alled to retreat.

Shaking off their pursuers, as a hunted bear shakes off the dogs, sixty
of the electrical ships rose up through the clouds where more than ninety
had gone down!

Madly we rushed upward through the vast curtain and continued our flight
to a great elevation, far beyond the reach of the awful artillery of
the enemy.

Forced to Retreat.

Looking back it seemed the very mouth of hell that we had escaped from.

The Martians did not for an instant cease their fire, even when we
were far beyond their reach. With furious persistence they blazed away
through the cloud curtains, and the vivid spikes of lightning shuddered
so swiftly on one another's track that they were like a flaming halo of
electric lances around the frowning helmet of the War Planet.

But after a while they stopped their terrific sparring, and once more
the immense globe assumed the appearance of a vast ball of black smoke,
still wildly agitated by the recent disturbance, but exhibiting no
opening through which we could discern what was going on beneath.

Evidently the Martians believed they had finished us.

Despair Seizes Us.

At no time since the beginning of our adventure had it appeared to me
quite so hopeless, reckless and mad as it seemed at present.

We had suffered fearful losses, and yet what had we accomplished? We had
won two fights on the asteroid, it is true, but then we had overwhelming
numbers on our side.

Now we were facing millions on their own ground, and our very first
assault had resulted in a disastrous repulse, with the loss of at least
thirty electric ships and 600 men!

Evidently we could not endure this sort of thing. We must find some
other means of assailing Mars or else give up the attempt.

But the latter was not to be thought of. It was no mere question of
self-pride, however, and no consideration of the tremendous interests
at stake, which would compel us to continue our apparently vain attempt.

No Hope in Sight.

Our provisions could last only a few days longer. The supply would not
carry us one-quarter of the way back to the earth, and we must therefore
remain here and literally conquer or die.

In this extremity a consultation of the principal officers was called
upon the deck of the flagship.

Here the suggestion was made that we should attempt to effect by strategy
what we had failed to do by force.

An old army officer who had served in many wars against the cunning
Indians