“We sent her,” said the general, “over to the construction camp, in case you managed to get in the exact situation you’re in.  In other words, she’s safe.  She’ll be coming shortly, though.  She was to be notified the instant you appeared—­if the rocket didn’t blast as your greeting.”

Lockley ground his teeth.

“We’ll have this settled before she gets here!”

Vale appeared.  He walked forward and stood beside the general.

“We did a job that was several times too good, Lockley,” he said ruefully.  “I’d rehearsed my song-and-dance until we thought it was perfect.  What made you suspicious, Lockley?  Did you notice we kept the communicator aimed right so you’d hear through to the end?  A fine point, that.  We worried about it.”

The headlights of a car moved against a mountainside.

“You see,” said Vale, “the thing had to be done this way!  Sattell swore a blue streak when it was explained to him.  He felt he’d been made a fool of.  But there are some things that can’t be handled forthrightly!”

Lockley felt physically ill.  Jill had been—­still was—­engaged to Vale.  She’d been anxious about him.  She’d been loyal to him.  And he was helping the invaders!  He opened his mouth to speak bitterly, when Sattell appeared.  He lined up beside the general and Vale.

“They fooled me too, Lockley,” he said wryly.  “But it’s all right.  They had to.  They thought you were fooled.  Those three men in the box with you the other day, they said you were fooled, too.  And they’re sharp secret service men!”

“You’re very convincing, aren’t you?” he raged.  “But—­”

“You believe,” said Sattell, “I’ve joined up with spies and traitors.  You believe....”

He outlined, with precision, exactly what Lockley did believe; that phantom monsters were to be credited with waging war against America while another nation actually murdered Americans.  It was a remarkably accurate picture of Lockley’s state of mind.

“But that’s all wrong!” insisted Sattell.  “This is a quick trick by our own people for our own safety.  For the benefit of all the world.  It’s a trick to forestall just what I described!”

The far away headlights drew nearer.  But no car could have come from the construction camp as quickly as this.

“The fact is,” said the general, “that our spies tell us that another very great nation has developed this beam we’ve been demonstrating to all the world.  So did we.  And we couldn’t use it, but they would!  If they didn’t use it against us, they’d use it for any sort of emergency dirty trick.  So we made up this invasion to persuade every country on earth to arm itself against this particular weapon.  Nothing less than monsters in space would justify arming, in the eyes of some politicians!  Of course, they’ll arm against us as well as—­anybody else.”

He spoke matter-of-factly.  A glance at Lockley’s face would have told him that persuasiveness would not work.