e not waiting
contemptuously this time. In an instant the great interstellar ship rose
from its berth, its weapons working angrily. The crumbler ray snapped
out at the T-253.

Kendall stared into the periscope visor intently. Clumsily his padded
hands worked at the specially adapted controls. The soft hiss of the
oxygen release into his suit disturbed him slightly. The radio-phones in
his helmet carried all the conversations in the ship to him with equal
clarity. He watched as the great ship angled angrily up--

His vision was momentarily obscured by a violet glow that built up and
reached out gently from every point of metal in the ship. The instant
Kendall saw that, the T-253 was fleeing under his hands. The test had
been made. Now all he desired was safety again. The ion-rockets flared
recklessly as, crushed under an acceleration of four Earth-gravities, he
sank heavily into his seat. Grimly the Miran ship was pursuing them,
easily keeping up with the fleeing midget. The crumbler became more
intense, the violet glow more vivid.

The UV beam was reaching out directly behind now. The--

With a cry of agony, Kendall ripped the radio-phone connection out of
his suit. A soft hiss of leaking air warned him of too great violence
only minutes later. For his ears had been deafened by the sudden shriek
of a tremendous signal from outside!

Instantly Kendall knew what that meant. And he could not communicate
with his men! There was no metal in these special suits, even the oxygen
tanks were made of synthetic plastics of tremendous strength. No scrap
of vibrating metal was permissible. The padded gloves and boots
protected him--but there was a new and different type of crackle and
haze from the metal points now. It was almost invisible in the
practically airless ship, but Kendall saw it.

Presently he felt it, as he desperately increased his acceleration. Slow
creeping heat was attacking him. The heat was increasing rapidly now.
Desperately he was working at the crumbler-protection controls--but
immediately set them back as they were. He had to have the crumbler
protection as well--!

* * * * *

Grimly the great Miran ship hung right beside them. Angrily the two
four-foot UV beams flashed back--seeking some weak spot. There were
none. At her absolute maximum of acceleration the little ship plunged
on. Gamma and atomic bombs were washing her in flame. The heavy blocks
of paraffin between h