ergy hit him simultaneously. He became rigid and the short
furious battle was over.

[Illustration]

One of the green-clad men released Hilmarc from the effects of Connel's
ninth shot and he stepped forward to stare straight into Connel's eyes.
"I know you can hear me, Major. I want to compliment you on your
shooting. But your brave resistance now is as futile as the resistance
of the entire Solar Guard in the near future." Hilmarc smiled
arrogantly and stepped back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will attend to
the business I came here for--to take care of a weakling and an
informer!" He turned and shouted to his men. "You have your orders! Get
Sinclair and then burn everything in sight."

* * * * *

"Astro, Tom," gasped Roger. "I--I can't go on."

The blond-haired cadet fell headlong to the ground, almost burying
himself in the mud. Tom and Astro turned without a word, and gripping
Roger under each arm, helped him to his feet. Behind them, the thunder
of the stalking tyrannosaurus came closer, and they forced themselves to
greater effort. For two days they had been running before the monster.
It was a wild flight through a wild jungle that offered them little
protection. And while their fears were centered on the brute behind
them, their sleepy, weary eyes sought out other dangers that lay ahead.
More than once they stopped to blast a hungry, frightened beast that
barred their path, leaving it for the tyrannosaurus and giving
themselves a momentary respite in their flight.

Astro led the way, tirelessly slashing at the vines and creepers with
his jungle knife, opening the path for Roger and Tom. The Venusian cadet
was sure that they were near the clearing around the Sinclair
plantation. Since early morning he had seen the trail markers they had
left when they started into the jungle. The cadets knew that if they
didn't reach the clearing soon they would have to stand and fight the
terrible thing that trailed them. During the first wild night, they had
stumbled into a sinkhole, and as Tom wallowed helplessly in the
clinging, suffocating mud, Astro and Roger stood and fought the giant
beast. The shock rifles cracked against the armorlike hide of the
monster, momentarily stunning him, but in the darkness and rain, they
were unable to get a clear head shot. When Tom finally pulled himself
out of the mudhole, they struggled onward through the jungle, with only
one shot left in each blast