Ross stared open-mouthed. "Say-ay!" he asked cautiously. "You didn't get a knock on the head, did you?"
She shook her head unsmilingly. "The Earth-girls, they do not speak so to men?"
"I'll say they don't," Ross assured her feelingly.
"Oh!" said the Princess Illeria in a small voice.
Ross didn't know what to say then. "Well," he exclaimed, "we'll soon be back at Peak Four."
He was right. But grim news awaited them at the peak.
IV
Artana met them, his face a thundercloud. He handed Ross a ray-typed message. "This came just before you landed," he said tensely.
Before Ross could read the message, the name signed to it caught his eye. Horta! The Lord of the Caverns was coming out of his silence! And with what a greeting! "Know, O Queen," read Horta's message, "that I have destroyed three of the Earth-ships, as I shall destroy all who fly against the destiny of the Moon Kingdom. Know, too, that I have destroyed a second Earth city, the place called Los Angeles, as a warning to the Earth people that their destiny is not ours."