ot the nearest of the workers in the ribs.

But his companion cried out. The wand which had stood so erect when it
was first planted, now inclined toward the working party, its sparks
shooting so swiftly and with such slight break between that they were
fast making a single beam. Ross jerked his hand from contact with the
sonic; a distinct throb of pain answered that stepping up of the
mysterious broadcast.

The laborers broke and ran, or rather crawled on their bellies until
they were well away, before they got to their feet and pelted back down
the strand. However, the guards were of sterner stuff. They were
withdrawing all right, but slowly backing away, their swords held up
before them as men might retreat before insurmountable odds.

When they were well gone the robed one took up the wand. Holding it out
beyond, the cloaked leader of the second party approached the two piles
of salvage the workers had heaped into rough order. There was a detailed
inspection of both until the robed one came upon the body.

At a trilled order two of the warriors came up and laid out the corpse.
When the robed one nodded they stood well back. The rod moved, the tip
rather than the knobbed head being pointed at the body.

Ross's head snapped back. That bolt of light, energy, fire--whatever it
was--issuing from the rod had dazzled him into momentary blindness. And
a vibration of force through the air was like a blow.

When he was able to see once more there was nothing at all on the sand
where the corpse had lain, nothing except a glassy trough from which
some spirals of vapor arose. Ross clung to his rock support badly
shaken.

Men with swords ... and now this--some form of controlled energy which
argued of technical development and science. Just as the cliff castle
had bombarded with rocks ships sailing with a speed which argued engine
power of an unknown type. A mixture of barbaric and advanced knowledge.
To assess this, he needed more experience, more knowledge than he
possessed. Now Ashe could....

Ashe!

Ross was jerked back to his own quest. The rod was quiet, no more sparks
were flung from its knob. And under Ross's touch his sonic was quiet
also. He snapped off the broadcast. If that device had picked up the
flickering of the rod, the reverse could well be true.

The cloaked one chose from the pile of goods, and its escort gathered up
the designated boxes, a small cask or two. So laden, the party returned
south the