scream. Brett looked up. Through the streaked windshield he saw a
mighty Gel rear up before Dhuva, who crouched back against the blackened
brick front of the building.

"Don't move, Dhuva!" Brett shouted. Dhuva stood frozen, flattened
against the wall. The Gel towered, its surface rippling.

Brett eased from the seat. He stood on the pavement, fifteen feet from
the Gel. The rank Gel odor came in waves from the creature. Beyond it he
could see Dhuva's white terrified face.

[Illustration]

Silently Brett turned the latch of the old-fashioned auto hood, raised
it. The copper fuel line curved down from the firewall to a glass
sediment cup. The knurled retaining screw turned easily; the cup dropped
into Brett's hand. Gasoline ran down in an amber stream. Brett pulled
off his damp coat, wadded it, jammed it under the flow. Over his
shoulder he saw Dhuva, still rigid--and the Gel, hovering, uncertain.

The coat was saturated with gasoline now. Brett fumbled a match box from
his pocket. Wet. He threw the sodden container aside. The battery caught
his eye, clamped in a rusted frame under the hood. He jerked the pistol
from its holster, used it to short the terminals. Tiny blue sparks
jumped. He jammed the coat near, rasped the gun against the soft lead
poles. With a whoosh! the coat caught; yellow flames leaped,
soot-rimmed. Brett snatched at a sleeve, whirled the coat high. The
great Gel, attracted by the sudden motion, rushed at him. He flung the
blazing garment over the monster, leaped aside.

The creature went mad. It slumped, lashed itself against the pavement.
The burning coat was thrown clear. The Gel threw itself across the
pavement, into the gutter, sending a splatter of filthy water over
Brett. From the corner of his eye, Brett saw Dhuva seize the burning
coat, hurl it into the pooled gasoline in the gutter. Fire leaped twenty
feet high; in its center the great Gel bucked and writhed. The ancient
car shuddered as the frantic monster struck it. Black smoke boiled up;
an unbelievable stench came to Brett's nostrils. He backed, coughing.
Flames roared around the front of the car. Paint blistered and burned. A
tire burst. In a final frenzy, the Gel whipped clear, lay, a great
blackened shape of melting rubber, twitching, then still.

* * *

"They've tunneled under everything," Brett said. "They've cut through
power lines and water lines, concrete, steel, earth; they've left the
shell, shored u