woulddislodge itself from the cradle it rested in with a burst of roaringflame. That in another few seconds it would shoot into the blackenedsky, and in a few short minutes would reach unbelievable heights in theheavens, to the edge of space itself before the automatic controlsreleased the instrument section to be returned safely to earth.
And the seconds passed.
"Time!"
Trent heard the voice of Mathieson rap the word out sharply.
And then there was a roar of sound from the cradled rocket.
A spear of flame shot from its base, exploding the night into abrilliant display of pyrotechnics.
* * * * *
The roaring grew louder as the tremendous power of the now unleashedrockets took hold of the night air. Fred watched as the flames grewwhite-hot bright, and then he saw the gigantic rocket shudder in itscradle.
The shudder grew into a spasm of movement, and then slowly, but steadilygrowing faster, the rocket lifted from its cradle.
Fred's eyes were fastened on the rocket now, a feeling of awe sweepingthrough him. He suddenly realized how puny man was against the forcesman could unleash. Forces that here were being utilized to scientificends, but forces that upon a moment's notice, could in turn be unleashedupon the rest of humanity in a burning, devastating terror of death.
And as the thought flitted across his mind, he saw the rocket gatherspeed as it left its cradle. It was now rising in a swift, sure arc,lashing into the dark sky like a fury.
And then the terrible speed of the rocket took hold against the forcesof gravity and it shot into the heavens, its roaring becoming a fadinghiss of sound, the brilliant flash of flame from its exploding tubes, areceding beacon of light that gradually faded to a pinpoint far overtheir heads.
After the terrific thunder of sound that had accompanied the launchingof the rocket, the sudden silence now was almost palpable. The gatheredwitnesses stood mutely, awe still in their eyes, their ears stillringing with the sound of the takeoff.
Finally the voice of Mathieson broke the quiet night air.
"Well, gentlemen, that's it. Tomorrow morning we'll scout the returnedsection. It should land somewhere in the open country to the south.We've computed that pretty carefully. I guess that's about all for--"
His voice broke off suddenly and Fred Trent heard what must havedistracted the scientist.
A man was shouting from the vicinity of the second rocket, and as theylooked, a dim figure could be seen staggering away from the side of theother rocket, coming slowly toward them.
"Good Lord!" Mathieson breathed. "What's that man doing out there? Hecould have been killed!"
Then suddenly they saw the staggering figure stumble on the ground.
And then Trent and the others were racing across the ground to the sideof the fallen man.
When they reached him, Mathieson came forward and knelt beside thefigure.
"Why, it's one of the guards!" he said in shocked surprise.
And it was then that the strange feeling of foreboding hit Fred again.As he knelt beside the groaning guard, it swept over him in a chillingwave. He lifted the man's head from the ground and the guard opened hiseyes. He recognized the face of Mathieson as the scientist lookedanxiously in his direction.
"Good heavens, man, what happened? You were ordered to leave fiveminutes before launching time!"
The guard's mouth opened as he struggled to a sitting position. Theman's hand reached up and touched the back of his head painfully.
"Sir--Gaddon--Dr. Gaddon attacked me ..."
There was a momentary stunned silence as the soldier's words sunk in onthe gathered men.
"_What?_" Mathieson's voice was incredulous.
And as Trent watched the soldier nod his head, the suspicion he had feltsuddenly overwhelmed him in a grim realization. Even as the soldierblurted out pain-filled words, Trent knew somehow what he was going tosay.
"Gaddon--he pulled a gun on me ... He forced me to the far side ofnumber two--he said he was going up in the rocket--he said he hadplans--then he hit me with the gun ... I came to when the rocket wentoff--I was away from the blasts, luckily ..."
Then the soldier was standing on his feet again, swaying as he fought toclear his fogged senses.
