tors. Immovable at the plate, his hands upon the controls, he
performed every insidious maneuver his agile brain could devise, but
he could not succeed in separating their vehicle from its fellows.
Finally, after a last attempt, which was foiled as easily as were its
predecessors, he shut off his controls and turned to his companion
with a grin.

"I didn't think I could get away with it--they're keen, that gang--but
I had to keep at it as long as it would have done us any good."

"Wouldn't it do us any good now?"

"Not a bit--we're going so fast that we couldn't stop--we're out of even
radio range of our closest power-plant. We'll have to put off any more
attempts until they slow us down. They're fairly close to at least one
of the moons of Jupiter, we'll have our best chance--so good, in fact,
that I really think we can make it."

"But what good would that do us, if we couldn't get back?" Dire
foreboding showed in her glorious eyes.

"Lots of things not tried yet, girl, and we'll try them all. First, we
get away. Second, we try to get in touch with Norman Brandon...."

"How? No known radio will carry half that far."

"No, but I think that a radio as yet unknown may be able to--and there
is a bare possibility that I'll be able to communicate."

"Oh wonderful--that lifts a frightful load off my mind," she breathed.

"But just a minute--I said I'd come clean with you, and I will. The odds
are all against us, no matter what we do. If that unknown radio won't
work--and it probably won't--there are several other things we can try,
but they're all pretty slim chances. Even if we get away, it'll probably
be about the same thing as though you were to be marooned on a desert
island without any tools, and with your rescue depending upon your
ability to build a high-powered radio station with which to call to
a mainland for help. However, if we don't try to get away, our only
alternative is letting them know we're here, and joining our friends
in captivity."

"And then what?"

"You know as much as I do. Imprisonment and restraint, certain; death,
possible; return to Earth, almost certainly impossible--life as guests,
highly improbable."

"I'm with you, Steve, all the way."

"Well, it's time to spring off--we've both been awake better than fifty
hours. Personally, I'm all in, and you're so near dead that you're a
physical wreck. We'll get us a bite of supper and turn in."

An appetizing supper was prepared from the