Page:Amazing Stories Volume 10 Number 13.djvu/134

132 weeks and months. Afraid to separate lest some new cataclysm part them forever, they explored the surrounding country in ever widening circles, hoping to find that they were not alone in this world of semi-darkness, and a cold which hourly grew more intense.

Yet everything in a once familiar territory had changed; old landmarks had disappeared, and many of the summer houses had apparently vanished into thin air. And those that were left, they ransacked of food and stores, for this was a struggle for existence, a struggle which recognized no property rights. Laws of a once-powerful government no longer existed for them, and they took what came to hand.

During his spare time at home, Dr. Howell fussed with his wave generator, ever seeking the fundamental wave length of the earth, and hoping that his super-imposed wave would again start the stalled motor which was the earth. With a powerful heterodyned beat-note he might yet succeed, for in that pathway alone lay safety and life for his little group.

Time he computed with his chronometer, even though time was no more, a thing which was and was not, since there was nothing for comparison. Even the stars stood still, while a new moon hung dimly just above the western horizon, shedding a blurred light over the desolate landscape.

Fortunate indeed, they were, that Dr. Howell had thought to install his own light-plant for power, yet the drains on his meager supply of fuel had been heavy. Even the confiscation of all the fuel they had found in the surrounding country had scarcely increased his reserve supply. But the steady radiations of energy must be continued until all hope was gone.

The arctic cold increased to a point which was well nigh unendurable, though fortunately no snow fell to add to their distress. The waters of Turtle Lake froze to the bottom, and great cracks made walking on the ice dangerous. Yet no record of the temperature was possible, since the cold had already gone lower than the lowest point on any available thermometer,—and no end was in sight.

Then, suddenly, without warning, they had their first word from the outer world. Dr. Howell had stopped his wave-generator to make slight changes, and Alan paused a moment to idly twirl the dials of the radio. He expected nothing, but the habit of dial turning brought surprising results.

"—calling all stations! N7XA calling all stations! Please stand by for important message to any listener! This station has been unable to operate until to-day, virtually since the earth stopped some time back, because of a strong interference wave shown to be set up somewhere west.

"Because we may be stopped by the same cause at any moment, will any listener try to communicate with us? Virtually the entire population of North America has been wiped out, and from previous reports we believe the entire eastern hemisphere has been burned to a crisp, destroying all signs of life.

"We believe here that there is practically no one left in North America except ourselves. There are about a hundred of us left, and we cannot be sure how long we can continue to exist. The edge of the sun shows slightly above the eastern horizon, but the cold here is terrible, our last reading was taken at one hundred and ten degrees below zero.

"If Dr. Howell, who we remember, prophesied this calamity, is still