Every dome man was stretched out on the floor! As Dick stepped within, his heart almost stopped beating--but they were only unconscious! His breath escaped in a long sigh, after holding it for almost a minute. Brown and Martin were trying to revive the prone forms. The control men lay beside the others, brought there by the two earthmen. The eyes of first one then another, slowly opened, and they looked around in amazement. Cold affected them like an anaesthetic, causing complete unconsciousness. When the ship reached normal warmth, they felt as good as ever. It hadn't been cold enough to freeze them, in their section, and not a man was injured. When they understood what happened, the men hurried back to the controls. * * * * * The heavy coils were soon fastened around the tube, and it was filled through a valve on the upper side. A gauge was set to register the pressure of the vapor within. They decided to raise steam pressure enough to equal the compression of the fuel. It required fifteen minutes for the water to reach the boiling point, while they nervously held their watches. They could keep track of minutes and hours, although there was no longer day and night in their lives. According to their figures, they now ate dinner at three o'clock in the morning, and went to bed in the early afternoon. They held their breath when the steam valve was opened. It moved slowly under Dick's fingers, while a thousand questions raced through every mind. "Would it silence the blasts? Would it put them out of commission permanently? Was that moment, and the turning of that valve, the end of existence for them all?" Dick glanced at the gauge on the tube, then jerked the valve shut. The pressure was still far below that of the fuel. He turned the heating unit on full, and watched the gauge climb higher. They didn't understand the numerals of the domed cities, but knew the pressure was getting terrifically high. When he opened the valve again, the steam gauge _did not rise_! It held almost steady. The hiss of escaping steam, sounded through the heavy metal faintly. The tubes began to fire spasmodically! Dick bit his lips, as he opened the valve a little wider. John McCarthy wiped the sweat from his forehead, as every face turned white as chalk. _They fired evenly again!!!_ The steam was working through the mixture--_discharging through the blasts_! * * * * * They felt their bodies sway under the effects of acceleration and exultance filled them. There was _some_ reaction, at least! Morquil appeared on the ramp, his face lighted by a smile. "_What have you done?_ The ship is traveling at _almost twice the speed that it was before_! Is it all right?" Dick sat down hard. Not a man in the crowd was able to answer. Success had left them speechless. Barrow was the first to recover his voice. "Are you _sure_?"