Page:Stirring Science Stories, February 1941.djvu/25



HE RUGGED, crust-like surface of the moon was plainly visible in the great 300-inch reflector. The numerous mountains and half-shadowed craters seemed but an arm's length away. The scope was small, showing only a portion of the satellite's bleak face, though that portion wouldn't have been a better view from a hovering space ship.

Brad Graham straightened, relaxing momentarily from the cramped position, then manipulated a tiny, delicate adjustment at his side. He bent forward again, and saw Tycho's jagged shape come into view. He marvelled for a moment at the infinite clearness of the scene. He was proud to be the son of the man who had constructed the 300-inch telescope.

Brad Graham's pride turned, suddenly, to astonishment, for there in the middle of the huge crater, barely visible in the pale light, was the unmistakable glint of metal! Trembling a little, Brad made further adjust-ments, and the scope increased, bringing the crater to full view.

Brad looked again—and the metal dot had been bisected. There were two distinguishable objects now, situated on a crisp-looking plain that bore signs of inhabitance.

One of the objects was a tiny, dome-shaped building. All around it the ground was darker than the rest of the plain, proving that the crust undoubtedly was broken under foot, The other object was a black frame-work, apparently the foundation of a second building. The crust was broken around it also.

Tingling with the thrill of discovery, Brad pressed closer, his unbelieving eyes eagerly studying the bleak lunar scene. It didn't seem possible—he was gazing at a strange, airless body 240,000 miles from the earth, and he was seeing a segment of alien civilization, a product of some other form of life!

Brad called his father and the other members of the observatory staff. All of them took hurried glances and stepped back in amazement. Questions began to fly.

"Moon life!" exclaimed Arthur Graham. "But how does it survive? And what is the purpose—of these domes?"

"The domes are shelter, of course," said Brad excitedly, "and those who live there—must be able to survive without air."

"That's possible," said one of the assistants, "but what about the rest of the race? There are no other domes—nothing like this has been sighted before—so that leaves but one conclusion. If this is intelligent life we see, it probably lives