"I don't know if she's still alive or not." "They've had her now for the past 24 hours." "I'm equally uncertain as to the fate of her father," "Professor Elliot." "Both are probably dead." "The odds are 100 to one I, too, will be finished before another sun rises, but tonight, I'm going to try to fight for my life and those larger issues, so perilously at stake," "affecting all mankind." "If I fail, this seems most likely, the consequences to humanity defy the imagination." "As the only trained reporter who has been in a position to observe the terror from its inception... and as one of the few living humans who has actually met, face to face, the man from Planet X." "I will try to set down the strangest story a newspaper man ever covered." "It began prosaically enough in a college observatory not far from Los Angeles." "what is it?" "A new planet." "For want of another name, presently identified as Planet X." "It was first spotted some weeks ago rushing out of space." "Is" " Is this the reason" "Professor Elliot wired me to contact you?" "Have you known the Professor long?" "I was with the Eighth Air Force in England." "The Professor was our chief meteorologist doping out weather for bomber raids." "The British lent him to us." "Good man, Elliot." "Oh, the best." "He and I became fast friends." "He always said if he ever ran across anything of real importance, he'd give me a crack at it." "Used to think he was kidding but," "I guess not." "No, I guess not." "what's it all about, Doctor?" "The world, Mr. Lawrence, is now experiencing strange astronomical phenomena." "Reports have come in from all over the globe of inexplicable objects being sighted in the sky." "Surely, you're not saying a scientist like yourself believes such nonsense?" "No." "I'm not telling you that." "Then on what evidence do you base your statement?" "On questionable reports of trained observers." "First, this phenomenon seemed to have no particular focal point, appeared at random here and there about the world." "But about six weeks ago, tremendous concentration was detected over a certain section of the earth... in a particularly barren and isolated area." "Burry?" "Yes." "what do you know about it?" "Well, nothing much, except that this cablegram" "I got from Professor Elliot came from there." "Says, uh, "If you remember my promise for exclusive story, see Dr. Robert Blane at university observatory." Signed Elliot." "Strange waves... resembling, but still not radar waves, have been bouncing off the earth." "Coming from someplace outside, like the moon or Mars for instance?" "Originating on some sphere outside, but not the moon or Mars or any known planet." "Well, where does this Planet X fit in?" " What's it rushing onwards?" " The Earth." "You mean" "You mean it's likely to collide with us?" "No." "At least not a headlong collision." "Oh, we've had these things before, like Hailey's Comet for instance, to name one." "None which has come as close to our world as this one is expected to, in the next three weeks if our calculations are correct." "You..." "think something will happen?" "I wish I knew exactly." "At the best, atmospheric disturbances, hurricanes, probably tidal waves." "And at the worst?" "Where does Professor Elliot fit in?" "He discovered the planet." "Oh, is that why he's in Burry?" "If he's correct in his deductions, this isolated island is that part of the world the new planet will come closest to." "Gee, it sort of makes cold fingers run down my spine." "How about you?" "This is not visible to the naked eye." "Not yet." "How do I get to Burry?" "Here you are, sir." "This is Burry." "Uh, do you know Professor Elliot?" "Aye." "I've seen him once or twice." " Where's he staying, you know?" " up at the Brock." "Good evening to you, sir." "Well- Hey, wait a minute!" " Mr. Lawrence." " Hello." "I'm sorry I was late." "I had a little motor trouble." "Well, better late than never." " Put your things in the back." " All right." "Thanks." " All set?" " Yeah." "Drive on, Macduff." "Fog's getting thicker." "It's always worse on the moors than it is in the village." "You don't remember me, do you?" " Well, I, uh" " Isn't that a fine example of how unfaithful men are?" "The last time I saw you, I got your solemn promise that when I grew up, I could be your girl." "Good heavens." "Enid Elliot." "well, I thought..." "Took you long enough to recognize me." "The last time I saw you, you were crying because you had to go back to school." "All gawky legs and buck teeth." "I see you do remember me." "Braces took care of the teeth." "And nature took care of the legs." " I hadn't thought you'd noticed." " It's the newspaper man in me." "What a difference six years make." "I don't think