Solarite

It seemed some monstrous black bat flying there against the sky, but down to the sensitive microphone on the side of the _Solarite_ came the drone of the hundred mighty propellers as the great plane forged swiftly along.

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

The _Solarite_, too, had become a misty ghost ship about them; they were becoming visible!

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

Slowly Arcot sent the _Solarite_ away into the night -- into the kindly darkness once more.

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

The _Solarite_ was hurled back by an explosion that seemed to rend the very atoms of the air, and all about them was a torrid blaze of heat and light that seemed to sear their faces and hands with its intensity.

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

But to remind the men of the _Solarite_ that they were not alone, there came a sudden report just behind them, and they turned to see that one of the energy bombs had barely fallen short!

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

It was not a minute before they had formed a long line that circled the _Solarite_ at minimum speed, then started off in the direction of the city.

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

It, too, draws its power from the sun, though in a different way, and it stores it within itself, which the _Solarite_ does not try to do.

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

Where the gas touched it, the great plane flared to incandescence; and in an immeasurable interval the fall of the _Solarite_ ended, and it rebounded high into the air.

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

The _Solarite_ hovered high above the dark ship at length, the roar of the terrific air blast from its propellers below coming up to them as a mighty wave of sound that made their own craft tremble!

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940

Not a dissenting voice was raised, so Arcot sent the _Solarite_ nearer.

The Black Star Passes John Wood Campbell 1940