ntually bring her up to the craft of the enemy. Carse's Earth-watch
told him that an hour and a half had passed. A vague anxiety oppressed
him, but he shook it off with the thought that soon the time for
accounting would arrive. Only forty minutes more; probably less. His
fears--foolish. He was getting too suspicious....

* * * * *

Then came the voice.

It pierced through the control cabin from the loudspeaker cone above
the radio switchboard. It was rough and mocking. It said:

"Hawk Carse? Hawk Carse? You hear me?" Many times it repeated this.
"Yes? You hear me, Hawk Carse? I've a joke I want you to hear--a very
funny joke. You'll enjoy it!" There interrupted the staccato sounds of
an irrepressible amusement.

Carse froze. His fingers by habit fluttered over his ray-gun butt as
he wheeled and looked into the loudspeaker. Friday, at the
space-stick, stared at him; Harkness's face was puzzled as he peered
at the loudspeaker and then turned and gazed at his captain.

"But where," he asked, "--where does the voice come from? Who is it?"

As if thinking aloud, Carse whispered:

"From that ship ahead. I half expected ... I know it well, that voice.
Very well. It's the voice of ... of ... I can't quite place it.... In
a minute.... The voice of--"

The chuckling ceased, and again the voice spoke.

"Yes--a very funny joke! I can't share it all with you, Carse, because
you'd spoil it. But do you remember, some years ago, five men--and
another who lay before them? Do you remember how this last man said:
'Each one of you will die for what you've done to me?' That man didn't
wear bangs over his forehead then. Remember? Well, I'm one of the five
the mighty Hawk Carse swore he would kill!"

Again the voice broke into a chuckle.

But it ended suddenly. The tone it changed into was entirely
different, was cruel with a taunting sneer.

"Bah! The avenging Hawk! The mighty Hawk! Well, in minutes, you'll be
dead. You'll be dead! The mighty Sparrow Carse will be dead!"

A brief eternity went by. Carse remembered, and the glint in his gray
eyes grew colder.

"Judd the Kite," he whispered.

Friday's lips formed the words.

And even Harkness, new to the frontiers of space, knew the name and
echoed it haltingly.

"Judd the Kite...."

* * * * *

Of all the henchmen Dr. Ku Sui had gathered about him and banded
against Earth, and against Carse, and against al