with a jack, but Mike took it with his deuce of diamonds.

He led the seven of spades to get back in dummy so he could use up those
clubs. Dummy took the trick with the six of diamonds, and led out with
the four of clubs.

Mike figured that Keku must--absolutely _must_--have the king of hearts.
Both his take-out double and von Liegnitz' heart lead pointed toward the
king in his hand. Now if....

Vaneski had moved around behind Mike to watch the play. Not one of them
noticed Lieutenant Lew Mellon, the Medical Officer, come into the room.

That is, they knew he had come in, but they had ignored him thereafter.
He was such a colorless nonentity that he simply seemed to fade into the
background of the walls once he had made his entrance.

Mike had taken seven tricks, and, as he had expected, lost the eighth to
von Liegnitz' five of diamonds. When the German led the nine of hearts,
Mike knew he had the game. He put in the queen from dummy, Keku tossed
in his king triumphantly, and Mike topped it with his lowly four of
diamonds.

If, as he suspected, his opponents' ace and king of diamonds were split,
he would get them both by losing the next trick and then make a clean
sweep of the board.

He threw in his nine of diamonds.

He just happened to glance at von Liegnitz as the navigator dropped his
king.

Then he lashed out with one foot, kicking at the leg of von Liegnitz'
chair. At the same time, he yelled, "Jake! Duck!"

He was almost too late. Mellon, his face contorted with a mixture of
anger and hatred, was standing just behind Jakob von Liegnitz. In one
hand was a heavy spanner, which he was bringing down with deadly force
on the navigator's skull.

Von Liegnitz' chair started to topple, and von Liegnitz himself spun
away from the blow. The spanner caught him on the shoulder, and he
grunted in pain, but he kept on moving away from Mellon.

The medic screamed something and lifted the spanner again.

By this time, Keku, too, was on his feet, moving toward Mellon. Mike the
Angel got behind Mellon, trying to grab at the heavy metal tool in
Mellon's hand.

Mellon seemed to sense him, for he jumped sideways, out of Mike's way,
and kicked backward at the same time, catching Mike on the shin with his
heel.

Von Liegnitz had made it to his feet by this time and was blocking the
downward swing of Mellon's arm with his own forearm. His other fist
pistoned out toward Mellon's face. It connected, sending Mellon
sta