There was a gruesome task for Drake and me. In monstrous size we carried the dead body of Togaro as far out into the ocean as we could wade, then fastened rocks to it, and a rope. Then, swimming, we towed it a thousand miles farther and sank it into the ocean depths. We want to forget all that now. When this narrative is finished--as it will be in a moment--I want to forget it forever. That was the past; the future holds so much of peace and beauty. There is for me the glory of Dianne and her love. We are living in a cottage by the sea. Drake and Ahlma live near us. Father is in New York. He says he would not live with a married couple--even with such beautiful and amiable daughters-in-law as Ahlma and Dianne. But he visits us often. There is nothing of the princess about Dianne now, save that she is princess of our little cottage. We have no servant. When our family is larger we will have one, but just now Dianne is playing at housekeeping. She was in here half an hour ago, urging me to stop my writing. "It's nine o'clock, Frank. Bright moonlight. I'm going to build a fire. Camp fire--I've got clams. We'll bake them for Ahlma and Drake when they get back from the pictures." "Right, Dianne. Go do that." "But, Frank--" "Get it started. Remember your signal fire on Bird's Nest? Let's make the signal again--like we used to when we were kids--" "Come on." "Can't--but I'll be through soon." She went away, but she came back after awhile. "The fire's built. Come on, Frank." I imagine I ignored her. But she came again, just a minute ago. She called in: "Oh, Frank!" "Yes, Dianne?" "Come on. Please stop." "Presently." "Frank Ferrule, you can make your own smoke signals for Drake and Ahlma. I'm going to bed." I think I had better stop. THE END * * * * * A SCIENCE-FICTION MASTERPIECE A beautiful girl comes from nowhere to warn a world against a dreadful peril--Giants rise up out of the sea to threaten unsuspecting cities and towns--And two young men battle an Atomic Napoleon to save their girls from his lustful clutches and a world from his greedy ambitions. AMAZING--the journey through smallness to a world of the atomic hidden in the heart of a meteor! STARTLING--the destruction of a planet by one man's wrath! ASTOUNDING--the invasion of America by an army of giants tall as the Empire State Building! PRINCESS OF THE ATOM is a long-sought masterpiece by a leading imaginative writer, Ray Cummings. This unusual novel introduces the new series of AVON FANTASY NOVELS, designed for the millions who enjoy the new thrill of Science-Fiction. RAY CUMMINGS, author of "Princess of the Atom," has been called "the dean of fantasy writers." As assistant to Thomas A. Edison, he became well-grounded in science and its potentialities, and has since achieved a distinguished reputation as an author of outstandingly imaginative novels and short stories.