ed the fence. They had taken two captives; Friday had been
under their eyes; there was only one other, and he was--the Hawk.

Hawk Carse! The four men were nervous. More than a few lonely spots in
the countless leagues of space had seen his vengeance: and they--they
had killed his guards and his overseer, his radio-man, and, with the
fungus, his ship's crew; they had tortured Friday. They were now marks
for the fatal left hand: fugitives from gray, icy eyes. The Hawk was
loose!

* * * * *

Judd saw the fear gnawing at their vitals. He felt it too. But there
seemed no immediate danger, so, with a ray-gun in each hand, he
summoned a blustering courage and said to the others, harshly:

"Yes, it was that damned Carse! He must have got loose in some way.
But pull yourselves together: we're safe here. He's somewhere
outside."

He reasoned it out for them.

"He couldn't have done that shooting from the _Star Devil_; it's too
far away. And he's not in it now or he'd be using it to try and find
that black of his--if the black's still alive. No, he's not in the
ship, and he's not in this house. He's somewhere outside, and he can't
reach us here while the phantis have the place surrounded. We can
shoot them down from the attic, and they'll soon beat it for the
jungle. When that happens we'll rush to the ships, and before Carse
knows what it's all about we'll be up and away and he'll be marooned.
Then we'll get him later."

His words brought a return of confidence. It was true, the others
thought: the Hawk could not reach them as long as the phantis were
around the house; and when they were driven away, the ships were near
at hand and empty. All they had to do was get to the ships before
Carse. The adventurer certainly was not then in one of the craft, or
he would be wasting no time hunting for Friday--and raying their
stronghold. No doubt he was up a tree somewhere; perhaps gored and
dead.

One of the men snickered, and Judd smiled at the sound. Their
confidence in him was encouraging.

"Get to the windows of the attic," he ordered. "Some of those crazy
brutes are horning at the house. We've got to shoot them and get out
of here, quick!"

* * * * *

There were two rooms in the attic; the large one, used as a storeroom
for staple foods, had five windows, long, sloping affairs, three in
front and one in each side wall. The second room was small and at the