The girl whirled impatiently on the others. "Hurry!" she cried. "If you won't take me, I'll go by myself. I must get to that fire, whatever it is!" She put a hand to her heart. "I must! I must!" Then she faced the green glare again, smiling to herself. "You can't do that!" a carrier cried. "Well, then, you take me," she said over her shoulder. Grumbling, they bent to the conveyance's poles, and Koroby lithely slipped to the cushions. They turned off the path, plodded through the deep grass toward the light. The litter lurched violently as their feet caught in the tangled grass, and clouds of fine dust arose from the disturbed blades. * * * * * By the time they reached the source of the light, they were quite demoralized. The musicians had not accompanied them, preferring to carry the message to Yasak in the Stone City that his prospective bride had gone off on a mad journey. The bearers were powdered grey with dust, striped with blood where the dry grass-stems had cut them. They were exhausted and panting. Koroby was walking beside them, for they had abandoned the litter finally. Her blue drapery was ripped and rumpled; her carefully-arranged braids had fallen loose; dust on her face had hid its youthful color, aging her. The expedition emerged from the jungle on a sandy stretch of barren land. A thousand feet away a gigantic metal object lay on the sand, crumpled as though it had dropped from a great distance. It had been globular before the crash, and was pierced with holes like windows. What could it possibly be? A house? But whoever heard of a metal house? Why, who could forge such a thing! Yasak's house in the City had iron doors, and they were considered one of the most wonderful things of the age. It would take a giant to make such a ponderous thing as this. A house, fallen from the sky? The green lights poured out of its crumpled part, and a strange bubbling and hissing filled the air. Koroby stopped short, clasping her hands and involuntarily uttering a squeal of joyful excitement, for between her and the blaze, his eyes on the destruction, stood a man..... He was very tall, and his shoulders were very wide. Oh, but he looked like a man, and stood like one--even though his hands were folded behind his back and he was probably dejected. A man in a house from the sky-- Koroby hastily grasped a corner of her gown, moistened it with saliva, and scrubbed her face. She rearranged her hair, and stepped forward. "Don't go there--it's magic--he'll cast a spell--!" one of the bearers whispered urgently, reaching after her, but Koroby pushed him away. The litter-carriers watched the girl go, unconsciously huddling together as if feeling the need for combined strength. They withdrew into the jungle's shadows, and waited there anxiously, ready at any moment to run away.