They saw us, perhaps, as we slipped past but she held their attention.
We reached the lower doorway. Men were nearby, working at some apparatus. We walked, stooping. The doorway was open.
A six-foot ladder descended into the dim activity of the camp. I was upon it, with Rowena behind me. The dark forms of men were outside. They would see us; but men had been passing in and out of the vehicle constantlyin our brown fur robes we would not attract particular notice.
A cylinder weapon was in my hand. But I realized that a shot would bring the camp upon us. I stuffed the cylinder back into the pocket of the robe and unclasped a long knife blade.
"Jack! Hurryl Someone's coming behind us!" I had paused in the doorway, making sure of what was below. I tensed to jump down, but the dark moving form of a brue was disclosed. I could not chance passing near it, to have it sense me as an enemy.
"Rowenathis wayl" I pushed her back through the doorway. The room inside was dim. Footsteps were upon us I We shrank against the wall, but we could be seen.
"Stoop down low," I whispered.
A pile of apparatus lay by the doorway. We bent over it, pretending to be working. The voices of men in the adjoining room were audible.
"Jackcan't we get out?" Rowena whispered.
"A brue outside. I didn't darejust a minute!"
"Someone is comingi" I saw Rowena's white hand, and gripped it. I felt then, with horrible premonition, that in another moment we would be challenged. We could not answerneither of us could speak Mercurian. For a brief instant I held Rowena's hand.
With freedom abead of us, all my thoughts had gone to the future. The worldour blessed Earthso wonderful a place, with Rowena. Was this to be the end of our life together, trapped here in this dark room, in the depths of the mountains of a strange planet? The footsteps were upon us. The brue had stopped almost at the foot of the entrance ladder.
"Rowenaleap over iti We'll have to chance it!" Run openly, with our great Earth strides through the camp? Or stay here ten seconds longer and be discovered.
It flashed upon me that the choice I must make held all the difference between life and death.
I suddenly drew Rowena back from the doorway.
What destiny held me? In that second of decision, what benign fate made me choose rightly? What vagary of that mysterious thing we call the mind guided my uncertain muscles? Life is a queer business) The brue reared itself on the ladder. Half a dozen men appeared behind the startled giant insect. It sensed us, no doubt. The men lashed at it; one jabbed with a pronged pole, and sullenly it slithered back to the ground, and the men drove it away.
In the room, the approaching footsteps brought a heavy shape directly toward us. It was Mutal She touched me. "You go now! I want never see you again!" I could well subscribe to that. Rowena bent down.
"Muta," she whispered, "thank you for this. I wish you happiness." No one was near the ladder. We descended it. I caught a glimpse of the face of the Cold Country woman as she stood watching us go.
We moved slowly into the dim activity of the camp. I had carefully decided which way to head. We half circled the outside of the vehicle, threaded our way between two dark tent shelters and made off over the rocks toward the distant barrage line.
"Carefully, Rowena." I walked beside her, whispering.
"Hold your balance." For the slight gravity and our tense impatience made it difficult to keep from running. "If were challenged, stand perfectly still. I'll do what I can." The barrage line seemed horribly far ahead of us across a dark, rocky expanse. But this was the least occupied, least active section of the encampment. All the movement was the other way.
Soon we were past the thickest cluster of the tents. We.
came to an almost unoccupied spread of boulder-strewn floor.
"Now, faster!" We took longer, freer steps. Soon we were running, pausing momentarily to look around. A line of brues showed in advance of us. We waited to let it go by. Overhead the storm was bursting into greater violence. Whirlpools of a crazy wind plucked at vs. And the rain was beginning.
The barrage line came nearer. I headed toward the space between two of the giant projectors. The attendants at them showed clearly, dark shapes of three or four men at each.
"Jack, look!" Behind us, far across the camp, the opposite segment of the barrage was moving outward. Dorrek was beginning an offensive. We saw the gas bomb mount and break upon the clifftop. A shot from the Cube came screaming down and burst against the barrage. Girls over the cliffs were dropping bombs to neutralize and dissipate the gas fumes.
We ran. A man driving a brue crossed in front of us.
We waited, crouching in the crevice of an overhanging rock. Started again. We were not far from the barrage line soon we would have the two projectors behind us. The rocky surface here was broken with numerous little gullies and hollows. We jumped most of them, sailing in huge fantastic leaps.
"Waiti" I drew Rowena down barely in time to avoid discovery.
Four men passed close to us. Again we started. A small hollow lay immediately before us. And as we approached, a black figure rose from it. He saw usi It was too late to drop out of sight. I expected a shot. With a leap I was over the brink of the little pit.
The black figure struck at me with a knife, but I avoided the blow and saw a white face.
"Jimmy!" He was lying here with his broken leg, trying desperately to crawl across the enemy camp to rescue us. There was moisture in Rowena's eyes, a catch in her voice as she joined us in the pit. We rested a moment, whispered to each other.
We were triumphant. We would soon be out of this. Tama was nearby, with a flying platform.
"All right, now," Jimmy murmured. "How glad I am you're not in the sphere! It's been holding up this fight." He was trembling with eagerness and triumph. "Fearful handicap for Grenfellcome onwe've got to get outget back to Grenfell. Things are starting off there already." We crawled forward, but we did not get far. The camp, in advance of us and to the sides, burst into a sudden chaos.
Bombs were dropping from overhead. One of them exploded within the camp. Outside the barrage, girls were attacking.
"Heckl" muttered Jimmy. "We can't get out now." I gathered him in my arms. He was incredibly light, as though I were holding a child. I ran. With Rowena beside me.
But it was useless. A light flare came down from overhead and struck the ground near us. For a second Or two the rocks were painted white with the dazzling glare. I stumbled and fell. Jimmy kept his wits; he reached and drew Rowena down with us.
We lay in a cluster of boulders against which we huddled for shelter. And over us, with amazing suddenness, the battle raged in full fury.
We were trapped. The storm and the conflict were both at their height. How long we three lay there I have no idea. I could not guess the progress of the battle; I only knew that every moment a more lurid inferno showed around us.
Rowena suddenly whispered, "Where is Jimmy?" I realized that she and I were alonel Jimmy had crawled away from us! XVI BATTLE FURY GBEMFELL, during all this time, found himself in an increasing dilemma. He knew that once he ordered these flying virgins to the attack, the conflict would be sharp and brief.
But Grenfell had no intention of precipitating such a crisis.
Dorreks forces were bottled; by exhaustion of his food supplies he could be overcome. And there was the question of electronic power. It seemed probable that Dorrek could not maintain this huge barrage for many hours. Inevitably his batteries would be exhausted.
In a day-cycle Commander Arton would be coming up the canyon with the reinforcements, a thousand young men, upon whom Grenfell preferred the brunt of the conflict to fall. An attack now by the flying girls would be too deadlythe losses too great.