you've changed." "Well, thank you kindly, or should I thank you kindly?" " Thanks." " Yeah." "Hey, what did all this?" " Bombs?" " Father time." "It's been this way for centuries." "Whoever built this tower up here at the end of nowhere?" "They call these towers Brocks." "Originally built, local legend has it, as a defense against the viking raiders." "Well, come on." ""As of midnight, the 13th of September, 1950," " is as follows"" " Hello." " John." " Professor," " it's good to see you." " And you, my lad, and you." "It's a cozy place you have here." "Serves its purpose." "Oh, you remember Dr. Mears by any chance?" "Mr. Lawrence, has forgotten." "I forgive him." "I doubt if he ever expected to see my face again." "Frankly, I hadn't given it much thought." "John and I are starved." "I suppose you and Dr. Mears have already eaten." "Yes. we had a bite." "Take him down to the kitchen, and fix yourselves something." "It's just a tiny place right underneath here but home is where the pantry is." "Isn't that so?" " That's right." " Come along." "Here." "Let us continue." ""...1950, is as follows..."" "what I lack in talent for cookery, I make up in speed." "But I really do brew a fine cup of tea." "Well, I hope so." "How many of these rooms are there?" "This one's mine, and there's another one under this." "Dr. Mears occupies it." " No thanks." "You have some." " um-hmm." "Hey, how on earth does he happen to be here?" "Oh, you know father, soft-hearted as a sponge." "Mears dropped in on us..." "two weeks ago, pleaded he was ill and broke, and jolly well looked it, too." "And he was one of father's old students." " So he's here." " Hmm." " Just dropped in?" " um-hmm." "People don't just drop in here, a place on the edge of the world." "I heard he was somewhere in Scotland." "He's been in seclusion since that trouble he got into." "I feel sort of sorry for him." " Well, you needn't." " He should've gotten 20 years." "He did go to prison for a while, didn't he?" "I was just a kid then." "I trust I'm not disturbing you, Mr. Lawrence." "Professor Elliot would like to see you upstairs." "Go ahead, John." "I'll be up in a minute, as soon as I put away these dishes." "All right." "Didn't interrupt you before you'd finished, did I?" "No." "No." "Just having some tea." "Where's Mears?" "What?" "I thought he was behind me." "Hmm." "Must have gone to his room." "I called you to take a look at our mysterious visitor before we lose her for the night." "Good." "Fog's rolling in off the moors." " Go ahead, John." " Thank you." "It's tripled in size." "Grows larger nightly." "Well?" "What do you think, Professor?" "I think..." "I'll just have to wait and see on the 17th." "Stray dog." "Eerie place, these moors and wet, too." "Yet they have a grim beauty of their own." "That hot tea you drank should've warmed you nicely." "Is that why the British drink so much of it?" "The climate?" "And because we like it." "Hello, lightning." "Storm brewing." "I've heard that one may tell how distant a storm is, by the number of seconds between the lightning and the thunder." "True?" "Well, let's see." "One, two, three, four," " five," " Five, six, seven, eight..." "Huh." "Must be in Chicago." " No thunder." " Hmm." " Well, static electricity maybe." " This time of the year?" "So, how's the view from the top of the rise?" "Pretty if there's anything to be seen." "Well, I'm sure of that." "The village is over there, but the fog's too thick." "You'll have to take my word for the view." "I'll do that... and add three of my own." "I like it." "We better be getting back." "Dad will worry..." "I'll bet right now he doesn't know we're alive." "...and it's getting cold." "I hadn't noticed." "Well, which way?" "Uh, this." "I think it's closer this way." "Here we are." " Take it easy." " Thank you." "Oh!" "I'm sorry." "What on earth is that?" "I don't know." "If I were mechanically minded, I could probably tell you." "Well, what could it be?" "That, as we say back in the States, is the 64 dollar question." "Careful." "It might explode or something." "Oh, it's not a bomb." "At least, I don't think it is." "Besides, what would a bomb be doing up here?" "Fell out of a plane?" "Do any ever fly across here?" "Uh-uh." "The only one that's been anywhere near here in the past six months must've been the one that set you off the breakwater this afternoon." "Well, your father will probably be able" " to tell us what it is." " oh, you could never carry that back to the Brock, it looks..." " Ah." " Nothing to it." "The measurements are singularly precise." "What is it?" "How does it operate?" "If it does or has." "Well, you ask more than I'm prepared to answer." "A theory might suggest that the inside is hollow, and