s if
we left them. I'll be with you soon. We take off in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir," answered the navigator, and he and the negro went out.

* * * * *

For a little while Carse stayed in the cubby. As he softly stroked the
flaxen bangs of hair over his brow, he visualized what had happened
inside that house of death, piecing a number of things together and
forming a whole. On the surface it seemed plain enough, and yet there
were one or two points.... His face showed a trace of puzzlement. He
shook his head slightly; then he stooped and picked up the radio
operator's body with an ease that might have seemed surprising from
such a slender man, and walked out of the house.

Beyond one corner of the corral, upon a slight rise in the ground,
Friday was melting out the second grave with the ship's great portable
ray-gun. Carse laid Crane's body gently down in the first grave, then
went to where Harkness, with the _Star Devil's_ radio-man and cook,
was loading the cargo of horns aboard. The trader opened several of
the boxes, glanced at the upper layers to inspect the quality, and,
satisfied, closed them again. All the boxes were trundled soon into
the craft's open port and aft to her cargo hold.

The engineer on watch at the electelscope and visi-screen felt a hand
on his shoulder and looked around to find his captain standing by him.
He pointed up at the screen: on it, the brigand ship was a mere four
inches in size, and bearing straight out on an unwavering course. "I
reckoned their speed to be about ten thousand an hour, a minute ago,
sir," he reported. "Now about five thousand miles away."

"How soon," Carse asked, "do you think we could overhaul them?"

The other grinned. "If you're in a hurry, sir, about two hours and a
half."

"I am in a hurry. I want all the speed you can muster."

"Yes, sir. Might be able to get it down, to two."

The Hawk nodded. "Try. Return to your post."

Outside, through the port, he saw Friday smoothing over the grave, the
burying finished, and he beckoned him in. At that second Harkness
reported the cargo all fastened down. Carse snapped out his orders.

"Harkness," he said shortly, "you and Friday with me in the control
cabin. Sparks, you can get an hour's sleep, but leave the radio
receiver open. Cook, an hour's rest if you want it--and I think you'd
better want it. There's war ahead. Close port!"

The inner and outer doors nestled snugly, one af