But Trent was no longer aware of the soldier. And he saw that Mathiesonwas no longer looking at the guard. For a brief instant their eyes met,and Trent saw a stunned look in the scientist's, then Fred's gaze sweptup into the night. Up into the darkened sky where, miles above them, thehurtling rocket was even now reaching the apex of its flight.
Up where a man rode on a perilous trip into the unknown.
* * * * *
Gaddon hunched in the darkness of the rocket, waiting. He had countedthe remaining minutes off, one by one. And he knew that finally themoment was at hand.
It would be too late now to stop him. They had not noticed his absence,and if they had, they would not delay the launching for him. He hadtaken that fact into consideration.
And now that the moment was close to completion, he felt a glowing senseof triumph within him. He would now show those fools, and especiallyMathieson. He would prove conclusively that cosmic rays were what he hadsaid they were--a source of the energy of life, a fountain from whichyouth and vitality would pour, making his body immortal. He would godown in history as one of the greats of science. A man who had riskedhis life to prove his theory. A man who would be the first to achievethe goal of the ages, the dream of the philosophers, eternal life.
The triumph would be his. _All_ his!
And the rocket tubes exploded into sound.
Gaddon tensed in the darkness, gripping the safety straps he hadattached to himself. Beside him he felt the cat let out a frightenedmewing sound as the roar of the exploding rocket power grew. He felt thefurry body rubbing against his side, seeking sanctuary against thisdread sound.
And then the rocket trembled with sudden movement.
It was slow at first, but then it grew faster, and Gaddon felt a faintintensity of fear in his temples at the shuddering power of thatmovement.
And then he felt the blood draining from his head, making him faint withdizziness as the rocket accelerated suddenly into a terrible burst ofspeed.
He could feel it moving swiftly through the atmosphere now, feel thetortured rush of air that whipped against the sides of the projectile ina moaning dirge that mingled with the roar of the exploding rocket fuel.
And as the seconds passed, he became accustomed somewhat to theincreasing velocity of the projectile, and the dizziness passed from hishead. Then he became aware of the trembling body of the cat beside himand a soft laughter rose in his throat.
But it died stillborn as the roar of the rockets grew to a thunderinghiss now in his ears.
And he felt the cool sweetness of the automatically released oxygen fillthe chamber about him and he drank it into his lungs hungrily.
With each second now, he knew the projectile was racing higher into therarefied atmosphere, heading steadily out to where the air of earthwould be almost non-existent.
And a grim smile crossed his face in the darkness, for he knew thatshortly the rocket would enter the outermost layers and the cosmic rayswould play with all their energies upon the projectile.
And he tensed suddenly.
There was a glow that sprang into being in the chamber about him.
It was dim at first. But it grew steadily in intensity around him,revealing the interior of the chamber in its weird light.
An exultation swept through him then. He knew they had entered the fieldof the cosmic rays, and that the manifestation of light he saw was aresult of those forces of nature.
Beside him the cat mewed plaintively in fear and huddled closer againstGaddon's body. His eyes watched the tiny creature for a moment and thenswept around the large chamber at the massed instrument panels that wererecording every minute fraction of a second of the flight.
And the glow
grew.
And suddenly the hissing of the exploding rocket fuel began to diminishin volume. The apex of the flight was nearly at hand then.
And the glow around Gaddon began to color. From a weird phosphorescentwhiteness it changed to a dull but intense yellow. And with the change,a strange feeling crept through his body.
* * * * *
It tugged at him with invisible hands. It played upon his every nerve,his every fiber, the innermost feelings of his sensibility. It grewstronger, this alien probing within him, grew as the glow pulsed in thechamber around him.
And suddenly, instead of a fierce feeling of triumph, a sense of dreadswept through him. He fought at the gripping sensations within him,tried to dispel them, to no avail. They grew stronger, like invisiblehands that were changing the very essence of life inside him.
And as the thought passed through his suddenly tortured mind, herealized that was exactly what was taking place. A change. A changebeyond his comprehension, beyond the understanding of any man. Beyond--
And