went on the amphibians would get
further and further ahead of them in development, so they let themselves
be conquered, learned how to use the Nevians' tools and everything else
they could get hold of, developed a lot of new stuff of their own, and
now they're out to wipe the amphibians off the map completely, before
they get too far ahead of them to handle."

"And the Nevians are afraid of them, and want to kill them all, as fast
as they possibly can," guessed Clio.

"That would be the logical thing, of course," commented Bradley. "Got
pretty nearly enough distance now, Costigan?"

"There isn't enough distance on the planet to suit me," Costigan
replied. "We'll need all we can get. A full diameter away from that crew
of amphibians is too close for comfort--their detectors are keen."

"Then they can detect us?" Clio asked. "Oh, I wish they hadn't hit
us--we'd have been away from here long ago."

"So do I," Costigan agreed, feelingly. "But they did--no use squawking.
We can rivet and weld those seams, and things could be a lot worse--we
are still breathing air!"

In silence the lifeboat flashed onward, and half of Nevia's mighty globe
was traversed before it was brought to a halt. Then in furious haste the
two officers set to work, again to make their small craft sound and
spaceworthy.

CHAPTER 12

WORM, SUBMARINE, AND FREEDOM

Since both Costigan and Bradley had often watched their captors at work
during the long voyage from the Solar System to Nevia, they were quite
familiar with the machine tools of the amphibians. Their stolen
lifeboat, being an emergency craft, of course carried full repair
equipment; and to such good purpose did the two officers labor that even
before their air-tanks were fully charged, all the damage had been
repaired.

The lifeboat lay motionless upon the mirror-smooth surface of the ocean.
Captain Bradley had opened the upper port and the three stood in the
opening, gazing in silence toward the incredibly distant horizon, while
powerful pumps were forcing the last possible ounces of air into the
storage cylinders. Mile upon strangely flat mile stretched that
waveless, unbroken expanse of water, merging finally into the violent
redness of the Nevian sky. The sun was setting; a vast ball of purple
flame dropping rapidly toward the horizon. Darkness came suddenly as
that seething ball disappeared, and the air became bitterly cold, in
sharp contrast to the pleasant warmth of a