Dan McNally is aboard the schooner, Virginia, passing by a supposedly uninhabited island in the South Pacific when flashes from the island prove to be a warning of great danger, and urge calling in the military. It seems odd, to say the least, since everything is peaceful, and no one inhabits this island. Then a frightening green ray destroys the ship, and it is all Dan can manage to make it ashore alive.

His first encounter is a deadly machine like nothing he’s ever seen, and it is while hiding from it that he comes across Helen Hunter. She and her father, Dr. Hunter, were left on the island by request, as he believed he could find a way to communicate with intelligent life on Mars. Unfortunately, he did.

What follows is heroic and pulpy, but lots of fun on that level. The ending is a wink to romance, which is always in Williamson’s stories, and the writing is good as always. This Jack Williamson short story was published in the July, 1931 issue of Astounding Stories, which can be downloaded Free at Gutenberg. It does show its age and pulp origins a tad more than some others from the legendary Science Fiction writer that I’ve read. Still a quick, fun read on that level, so a solid three stars for me because I enjoyed it, as I do almost anything Jack Williamson wrote. ( )