the rugged, ragged hills. From any one spot they
seemed at once to swagger and to slink, swaying as they moved on and
vanished into obscurity. The small wild things in the night paused
affrightedly in their scurryings until they had gone far away.

[Illustration]

Fani said in a soft voice:

"This is nice!"

"What's nice about it?" demanded Hoddan.

"Riding like this," said Fani enthusiastically, "with men who have
fought for me to guard me in the darkness, with the leader who has
rescued me by my side, underneath the stars-- It's a delicious feeling!"

"You're used to riding horseback," said Hoddan dourly.

He rode on, while mountains stabbed skyward and the pass they followed
wound this way and that and he knew that it was a very roundabout way
indeed. And he had unpleasing prospects to make it seem less
satisfying, even, than it would have been otherwise.

But they came, at last, to a narrow defile which opened out before them
and there were no more mountains ahead, but only foothills. And there,
far and far away, they could see the sky as vaguely brighter. As they
went on, indeed, a glory of red and golden colorings appeared at the
horizon.

And out of that magnificence three bright lights suddenly darted. In
strict V-formation, they flashed from the sunrise toward the west. They
went overhead, more brilliant than the brightest stars, and when partway
down to the horizon they suddenly winked out.

"What on Earth are they?" demanded Fani. "I never saw anything like that
before!"

"They're spaceships in orbit," said Hoddan. He was as astounded as the
girl, but for a different reason. "I thought they'd be landed by now!"

It changed everything. He could not see what the change amounted to, but
change there was. For one thing--

"We're going to the spaceport," he told Thal curtly. "We'll recharge our
stun-pistols there. I thought those ships had landed. They haven't. Now
we'll see if we can keep them aloft! How far to the landing grid?"

"You insisted," complained Thal, "that we not go back to Don Loris'
castle by the way we left it. There are only so many passes through the
hills. The only other one is very long. We are only four miles--"

"Then we head there right now!" snapped Hoddan. "And we step up the
speed!"

He barked commands to his followers. Thal, puzzled but in dread of acid
comment from Fani, bustled up and down the line of men, insisting on a
faster pace. And the members of the cavalca