erything I tried. It
swept me, so that I cursed my own incapacity. Why had I not contrived to
have Anita desert at the asteroid? Would it not have been far better for
her there? Taking her chance for rescue with Dr. Frank, Venza and the
others?

But no! I had, like an inept fool, never thought of that! Had left her
here on board at the mercy of these outlaws.

And I swore now that, beyond everything, I would protect her.

Futile oath! If I could have seen ahead a few hours! But I sensed the
catastrophe. There was a shudder within me as I sat in that turret,
docilely guiding us out through the asteroid's atmosphere, heading us
upon our course for the Moon.

CHAPTER XIX

_In the Zed-light Glow_

"Try again. By the infernal, Snap Dean, if you do anything to balk us!"

Miko scanned the apparatus with keen eyes. How much technical knowledge
of signaling instruments did this brigand leader have? I was tense and
cold with apprehension as I sat in a corner of the helio-room, watching
Snap. Could Miko be fooled? Snap, I knew, was trying to fool him.

The Moon spread close beneath us. My log-chart, computed up to thirty
minutes past, showed us barely some thirty thousand miles over the
Moon's surface. The globe lay in quadrature beneath our bow quarter--a
huge quadrant spreading across the black starry vault of the lower
heavens. A silver quadrant. The sunset caught the Lunar mountains, flung
slanting shadows over the empty Lunar plains. All the disc was plainly
visible. The mellow Earth-light glowed serene and pale to illumine the
Lunar night.

The _Planetara_ was bathed in silver. A brilliant silver glare swept the
forward deck, clean white and splashed with black shadows. We had partly
circled the Moon, so as now to approach it from the Earthward side. I
had worked with extreme concentration through the last few hours,
plotting the trajectory of our curving sweep, setting the gravity plates
with constantly shifting combinations. And with it a necessity for the
steady retarding of our velocity.

* * * * *

Miko for a time was at my elbow in the turret. I had not seen Coniston
and Hahn of recent hours. I had slept, awakened refreshed, and had a
meal. Coniston and Hahn remained below, one or the other of them always
with the crew to execute my sirened orders. Then Coniston came to take
my place in the turret, and I went with Miko to the helio-room.

"You are skilful, Haljan."