That first demonstration of
the ferocious cannibalism of the giantesses upon the _Chiriqui’s_ deck
had been enough to make my blood run cold. “But I had not yet guessed even a fraction of the true horror of it. Scarcely had the _McCracken_ been dropped upon the earth, when the women
swarmed upon her, and once more I saw the creatures gathering the inert
forms of men and carrying them to the city. And rapidly, too, they
commenced dismantling and tearing the destroyer into bits. How they had
accomplished this with the _Cyclops_ had puzzled me, but now I witnessed
the process close at hand. From the vicinity of the waterfall, lines or
pipes were led to the vessel’s side; presently there was the roaring
sound of steam; dense clouds of vapor arose from the cataract; the water
ceased to flow, and from the extremities of the lines or tubes
twenty-foot jets of blinding flame shot out. As easily as though made of
wax, the steel sides, the massive beams, the armored barbettes of the
warship melted and were cut by these jets, and as the pieces fell apart,
the spherical airship took a position above the vessel, and by its
magnetic power, lifted tons of the fragments, then sailing off,
deposited them in some spot beyond the city. It was then, as I saw the
ship rapidly dissolving before my eyes, that the inspiration came to me
which may make it possible for me to communicate with the outside world
and may, if God wills, serve to warn my fellow men of the fate which
will overtake them if these terrible creatures are allowed to follow out
their plans. As the jets of flame cut through the _McCracken’s_
superstructure, and the radio antennae fell in a tangled mass across the
deck, I forgot all else and rushed to the wireless room of the
_Chiriqui_. Here was my chance. If the ship’s radio transmitter was
still in working order; if the auxiliary battery was still charged, I
might send out messages which, small as the chances were, might reach
the ears of some of the countless thousands of persons who listened each
night at their receiving sets. I trembled with fear that I would find
the transmitter injured or dismantled. I shook with dread that the
battery might be dead. I felt faint with apprehension that the message,
if sent, might never penetrate the sulphur-laden atmosphere or might
never reach the outer world. And I realized, with a sickening sinking of
my heart, that even if heard my communication might be regarded as a
hoax, and no attention would be given it. But I would do my best. The
radio set had not been molested. Everything was in working order, and I
set myself the task of transmitting my story each night at the same
hour, repeating it over and over again, until the storage batteries are
exhausted, for to get up steam and start the dynamos is beyond my
powers. Had I knowledge of Morse I would send my story by that code, but
I have not, and so--I must cease. For the love of your race and of your
dear ones listen, I beseech you, until I can resume.”

                   *       *       *       *       *

Here the message broke off abruptly, and Frank and I sat staring at each
other, fearing to speak lest we might interrupt or miss the words which
might come, and listening with straining ears at the head-sets. For an
hour we sat there and then, once more the voice spoke. “The doom that I feared is approaching. I have been here for three
months and this will, I know, be my final message. Oh that I could only
be sure that someone has heard my words, that my fate has not been in
vain but has served to warn my fellow beings. But I must hurry on. I
have learned everything of importance. I have watched, studied and have
even learned to understand much of the language of these beings. I found
that there were men. They are puny beings compared to the women, though
ten-foot giants compared to normal men, and they are cowed, abject, mere
slaves of the females. Only enough male children are permitted to
survive to propagate the race. All others are killed. “As they reach manhood only those males of super-intelligence, strength
and virility are permitted to live. The others are destroyed and--yes,
horrible as it sounds, their bodies, like those of the murdered infants
and of the aged, sick or infirm, are devoured. And as fast as the males
attain middle age their lives are forfeited. Long ago these beings
subsisted upon the few wild creatures which roamed their land; but long
ago all these were exhausted and human flesh became the only meat. There
is no vegetable food, and for a time the sacrificed surplus males, and
the aged, provided food for the race. But gradually the male births
decreased, female children preponderated, and with the increased
population resulting, the males were too few to nourish the others. Then, through what damnable accident or design I do not know, the
creatures went forth in their airship and discovered the teeming
millions of human beings on earth. “But the bulk of humanity was and still is safe from them, at least
until new means of attacking mankind are devised, for the globular
airship cannot approach the land. The very power it uses to lift the
greatest steamships and carry them off, draws the machine to the earth
and holds it fast. But above water, which acts as an insulator
apparently, the apparatus can operate at will. And they have a two-fold
purpose in capturing ships. All the available metal in this land was
exhausted in constructing two of the spherical machines. One of these
never returned from its first trip, and only the one remains. To
construct more, these giant women plan to use the metal salvaged from
captured ships, until a vast fleet of the infernal things is ready to go
forth and wipe the seas clean of ships and human beings. And the bodies
of the men and women, struck down by the gas, are to serve as food for
these demons in human form. “This is the most horrible, blood-curdling thing of all. Rendered
unconscious by the gas, the victims remain in a state of suspended
animation indefinitely, exactly as do grubs, spiders and insects when
stung by certain species of wasps and placed in their nests to provide
food for their young. Stacked in great storage vaults these breathing,
living, but paralyzed human beings are kept, and as needed, are taken
out. “Already they have a supply on hand sufficient to last them for over a
year. Some of the _Cyclops_ company are still preserved; there are over
three hundred from the _Chiriqui_, hundreds from other ships, and the
entire crew of the _McCracken_. “All these things I learned little by little, and mainly through a
friend, for marvelous as it may seem, I have a friend--if friend he can
be called, a miserable, trembling, terrified male, who, doomed to death,
sought to escape his fate and sought refuge with me, dreading my
presence less than his doom, and hoping that such a feared and almost
reverenced being as myself might protect him.