Page:Biagi - The Centaurians.djvu/110

 the heavens, the stars came out bright and clear, but nothing unusual occurred. Saunders informed us the same phenomenon never appeared twice. Patiently we waited and watched till near midnight, then, disappointed and angry over the delay, hurriedly pushed on, when we were startled by the sudden appearance of four great globes of light flaming just above us.

"Hoo-ray! hoo-ray!" yelled Sheldon. "Whatever it is, it signals to us. We sent up four rockets and they respond with four balls of fire. What'll we do with 'em?"

Saxe. rushed to the car, returning with rockets and sent them up himself, but their small light faded in the flood of fire that burst from those brilliant globes. The stars vanished as the sky tinged to a fiery sea, flames forked and twisted, seeming to gather volume, and in a second turned to a thousand different hues. It was magnificent!

Gradually the fire dimmed, the stars twinkled richly in the pinkish glow and the four globes above swayed gently. Then they descended nearer the earth while a greenish, blue flame darted from each, floating upon the air like a great ribbon, the color deepening as the four ends joined, then formed into loops and circles, and in the second a word blazed across the sky.

"Centauri!" I gasped.

"Centauri!" my three friends exclaimed.

My head grew light. "Centauri," I murmured. "I saw it."

"I should think you did," Saxe. cried. "We all