We were unarmed. I had my at the thing in the forest; and Snap had all his at the of green eyes. Molo and Wyk came with a through the air. Two from them to the them, and them forward.
Snap and I Venza and Anita. It was a second of[101] confusion; then I saw we would not be able to in time. The driving, were no more than twenty away.
"Protect Venza, Snap! Get her you!"
Snap Venza him; I got myself in of Anita. We had almost our feet. I to Anita and myself upward. We rose, but only a feet. And then we were by the of Wyk, like a huge, light-shelled, three-pound in mid-air against us. The two arms around us. Anita and kicked. The gruesome, of Wyk itself almost into mine. The voice panted, "I have you fast."
One of my arms was free and I with my at the gaping, mouth. There was a crack. My through the shell; a cold, out.
Wyk screamed. His arms away. The was white with and where my had gone in.
We had to the rocks. I the of Wyk away.
"Anita! Swim up!"
"No!"
Sinking us were the of Molo, Snap and Venza were down. They intermingled. Snap was shouting: "No you don't! Drop that!"
I for them. Something long and thin and was from Molo's hand. He from the Snap and Venza; his the and he himself backward. My had me too high. I saw that in his hand was a six-foot length of wire. He it. The weight on its end an arc, and then he the handle. The wire Venza and Snap just as their against the and them upward. The wire itself around them, them together. Its vanished. Snap had been shouting, "Gregg, come up." But it died in his throat.
All this while, in those seconds, I was over Molo, trying to to the ground to again. I saw that Anita was on the rocks. My cylinder[102] was at my belt. I had it there to my hands free just as Wyk me.
I saw that Snap and Venza, together by the wire, had their projector. Their up some fifty and stopped; then down.
Molo was shouting, "You, Gregg Haljan! Now for you!"
I the and twenty him. I out my projector, but I did not know what I wanted to do with it. And in that second I saw that the Molo was at me. Directly over my the of Venza and Snap were falling.
A over the dark from Molo. There was a split-second when I it was the end of me. But I was still alive. The of Venza and Snap my and shoulders; me down. I Molo's upon me. Not death, but only his ray, like a hand me. Apparently he wanted us alive. I was on the rocks, with Venza and Snap. Molo's clung. All three of us toward him. I my own ray, but I was end over end, and it wild.
I it, saw Molo's vanish, saw his above me. Snap, Venza and I were in a at his feet. He and me. "Now, Gregg Haljan, I will teach you not to try like this!"
With the huge, Martian me, his for my but missing and my shoulder, this was a of normality. I like this. I my around him; my for his as he us into the air free of the of Snap and Venza.
We rose a and back, each other, and striking. He was very powerful, this Martian. I the of his with my hands. For an I off his wind, but I not the grip. He me a in the face, then the of his hand was under my chin. It my head, my on his throat. With returning breath, he an inhalation. And I his words: "You are not enough!"[103]
We rolled and over the rocks. I a from his full in my face. It was almost the end; I my going. He laughed as he away my swing. I was on my against the rocks, with his on top of me. Then and his shoulder, against the sky, I saw Anita up. She was a of stone, full four in diameter. She it, then it on Molo's head. He away from me; his arms relaxed. The rolled him.
It was over now. Wyk was dead; his with its near us. Molo was unconscious, heavily, motionless, with a on the of his head, the blood out, his hair.
Anita and I were uninjured, victorious—but what a victory. On the here, together by that wire, Snap and Venza inert. We over them. The wire was cold to the touch now. It our to it. We as we pleaded: "Snap, speak to us! Venza, can't you speak?"
Their were open. I was aware that there was no above us, but instead, a sky of clouds, with a cast. The here was green. The of it upon the wide-open of Venza and Snap. It that there was in those eyes.
"Snap, can't you us?"
His came and up again, slowly, as though by a effort. "Can you move, Snap?"
His right moved. Was his answer, no?
Anita and I had so a of as that which us in those minutes. A was up in the green night. It came from the mountains. It across the river, the surface which was now green and sullen. We did not know where to go, what to do.
