"No! No!" he shouted. "Oh, you fools...."
The blue flame broadened at its extremity, until it resembled a long, inverted funnel. When it touched the ground, it reduced to grey ash a fifty foot area of buildings and trees. There was no burning, no odor, no smoke. Just a sifting of ashes that fell like snowflakes.
Huth cried out in agony at this destruction of his dream. He ran toward the path of the flame, waving his arms.
In the instant before the flame reached him, Huth stood motionless, arms outstretched, face straining upward, the great muscles of his neck standing out in rigid cords.
And then his statuesque body was a sifting handful of grey ash, falling gently to the damp ground. The flame leaped forward.
Lucifer got to his feet. He could think only one thought: That he must try to stand upright with as much dignity as possible.
He heard Nina's voice, but couldn't make out the words.
They were followed by a shrill, whistling sound. Surprisingly, the sound grew fainter, like a siren fading into the distance.
Lucifer realized he had closed his eyes. He opened them and saw the spaceship streaking upward. It tumbled end over end, out of control. The blue funnel of flame whipped in wild circles, hissing against the clouds. The ship disappeared momentarily behind a cloud bank, then could be seen again, glowing with an incandescent brilliance.
Suddenly it burst into a shower of sparks that flared like a dying meteor, and fell away into nothingness.