ments, he leaped to one side
and his own hand shot up. Fingers of steel circled the hairy wrist of
the Viceroy and stopped his hand in mid-air. For a moment Glavour was
too astonished at the idea of physical resistance to move. Damis, with
an almost contemptuous air, tossed aside the hand he held and made as if
to turn his back. With an inarticulate roar of rage, the Jovian charged.

Again Damis sprang to one side and his hand moved. In a long arc his
clenched fist shot up and caught Glavour on the chin and rocked the four
hundred pounds of bone and muscle that made up the Viceroy. For a moment
Glavour staggered and then his hand fell on Damis' shoulder. Exerting
all of his huge strength, he pulled his opponent toward him and threw
his massive arms about him. Damis made no attempt to wriggle out of the
bone-crushing grip, but, instead, threw his arms about the Jovian and
matched muscle against muscle. The Jovian guards, who had witnessed the
feats of strength which were the Viceroy's boast, expected only one
outcome, but to Havenner, who recalled that Hortan, the father of Damis,
had been one of the mightiest men of Jupiter, the issue was not a
foregone conclusion. Stealthily as a cat he crept forward, a long black
tube clenched in his hand.

* * * * *

Mightily the two strove. The face of the Jovian grew dark red and then
almost purple as he put forth his last ounce of strength to crush the
opponent whom he topped a good eighteen inches. For all of his effort,
not an inch did Damis yield. His face grew as pale as the Jovian's grew
red and his breath came whistling through his lips, but the strength he
had inherited from his mighty sire stood him in good stead. Inch by inch
he bent the huge form of his opponent backward. With a sudden effort,
the Jovian raised one of his huge misshapen feet and strove to bring his
mighty thighs to aid him in thrusting away his enemy. Damis' knee came
up and the Jovian dropped his foot with a howl of pain. His breath came
in gasps and he stared into the implacable blue eyes before him with a
sudden spasm of fear. At last Glavour had met his match.

He opened his lips to call to his guards for help but shame held back
the cry. Once he admitted defeat, the fear in which the Earthmen held
him would be shaken. With an effort he bent forward his head and buried
his huge fangs in Damis' shoulder. There was a cry from the watching
Earthmen as they s