round the building. But fortunately they had none of their
larger engines at hand, and with their hand arms alone they had not been
able to stand up against the disintegrators. They were blown away before
the withering fire of the ships by the hundreds until, fleeing from
destruction, they rushed madly, driving their unarmed companions before
them into the seething waters of the flood close at hand.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

_THE FEARFUL OATHS OF COLONEL SMITH_

Through all this terrible contest the emperor of the Martians had
remained standing upon his throne, gazing at the awful spectacle, and
not moving from the spot. Neither he nor the frightened woman gathered
upon the steps of the throne had been injured by the disintegrators.
Their immunity was due to the fact that the position and elevation of
the throne were such that, it was not within the range of fire of the
electrical ships which had poured their vibratory discharges through the
windows, and we inside had only directed our fire toward the warriors
who had attacked us.

Now that the struggle was over we turned our attention to Aina.
Fortunately the girl had not been seriously injured and she was quickly
restored to consciousness. Had she been killed, we would have been
practically helpless in attempting further negotiations, because the
knowledge which we had acquired of the language of the Martians from the
prisoner captured on the golden asteroid, was not sufficient to meet the
requirements of the occasion.

When the Martian monarch saw that we ceased the work of death, he sank
upon his throne. There he remained, leaning his chin upon his two hands
and staring straight before him like that terrible doomed creature who
fascinates the eyes of every beholder standing in the Sistine Chapel and
gazing at Micheal Angeleo's dreadful painting of "The Last Judgement."

This wicked Martian also felt that he was in the grasp of pitiless and
irresistible fate, and that a punishment too well deserved, and from
which there was no possible escape, now confronted him.

There he remained in a hopelessness which almost compelled our sympathy,
until Aina had so far recovered that she was once more able to act as
our interpreter. Then we made short work of the negotiations. Speaking
through Aina, the commander said:

"You know who we are. We have come from the earth, which, by your
command, was laid waste. Our commission was not revenge, but
self-protection. What w