of an acrobatic drum-major. As the spinning form crashed
against the opposite wall of the room, Bradley floated in, carrying
Clio's armor. Without a word the captain loosened the helpless girl's
grip upon the bracket and encased her in the suit. Then, supporting her
at the window, he held his Lewiston upon the captive's head while
Costigan propelled him toward the opening. Both men knew that Roger's
shield of force must be threatened every instant--that if he were
allowed to release it he probably would bring to bear a hand-weapon even
superior to their own.

Braced against the wall, Costigan sighted along Roger's body toward the
most distant point of the lofty dome of the artificial planet and gave
him a gentle push. Then, each grasping Clio by an arm, the two officers
shoved mightily with their feet and the three armored forms darted away
toward their only hope of escape--an emergency boat which could be
launched through the shell of the great globe. To attempt to reach the
_Hyperion_ and to escape in one of her lifeboats would have been
useless; they could not have forced the great gates of the main
air-locks and no other exits existed. As they sailed onward through the
air, Costigan keeping the slowly-floating form of Roger enveloped in his
beam, Clio began to recover.

"Suppose they get their gravity fixed?" she asked, apprehensively. "And
they're raying us and shooting at us!"

"They may have fixed it already. They undoubtedly have spare parts and
duplicate generators, but if they turn it on the fall will kill Roger
too, and he wouldn't like that. They'll have to get him down with an
airship, and they know that we'll get them as fast as they come up. They
can't hurt us with hand-weapons, and before they can bring up any heavy
stuff they'll be afraid to use it, because we'll be too close to their
shell.

"I wish we could have brought Roger along," he continued, savagely, to
Bradley. "But you were right, of course--it'd be altogether too much
like a rabbit capturing a wildcat. My Lewiston's about done right now,
and there can't be much left of yours--what he'd do to us would be a sin
and a shame."

Now at the great wall, the two men heaved mightily upon a lever, the
gate of the emergency port swung slowly open, and they entered the
miniature cruiser of the void. Costigan, familiar with the mechanism of
the craft from careful study from his prison cell, manipulated the
controls. Through gate after massive gate