hin his helmet; while they lashed
their scaly tails, and at last leaped in unison upon the helpless man.

And then, with that first touch, Spud O'Malley, who had not only seen
strange creatures but had fought with them, came to himself--and the
hand that rested upon a detonite pistol moved like the head of a
striking snake.

The roar of detonite was strained and thin in the light atmosphere of
this globe; it seemed futile compared with its usual thunderous report.
But its effects were the same as might have been expected on Earth!

Spud was hurled to the rocky floor, as much by the closeness of the
exploding shells as by the weight of the bodies that came upon him. He
fell free of the first leaping things that went to fragments in mid-air
as his pistol checked them. And he made no effort to arise, but lay
prostrate, while he swung that slender tube of death about him and saw
the winged beasts shattered and torn--until there were but five who ran
wildly with frantic, flapping wings; and these the tiny shells from
Spud's gun caught as they ran when the Irishman sprang to his feet and
took careful aim across the jagged rocks.

"Saints be praised!" the pilot was saying over and over. "Saints be
thanked!--even the Devil's imps can't stand up to detonite shells! And
Chet, the poor lad!--his gun must have been knocked from his hand; he
was fightin' in the dark, too! And they took him down there, they
did!--down where I'm goin' to see if the lad is still livin'."

And Spud O'Malley, though he believed fully in the demoniac nature of
these opponents and never for an instant thought but that he was
descending into an inferno of the Moon, strode with steady steps toward
the portal of that Plutonic region and lowered himself within.

* * * * *

That ring of metal, huge and accurately formed, made Spud pause in
thought; the massive metal door that came up from below to fit that ring
snugly--that, too, looked more like the work of human hands than of
demons. The pilot was frankly puzzled as he tentatively moved a lever
down below that door and saw the huge metal mass swing shut.

About him the walls were glowing. He saw, in the floor, another circular
door, but found no lever with which to operate it. Nor did he search for
one, since he could have no way of knowing that here was where Chet had
gone. But, from the corridor where he stood other lighted passages led;
and one slanted more steeply th