s ion drive
until it was safely clear of the warping influence of planetary masses.
Then, after several impatient days of careful study and calculation, the
distorter drive had been activated, for the first time in Earth's
history, and, for the twelve, the stars had winked out.

The men of Earth had decided that it should work in theory. They had
built the drive--a small machine, as drives go--but they had never dared
to try it, close to a planet. To do so, said their theory, would
usually--seven point three four times out of 10--destroy the ship, and
everything in space for thousands of miles around, in a ravening burst
of raw energy.

So the drive had been used for the first time without ever having been
tested. And it had worked.

In less than a week's time, if time has any meaning under such
circumstances, they had flickered back into normal space, in the
vicinity of Alpha Centauri. They had quickly located a dozen planets,
and one that looked enough like Earth to be its twin sister. They had
headed for that planet confidently and unsuspectingly, using the ion
drive.

Two weeks later, while they were still several planetary diameters from
their destination, they had been shocked to find more than two score
alien ships of space closing in on them--ships that were swifter and
more maneuverable than their own. These ships had rapidly and
competently englobed the _Star Seeker_, and had then tried to herd it
away from the planet it had been heading toward.

* * * * *

Although caught by surprise, the Earthmen had acted swiftly. Crownwall
recalled the discussion--the council of war, they had called it--and
their unanimous decision. Although far within the dangerous influence of
a planetary mass, they had again activated the distorter drive, and they
had beaten the odds. On the distorter drive, they had returned to Earth
as swiftly as they had departed. Earth had immediately prepared for war
against her unknown enemy.

"Your reaction was savage," said Ggaran, his tentacles stiffening with
shock at the memory. "You bloody-minded Earthlings must have been aware
of the terrible danger."

Ffallk rippled in agreement. "The action you took was too swift and too
foolhardy to be believed. You knew that you could have destroyed not
only yourself, but also all who live on that planet. You could also have
wrecked the planet itself and the ships and those of my own race who
manned them. We had