The Earth-Tube by Gawain Edwards

put up, have been destroyed or removed by the Asians. Of course our whole knowledge of the matter is scant. It seems more than likely that they have long ago learned some way to disintegrate their metal, once it is no longer of use. Otherwise the stuff would accumulate all over the countryside, heaps of metallic rubbish, and soon drive them off the land by sheer accumulation.”
    “Whatever this material is,” the President put in, “the ingredients must be cheap and common, else they would never have been able to make and use so much of it. The supply seems to be endless; therefore the basic material must be almost as common as stone and as widely scattered over the earth’s surface.”
    The scientist nodded. “That seems logical,” he agreed.
    “Then we must obtain a sample for your laboratory here and let you go to work on it,” said the President. “We’ll try to get you one as soon as possible, though you know, knocking off a chip of this mate rial is next to impossible, and we have as yet been unable to capture any of the machines entire.”
    “And you probably never will,” said Dr. Scott. “I am not even sure that a sample of the stuff would do us any good. It may possibly resist every reagent in the laboratory and defy analysis. But I’d be glad to try.”
    “I will offer a prize,” exclaimed the Secretary of War suddenly, arousing from his lethargy, “for the first specimen of this metal brought into camp. And the man who brings it in shall receive the Distinguished Service Medal!”

    V
    The newspapers next day carried the story of the fall of Buenos Aires and La Plata, while the people of both continents seethed with excitement and fear. The Times ran eight pages on the attack the following morning, with complete details, pictures received by radio, and an eye-witness story by its special correspondent.
    “I have seen the destruction of Buenos Aires. I have stood upon solid ground and felt it rise and disappear beneath my feet. I have gone through livid hells of fire and steam, while tortured souls writhed in agony all about and a triumphant foe, safe in battlements of steel, 9 crushed the defenses of two continents and moved hideously upon the helpless in a mighty holocaust,” began the somewhat perturbed special writer. “The last days of Buenos Aires were ghastly, unbelievable; but the nature of her destruction was Beyond human comprehension.
    “The city had been quiet for days. Most of the population had gone back to its daily routine since the expected attack of the Asian tanks had failed to materialize.
    “Already, under the direction of a corps of trained military engineers, Buenos Aires had been transformed into an island city. A moat had been blasted around it on all sides, joining at either end with the bay. The sides of the canal were steep, and the excavation had been carried to a depth of nearly 300 feet before the water was turned in.
    “Assured by the army men that the tanks of the enemy could never cross this entrenchment and heartened by the presence of several hundred thousand troops, equipped with the latest fighting equipment, the city had settled down to its business again almost as if the invasion had never existed.
    “There were, of course, many obstacles to normal trade. The moat forbade rail traffic, except across a light bridge, and most of the shipping of the city had to be carried on over the water. In addition, the place was more like a military garrison than a business capital. Soldiers were continually guarding the streets, and the control was more military than civil everywhere.
    “Beyond the moat there was a continual clatter of engines, and the fleets of rapid whippet tanks, equipped with flame-throwers and ray-guns, drilled in the camp of the city’s defenders. Overhead droned the endless caravan of transport planes and military scouts, reporting that the burned city of Montevideo still contained the enemy and that they appeared quiet and unready to renew