d to the
gods, but that the lives of the rest will be spared. Who shall be
sacrificed and who shall be spared will be determined by lot. If you
don't surrender all of you will be taken prisoner and offered as
sacrifices. You have five minutes to meet our demands."

* * * * *

Voronoff's voice went into silence. Craig, tommy-gun ready, strained to
see the man. Voronoff was hidden. He was not likely to offer himself as
a target.

"What are you going to do?" Captain Higgins asked. Tactfully, since
Craig had planned and executed the rescue attempt, Higgins was making no
effort to exert his own authority. "If I understand correctly, they
offer half of us a chance to live, if we surrender."

"I don't believe they will keep any promise they make," Craig said
slowly. "I think they are trying to trick us into surrendering. However
I might be wrong. I am willing to put it to a vote. What do you say:
Shall we surrender or shall we fight?"

The narrow passage was full of sailors who had overheard everything that
had been said. There was a moment of silence. Then a gruff voice
growled.

"I say fight!"

A chorus instantly answered the first voice.

"Fight the devils!"

"They won't ever give us a chance if we surrender."

"Fight our way out of here."

Captain Higgins listened. "They're good boys," he said, a suspicious
quaver in his voice.

"All right," Craig said. "We fight. This temple is almost a fortress. In
here, we can hold them off indefinitely. They don't have artillery, so
they can't blast us out, and their planes have been destroyed, so they
can't bomb us. We'll hold here until we have a chance to escape."

In the back of his mind was the thought that they _did_ have a chance to
escape. After all, phase four of the attack had not yet gone into
operation. Phase four was due to start any minute now.

"To the roof!" he ordered.

By the time the five minutes of grace were up everybody was on the flat
roof of the temple. The moon was just rising. It looked like a gigantic
conflagration on the horizon.

"Time is up!" Voronoff yelled, from some place of concealment. "What did
you decide."

"We decided you could go to hell!" Craig answered. "If you want us,
you've got to come and get us."

Hiding around the temple thousands of the Ogrum could be vaguely
glimpsed. Captain Higgins surveyed the scene. "We command all approaches
to the building," he said. "If they try to charge us,