me bullets," he sighed.

"Hell, man, I know where you can get plenty," said Wat. There was a
hidden cache, not far from where they were, stored against the day.
There were still some brave spirits left on Earth who hoped and
plotted. Wat had been one of them. Hilary's spirits rose immeasurably.
With his gun loaded he could face the whole Mercutian planet.

* * * * *

Hilary made the return journey to Great New York in an hour. He wormed
his way carefully to the nearest conveyor, and made his way openly to
the express platform, secure in his disguise.

There was an air of unrest, of tension in the air. The Earth
passengers no longer sat dully, apathetically, as they were whizzed
along. Little groups buzzed together, excited, gesticulating.

Hilary unostentatiously joined one. There was a sudden silence as he
sank quietly into his seat, glances of uneasy suspicion. But he looked
thoroughly innocuous, and the chief whisperer felt emboldened to
resume the thread of his interrupted discourse.

"There _are_ men left on Earth," he mouthed secretively to the little
circle of heads. "The Mercutians went down like animals--fifteen of
them killed, I hear. The whole company of guards retreated in a
hurry"--he paused for greater effect, and continued slowly and
impressively--"from--three--Earthmen."

Hilary raised his head sharply. They were discussing his exploit,
evidently. With exaggerations of course. That was inevitable.

"Yes, sir," the speaker proceeded, "that shows you. These damned
Mercutians are not invulnerable. They can be overcome, chased off the
Earth. But we've got to be men, not slaves."

High excitement shone in the surrounding faces.

"But we ain't got no weapons," a small, weak-chinned man protested.

The other spat carefully: "No weapons, huh? Man, I could show you--"

A dark, silent man standing uninterestedly next to him jabbed him in
the ribs. The orator gulped and stammered: "I--I mean--"

"Psst," someone hissed hurriedly, "the Mercutians."

* * * * *

Three giant Mercutian guards, their sun-tubes at the ready, stumbled
heavily down the aisles of the express, sagging with the pull of
Earth's gravitation. Their gray, warted faces were black as
thunderclouds.

They stopped before the hastily scattered group.

"You heard the orders," the hugest one barked: "no congregating of
Earth slaves on the conveyors or elsewhere. Next time yo