Part 2 (2/2)

”It's probably controlled by an autoainst it, wein, Brad,” Big Ti to see what's inside” He strode impulsively to the door But at the threshold he stopped and turned and looked at Nellon

Nellon sether they entered the doorway

Lights, built into the helmets of their suits, but up to this time unused, were turned on to illuular corridor or passageway It was lined with the same metal as that of the door

At two intervals down the corridor they found it necessary to squeeze through half-opened doorways The doors here were of the slide type and seemed to be controlled by ain entrance to the corridor But these could not be moved, nor did their efforts awaken any hu Tiement of doors sort of re,” Nellon responded ”But an airlock--” He shook his head, for this was one of the s he couldn't understand

Soon the corridor came to an end Nellon and Austin found themselves in a slass cubicles or cabinets In each reposed a transparent sphere with various inexplicable attacheTim breathed ”Brad, those are helmets And unless I'm mistaken the other stuff must be suits of some kind What have we stumbled onto, anyway?”

Nellon passed a slow, al on the glass of the cabinets

”I've got a crazy idea,” he said ”But let that wait until we see o on”

They went on There werefrom them Each was unifors Nothing hich they were fae, rounded furniture to bizarre clothing, eirdly alien

But of the beings who had once inhabited these rooarments they had once worn, the chairs in which they had sat About these clung the ghosts of their presences

Over all was an air of desertion and long neglect

They entered another section Here there were rooe as halls, spread with queer tables and chairs One they found to be a library, for on shelves they found large, tablet-like books whose stiff pages were covered with glowing hieroglyphs

Then they found their first stairway, a succession of s to sos of e and utterly alien world

Here they found but one, huge roohts revealed to be perfectly circular In the center, glowing greenly, hat appeared to be an i About this banks of strange instru Tim whispered ”This place--What on earth could it have been for?”

Nellon made small, slow shakes of his head

”That's what bothers ine any possible use They knew utility, the beings who built these rooood purpose for this rooine what it could have been None of the activities which we normally carry on in life would sees”

”Brad--that's it! This roo--oh, I don't know But ittre Tim did not finish His strained, low voice died away, and he moistened his lips The reverie heavy upon his face showed clearly how oblivious he was of the act

”Let's take a closer look at that coluht find a clue”

The colu they had never realized It was only when halfway to it, and still approaching, that awareness of its size began to dawn upon them

The vastness of the room had dwarfed it somewhat, but now, almost upon it and with their own sizes as standards of coirth Slow understanding of the heroic dian to dawn upon the else besides size With closer and closer approach to the colu within hi The sense of restless confine of his therer of which he had earlier becoh he were in the midst of a bountiful and delicioustide of physical and mental satisfaction, as if every want of these two coenerously administered to