A terrifying darkness engulfed the sky while on the horizon a fire flood consumed the mountain! The ship swayed again. Flying creatures darted back and forth above the tree tops. Miles away, insensate violence reigned. Clouds of dust and smoke shot miles into the air, half a mountainside glowed white hot, and there was the sound of long-continued thunder as the ground shook and quivered... The runaway sapcecraft's rockets bellowed as it lifter. Hovering for an instant, it surged skyward. The ship vanished into emptiness. Jed Cochrane stared helplessly at the spot where it had stood. Babs gasped suddenly. She realized the situation in which she and Cochrane had been left. Shivering, she pressed close to him as the distant trail of blackened smoke spread toward the center of the sky. They were alone together among the stars! We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.