lower. There was no chair. For lack of a visible gate in the railing,
the explorers stepped over, being careful not to touch it.

There was nothing on top of the desk save the usual coat of dust. Below,
a very wide space had been left for the legs of whoever had used it; and
flanking this space were two pedestals, containing what looked to be a
multitude of exceedingly small drawers. Smith bent and examined them;
apparently they had no locks; and he unhesitatingly reached out, gripped
the knob of one and pulled.

Noiselessly, instantaneously, the whole desk crumbled to powder.
Startled, Smith stumbled backwards, knocking against the railing. Next
instant it lay on the floor, its fragments scarcely distinguishable from
what had already covered the surface. Only a tiny cloud of dust arose,
and in half a second this had settled.

The three looked at each other significantly. Clearly, the thing that
had just happened argued a great lapse of time since the user of that
desk officiated in that enclosure. It looked as though Smith's guess of
"weeks, perhaps months," would have to be changed to years, perhaps
centuries.

"Feel all right?" asked the geologist. Jackson and Smith made
affirmative noises; and again they stepped out, this time walking in the
aisle along the outer wall. They could see their sky-car plainly through
the ovals.

Here the machinery could be examined more closely. They resembled
automatic testing scales, said Smith; such as is used in weighing
complicated metal products after finishing and assembling. Moreover,