s
completed the head, running down to a scrawny neck.

They were short, scarcely five feet, yet evidently of tremendous
strength for their short, heavy arms, the muscle bulging plainly under
the tight rubber-like composition garments, and the short legs whose
stocky girth proclaimed equal strength were members of a body in keeping
with them. The deep, broad chest, wide, square shoulders, heavy broad
hips, combined with the tiny head seemed to indicate a perfect
incarnation of brainless, brute strength.

"Strangers from another planet, enemies of our enemies. What brings you
here at this time of troubles?" The thoughts came clearly from the
stocky individual before them.

"We seek to aid, and to find aid. The menace that you face, attacks not
alone your world, but all this star cluster," replied Zezdon Afthen
steadily.

The stranger shook his head with an evident expression of hopelessness.
"The menace is even greater than we feared. It was just fortune that
permitted us to have our weapon in workable condition at the time your
ship was attacked. It will be a day before the machine will again be
capable of successful operation. When in condition for use, it is
invincible, but--one blow in thirty hours--you can see we are not of
great aid." He shrugged.

An enemy with evident resources of tremendous power, deadly, unknown
rays that wiped out entire cities with a single brief sweep--and no
defense save this single weapon, good but once a day! Morey could read
the utter despair of the man.

"What is the difficulty?" asked Morey eagerly.

"Power, lack of power. Our cities are going without power, while every
electric generator on the planet is pouring its output into the
accumulators that work these damnable, hopeless things. Invincible with
power--helpless without."

"Ah!" Morey's face shone with delight--invincible weapon--with power.
And the _Ancient Mariner_ could generate unthinkable power.

"What power source do you use--how do you generate your power?"

"Combining oxidizing agent with reducing agents releases heat. Heat used
to boil liquid and the vapor runs turbines."

"We can give you power. What wattage have you available?"

Only Morey's thoughts had to translate "watts" to "How many man-weights
can you lift through your height per time interval, equal to this." He
gave the man some impression of a second, by counting. The man figured
rapidly. His answer indicated that approximately a total of two bi