htful cries, screams of agony, came to
his dulled ears as from a great distance. He heaved himself up
wearily, scorched, smoldering, but otherwise unhurt.

* * * * *

"Grim," he whispered through thick cracked lips. "Grim, where are
you?"

"Here." Strange how tranquil he sounded. A scarecrow of a figure arose
almost at his right from a smoldering bush, a giant clothed in smoking
rags. In the strange illumination of the search beams he seemed the
wraith of a scarecrow.

"Thank God you're alive," Hilary croaked. "The others...?"

Figures were staggering up from the holocaust about them.

Grim's practised eyes counted. "About fifty left," he said, "just one
half."

Hilary's voice rose suddenly, strongly. "Keep on firing, men." Once
again his pistol barked defiance.

A faint, ragged cheer answered him. A few guns flamed; there were only
a handful left.

"God!" someone cried.

The massed ships above were gleaming faintly. Little shimmering
sparkles ran over the hulls. They were going to ray again. Hilary went
berserk, screamed strange oaths, fired again and again. Grim fired,
more slowly. Two of the enemy ships left the formation, plunged
headlong. But the shimmering grew brighter. In seconds the terrible
bolts would be loosed. It was the end. The Earthmen knew it. They
could not survive a second raying.

Grim shouted. Never before had Hilary heard him raise his voice to
that pitch. His great arm was upflung. "Look!" he screamed.

CHAPTER XII

_The Vagabond_

High up, a dark blob against the feeble starlight, something was
dropping; dropping with the speed of a plummet, straight for the
massed Mercutian fliers. From outer space it seemed to come, a
plunging ripping meteor.

A search beam must have swung hurriedly aloft, for it flamed into
startling being; a spheroid, compact, purposeful, dropping with
breathtaking velocity.

Something seemed to explode in Hilary's brain. A great cry wrenched
out of his torn throat.

"The _Vagabond_."

Unbelievable, impossible. Yet he could not be mistaken. The _Vagabond_
was coming home again!

By this time the Mercutians had seen it too. It meant suicide, that
rushing projectile from outer space, but it would take along with it
in the crash of its flight a goodly number of the Mercutian fliers.
The Mercutians were no cowards, but death stared them openly in the
face.

Instantly, all was in confusion. Forgotten the rebellio