h of the prone men and found only one
still alive, a seven-foot, ebon-skinned warrior who got to his feet
when the leader kicked him and stood erect but swaying drunkenly from
the blow Mike had laid across his skull during the battle.

Shoving the warrior roughly toward the silent trio, the leader took a
small object from the gold-inlaid shoulder sack that seemed to be a
part of his uniform. The object consisted of a short rod with a
crystal ball on one end. The man grasped the ball in his palm, pointed
the rod at the fallen men and began spraying them with the same
crystalline ray that had emanated from the ship. The resulting fire
was instantaneous and intense. The prone bodies crackled for a moment
and were reduced to charred fragments. The leader went about this work
with the distasteful look of a man cleaning out a garbage pail. When
the task was finished, he turned his attention to the four prisoners.

* * * * *

Nicko was the prime object of his interest. He cut the little Martian
out of the group, shoving him roughly aside, then walked slowly around
him several times as though unable to convince himself that such an
improbable creature could really exist.

A sharp command from the deck of the ship terminated his inspection
and he spoke brusquely to the group in a tongue Mike did not
understand.

"What did he say?" Mike asked of Nicko.

For once, the latter was not interested. "How do I know?" he growled.
"Gad! My aching back!"

The leader motioned to the squad, whereupon the prisoners were pushed
toward the ladder.

The boarding was accomplished swiftly. The prisoners were herded
forward and onto a gold-inlaid bench just above the prow. The ladder
was lifted and the craft moved straight upward like an elevator.

After ascending three or four hundred yards, it leveled off and swept
gently forward, down-river. None of those aboard laid hands upon the
prisoners. Nicko was still the center of attention and also of the
conversation passed among the soldiers. They were handsome specimens,
erect and beautifully built, clad in identical uniforms the cost of
which would have been staggering on Terra or anywhere else in the
System.

"This ship," Mike said. "Is there anything familiar about it?"

He had spoken to Doree and the latter looked at him questioningly and
then glanced about the ship. "I've certainly never seen anything like
it before."

"Of course not, but the stylin