Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-11-17

Hash burst from their war engine, and
instantaneously q shiver ran through
| tho frame Of the flagship. Tho air with
IN quivered with strange pulsations and
seemed suddenly to have assumed the
temperature of blast furnace
Veal gasped for breath Our throats
and lungs seemed scorched in tho act of
breathing. Some fell unconscious upon
the floor. The marksmen, carrying the
disintegrators ready for use, staggered,
and one of them dropped his instru.
ment.
But we had not been destroyed like
our comrades before us. In moment
the wave of heat passed Those who
had fallen recovered from their momen-
tary stupor and staggered to their feet
The electrical stecrsman stood hest
tating at his post.
Move on, said Mr.. Edison sternly,
his features set with determination and
his eyes afire. 1--WE ere still beyond
their effective range. Let us get closer
in order 90 mako sure work when we
strike"
the heart beats of its inmates. The other
members Of the squadron, thinking for
/ the moment that disaster had overtaken
the flagship, had paused and seemed to
be mcditating flight.
Signal them to move on" said Mr..
Edison.
The signal was given, and the circle
of electrical ships closed in upon the as
teroid.
In the meantime Mr. Edison had been
donning his alright suit. Before we
/ could fully comprehend his intention
he had passed through the double trap
! ped door which gave access to the ex-
terror of the car without permitting the
loss Of air and was standing upon what
served for tho deck of the ship.
In his band he carried disintegrator.
With n quick motion he sighted it.
AS quickly as possible sprang to his
/ side. j was just in time to note the ia
miliar blue CLEAN about the instrn-
mcnt which indicated that its terrific
energies were at work. Tho whirring
sound was absent because here in open
space, where there was no atmosphere,
there could bo no sound.
My eyes were fixed upon the Martians'
engine, which had just dealt Us stag
Rcring but not fatal blow, and par.icu-
larly / noticed polished knob project.
ing from it, which seemed to have been
bolt emanated.
A moment later the knob disappeared.
The irresistible vibrations darted from
tho electrical disintegrator had fallen
upon it and instantaneously shattered i,
into atoms.
THAT fixes thcm," said Mr.. Edison,
turning to me, with a smile.
And indeed it did fix them. We had
most etfectually spiked their gun. II
would deal no more death blows.
The doings of the flagship had been
closely watched throughout the squad.
d, ron. The effect Of its blow had been evi.
dent to all, and moment later we saw
on some of the nearer ships men dress
ed in their air suits appearing upon the
deck, swinging their arms and sending
forth noiscless cheers into empty space.
The stroke that we had dealt wa:
taken by several of the electrical ship:
as signal FOR common assault, ano
we saw two OF the Martians fall beside
the ruin of their engine, their head.
having been blown from their bodies.
"Signal them to stop firing!" com
manded Mr.. Edison. eve have got
them down, and we are not going tt
murder them without necessity. Be
sides" he added, II want to captur,
some of them alive"
The signal was given as he had or
dered. The flagship then alone dropped
slowly toward the place on the asteroic
where the PROSTATE Martians We're.
AS we got near them terrible scene
unfolded itself to our eyes. There haC
evidently been not more than half ;
dozen Of the monsters in the beginning
Two Of these were stretched headles
upon the ground. Three others had sui
fered horrible injuries where the invisi
bio Wbratory beams from the disintegra
tors had grazed them, and ts''T coulC
not long sarvive. One only " \aineC
apparently najujured.