motes of light to mark where they had stood.

* * * * *

Undaunted by the fate of their leaders, the balance of the mob surged
forward uttering cries of hate and rage. From all the doorways, fresh
hordes of Earthmen came rushing to join the fray. Again and again the
terrible rays of the Jovian guards blasted scores of their assailants
into nothingness but more came. Presently the tubes of the Jovians began
to lose their power and the violet light became lighter in shade. With a
roar the Earthmen swept forward and the huge guards went down under the
onrushing waves of humanity. Half a dozen of them were dragged down and
hurled back into the milling crowd where they were torn limb from limb.
The balance of the guards, guided by Havenner's stentorian shouts,
closed in around Glavour and the prisoner and battered their way by
sheer brute force toward the Viceregal chariot. They had reached in and
climbed in when a feminine shout pierced the din of conflict.

"Damis! They have Damis prisoner! Rescue him!"

With a roar, the mob charged again. Mightily the Jovians strove but they
were outnumbered by hundreds to one. One after another was torn from the
chariot until Damis freed himself by a mighty effort and leaped to the
ground. As he did so, the driver's hand found the controlling lever and
the chariot shot forward, crushing under its wheels several luckless
Earthmen who stood in its path. A roar of triumph rose from the crowd
and Damis was hastily lifted to their shoulders. He looked down on his
rescuers with an anguished face.

"Lura!" he gasped. "Is she safe?"

One of the Terrestrials shouted something unintelligible and pointed up.
Damis' gaze followed the direction in which he pointed. From an upper
window of the building into which she had fled, Lura's face, wreathed
with smiles, looked down on him. He smiled and waved in triumph to her.
There was a stir on the outskirts of the crowd and an elderly man, tall
for an Earthman and with dignity and authority written large on his
countenance, made his way through the crowd. At a word from him, Damis
was lowered to his feet to face the newcomer.

"Damis," said the elderly man, "I never thought to grasp the hand of a
Nepthalim or of anyone with Jovian blood in his veins in friendship, yet
I can do no less than offer my hand. It is the thanks of a father to the
saviour of his daughter."

* * *