n ant-like ground-crew, the original four men climbed
back into their warship and she again shot into the fray, apparently as
good as ever.

"What do you know about that!" exclaimed DuQuesne. "That gives me an
idea, Loring. They must get to them that way fairly often, to judge by
the teamwork they use when it does happen. How about waiting until they
disable another one like that, and then grabbing it while its in the
air, deserted and unable to fight back? One of those ships is worth a
thousand of this one, even if we had everything known to the Osnomians."

"That's a real idea--those boats certainly are brutes for punishment,"
agreed Loring, and as both men again settled down to watch the battle,
he went on: "So this is war out this way? You're right. Seaton, with
half this stuff, could whip the combined armies and navies of the world.
I don't blame Brookings much, though, at that--nobody could believe half
of this unless they could actually see it, as we are doing."

"I can't understand it," DuQuesne frowned as he considered the
situation. "The attackers are Kondalians, all right--those ships are
developments of the _Skylark_--but I don't get that fort at all. Wonder
if it can be the strangers already? Don't think so--they aren't due for
a couple of years yet, and I don't think the Kondalians could stand
against them a minute. It must be what is left of Mardonale, although I
never heard of anything like that. Probably it is some new invention
they dug up at the last minute. That's it, I guess," and his brow
cleared. "It couldn't be anything else."

* * * * *

They waited long for the incident to be repeated, and finally their
patience was rewarded. When the next vessel was disabled and hurled
upward by the concentration of enemy forces, DuQuesne darted down,
seized it with his most powerful attractor, and whisked it away into
space at such a velocity that to the eyes of the Kordalians it simply
disappeared. He took the disabled warship far out into space and allowed
it to cool off for a long time before deciding that it was safe to board
it. Through the transparent walls they could see no sign of life, and
DuQuesne donned a vacuum suit and stepped into the airlock. As Loring
held the steel vessel close to the stranger, DuQuesne leaped lightly
through the open door into the interior. Shutting the door, he opened an
auxiliary air-tank, adjusting the gauge to one atmosphere as he did s