it might've contained a propulsive element of some kind, a gas perhaps." "Look here." "The metal is discolored, possibly from the generation of some terrific heat." "It's fantastic." "Professor, look." "Interesting." "That should work out at about one fifth the specific gravity of steel." "That could mean millions, millions if that formula could be reproduced." "Well, Mears, I don't know if I follow you." "What you mean if that formula could be reproduced?" "Where do you assume this came from?" "Well, my assumption may sound fantastic, may be fantastic for all I can say, but this object..." "I could not deny the possibility." "Do you realize what this metal could mean?" "It's harder than steel." "It has tremendous tensile strength, and it weighs only a fifth as much as steel." "The man who controls this formula... controls the industry of the world." "Before you start spending those millions, Doctor, consider a slight problem." "What's that?" "If the Professor's theory bears any fact... you're going to have a little difficulty mining that metal, don't you think?" "I was speaking metaphorically, of course." "You reassure me." "Let us concentrate on this remarkable object." " Father, it's quite late." " Shh." "The scale is delicate and responds to a breath upon it." "How long has it been since you slept?" "Oh, about 36 hours and 6,000 miles ago, I guess." "Would you object to sharing a bed with Dr. Mears?" "Oh, no need to inflict myself on him." "I noticed an inn at the village." "Well, just for tonight." "Tomorrow I'll make dad get rid of Mears." "Not on my account please." "On my own." "He- well, he upsets me." "Well, we can't have you getting upset... can we?" "Where are you going?" " I'll drive you." " oh." " See you tomorrow." " well, good night." "Thanks a lot for everything." "Drive carefully." "Oh, I know every stone in the road." "John?" "Yeah?" "It's nice having you here." "Thanks." " Good night." " Good night." "Confound the luck." "The light flickered on and off." "It wasn't very bright, a ghastly greenish color." "When I got close to it, it looked like a giant glass ball girdled with something like a steel belt." "Three of them, I think." "When I got close enough to look in, there it was." ""It?" what?" "That face, right on the other side of the glass, looking right into mine." "I was terrified." " Face, a human face?" " A ghastly caricature, or like something distorted by pressure." "I can't think how else to describe it." "A horrible, grotesque imitation of a face looking right into my eyes." "Now, I know you're not given to hysteria, my dear... but your statements have the tinge of fantasy." "Now, you" "You say you saw this  this hideous face?" " Yes!" "And I ran, really frightened, I guess, for the first time in my life." "Hmm." " You're not going out there." " I'd better take a look." "You have a hot drink and get some sleep." "I'll guide you." " No, my dear" " Don't argue." "I'm quite alright." "It was just the first shock." "Now you've got me wondering just what I did see." "I'm going with you." "All right." "This way." " Where?" " over the next rise." "I don't see anything." "I think it's straight ahead." "Look." "Quietly now." "Can't see much." "No face, at least." "I'm certain of that." "What is it?" "Obviously, a creation of science." "That's beyond question." "But manufactured by whom and for what purpose?" " Careful father." " Shh." "Look, the light went out." "Down." "Let's get away from here." "We should've waited until daylight." "It was senseless coming out here in the dark, I'm" "It's uncanny." "Come on, father." "Get up, father." "Is anything the matter?" "Father, do you hear me?" "Hurry." "Come on." "Hurry." "Please wait." "Father, stop!" "Father?" "Don't stare at me." "Come with me." "Slowly." "All I was capable of was obedience when I heard a command." "It was a complete paralysis of the faculties other than blind, slavish movement." "Well, we seem to be confronted by a concrete menace." "Willful." "Hostile." "Do you think" "Could it possibly have something to do with that planet?" "Oh, am I glad to see you." "What's doing?" "I saw your car." "Is anything the matter?" "We've had a case of the jitters." "I shouldn't keep you out here on the doorstep." "Come on in." "Your theory, Professor, is that these singular occurrences are in some way connected with Planet X." "Have you a better theory to offer?" "No, but, uh, you'll have to pardon me if it takes me a moment to get my bearings." "What do you think this is building up to?" "Well, I must confess, I'm beyond my depth." "We have but one theory to work on." "In approximately 60 hours the planet's orbit will bring it into its closest position to this world." "Burry will be