nse? Ross ducked that
suspicion as he had ducked the moist blanket on the surface. He had come
from the gate, which meant that the jetty must lie--there!

A few moments later Ross had proof that his sense of direction had not
altogether failed him, when his shoulder grazed against a solid
obstruction in the water and his exploring touch told him that he had
found one of the jetty piles. He surfaced again and this time he heard
not a thunder roll but the singsong chanting of the Foanna.

It was loud, almost directly above his head, but since the cotton mist
held he was not afraid of being sighted. The chanter must be on the
jetty. And to Ross's right was a dark bulk which he thought was one of
the cutters. Was a sortie by the besieged being planned?

Then, out of the night, came a dazzling beam, well above the level of
Ross's head where he clung to the piling. It centered on the cutter,
slicing into the substance of the vessel with the ease of steel piercing
clay. The chanting stopped on mid-note, broken by cries of surprise and
alarm. Ross, pressing against the pile, received a jolt from his belt
sonic.

There must be a Baldy sub in the basin inside the gate. Perhaps the
flame beam now destroying the cutter was to be turned on the walls of
the keep in turn.

Foanna chant again, low and clear. Splashes from the water as those on
the jetty cast into the sea objects Ross could not define. The Terran's
body jerked, his mask smothered a cry of pain. About his legs and
middle, immersed in the waves, there was cold so intense that it seared.
Fear goaded him to pull up on one of the under beams of the pier. He
reached that refuge and rubbed his icy legs with what vigor he could
summon.

Moments later he crept along toward the shore. The energy ray had found
another target. Ross paused to watch a second cutter sliced. If the
counter stroke of the Foanna would rout the invaders, it had not yet
begun to work.

The net holding the extra gear brought along in hopes of Ashe's escape
weighed the Terran down, but he would not abandon it as he felt his way
from one foot- and hand-hold to the next. The waves below gave off an
icy exudation which made him shiver uncontrollably. And he knew that as
long as that effect lasted he dared not venture into the sea again.

Light ... along with the cold, there was a phosphorescence on the
water--white patches floating, dipping, riding the waves. Some of them
gathered under the pier, clus