We at last that we the wire. We Venza and Snap on the side-by-side, about thirty from the river. The wire had their only a little, as the was by the with their bodies.
"Snap, are you in pain?"[104]
His to be trying to talk to me. Anita rose from Venza: "Oh, Gregg, what shall we do? Can't we them?"
But where? To what purpose? Wild me: Wandl's station, and death upon Earth. Mars and Venus. What was that now to me? I of Molo's ship.
"Anita, if we can to the Star-Streak, it and from this world...."
"Carry Snap and Venza there now? But we don't know where it is. Can we make Molo lead us?"
But Molo unconscious. I not him.
Anita and I were so alone! We together.
"Gregg, look at that sky!"
The wind was at us. It through the dark defiles, out over the river where the water now was to with the current. The sky was with green of radiance. Over us, the lowering, clouds were scudding, the wind.
It now upon us; I that Anita and I were against it. A us, so that we were a dozen feet, up against a crag, as though we were balloons.
"Anita—this wind—we can't maintain ourselves here. We...."
Horror me at the of Venza and Snap, there on the rocks. We saw the of Wyk, like a great insect, by the wind, like a over and over, and away.
A little came and me. Then a rain of pebbles, like was at us.
The was by the of Wandl. The light-beam upon Earth had been by the Wandl station without rotation. But to attack the from Mars, a of Wandl was necessary. The planet's was started; and checked. It night now, here in this hemisphere. Perhaps there were natural here; the of the station were eager, the too suddenly.[105]
At all events, it was frightening. I above its and the of the pebbles: "Hold onto me! We'll to Venza and Snap."
We the two forms, where they had into a two boulders. "Can't here, Anita."
"No! If it again!"
"Over there! A cave!"
We got Venza and Snap into it, just as another came, with a rain of and past outside.
Suddenly I of Molo. "Anita, here! Must to Molo."
"Gregg, no!"
"I must. If we can him to consciousness, make him tell us where the Star-Streak is...."
I off her hold. The wind had up. I out into it, swimming. The by close under me in a drift. In a moment I would be out over the river. It was a of green, darkness. But there was light now overhead and claps, like thunder.
I saw Molo's where the wind him against the of a flat, ten-foot butte, and for him, until I against the with a that almost the from me. Molo was still unconscious.
How long it took me to to Anita, with Molo's body, I do not know. I managed to keep against the ground; was back, and again. The wind came with puffs. In one of the lulls, I Molo through the air and into the cave.
"Gregg!" Anita to me, her arms around me. "Gregg dear, you were gone so long!"
I was and and breathless. The cave's mouth was like a ten-foot leading into blackness.
"Gregg, I put Venza and Snap here."
They by side, like two bodies, here in the darkness. We Molo with them. Together Anita and I them, to each other, to the wild of the wind outside. The had into full now. It would us away like[106] feathers, there now. The and and crashed. Stones and were being like hailstones.
This flimsy, world! It as though the here on which we were would be and away.
"Gregg! Gregg, is this the end?"
A of at the opening, it, so that we were here in the darkness. "Anita, my darling, I will stop you."
Darkness, with her arms around me and a world outside. But here, only Anita and her soft arms.
"Gregg!"
Horror was in her voice. Then I saw what she was seeing. It was not just Anita and I here in the with the of Snap and Venza and Molo. Something else was here.
From the of the cave, two green, were staring. Their me the of a head. An thing? But it was not another of the insects. This to be an animal. The of its a lythe, body, solid and muscled. A chattering, animal, here in the dark with us! We mouthing, words, and an eerie, laugh as it came toward us.
The thing in the at us as we together in the darkness, for a moment by horror. The head, of with its green eyes, upon a long, neck. The of their own light. The from them the black so we were able to see its tawny, body. It was long sleek, the size of an Earth leopard. A body, with weight, it was moving toward us, on the rocks.
