Forty hours later, Arcot was the ship at top speed once again. The four men had gone to after more than thirty hours of hard work. That, with the of under four gravities, as they had while the ship was going through the storm, was to make them sleep soundly.
Arcot had the others and had on the drive after their course.
After that was done, there was little to do, and time to on Arcot's hands. He to make a of the when the others awoke. The might have opened in the metal that would not be from the the was from the envelope.
Accordingly, he got out the spacesuits, making sure the were full and all was ready. Then he into the library, got out some books, and set about some calculations he had in mind.
When Morey woke, some hours later, he Arcot still at work on his calculations.
"Hey!" he said, himself into the chair Arcot, "I you'd be on the for more rays!"
"Curious delusion, wasn't it?" asked Arcot blandly. "As a of fact, I've been doing some figuring. I think our of meeting another such region is about one in a million million. Considering those chances, I don't think we need to worry. I don't see how we met one—but the of one are than two."
Just then Fuller his in the door.
"Oh," he said, "so you're at it already? Well, I wonder if one of you tell me just what it was we hit? I've been so I haven't had a to think."
"Don't take the now, then," Morey. "You might your brain."
"Please!" Fuller pleaded, wincing. "Not breakfast. Just what that was."
"We came to a region in space where are created," Arcot.
Fuller frowned. "But there's nothing out here to rays!"
Arcot nodded. "True. I think I know their source, but I I'll say they are here. I want to do more work on this. My idea for an energy than any other in the has been confirmed.
"At any rate, they are in that space, a perfect vacuum, and the space there is by the at work. It is and out of the normal, curvature, and it was that spot in space that us about so.
"When we entered, using the space-strain drive, the space around the ship, as it was, with the region of the and the ship out. The of space that the ship was sometimes and sometimes out by the space around it, and the of and from the main power to the the electric that through the air. I notice we all got a from that. The was by the of current, and that magnetic the of the ship to up to the of electric in the walls."
Fuller looked around at the of the ship. "Well, the Ancient Mariner sure took a beating."
"As a of fact, I was about that," said Arcot. "Strong as that is, it might easily have been in that of force. If it to two 'space waves' at once, it might have it an in two different at once, which would the with a to thousands of tons. I out the up front, and I think we might out there and take a look at the old boat. When Wade up—well, well—speak of the devil! My, doesn't he look energetic?"
Wade's was in through the library door. He was and his eyes. It was he had not yet washed, and his beard, which was and black on his cheeks, to his need for a shave. The others had into the library.
"Wade," said Arcot, "we're going outside, and we have to have someone in here to the airlock. Suppose you to work on the adornment; there's an in the you can use, if you wish. The of us are going outside." Then Arcot's voice serious. "By the way, don't try any little like starting off with a little acceleration. I don't think you would—you've got good sense—but I like to make certain. If you did, we'd be left behind, and you'd us in the of space."
It wasn't a idea to contemplate. Each of the had a radio for with each other and with the ship, but they would only a hundred miles. A step in space!
Wade his head, grinning. "I have no to be left all by myself on this ship, thank you. You don't need to worry."
A minutes later, Arcot, Morey, and Fuller out of the and set to work, using power to the for any of possible strain.
The flashlights, as they were with for power, were actually powerful searchlights, but in the of space, the were invisible. They only be when they the at such an that they were directly into the observer's eyes. The metal wall, being transparent, was naturally invisible, and the relux, one hundred of the light, did not illuminated, for is the result of the of light.
It was necessary to look closely and pass the over every square of the surface. However, a would be rough, and hence would light and be more visible than otherwise.
To their great relief, after an hour and a of inspection, none of them had any of a crack, and they into the ship to the voyage.
Again they through space, the ships them closely. Hour after hour the ship on. Now they had something else to do. They were at work calculating some problems that Arcot had in with the of motion that had been in the at the of the they were approaching. Since these about the of the entire galaxy, it was possible to the of the entire by the from stars. Their results were not exact, but they were enough. They the to have a of two hundred and fifty suns, only a little less than the home Galaxy. It was an average-sized nebula.
Still the hours as they came nearer their goal—gradually, despite their speed of twenty-four light years second!
At the end of the second day after their trouble with the field, they stopped for observation. They were now so near the Island Universe that the spread out in a ahead of them.
