But then he saw a face he knew. And he tore away from the arms of the guards and shouted.
"Dr. Mathieson! Listen to me!"
The scientist stepped up to him and Trent gripped his arm in the fading light of the vanishing rocket.
"What's happened here?" the scientist demanded. "Aren't you one of the newsmen—"
Trent interrupted him. He poured out a string of words. Words that told what had happened. And as he talked he saw the eyes of the scientist widen in disbelief. And he heard the guards grow silent around him. Felt every ear listening with awe to his words.
And when he had finished there was a long moment of silence. And then Joan Drake moved tremblingly up beside Trent and she spoke:
"It's true, doctor! Every word Fred said is true!"
And one of the guards broke in:
"The word just came in from post four. The fence was torn to pieces—and Giddings has been murdered—just as they said!"
Then the silence again. And the face of Mathieson was grim as Trent broke through the quiet: