reaming and the crying of the things down in swamp, but
you mustn't pay any attention to them."

* * * * *

Scorio's eyes widened, staring. "You won't send me _there_!"

"You'll find my campfires," Greg told him, "if the rain hasn't washed
them away. It rains a lot. So much and so drearily that you'll want to
leave that mountain and walk down into the swamp, of your own free will,
and let the monsters finish you."

Scorio sat dully. He did not move. Horror glazed his eyes.

Greg signed to Russ. Russ, pipe clenched between his teeth, reached out
his fingers for the keys. The engines droned.

Manning walked slowly to a television control, sat down in the chair
and flipped over a lever. A face stared out of the screen. It was
strangely filled with anger and a sort of half-fear.

"You watched it, didn't you, Stutsman?" Greg asked.

Stutsman nodded. "I watched. You can't get away with it, Manning. You
can't take the law into your own hands that way."

"You and Chambers have been taking the law into your hands for years,"
said Greg. "All I did tonight was clear the Earth of some vermin. Every
one of those men was guilty of murder ... and worse."

"What did you gain by it?" asked Stutsman.

Greg gave a bitter laugh. "I convinced you, Stutsman," he said, "that it
isn't so easy to kill me. I think it'll be some time before you try
again. Better luck next time."

He flipped the switch and turned about in the chair.

Russ jerked his thumb at the skylight. "Might as well finish the ship
now."

Greg nodded.

An instant later there was a fierce, intolerably blue-white light that
lit the mountains for many miles. For just an instant it flared,
exploding into millions of brilliant, harmless sparks that died into
darkness before they touched the ground. The gangster ship was destroyed
beyond all tracing, disintegrated. The metal and quartz of which it was
made were simply gone.

Russ brought his glance back from the skylight, looked at his friend.
"Stutsman will do everything he can to wipe us out. By tomorrow morning
the Interplanetary machine will be rolling. With only one purpose--to
crush us."

"That's right," Greg agreed, "but we're ready for them now. Our ship
left the Belgium factories several hours ago. The _Comet_ towed it out
in space and it's waiting for us now. In a few hours the _Comet_ will be
here to pick us up."

"War in space," said Russ, musingly. "That's what it wi