tly turning as Drac swung us
upon our new course.

Waters bent over the projector of the Benson curve-light, making
connections. The cubby was silent and dim, with only a tiny spotlight
where Waters was working, and a glow upon his table where his recent
messages from Earth were filed. Grantline and I glanced at them.

Panic in Greater New York, Grebhar, and Ferrok-Shahn. The three
strange beams which the enemy had planted on Earth, Venus and Mars
still remained unchanged. I could see them now plainly from the helio
cubby windows, great shafts of radiance sweeping the firmament.

Waters straightened from his task. "That will do it, Mr. Haljan." He
met me in the center of the cubby. "When you locate the enemy, do you
think they'll destroy us as they did those other ships?"

Grantline laughed grimly. "Maybe so, Waters. But let's hope not."

Fat little Waters was anything but a coward, but being closed up here
all these hours with a stream of dire messages from Earth had shaken
him.

"What I mean, Mr. Grantline, is that prudence is sometimes better than
reckless valor. The _Cometara_ is no warship. If Earth had sent an
international patrol vessel...."

Grantline did not answer. He joined me at the Benson projector. "Can
we operate it from here, Gregg, or will you mount it in the bow?"

"From here. Drac's swinging. When he's on the course I gave him, I can
throw the Benson-ray through the bow dome-port. Waters, you're all
done in. Go below and sleep awhile."

But he stood his ground. "No, sir; I don't want to sleep."

"We've had ours," said Grantline. "We'll call you if anything shows
up."

We sent Waters away. "Ready, Gregg?"

"Yes. I've got the range."

The coils hummed and heated with the current, and in a moment the
Benson curve-beam leaped from the projector.

The Benson curve-light was similar to an ordinary white searchlight
beam, except that its path, instead of being straight could be bent at
will into various curves--hyperbola, parabola, and for its extreme
curve, the segment of an ellipse--gradually straightening as it left
its source. It was effective for police work, with hand torches for
seeing around opaque obstructions. It had also another advantage,
especially when used at long range: the enemy, when gazing back at its
source, would under normal circumstances conceive it to be a straight
beam and thus be misled as to the location of its source. Or even
realizing it to be curved, one had no