watched closely every instant of his passing, and one man's hand
dropped unconsciously to the butt of a raygun.

Quickly, the Eurasian and his servitors were gone, their straight,
steady flight obscured by the trees around Tantril's ranch, below
which they slanted.

Dr. Ku Sui had arrived at his assignation. But where was the asteroid?

* * * * *

Through his instrument, Carse sought horizon and heaven for the
massive body, but in vain. He spoke into his helmet-radio's mike.

"Ban?"

"Yes, Carse?"

"See the asteroid anywhere?"

"Nowhere, by Betelgeuse! I've looked till my eyes--"

The Hawk cut him short. "All right. Stand by. Friday?"

"Yes, suh?"

"Can you see anything special?"

"No, suh--only that the three platform guards keep lookin' down
towards the center of the ranch."

"Good. That means Ku Sui's being received," said Carse; and then he
considered swiftly for a minute. Decided, he continued:

"Ban and Friday, you both wait where you are, keeping a steady
lookout. None of us can see the asteroid, but it must be somewhere
comparatively near, for Dr. Ku has no reason to bother with a long
journey in a space-suit. I think the asteroid's close down, hidden by
that distant ridge in the direction from which they came. I'm going to
find it. When I do, I'll tell you where to come meet me. Inform me at
once if Ku Sui leaves or if anything unusual happens. Understood?"

The assenting voices rang back to him simultaneously.

"Right!" he said; and slowly his great bulging figure lifted.

* * * * *

Cautiously, the adventurer made through the watrari tree to the side
facing away from the ranch. There, poising for a second, he
manipulated the lateral direction-rod on the suit's chest, and, still
very slowly, floated free from the shrouding leaves. Then, mindful of
the lookouts on the towers behind, he employed the tactics he had used
before, and kept constantly below the uneven crown of the jungle,
gliding at an easy rate through the leafy lanes created by the banked
tree-tops.

In that fashion, in the upthrust arms of the jungle, twisting,
turning, sometimes doubling, but following always a path the objective
of which was straight ahead, Hawk Carse soared soundlessly for miles.
He maneuvered his way with practised ease, and his speed increased as
the need for hiding his flight decreased.

He was familiar with the landmarks of the region,