s--Jacaro's. Tommy checked shell calibres and carried off a
ninety-shot magazine full of explosive bullets, and a repeating rifle.

"I can do more accurate work with this than the machine gun," he said
cryptically. "Let's go!"

It was not until they were racing away from the Council building in
one of the two-wheeled vehicles that Evelyn spoke again.

"I--understand part," she said unsteadily. "Those planes overhead are
from Rahn. And they're threatening--"

"Blackmail," said Tommy between clenched teeth. "It sounds like a
perfectly normal Earth racket. A fleet from Rahn is over Yugna, loaded
with the Death Mist. Yugna pays food and goods and women or it's wiped
out by gas. Further, it surrenders its aircraft to make further
collections easier. Rahn refuses to die, though it's let in the
jungle. It's turned pirate stronghold. Fed and clothed by a few other
cities like this one, it should be able to hold out. It's a racket,
Evelyn. A stick-up. A hijacking of a civilised city. Sounds like
Jacaro."

* * * * *

The little vehicle darted madly through empty highways, passing groups
of men staring dazedly upward at the soaring motes overhead. It darted
down this inclined way, up that one. It shot into a building and
around a winding ramp. It stopped with a jerk and Aten was climbing
out. He ran through a doorway, Tommy and Evelyn following. Planes of
all sizes, still and lifeless, filled a vast hall. And Aten struggled
with a door mechanism and a monster valve swung wide. Then Tommy threw
his weight with Aten's to roll out the plane he had selected. It was a
small, triangular ship, with seats for three, but it was heavy. The
two men moved it with desperate exertion. Aten pointed, panting, to
slide-rail and it took them five minutes to get the plane about that
rail and engage a curious contrivance in a slot in the ship's
fuselage.

"Tommy," said Evelyn, "you're not going to--"

"Run away? Hardly!" said Tommy. "We're going up. I'm going to fight
the fleet with bullets. They don't have missile-weapons here, and Aten
will know the range of their electric-charge outfits."

"I'm coming too," said Evelyn desperately.

Tommy hesitated, then agreed.

"If we fail they'll gas the city anyway. One way or the other...."

There was a sudden rumble as Evelyn took her place. The plane shot
forward with a swift smooth acceleration. There was no sound of any
motor. There was no movement of the glit