number. They knew
exactly what they were about. Five of them plunged into the ship. Others
drove off the ground-trucks. Uniformed men ran from the side of the
spaceport toward the ship, yelling. One ground-car started up again,
rushed to the control-building, swerved sharply as a crash into it
seemed inevitable, and dumped something out on the ground. It raced back
to the other cars about the cargo-ship. The hold-doors were closing.

The object dumped by the control-building went off. It was a
chemical-explosive bomb, but its power was adequate. The wall of the
building caved in. Flames leaped crazily out of the collapsed heap. The
landing-field would be out of operation.

The last car skidded to a stop. The two men in it ran for the
boarding-stair of the cargo-boat. There was nobody of their party
outside now. The landing-stair withdrew after them.

Then monstrous, incredible masses of flame and steam burst from the
bottom of the rotund space-ship. It lifted, slowly at first, but then
more and more swiftly. It climbed to the sky. It became a speck, and
then a mote at the crawling end of a trail of opaque white
emergency-rocket fumes. Then it vanished.

* * * * *

Far out in space, there was an explosion brighter than the sun, and then
a second and a third. There was a cloud of incandescent metal vapor.
Presently a missile found its target-seeking microwaves reflected by the
ionized metal steam. It plunged into collision with that glowing stuff.
It exploded. Two or three more exploded, like the first. Others burned
harmlessly.

A voice said, "_Cargo-ship reporting. Clear of ground. Everything going
well. No casualties._"

"Report again when in clear space," said Bors.

He waited. Several long minutes later a second report came.

"_Cargo-ship reporting. In clear space._"

"Very good work!" said Bors. "You know where to go now. Go ahead!"

"_Yes, sir_," said the voice from space. Then it asked apologetically,
"_You got the battleship, sir?_"

The voice from space sounded as if the man who spoke were grinning.

"_We'll celebrate that, sir! Good to have served with you, sir._"

Bors swung the _Isis_ and drove on solar-system drive to get well away
from Garen. He watched the blip which was the captured ship as it seemed
to hesitate a very, very long time. It was aiming, of course, for
Glamis, that totally useless solar system around a planet where the
fleet of Kandar orbited i