the nearest spot on earth to the planet and whatever and whoever is upon it." "Sixty hours." "Don't you think we'd better notify the police?" "What should we notify them of?" "That ball out there." "There's this gadget Enid and I found." "And defeat everything that we've spent all these weeks in this forsaken spot to achieve?" "Being overrun with the curious?" "Somebody's liable to run onto that thing out there." "Oh, it isn't likely." "This area of the moors is checkered with marshes." "Many a straying farm animal has been swallowed up." "This place has a bad name." "The natives keep their distance." "Where's this ball now?" "I'll take you." "You can see it from the edge of this rock." "Look." "No sign of life." "You know what that looks like to me?" "A big diving bell." "Only difference between water and space is a matter of density." "Hmm." "Here." "It's pretty quiet now, let's" " Let's go down and take a look." " Hmm." "That everlasting fog they mistake for climate around here." "Come on." " Glass?" " I wonder." "It was my wife's." "Diamonds cut glass." "Not a scratch." "Glass and practically any other substance on earth." "This must be tremendously resistant." "I can't think of anything known to man equally so." "And this, you believe... from out of space?" "What else?" "Well, what's the next step, Professor?" "Keep it carefully under observation until the 17th and find out whether it has any connection with what may or may not happen then." "We'd better be getting back." "we don't wanna worry Enid much." "Quite right." "That thing he's holding." "watch it." "Don't move." "If he doesn't take the idea and make a move for me... you run." "Run as hard and as fast as you can and come back with help." "Lots of it." "Ever tried outrunning the speed of light?" "Well, here goes." "This is a universal gesture." "Maybe it'll work." "What's the matter with him?" "Hear that hissing noise?" "That sounds like it's coming from that tank on his back." "Probably filled with gas, something like oxygen." "Whatever it is, he's trying to regulate it." "Seems that he's trying to turn that knob to the right, but he doesn't have the strength and coordination." "Must've decided we're friendly natives." "We've got to find some means of communication." "He's capable of sound." "Maybe an attempt to communicate." "It seems hopeless, though." "It looks as if we're up against a blank wall." "Come on, let's beat it back to the Brock." "What, and leave him?" "Question is, will he let us?" "It's maddening." "Here we have this astounding creature with his vast potential for fabulous knowledge to be given us, and we may only stand and stare at each other." "Lawrence." "Elliot." "Oh..." "I'm getting primitive in my excitement." "It's foolish of me." "What about sign language?" "Shall I try it?" "Just don't alarm him." "It's no use." "Start backing up." "If he makes a move for that thing in his holster, stop." "All right." "Back up." "All right now." "on the double." "What's the matter?" " Father!" " I'm all right." "John, where have you been?" "I've been so" "Behind you." "Any luck?" "Nothing works." "He just keeps making that sound to everything we try to do." "How is Enid?" "Did the sedative work?" " Yeah, she's asleep now." " Good." "we've got to reach him." "You've found a means of communication, Doctor?" "Yes." "What?" "A common denominator, Professor." "The basic and universal language," "Geometry." "By George, Doctor, you've hit it!" "If anything should warrant success, this should." "Excuse me, Professor." "You've lost me." "I'm the shadowy figure in the left background with a stupid look on his face." "I don't get this mathematics." "There may be no scientific achievement without mathematics." "In itself, it's the purest language of science." "Now this creature represents an obviously superior race of beings where science is concerned." "To be able to land on the Earth from a planet whose existence was previously unsuspected." "I'm up to you now." "If there's anything our friend should be able understand, and we might use as a bridge to reach him, it's this same basic language." "Geometry." " Precisely." " Professor, this is not an easy formula to devise." " Would you mind" " I understand, Dr. Mears." "You need undisturbed concentration." "Let us know when you're ready." "Come, John." "You're leaving him alone with" "I presume your concern arises from fears for my safety, Mr. Lawrence." "Spare yourself any anxiety." "This creature is as intelligent as we." "He knows that we are trying to find a mutual basis for understanding." "I'm quite safe." "Mears is right." "Come, John." "I'll have the world in my pocket... with your help." "Now, don't start fussing about me like that, my