ssion in her splendid eyes. A murmur arose from the
other Kondalians, which was quickly silenced by the Kofedix.

"It is dishonorable for a soldier of Earth to kill a helpless prisoner,"
he said briefly. "We cannot understand it, but we must not attempt to
sway him in any point of honor."

Dunark stepped to the controls and the elevator shot upward, stopping at
a landing several stories below the top of the dock. He took a peculiar
device from his belt and fitted it over the muzzle of his strange
pistol.

"We will get out here," he instructed the others, "and go up the rest of
the way by a little-used flight of stairs. We will probably encounter
some few guards, but I can dispose of them without raising an alarm. You
will all stay behind me, please."

Seaton remonstrated, and Dunark went on:

"No, Seaton, you have done your share, and more. I am upon familiar
ground now, and can do the work alone better than if you were to help
me. I will call upon you, however, before we reach the dock."

The Kofedix led the way, his pistol resting lightly against his hip, and
at the first turn of the corridor they came full upon four guards. The
pistol did not move from its place at the side of the leader, but there
were four subdued clicks and the four guards dropped dead, with bullets
through their brains.

"Seaton, that is _some_ silencer," whispered DuQuesne. "I didn't suppose
a silencer could work that fast."

"They don't use powder," Seaton replied absently, all his faculties
directed toward the next corner. "The bullets are propelled by an
electrical charge."

In the same manner Dunark disposed of several more guards before the
last stairway was reached.

* * * * *

"Seaton," he whispered in English, "now is the time we need your rapid
pistol-work and your high-explosive shells. There must be hundreds of
soldiers on the other side of that door, armed with machine-cannon
shooting high-explosive shells at the rate of a thousand per minute. Our
chance is this--their guns are probably trained upon the elevators and
main stairways, since this passage is unused and none of us would be
expected to know of it. Most of them don't know of it themselves. It
will take them a second or two to bring their guns to bear upon us. We
must do all the damage we can--kill them all, if possible--in that
second or two. If Crane will lend me a pistol, we'll make the rush
together."

"I've a better scheme