im by the
neck. I'll be with you right away. I want no noise."

Friday saw a great light, and grinned in the confidence it brought
him. Of course! That explained the rope. The plan was so simple it had
escaped him. Already he felt cheerful. It was only mental worries, and
never physical hazards, that unsettled him. He angled around the
truss-work and shrank into as small a space as possible--which wasn't
very small, as he still wore his bulky, clumsy suit.

The clump-clump of feet had died: now there came the sound of the
man-hole aft being raised. A white beam pronged down into the
darkness, felt around and flicked off. Boots clanged on the connecting
ladder; reached the bottom. The light appeared again, lower now, and
came slowly forward. Limned faintly against the reflected light was
the outline of a crouching man's body.

He went to hands and knees and progressed carefully, his flash darting
to left and right. Suddenly, in a certain light, the two who awaited
his coming saw a swarthy, black-stubbled face in profile. He wore no
space-suit! That meant, Friday reflected, that the brigands had
cleared the ship of the gas in some way. It meant that they could get
out of their own suits.

But they could not possibly do so at the moment. They heard the nearby
pirate's breathing, a harsh oath as he stubbed a toe. The negro
tightened his giant arms and held himself ready, his eyes steady on
the black outline which signified his quarry. Then the pirate was
close enough.

It was over in seconds. Rounding the truss, Friday caught the man in
the armored crook of his arm. A startled croak preluded the thump of
two bodies on the hull; there was the tinkle of a falling hand-flash
and a slight squirming which was quickly stopped by a belting punch.

* * * * *

Then Carse was there in the darkness, looping his rope around the
pirate's arms and legs--a difficult job when wearing a bulky
space-suit in such cramped quarters. He used a bunch of waste for a
gag and then hauled the captive to a girder farther forward and bound
him sitting to it. By the time he had finished, Friday was out of his
space-suit and asking:

"Shall I rub him out, suh? Best make sure of him."

"Never in cold blood," said the Hawk acidly. "You should know that
well enough by now!

"Now, there should be five left above, and I think they'll send
another down. We must get him, too. Get back where you were."

He took off h