dear." "I have a little touch of the flu." "It's nothing to get so overwrought about." " You're going to stay in bed." " Look now, here's a compromise." "Suppose, I paddle to the village to the drugstore and get some medicine that will  will at least alleviate the  "Chemist" in England." "Chemist or drugstore." "Anyway, I'll get something that'll knock this out." "You stay in bed until I get back." "Oh, that creature downstairs- oh, don't worry about him." "I'll take a look at him." "I don't like leaving you here with..." " I'll get back as fast as I can." " oh, wait." "Here are the keys to the car." "If you fix the tire, it'll save you a lot of time." "All right." "Oh, and what have we here, now?" "Oh, morning, Constable." "Isn't that Miss Elliot's car?" "Yeah." "I'm visiting her father." "So you're the man from America." "Yup." "Folks be saying all's not well up to the Brock." "They're absolutely right." "Strange doings at all times of the night." "Naturally." " Excuse me." " Aye." "Naturally, you're saying." "Yup." "Professor Elliot has a touch of the flu." "Oh, so, it's true." "As a matter of fact," "I'm on my way in now to the chemist to get some medicine." "Aye." " So, if you'll excuse me." " Aye." "This shall be my secret." "Oh." "To think... a fantastic gnome like you, had to hurtle out of space... to put this power into my hands." "Well... now that we've made contact..." "I'm going to tear out every secret you've got." "We're gonna ration this... and you're gonna start earning it." "Dr. Mears?" "Dr. Mears!" "What is it?" "Father would like to see you." "He's resting." "Were you able to communicate with him?" "No." "It was a futile attempt." "I couldn't make him understand me at all." "I'm most disappointed." "I had high hopes." "Oh, I felt sure you were on the right track." "Well, we will have to try another method." "How are you feeling?" "Everybody's so concerned about me." "May I trouble you for a glass of water, please?" "Yes." "Got the stuff." "Should have you up around in no time." " Where's Enid?" " In the kitchen." "Enid?" "Enid?" "Enid was gone." "Had I sacrificed her just for a newspaper story?" "That was the thought which tormented me." "She's nowhere around." "The dungeon's empty." "Empty?" "What happened after I left?" "Enid!" "He must have taken her with him." " Come on." " where to?" "The sphere out on the moor." "where else would he take her?" "You got a gun, Professor?" " I have one." " well, bring it." "Be careful." "I'll go along with" "Now wait a minute, Professor." "Be sensible, please." "You'd better stay in bed." "We'll go out and reconnoiter and be back as soon as we can." " Let's go." " well, the gun's in my room." "I'll meet you out front." "What did he do to him?" "He was trying to establish communication." "How?" "oh, yes, I know, geometrically, but how else?" "Well, what do you mean?" "Did he abuse him?" "Provoke him in any way?" "There certainly wouldn't have been any sense in doing so." "Well, I don't consider Mears a sensible man." "He's an ambitious man, a brilliant man, an unscrupulous man, but certainly not a sensible one." "But why should he be foolish as to try to jeopardize- well, he may have to answer for that one of these days." "Here, directions are on the bottle." "You'd better take it, and stay in bed." "Anything?" "Not a sign." "Nothing." "We can't risk a move." "Enid might be in there." "What'd you do to him back there in the dungeon?" "Do to him?" "I didn't do anything." "Nothing at all." "He showed a definite disposition toward friendliness when I left." "Well, how can you talk of him as if he were a human being." "How do we know what thought processes run through his head?" "How can we even assume that he thinks like we do?" "How can you anticipate what a fantastic organism like that might do or might not do?" "Alright, alright." "Stay here and I'll be back, as soon as I can." "If anything should happen to Enid, I'll... never forgive myself." "I should never have exposed her to this danger." "Should never have... exposed her." "The night was haunted by terror and the sickening conviction that the man from Planet X had Enid powerless in his grasp." "If she was to be saved," "I had to think calmly." "I checked off my resources." "Help from the village?" "I dared not risk it with Enid a captive." "The Professor?" "III." "Helpless." "Dr. Mears?" "unstable. unpredictable." "If I only were not so helpless before the voiceless threat of the unknown." "where was Enid?" "And where was the man from Planet X?" "Good evening to you, sir." "Good heavens, men." "Don't you knock?" "I thought you heard us coming up the stairs." "No, I didn't." "I didn't mean to frighten you, sir." "What brings you here?" "We'd like to