I my and Anita me. I on one knee. There was no escape, to run. This was by a us, with the wild outside. The thing was some twenty away, where the into a black of unknown size. Beside me Snap and Venza inert, the still-unconscious Molo with them.[107]
There was nothing to do but here and protect Anita. I my arms, above the of the storm; my voice with a in this darkness.
"Get back! Back! Back, away from me!"
It stopped. Round ears up from the head. Then it laughed again. I Anita a at my hand, a of the size of my head. "Its face, Gregg! Aim for its face!"
The like a of cork. I it and the thing on the body. Its abruptly; it crouched, as though for a spring.
And then I of my projector. I on the to its full intensity.
The leaped. It came hurtling, but my met it in mid-air. For a second I that I had been too late. The thing was the air; its it against the push of my ray. For an it hung, snarling, and then laughed that wild laugh.
The it back. It through the air, across the of the cave, speed until, in a moment it up against the opposite some away. There it hung, as I the upon it. The had the but the was uninjured. It was and twisting: the was with the of its screams.
Over the screams, I another voice: "Oh Gregg, where are you?"
Snap! Behind me, Anita was moving toward where Snap and Venza were lying. The thing in my light stopped its screaming, with at this new sound.
"Snap! We're here, Snap!"
Then Venza's voice: "It's me talk. We're now."
They were recovering, Anita was over them. "Gregg, they're all right. The is off, thank God."
But I did not move to them. My light on the thing across the it, but I did not to my attention.[108]
I called, "Stay with them, Anita." I moved slowly forward, the steady. The was with and boulders. Ten from the animal I a great of rock. It in my hand, but the weight of it was only a pounds.
The the animal as though I had it by a pole. From the of a I the boulder. The against the wall. The and the of the and the to the when I the beam.
"Snap, thank God you've recovered! And you, Venza!"
Anita and I sat with them. They had been all the while, but they were out of it now.
An hour passed while we sat crouched, to the storm.
"It's up," Venza said out of a silence.
Anita was over the of Molo. He had and times.
"Let's see if we can out of here," Snap suggested.
Rocks had and the only from the cave. But to our strength, the of the was movable.
"Shall we try it now, Gregg?"
As though we were elephants, and pushing, we with the the passage. There was a that the whole thing would in on us; but we were of that. We the small like pebbles. There was one main mass. Together we and and it. A small opening was disclosed, large for our bodies. The wind in through it.
The girls called us. Molo had consciousness. The from the had only him. We his with a of his which we cut into strips.
"What is it you do with me? Is Wyk dead?"
"Yes."
He and sullen. "Look here, Molo, we're going to out of this, and you're going to help us. If you don't...." The knife which we had taken from him to cut his was in my hand. I its across his throat. "Will you talk and truthfully?"
"Yes, I will talk the truth."
"Do you know where the station is located?"[109]
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Not far."
"The with that!" Snap out. "Get it in your mind, Molo, that we're in no mood for talk like that. How is it?"
"On Earth you would call it ten miles."
"In these mountains?"
"He told us it was," said Anita. "Underground."
"Do you know where your ship is?" I persisted.
He told us that it was some thirty miles in another direction, not in the mountains, but in the of a city like Wor. It was and for flight, all but the of its crew.
And now we had weapons! Molo was of the projectors; two small beams, little hand torches; and three ray-guns of short-range size.
Hope us. The was abating. We upon the single small room of the station, where but two were stationed. The there be wrecked.
And then we would the Star-Streak. No one would be on the for us. The that Molo's had was as yet unknown; he and Wyk had not tell it. Meka was there waiting. Our from the might have been discovered; but Meka would say that we were with Molo. She was waiting there, that her and Wyk would us. All this we from Molo.
Snap and I the and the small guns. "Let's started, Gregg. The over."
It was. We the purple-red night again outside. The river was white with waves, but they were spent. There was only a mild warm remaining.
Molo's were free, but his were him. I an arm under his, him like a huge, but light, bundle. Snap called, "Ready, Gregg?"
"Yes."
Snap on his and mounted, with the[110] girls to his ankles. Then I with Molo. By great swoops, we up into the frowning, mountains.
