was an
atomic city-buster if I ever heard one--and when the Tartarians were
over here, I did. Maybe the coal isn't so important to your damned orbs
after all." He went reeling to the open night. Revel and Nirea were
beside him now. Off to the west beneath the lurid light of the globes'
buttons rose another of the dark twin clouds.

"If they were trying to smack us, they could stand a refresher course in
pin-pointing ... let's get the thrower out here fast. Too many saucers
directly above us for comfort."

"There went another quarter of Dolfya," said Rack. "What power they
have!"

"You'll see their power come plummeting to earth if I can work the
machine," said John urgently. "Bring it out!"

The miners hauled it out, a titanic job even when men pressed tight
against men and uncounted hands lifted the great burden. John showed
them where to put it on the rock shelf. "Hoist me up on top," he
clipped. It was done. "Now watch."

Revel stared at the sky till his eyes began to ache. At last John
shouted, "I'm ready, but listen--I see a lot of torches coming up the
valley, and the men holding 'em are mounted!"

"Our rebels, likely," said Jerran.

"Send men to meet them," yelled Revel. "They might be gentry. Pickmen
and those with guns. Fast!"

"Okay, son," said John then, "watch the buttons just over us."

All heads tilted. A strange clanking came from the great box, a beam of
thick-looking purple light lanced upward from the gun-like projection on
top and fingered out toward the buttons. "Be ready," called John from
the top of the machine. "This'll nullify the diamond rays for a few
minutes, but then the things will be able to rise again. Your men must
go out and break into the buttons before the globes can get 'em up!"

Revel issued his orders quickly. The purple light had now touched a
button, which wavered from its fixed position, then as the beam caught
it fully, dropped like a flung stone. Hundreds of voices bellowed the
rebels' joy. Half a hundred miners leaped off into the night to attack
the fallen ship, which struck the earth some distance up the valley with
a shattering crash.

Already the beam, more sure now as John's hands grew confident of their
power, was flicking over other buttons. The least play of its purple
glow on the under surface of an alien ship was sufficient to send it
catapulting down. The other buttons were moving, sluggishly, then more
swiftly, coming toward the valley; and John coul