speak with the Professor." "He's sick." "He's under a sedative." "What do you want with him?" "'Tis a matter of considerable importance." "Aye, Sandy burns and Mike Lane have gone." "Gone?" "where?" "why?" "Plain vanished and none can tell where." "I don't get you." "Gordy and me, we've been out on the moors, searching for them." "We dropped by here to look in on you." "You don't think I have your two villagers up here, do you?" "Each night they drive the sheep in from the moors." "Last night, they did not come home." " The two of them." " And what we want to know... is it any of your doing here at the Brock?" "Up here?" "You'll not deny there's something very strange going on here." "No." "I won't deny it." "Something strange has been going on." "I was right, Boogey doings." "Aye, aye." "And now... what exactly is the nature of this" " Miss Elliot has disappeared." " Aye, miss... oh, no." "She has, now?" "Have you any idea as to where she could be?" "Yes, I have... but I can't tell you." "And why not?" "You wouldn't believe me." "I'll have to show you." "Aye, show me, is it?" "I'll try to explain on the way if your friend will stay with the Professor while we're gone." "Well, all right." "But there best be no monkey business of a foreign nature." "I'll go with you..." " and, Gordy..." " Aye, Tammy?" "...if I'm not back in a reasonable time," " call out the village." " Aye." "Boogey's work." "I'll not believe such clapper-claw" "That's why I'm going to show you." "It's that sphere which brought him out of space." "Look quietly now, it's just over the next rise." "Aye, it's daft." "You are completely flummoxed." "Or it is some American joke." "Look, I don't enjoy walking out on these cold moors." "Professor Elliot hasn't been living in that boldy Brock because he likes it, and his daughter hasn't disappeared as a joke." "Aye." "You make it sound very sober." "'Tis a sorry part of the moors for honest men to be in." "Come on, easy." " It's right ahead, now." " Aye." "I don't see a thing." "This is the spot where I left Mears just a few hours ago." "You don't tell me he's gone away, too." "Mears?" "Mears?" " Give me a light." " Aye." "I don't see a thing." "There, there." "You see where the brush is flattened?" "What's this?" "Mears' binoculars." "Ach, man, it must be you've been sampling too much of our good Scot whisky." "Finding a pair glasses doesn't mean much." "What about two villagers who've disappeared and miss Elliot and now Mears?" "Believe me, man, we're in trouble." "We'll go back to the station house." "I'll get out a search party." "Meanwhile, I'll keep me eyes on you." "I don't care where you keep your eyes," " provided you do something." " Now, we'll go along with you." "Tammy, have you found my man?" "Was out on the moor gave you any clue, Constable?" "Nay, not." "We have not found a thing." "But two more persons are missing." "One is the old Professor's daughter... and the other is one of the men staying up to the Brock." "Now, don't you worry." "We'll find him for you." " Donald." " Aye?" "Go up one side of the village." "Knock on the doors." " Andre." " Aye." "You go up the other side." "We'll have to search the moors thorough." "It will take every man and boy." "Tell the men to bring what arms they have." " Andre, Donald, you hear that?" " Aye." "Get on with you, then." "Gordy!" "what ails you, man?" "Act like you've seen a ghost or something." "A ghost?" "No." "Something of flesh and blood... yet of neither." "Horrible, monstrous creature with a head as big as two men put together, and skin with the shine of a new shilling, and eyes that are no better than a dead, cut fish." "Where'd you see him?" "why'd you leave the Professor?" "I did not leave him." "He got up and left me." "What are you saying?" "I went to fill the water jug at the well." "But the time when I was coming back, the Professor was walking in the fog with his friend who's been with him." " Dr. Mears?" " Aye, that's him." "I heard him call him by name." "What happened?" "The Professor's ill." "The other one was helping him." "He looked no better than a dead man himself, with his glassy eyes." "I was afraid, and I followed them." "And then... then it was I saw it." " It?" "It what, man?" " The Boogey." "Boogey?" "With a big head and a peculiar hump in his back." "He stepped out of the fog a wee bit before the Professor and his friend." "And I did not wait to see what else happened." "I ran until I thought my heart would burst from my chest." "Alright get back now, get back." "Well, Mr. Lawrence... what do you make of that?" "It's that creature from outer space." "He's got Mears in his clutches and used him to get the Professor into his hands." "That's where you'll find the