with discretion disconnected the Telephot. 2 TWO FACES Feeling the need of fresh air and quiet after the strain of the last half hour, Ralph 124C 41+ climbed the few steps leading from the laboratory to the roof and sat down on a bench beneath the revolving aerial. The hum of the great city came faintly from below. Aeroflyers dotted the sky. From time to time, trans-oceanic or trans-continental air liners passed with a low vibration, scarcely audible. At times a great aircraft would come close--within 500 yards perhaps--when the passengers would crane their necks to get a good view of his "house," if such it could be called. Indeed, his "house," which was a round tower, 650 feet high, and thirty in diameter, built entirely of crystal glass-bricks and steelonium, was one of the sights of New York. A grateful city, recognizing his genius and his benefits to humanity, had erected the great tower for him on a plot where, centuries ago, Union Square had been. The top of the tower was twice as great in circumference as the main building, and in this upper part was located the research laboratory, famous throughout the world. An electromagnetic tube elevator ran down the tower on one side of the building, all the rooms being circular in shape, except for the space taken up by the elevator.