"—Doctor—that monster who was Gaddon—he's up there now! When the cosmic rays change him and the dog and the chamber is released ..."
The scientist shook his head slowly, a look of awe in his eyes.
"It won't release, Trent," he said.
Fred Trent looked at him questioningly.
"Gaddon must have forgotten one thing," the scientist continued. "That rocket was also an experimental project. But not for the same purpose. It was to test a new type of explosive ..."
Mathieson's voice trailed off and silence closed over the small group then.
There was no need to say anything further. There was only the tension of waiting, the tension that showed in every eye.
And the girl moved closer to Trent, her body trembling against his.
They waited. The seconds passed like moments in eternity. Slowly they marched by, one by one. And then a minute. And the tension grew.
They heard it then. Off in the distance. Out in the waste of the open desert land. A thundering sound. An explosion that rolled in a wave of sound.