men from the village, too." "Man from space?" "What clapper-claw is this?" "'Tis a fearsome visitor from another world." "Is it complete daft you are, constable?" "'Tis why the Professor has been living up at the Brock." "To see what would happen when an unknown planet came close to the Earth... on the night of the 17th." "That's a few days from now." "But why here in Burry?" "Because the Professor's calculations told him this is the area of closest contact with the planet." "But the Boogey..." "'Tis real, then?" "We have every reason to believe it is." "The lasses and the children, stay behind locked doors!" "You men!" "It will be all over town in no time." "We've got to get out on the moors." "Come on, you could not get a loon out there to- we'll get help from the outside." "You got a radio?" "I mean, a wireless?" "Not for outside contact." "Call London, tell them what's happened here, and ask for help at once." "Hello?" "Are you there?" "Hello!" "Hello, there!" " It's dead." " Here, let me try." "Hello, operator?" "Operator." "Hello, hello, hello." "Have you had this trouble before?" "Only during climate disturbances and the like." " There's no local exchange here?" " It's over on the mainland." "The wire goes across the bottom of the sea." "Well, except for the fog, the weather isn't too bad." "Aye, I can't understand it." "Look, lend me your bicycle and I'll go back to the Brock." "Maybe I'll find something that- well, who knows?" "Fine risk you'd be running." "It's better than hanging around here, just waiting." " The bicycle's outside." " Thanks." "I'll be back in a few hours." "You hang on that phone." "Aye." "Hello?" "These two must have undergone the same treatment." "You mean they were acting independent of their" " own inclinations and will?" " They were acting like slaves, and seeking villagers to be enslaved with them." " But for what purpose?" " Can't you see man?" " He's building an army." " An army!" "If he isn't stopped, he'll have every man in this village" " to carry out his orders." " Aye." "Man, you take the taste of the tea right out of my mouth." "You've any luck with the phone?" "Nothing but jangling clanging and buzzing." "Is there any way at all we can get word off this island?" "No, no, no." "Except... what?" "wha- well, talk, man!" "I wa" " I was thinking perhaps heliograph." "Well, try it at once!" "But there's not enough sunlight to get to the nearest place." "There's enough to reach that boat out there." "Hey, right you are!" " Fast, fast, before it sails by." " Right-o." "Hurry up." "She'll be nosing into that fog bank" " in a few minutes." " Aye." "Emergency." "Village... terror-stricken." "Contact..." "Scotland yard." " Well, she's gone." " Aye." "Fog bank swallowed her up." "Think they saw us?" "I cannot tell." "And what are you lads doing out this time of- oh, look here, lads!" "Let me go!" "This is no time for pranks!" "And I found it at the new location, where he'd moved it." "It was being fortified, and I have no doubt that the men doing the job were the same ones who disappeared from the village but I was too far away to recognize them." "And I have some news for you, too." "Two more of the men of the village have been taken." " How'd that happen?" " Young wilke and Bobby Harris." "Young wilke went down to look at his cows." "They hadn't been milked for two days." "His sister said he left a little before sunrise." "He didn't return." "Bobby went down to look at his boat, to see if it were up above the midnight tide line." "He didn't return, neither." "If the men left don't buckle down the job this is going to be a village of zombies." "Look, man you cannot get them out." "It's the fear of the unknown that scared them." "Even if they were willing to take the risk, their lasses wouldn't let them." "What we gonna do?" "Stand around and let him send for us too?" "Come." "Come in." "Gentlemen." "Who are you?" "Are you in charge of this station, Constable?" " Aye." " I'm inspector Porter." " Inspector." " This is Sergeant Ferris." " Scotland yard?" " Yes." "Gentlemen, pardon me." "Come in, Inspector." "Come in." "Sit down." "We were in Edinburgh." "We received word from London." "Our message did get through!" " The ship saw us!" " Aye." "I understand a freight ship relayed to London by a wireless a message she picked up while passing" " that was flashed by heliograph." " I'm John Lawrence." "Oh." "American?" "Newspaperman." "Affiliated press." " How'd you get here?" " Small plane." "Landed South of the village." "Only field without boulders." "Took us an hour to trudge here." "You're a long way from home, Mr. Lawrence." "What are you doing here in Burry?" "Sit down, Inspector." "I'll try to tell you." "Just, how do you