on
watch there. Any sound or sign, give the general alarm."

"Yes, sir," he said, and left.

"He talkin' foolish, that Judd," grumbled Friday, seeing that the
search had been fruitless. "He think maybe he can bust through our
ray-web? Hmff!"

His master said nothing. He was standing motionless in the center of
the cabin, waiting--waiting for he knew not what.

Then it came.

A preparatory sputter from the loudspeaker that spun Friday around.
Hawk looked up, tensed. Again sounded the hard, sneering voice of Judd
the Kite.

"We're ready now, Carse: there was a little delay. I'll give you, say,
five seconds. Yes--one for each of the five men you did _not_ kill.
Shall I count them off? All right. You have till the fifth.

"One."

Friday's big eyes rolled nervously; he wiped a drop of sweat from his
brow and cursed.

"Two."

* * * * *

He glanced at the Hawk, and tried himself to assume the unshakable
steely calm of the great adventurer. But his fists would clench and
unclench as he stared up at the visi-screen. No change! The brigand
was running straight ahead as ever, apparently fleeing.

"Three."

The negro's breath came more quickly; the tendons of his neck stood
sharply out, and his powerful arms twitched nervously. "What's he
goin' to do, suh? What's he goin' to do?" he asked hoarsely. "What's
he goin' to do?"

"Four."

"Change course--a-starboard!" Carse rapped. The space-stick moved a
little, all Friday dared, at their speed; the position dials swung;
the dot of a fixed star that had been visible a moment before through
the bow windows was now gone. Till the fifth, Judd had said.

"Five!"

The two men in the control cabin of the _Star Devil_ peered at each
other. One of them licked his lips and wiped the sweat from his brow.
But there was nothing. No sound, no change. No general alarm bell. No
offensive ray spearing across the reaches of space; no slightest
change in the brigand's course. He who had mopped the sweat away
laughed loud and long in overwhelming relief.

"All foolishment!" he gurgled. "That Judd, he crazy. Try to scare us,
I guess--huh! Try to--"

"_What's that?_" whispered Hawk Carse.

A sudden faint rustle of noise, of movement, had breathed through the
ship.

At first it was hardly discernible; but it grew. It grew with
paralyzing rapidity into a low but steady murmur, blended soon with
voices raised in quick cries. There was one piercing