Adventures in the Far Future & Tales of Outer Space — page 208: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Atlantis business? This thing could have been up here for twenty thousand years, it wouldn't show any change. What do you think?” Goodrich shook his head. “That doesn’t fit either. People who could build a thing like this wouldn’t just vanish Off the Earth and not leave anything but chipped flint arrowheads. There is one possibility—” he broke off. “Look at that!” he Said sharply. A new red line had begun to slide up one of the tubes on the instrument panel. There was a slight lurch. “Uk b’kaug ” the speaker boomed. “C’queta!” Outside, the line holding the rocket had suddenly uncoupled itself and snaked up to coil about two bitts. The rocket drifted slowly away. A rosy glow sprang out all around Bertha, deepened. She swung out of her orbit, slowly at first, then faster, catapulting outward from the Earth and the Sun, rising at an angle to the plane of the ecliptic. Inside, the men felt only the first lurch. They waited tensely, but it was not repeated. “The rocket,” McKay said. “That was the rocket! The line must have parted.” Goodrich nodded. “We’re stuck now, even if we do get out the hatch.” “Well,” McKay said. “At least Bertha can’t go very far, | looked her over pretty good and | didn’t see any sign of rocket or jet tubes. Sooner or later, somebody will get up here and get us out. If the three bears don’t come home first, that is.” “Maybe Bertha doesn’t need rockets,” Goodrich said. “How about that force-field thing? That’s pretty advanced, it wouldn't fit with just rockets.” “Yeah, that’s right,” McKay said thoughtfully. “They might even have acceleration whipped. If they have, we CORniclooo SS (SO)