That last salvo went through our screens, but our armor stopped it. But
if the screens go down--"

Our batteries flared at the Rebel as he again came into sight. He didn't
wait, but flicked right back into Cth without firing a shot. Pollard was
on the ball.

"Brave lad, that Reb," Chase said. There was a sneer in his voice.

For the moment it was stalemate. The Reb wasn't going to come into close
range with a warship of equal power to his own adding her metal to the
"Amphitrite's," but he could play cat and mouse with us, drawing our
fire until we had used up our torpedoes, and then come in to finish
the supply ship. Or he could harass us with long range fire. Or he could
go away.

[Illustration]

It was certain he wouldn't do the last, and he'd be a fool if he did the
second. "Amphitrite" could set up a mine screen that would take care of
any long range stuff,--and we could dodge it. His probe was still
working and he had undoubtedly seen ours crushed against our hull. If he
hadn't he was blind--and that wasn't a Rebel characteristic. We could
hyper, of course, but we were blind up there in Cth. His best was to
keep needling us, and take the chance that we'd run out of torps.

"What's our munition?" Chase asked almost as an echo to my thought. I
switched over to Pollard.

"Thirty mark sevens," Pollard said, "and a little small arms."

"One good salvo," Chase said, thoughtfully.

The Rebel flashed in and out again, and we let go a burst.

"Twenty, now," I said.

Chase didn't hear me. He was busy talking to Allyn on damage control.
"You can't cut it, hey?--All right--disengage the converter on the
auxiliary probe and break out that roll of duralloy cable in the
stores--Pollard! don't fire over one torp at a time when that lad shows
up. Load the other launchers with blanks. Make him think we're shooting.
We have to keep him hopping. Now listen to me--Yes, Allyn, I mean you.
Fasten that converter onto the cable and stand by. We're going to make a
probe." Chase turned to me.

"You were Exec with Royce," he said. "You should know how to fight a
ship."

"What are you planning to do?" I asked.

"We can't hold that Rebel off. Maybe with ammunition we could, but
there's less than a salvo aboard and he has the advantage of position.
We can't be sure he won't try to take us in spite of 'Amphitrite's'
support and if he does finish us, 'Amphitrite's' a dead duck." The
"Lachesis" quivered as the port turrets belched