expect to cope with this situation, Inspector?" "Well, from what I've been told," "I see only one way." "A detachment of the military." "That creature won't be taken." "He'll fight and all those people he's captured will die with him." "Besides, how will you get the soldiers here?" "The telephone's out." "Our plane has a wireless." "There just might be another way." "oh?" "what's that?" "It's now 9:30." "I'll give you until eleven o' clock to try what you can." "If you're not back by that time, we'll open fire." "But you've got to at least give us time." "By that time, your job must be finished." "If it isn't... eleven o'clock, Mr. Lawrence." "But everyone out there might be annihilated..." "Enid, the Professor, people from the village," "Dr. Mears, everyone." "Professor Elliot told you that planet would be within the Earth's gravitational orbit by midnight." "The consequences of such an unparallel proximity could be... anything." "None of us know what that enigma out on the moors might be planning." "Aye, you're right, Inspector." "The Professor's theory was..." "invasion." "We can't risk determining whether it has an effect." "A planet of such size coming so close to ours might cause a disastrous atmospheric upheaval as well." "Therefore, Mr. Lawrence, eleven o'clock." "We dare not delay beyond that time." " Do you understand?" " Yeah." "Even then... we may be risking too much." "All right." "Eleven o'clock." ""The hour is near, and the man" "from Planet X is waiting."" "Be sure of who's coming out of this fog before you start blasting, Inspector." "I'll make certain." "I..." "I've written a story of what's happened here up to this minute." "Can I depend on you to get it into the right hands when security seems fit?" "I'll see that it reaches the proper hands." "Thanks." "Well..." "Good luck." " Look out for yourself." " Yeah, thanks." "Professor Elliot." "Professor Elliot, this is John." "John Lawrence." "Do you hear me?" "I hear you." "Where's Enid?" " Where's Enid?" " Inside." "What did Mears tell you when he came back to the Brock?" "Told me Enid had escaped and sent for me." "Listen to me, Professor." "Climb over this embankment." "Very quietly." "And walk straight ahead." "Climb over this embankment." "Walk..." "straight ahead." "Mears." "Dr. Mears." "Come here." "Kneel, kneel down." "You were able to communicate with the creature, right?" "Yes." "You found out how to do it in the dungeon back at the Brock." "Is that so?" "Yes." "What's he doing now?" "What's his appearance here mean?" "He's establishing a wireless directional beam to his planet." "At midnight, when the planet is at its closest approach to Earth, an invasion will be launched." "But why?" "why?" "He comes from a planet that's dying." "It's turning to ice." "If his people do not escape from the planet before it swings back along its route through space... they will be doomed." "How'd they get so close to earth?" "They managed to make the planet deviate from its natural orbit by scientific degravitation." "What was that object Enid and I found on the moors?" "It was a magnetically powered range finder, used to determine the composition of the Earth's atmosphere." "It was sent out in advance of the spaceship for experimental purposes." "And how does he keep you a slave to his will?" "By exposing us to a ray." "He exposes us to it every few hours." "Wait here." "Men." "Stop work." "Walk straight ahead." "Walk." "Enid!" "Enid!" "Come out of there." "Mears, stand up." "Up!" "Run!" "over this wall." "Come down." "Darling, it's me." "John." "Come on, we must hurry." "There's something out there." "It's the Professor!" "Ah, it's glad I am to see you, sir." "Glad I am, indeed." "Where are you going?" "Stop now." "Ferris, help him sit down." "Come along, Professor." "Come along." "That's it, man." "Sit down here." "That's right, Professor." "10:59." "Keep going!" "No, they can't destroy him." "They mustn't." "Mears!" "Come back!" "Fire!" "Fools." "Fire!" "The planet!" "You're going back with Inspector Porter in his plane, hmm?" "Yep." "By this time tomorrow afternoon, we'll be" "Far out over the ocean." " Going home." " Mm-hmm." "I'll miss you." "Your father tells me you're coming to California so he can confer with Dr. Blane." "Mm-hmm." "Soon." "Good." "Is it true that no one will ever know what happened here?" "Knowledge would only bring more fear, in a world already filled with it." "Can such a thing be kept a secret?" "No." "No, but it can be reduced to gossip." "You know..." "I think that creature was friendly." "I wonder what would have happened if... if Dr. Mears hadn't frightened him?" "Who knows?" "Perhaps the greatest curse to ever befall the world, or... perhaps the greatest blessing."