is space-suit also: then, after minutes of silence, they
heard voices upraised in argument coming from the control cabin. Once
more came the sound of feet overhead; another flash bit down through
the man-hole, and another man wriggled into the compartment. He was
obviously uneasy and suspicious. He called:

"Jake! Hey, Jake! You there? Where the hell are you?"

Mumbling oaths, he advanced, his light ray weaving over every inch
before him.

"What you doing, Jake? Where are you?"

Friday gathered his muscles, unhampered now by the restricting suit.
But light must have been reflected by the round whites of his eyes,
for the pirate suddenly stopped and called in sharp alarm:

"What's that? What's that there? You, Jake? Hey! I'll ray you--"

And that was all he said. Friday was too far away to reach him in
time, but the Hawk was closer; he approached behind the brigand,
crouched on silent cat's feet. Two powerful arms reached out and
tightened in a strangle hold--and two minutes later the second man was
bound and gagged.

Carse loosened his ray-gun in its holster.

"Now we attack," he whispered. "Four to two are fair odds, I think.
You go aft and wait by the man-hole; wait till you hear me call. Don't
be seen--wait. And when I call, come at once."

"Yes, suh. You goin' forward 'tween the hulls?"

A curt nod answered him.

"Then up through that--"

"Don't ask so many questions!" the Hawk rasped crisply.

They separated.

CHAPTER V

_The Hawk and the Kite_

In the deck of the control cabin, between a bank of instruments and
the starboard wall, was another man-hole that gave entrance from the
'tween hulls compartment to the cabin.

Only two men besides Carse knew of its existence. The adventurer for
good reasons of his own had it built in; and so cunningly was its
cover fitted on that its outlines were not visible.

Beneath it, now, on the three-rung ladder that led up from the lower
shell, Hawk Carse waited.

He could hear quite clearly the angry, snarling voice of Judd the
Kite, haranguing his men.

"Rinker, you go down and see what's wrong. Just because Jake and Sako
don't come back right away, you guys seem to think the ship's haunted!
Haunted! By Betelguese! A sweet bunch of white-livered cowards I've
got for a crew--"

"Ah, lay off!" growled a deep, sullen voice. "I ain't scared, but this
looks fishy to me. Something's wrong down there 'tween the hulls--damn
wrong, I tell you. We only