FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   >>  
ring in the air directly above, robbed of the power broadcast and their repeller beams disappearing, crashed down into the ruins. But out in the escape tunnels, we continued our explorations, now sure that no warnings could be broadcast to the tunnel exits, and mowed down contingent after contingent of the hated yellow men. My register showed seventy-five miles before I came to the end of the tunnel, and drove my ball out into a vast underground city of great, brilliantly illuminated corridors, some of them hundreds of feet high and wide. The architectural scheme was one of lace-like structures of curving lines and of indescribable beauty. Word had reached us now of the destruction of the city itself, so that no necessity existed for destroying the escape tunnels. In consequence, I ordered the two operators, who were following me, to send their balls out into this underground city, seeking the shaft which the Hans were sure to have as a secret exit to the surface of the earth above. But at this juncture events of transcending importance interrupted my plans for a thorough exploration of these new subterranean cities of the Hans. I detonated my projectile at once and ordered all of the operators to do so, and to tune in instantly on new ones. That we wrecked most of these new cities I now know, but of course at the time we were in the dark as to how much damage we caused, since our viewplates naturally went dead when we detonated our projectiles. CHAPTER XV The Counter-Attack The news which caused me to change my plans was grave enough. As I have explained, the American lines lay roughly to the east and the south of the city in the mountains. My own Gang held the northern flank of the east line. To the south of us was the Colorado Union, a force of 5,000 men and about 2,000 girls recruited from about fifteen Gangs. They were a splendid organization, well disciplined and equipped. Their posts, rather widely distributed, occupied the mountain tops and other points of advantage to a distance of about a hundred and fifty miles to the south. There the line turned east, and was held by the Gangs which had come up from the south. Now, simultaneously with the reports from my scouts that a large Han land force was working its way down on us from the north, and threatening to outflank us, came word from Jim Hallwell, Big Boss of the Colorado Union and the commander in chief of our army, that another large Ha
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   >>  



Top keywords:

tunnels

 

underground

 

Colorado

 
broadcast
 
ordered
 

escape

 
caused
 

tunnel

 

cities

 

detonated


operators
 

contingent

 

viewplates

 

explained

 

change

 
Counter
 

Attack

 

American

 

northern

 
mountains

CHAPTER

 
roughly
 

projectiles

 

naturally

 

widely

 

working

 

scouts

 
reports
 

simultaneously

 

threatening


commander

 

outflank

 

Hallwell

 

turned

 

disciplined

 

equipped

 

organization

 

splendid

 

recruited

 

fifteen


damage

 

distance

 

advantage

 

hundred

 

points

 

distributed

 
occupied
 

mountain

 

transcending

 

brilliantly