What was happening, Alice did not know. She could not read radio messages, but she knew that only something of grave import could have made Fernand rush like that to the radio. She strained her ears, but heard nothing. Her hopes rose with a great bound with the thought that perhaps Ralph was on his way to her. Perhaps it was he signalling. She had been sure that he would follow her as soon as possible, and now her dark eyes brightened with hope. At this moment Lylette, without a glance in her direction, closed the door, and Alice was once more alone and a prisoner behind bolted doors. It was then that she gave way to her loneliness and despair. She knew that if it had been Ralph signalling, Fernand would at once, having received the news that the scientist was in pursuit, set about making plans to elude him. She knew that Fernand was desperate, that his life, under the law, was forfeit for this crime he had committed. He would stop at nothing. Instinctively, she felt that he would destroy her and himself, rather than be taken. Certainly, he would not hesitate to murder Ralph if the opportunity presented itself. She flung herself upon the couch, and burst into tears of agony, and terror. Suddenly she sprang to her feet, still sobbing, wide-eyed with dread of what she knew not. The space flyer had stopped. The throb of the machinery had stilled and the flyer was hanging motionless in space. Standing in the middle of the room, rigid with suspense, Alice waited with beating heart. Suddenly she heard the sound of rapid steps on the stairs. Now they halted at the door, and someone fumbled at the bolts and locks. The next instant the door was flung wide open, and Llysanorh' the Martian stood upon the threshold! 14 THE TERROR OF THE COMET During the next few days Ralph passed midway between Earth and Venus. This was the spectacle that at times greatly increased the transport space flyer travel between Earth and Mars, many of the inhabitants of both planets making the long journey simply to get a view of the beautiful planet Venus. Ralph ran almost parallel for a time with the two planets (see diagram), Venus to his left, Earth to his right. Although he was quite near the former he could hardly see it, as the bright rays of the sun precluded detailed observation. A few days later, however, it had swung sufficiently far enough to the left to afford him occasional glimpses of its beauties. Ralph worked almost continuously in his laboratory in the conning tower. In the course of the week since he had left the Earth, he had only catnapped for about two hours, since sleep was impossible.