And a realization of what the monster had in mind struck him. He knew now where they were headed. He knew why the monster had torn the fence, why a guard had been killed where he stood.
And as if the thought had been a prelude, he saw the rocket loom before them as the Great Dane bounded around its base.
And he saw the metal stairway leading up to the middle of the giant projectile.
And at the top of those stairs, going into the now open rocket chamber, was the monster, holding the unconscious girl in its arms.
The Great Dane saw the creature in the same instant. And a terrible howl of rage welled from its throat. It gave a lunge forward then that broke Trent's grip from the leash he held. And the dog was free.
The monster turned in the same moment and saw them. A roar of feline anger left its throat as the huge dog leaped up the steps toward the platform above.
The monster dropped the girl's body on the narrow platform and backed toward the opening of the rocket chamber.
Then the Great Dane reached the platform and poised itself for a leap.
Trent was dashing forward toward the stairs as the dog's body flew through the air. He saw the flashing jaws of the animal snap at the throat of the monster, as its heavy body smashed against it.
Then the arms of the creature were tearing at the dog as it was forced back into the rocket chamber.
Trent's feet flew up the stairs, his breath a tortured gasp in his throat. He saw the girl stir on the platform, as consciousness returned to her.
"Joan!"
Her name sped from his lips as he reached the top step. Then his hands closed around the girl's shoulders, lifting her to her feet.
The snarl of the Great Dane reached his ears from the rocket chamber, and the answering roar of rage from the monster as they fought. His eyes saw the vague, terrible shadows of them, heard the snapping jaws of the dog, and the raking claws.
And then he was dragging the girl down the steps.
They reached the ground and Trent pulled her away from the rocket, felt her come to life in his arms, heard the sob on her lips.
But his head turned away from her and he stared anxiously up at the open rocket chamber.
He heard the bodies of the monster and the dog slam against the inner side of the chamber, and then he saw the door of the rocket close. He knew that the automatic mechanism must have been touched in the battle.
And even as the thought ran through his mind he heard a sudden roar of flaming sound. The night lit up in a sheet of brilliant light and a wave of flame spread out from the base of the rocket.
Trent pulled the girl away from that blinding sheet of exploding energy, and his eyes stared in grim fascination as they ran.
He saw the rocket shudder in its cradle and then lift slowly. It was as if time had turned back and he were watching an identical scene that had happened earlier that day.
Only it wasn't the same scene. It was now a scene of horror. For he knew that the monster and the dog were in that rocket. The rocket that would shoot skyward in moments, even as its companion had done. Would reach into the outer fringes of the Earth's atmosphere where the cosmic rays would envelop it, would react upon the animals inside it.
And a terrible dread spread through Trent at the thought. For if the first change had been terrible enough, what would happen now?
And as he thought, he saw the rocket lift slowly from its cradle and gather speed as it shot upward into the night.
The blinding light of the exploding rocket fuel lit the proving grounds like a huge beacon of incandescence, and Trent was aware of shouts ahead of him, and running feet.
Then he was surrounded by men from the project, and he caught the glint of alert weapons and uniforms.
He felt arms grab him and the girl and heard questions pounding at him.
But then he saw a face he knew. And he tore away from the arms of the guards and shouted.
"Dr. Mathieson! Listen to me!"
The scientist stepped up to him and Trent gripped his arm in the fading light of the vanishing rocket.
"What's happened here?" the scientist demanded. "Aren't you one of the newsmen--"
Trent interrupted him. He poured out a string of words. Words that told what had happened. And as he talked he saw the eyes of the scientist widen in disbelief. And he heard the guards grow silent around him. Felt every ear listening with awe to his words.
And when he had finished there was a long moment of silence. And then Joan Drake moved tremblingly up beside Trent and she spoke:
"It's true, doctor! Every word Fred said is true!"
And one of the guards broke in:
"The word just came in from post four. The fence was torn to pieces--and Giddings has been murdered--just as they said!"
Then the silence again. And the face of Mathieson was grim as Trent broke through the quiet:
"--Doctor--that monster who was Gaddon--he's up there now! When the cosmic rays change him and the dog and the chamber is released ..."
The scientist shook his head slowly, a look of awe in his eyes.
"It won't release, Trent," he said.
Fred Trent looked at him questioningly.
"Gaddon must have forgotten one thing," the scientist continued. "That rocket was also an experimental project. But not for the same purpose.
It was to test a new type of explosive ..."
Mathieson's voice trailed off and silence closed over the small group then.
There was no need to say anything further. There was only the tension of waiting, the tension that showed in every eye.
And the girl moved closer to Trent, her body trembling against his.
They waited. The seconds passed like moments in eternity. Slowly they marched by, one by one. And then a minute. And the tension grew.
They heard it then. Off in the distance. Out in the waste of the open desert land. A thundering sound. An explosion that rolled in a wave of sound.
And with it a flash of brilliant light. Light that seared through the night in a terrible wave. And with it the thunder of the explosive warhead.