Free The Earth-Tube by Gawain Edwards Page B

eighty thousand additional troops to guard the city and more than half the big flame-throwers in South America. They will find the city garrisoned and ready for their attack.
    “And as for their weapons. !” the voice of the Secretary was contemptuous. “Their attack on Montevideo showed beyond a doubt that all they have is their armor and jets of steam. Steam is all they had to shoot us with. Steam!” Dr. Angell spat vigorously into the fire.
    “In the attack upon Montevideo, at least,” put in Dr. Scott mildly, “their armor and their steam seemed sufficient. At least your defenders thought so.”
    The Secretary retorted hotly. “You seem to think you have to take the part of these Asians,” he declared. “You discovered them; you have to stick up for them!”
    “Gentlemen,” remarked the President quietly, “we all agree that the invasion is serious, and we have come here to-night to ask Dr. Scott if there is any way, in his opinion, by which these people may be driven back to the other side of the world, where they belong.”
    He looked at the scientist inquiringly, with evident sincerity and respect. Dr. Scott was silent for a moment, going over the matter carefully in his mind.
    “We will come directly to the point,” he replied at length. “I could delude you with certain vague promises, but I prefer to face the truth. I know of no way to make effective resistance against this invasion.”
    The Secretary sat stiffly in his chair, making no comment. The President, however, leaned forward, speaking with great intensity.
    “But have you no suggestions, no theories upon which we could work? Dr. Scott, we have tried to battle with these men in our own way with methods we have worked out for ordinary wars. and we have failed. The best military heads in the country have conferred on the matter and admit themselves unable to cope with the new foe. Do you realize that Mr. Henderson and yourself are, therefore, our only hope; that on you depends the safety of the Western Hemisphere, and it may be, that of the world itself?”
    Dr. Scott nodded.
    “Yes,” he said, “but knowledge of the need alone will never solve the problem. The whole crux of the matter lies in that metallic substance which these people make and use, which defies alike unlimited heat and explosive force. It appears to have many of the properties of steel, in that it can be used for engines and moving cars, and yet it has none of the weaknesses of the strongest metals we know.
    “If we had any idea what that substance is and how it is made, we might be saved, for not only could we make similar armor for ourselves, but we could also learn some method of destroying theirs.”
    “Without an actual sample to work on, is it possible to draw any conclusions about the nature of the substance?” asked the President.
    Dr. Scott considered.
    “I’ve been thinking about it quite a little,” he replied, “and it seems logical to conclude certain things. It is apparent, for instance, that the substance is not a chemical element, but a compound. If it were an element and existed in such quantities, it is unlikely that it would have remained so long undiscovered in the Western Hemisphere. Further, if it were an element, and as it appears, virtually heat-proof, how could the Asians melt it and work it up into armor? They can produce no greater heat than we can; at least that statement was certainly true before they had made their boring through the earth; yet they had this armor more than five years ago, and with it conquered all the East.
    “Consequently, I am more than ever convinced that the material is first mixed in some plastic state, molded into the desired form, and then hardened by some chemical or electrical action which settles the matter for all time.”
    “For all time? Then the armor, once made, is indestructible?”
    “I have no way of knowing that. ,We have on record, I believe, no instance wnere any permanent fortifications, once