be holding our
own ... the squad of girls was coming down; I prayed that Elza might not
be among them....

The instrument room had vanished beyond my sight; but Georg's voice
said:

"We're sending reinforcements! Gather your men--hold off for a moment!"

From every pan of our line other units of men and towers were coming. We
had broken through the barrage here. If we could now, by a concerted
rush, get our force over the wall, into the city....

Within the instrument room, Georg sat watching. The inactivity of his
own part, the comparative lack of personal danger, galled him. But he
was too occupied with his duties to give it more than passing thought.
We had broken the barrage at one point ... from every quarter he was
rushing reinforcements there to take advantage of the break....

And then Tarrano's trickery became apparent. We had not broken his
barrage; he had deliberately withdrawn it, to encourage us, to bring our
other units to the spot.... Our power house, neglected, was momentarily
comparatively defenseless. The enemy barrage at the point of the wall
nearest it, suddenly lifted. Beams darted from the opening ... men came
out in a cloud....

I held back momentarily from the wall and gathered my remnant of men
about me. Only half my former strength; but with sinking heart I tried
to assure myself that the others had not heeded my call. The fighting
here had slackened; Tarrano's men had risen high, engaged at long range
by our girls, from whom they were slowly, trickily retreating as though
to lure the girls above the city; and my heart was thankful when I heard
the relayed order from Rhaalton for the girls to withdraw--not to pass
above the wall, even at high altitude. The order came just in time; the
barrage here flashed on again, trapping a few of our men behind it.

I was aware of this new attack on the power house. Our units were
hurriedly being ordered back. Georg, in desperation, had flung his
instrument vehicle at the enemy ray ... My connection broke; and then
another connection brought me someone's voice with the report that the
instrument room had darkened that main enemy ray, but had itself crashed
to the ground ... I wondered if Georg were killed ... later, I heard
someone say that he was safe within the power house....

I disobeyed my final orders; I did not swing back toward the power
house; instead, with my men around me, we fled back from this segment of
the wall to the higher lying wh