"About three hundred thousand light years distant, I should guess," said Morey.
"We know our accurately," said Wade. "Why can't we the two of these and then go on in?"
"Good idea," Arcot. "Take the angle, will you, Morey? I'll the ship."
After taking their measurements, they for one hour. Knowing this from experience, they were able to the of this galaxy. It out to be on the order of ninety thousand light years.
They were now much closer; they seemed, indeed, on the very of the universe. The thousands of them, across their more and more—a the of men had at such close range! This had not yet to stars, and in its there still the cloud that would be and planets. The cloud was visible, with a milky light like some light bulb.
It was to the size of the thing; it looked only like some model, for they were still over a of a light years from it.
Morey looked up from his calculations. "I think we should be there in about three hours. Suppose we go at full speed for about two hours and then to low speed?"
"You're the boss, Morey," said Arcot. "Let's go!"
They the ship about once more and started again. As they nearer to this new universe, they to more in the trip. Things were to happen!
The ship ahead at full speed for two hours. They see nothing at that the two ships that were their ever-present companions. Then they stopped once more.
About them, they saw great shining. One was so close they see it as a with the eye. But they not see clearly; the entire sky was and the that were not close were out. The room to warm.
"Hey! Your calculations were off!" called Arcot. "We're out of here!"
Suddenly the air and they were traveling at low speed under the drive of the space-strain apparatus. The entire space about them was with a glow. In ten minutes, the was gone and Arcot cut the drive.
They were out in ordinary dark space, with its star-studded blackness.
"What was the with my calculations?" Morey wanted to know.
"Oh, nothing much," Arcot said casually. "You were only about thirty thousand light years off. We right in the middle of the cloud, and we were through it at a relative of around sixteen thousand miles second! No wonder we got hot!
"We're lucky we didn't come near any in the process; if we had, we have had to the coil."
"It's a wonder we didn't up at that velocity," said Fuller.
"The wasn't enough," Arcot explained. "That is a than the best pump give you on Earth; there are than there are in a radio tube.
"But now that we're out of that, let's see if we can a planet. No need to take going in; if we want to the star again, we can take photos as we leave. If we don't want to it, we would just waste film.
"I'll it to Morey to the star we want."
Morey set to work at once with the telescope; trying to the nearest star of type G-0, as had been upon. He also wanted to one of the same magnitude, or brilliance. At last, after such suns, he one which to all his wishes. The ship was turned, and they started toward the they had to find.
As they through space, the them, they saw the one which was their goal. A bright, slowly point on the cross-hairs of the telescope.
"How is it?" asked Arcot.
"About thirty light centuries," Morey, the star eagerly.
They on in silence. Then, suddenly, Morey out: "Look! It's gone!"
"What happened?" asked Arcot in surprise.
Morey his in thought. "The star for an instant, then disappeared. Evidently, it was a G-0 which had up most of the that use for fuel. When that happens, a star to collapse, in to the by the toward the center of the star.
"Then other to take place, and, to the of the star, a is produced. The star away most of its envelope, only the core. In other words, it a white dwarf." He paused and looked at Arcot. "I wonder if that star did have any planets?"
They all what he meant. What was the of beings sun had to a tiny, cold point in the sky?
Suddenly, there them the of the star, a already, and Arcot the ship over to the motion drive at once. He they must be close. Before them was the angry of the white star.
Arcot the ship a to one side, in close to the star. It was not hot, despite the high temperature and radiation, for the surface was too small.
They about the star in a parabolic orbit, for, at their velocity, the sun not them in a orbit.
"Our velocity, relative to this star, is high," Arcot announced. "I'm in close so that I can use the star's as a brake. At this distance, it will be about six gravities, and we can add to that a drive of four gravities.
"Suppose you look around and see if there are any planets. We can free and for another star if there aren't."
Even at ten of deceleration, it took hours to their speed to a point which would make it possible to for any of the sun.
Morey to the and the sky with the telectroscope.
It was difficult to the light from the weak star was so dim, but he one. He took on it and on the sun. A little later, he took more readings. Because of the of the ship, the were not too accurate, but his calculations it to be hundred miles out.
They were rapidly, and soon their had been to less than four miles a second. When they the planet, Arcot the ship into an around it and to down.
Through the clear of the room, the men looked upon a bleak, world.
