The two VEMs reached the Cadillac and began licking off the chrome with their long, tong-like tongues. General Longcombe went wild. He waved his arms. "Monsters!" he screamed, "I'll blow you to Kingdom Come personally!" and stomped into the tent.
Dexter and Jeremiah started to put on their cobalt-blue glasses. Abruptly thunder sounded, and a shadow darkened the land. Looking skyward, Dexter saw it—
The ship. The saucer. Whichever word you cared to apply to it. But whichever noun you chose, you had to prefix it with the adjective "gigantic," for the ventral hatch alone, which had just yawned open, was large enough to accommodate the Sugardale Methodist Church.
In the command-post tent, the general, as yet unaware of the UFO's presence, was giving the countdown in an anguished voice. "Two—"
In the valley, the two VEMs were trying vainly to extricate themselves from a huge metallic net that had dropped over them.
"One—"
On the lip of the valley, Dexter Foote was grappling with an insight.
"Zero—"
Pfft!...