Oomlag had been watching me with smug satisfaction, evidently deriving much amusement from my open-mouthed expression of amazement.
“Yes, I thought you would be entertained by this little visit,” he chuckled. “Gaze upon the highest development of our genius. Simply by making a change in the amount of ‘Venusite’ introduced into what you might call the condensing tubes, the power generated is controlled. You already know the power of ‘Venusite’ when you realize that it brought us from our planet to yours; you can imagine, then, what very minute quantities are needed to supply power.
“These tubes leading from the base of these generators carry the concentrated power impulses to the tubes you saw on the outside of the flyer. These in turn bombard the round objects you saw placed near the walls of the room, which operate to diffuse the power beam in various directions through the workings.
“The wall of this chamber is an inner partition, giving a vacuum protection against the cold of outer space. Before I go any further, it is necessary to show you the upper compartments of the flyer, where we store the reserve supply of ‘Venusite’ and have the living quarters of the travelers. We have a very clever arrangement for preparing concentrated foods. The capacity of the flyer——”
OOMLAG stopped. The door of the projectile had opened, and the big Venusian guard had entered and broken in abruptly on Oomlag’s talk. He spoke a few rapid, guttural words to my guide, while the door meantime remained open.
Oomlag scowled, and seemed to be considering what he had just heard. He cast a glowering, sidelong glance in my direction, and I guessed that I must be concerned in some way. Finally, he said something curtly to the guard, and faced me. I was relieved to see his face light up into a grin which, though evil and hideous, was a grin nevertheless.
“We shall step outside a moment, Stan-lee,” he said. “I have some important news for you which should make you feel pretty good.”
Wondering what he could possibly mean by this, I followed Oomlag and the guard out of the flyer into the intense light of the large cavern. As soon as the doors had swung shut behind us, Oomlag spoke.
“The Field General has commanded that you be released!”