ons he asked left him with a grim look on his face.
He called the sailors together.

"I have been talking to Guru," he said. "Guru tells me that the city of
the Ogrum is not far from here. He says we can reach it tonight, if we
go by land, and if we use the big logs that float--by which he means our
power boats--we can reach it by midnight."

He paused and looked expectantly at the sailors. A little stir ran
through them. They instantly grasped what he was driving at.

"Moreover," he continued, "Guru tells me that the city is usually
unguarded, that the Ogrum do not bother to post sentries."

Craig watched the men closely. There was hard, bitter resentment on
their faces. They had seen their comrades carted away like so many
sticks of wood to some unguessed fate. All they wanted was a chance to
rescue their friends, or failing in that, to avenge them.

Craig wasted few words. "I am going to the city of the Ogrum," he said.
"All of you who want to go with me, step forward."

The fierce shout that answered him told him all he wanted to know. The
blue-jackets were with him. Only one man failed to step forward. It was
Voronoff. Craig eyed him.

"What about you, Voronoff?" he said.

"Don't be a damned fool!" Voronoff spat out the words. "We don't have a
chance."

"No?"

"No! The Ogrum have planes and gas and everything else. If we jump them,
they'll mow us down."

"What would you recommend that we do?" Craig asked. His voice was soft
and there was a worried expression on his face. He looked like a man who
is faced with a tough problem and is weighing all the possibilities
before deciding what to do.

"There is only one thing to do," Voronoff snapped. "Get to hell away
from here as fast as we can. Hide in the jungle. Maybe the Ogrum don't
know there are any of us left alive. If we jump them, they'll know we're
alive and they'll clean us out."

"Hmmm," Craig said thoughtfully. "You've probably got something there.
But what about the men the Ogrum have captured?"

Voronoff shrugged indifferently. "They're done for," he said. "We can't
help what happens to them."

* * * * *

A low growl came from the mass of sailors as Voronoff spoke.

"I suppose we really can't help what happens to them," Craig said. "But
I, for one am going to try to help it. We need every able-bodied man we
have. That includes you, Voronoff. Are you going with us or aren't you?"

Craig's voice was still so