"If we aren't somebody's been kidding us," said Gloria, irreverently. "But are you? You're all blue!" "Of course," said the captain. "It was the comet. We knew it struck in America somewhere but didn't know where or what it did. What's the matter with your ship?" He indicated the wrecked and leaking bow. "She seems to be down by the head." "Oh, that was a valentine from the birds," said Ben. "Can you give us quarters on your vessel? There aren't many of us." Captain Entwhistle seemed to come out of a dream. "Of course, of course. Come on. We can discuss things better in my cabin." As they mounted to the deck of the _Brisbane_, even the trained sailors, the light blue of their faces oddly at variance with the dark blue of their uniforms, could not refrain from staring at the colonists. They crowded into the captain's cabin past rows of eager blue faces. "I suggest," said Captain Entwhistle, "that we begin by telling each other how this happened. I can scarcely credit the fact that you are human and can walk and talk. Would any of you care for a whiskey and soda?" "No, thanks," said Murray, the spirit of fun stirring in him, "but I'll have a drink of lubricating oil if you can find any." The naval officer looked at him, and remarked, a trifle stiffly, "Certainly, if you wish. Williams--" "Oh, don't mind him," Ben Ruby cut in. "Pardon me, Captain, he can drink lubricating oil perfectly well, but he's just joking with you. You were saying about the comet--" "Why, you knew that the big comet struck the earth as predicted, didn't you? It was on the morning of February sixteenth, last year--evening of February fifteenth by American time. Even in our country, which is around on the other side of the earth, it caused a good deal of damage. The gases it set free put everybody to sleep and caused a lot of wreckage. Our scientists say the gases of the comet in some unexplained way altered the iron in the hæmoglobin of our blood to cobalt. It seems to work just as well, but that's why we're all blue. I don't quite understand it myself, but you know how these medical Johnnies are. Now what happened to you people?" "May I ask something first?" said Beeville. "What day is this?" "August eighteenth, 1946," said the captain as though slightly baffled by the question. "Good God!" said the scientist. "Then we were there for over a year!" "Yes," said Ben. "All of us you see here and several others returned to consciousness about the same time, two months ago. We know nothing of what the comet did to us or how this change occurred except that when we woke up we were just what you see. Dr. Beeville has been experimenting with a view to finding out what happened, but he hasn't made much progress so far. All we know is that we're composed of metal that doesn't rust easily, make our meals off electricity, and find the taste of any kind of oil agreeable. And the birds--" he broke off with a gesture.