hem against
each other until his instruments told him only free energy remained
between them. Then he released the outer wall, and a terrific flood of
energy swept out.

"I don't think we'll be attacked again," said Morey softly. They were
not. Thett had only one other fleet, and had no intention of losing the
powers of their generators at this time when they so badly needed them.
The strange ship had retired for repairs--very well, they could attack
again--and maybe--

Arcot was busy. In the great empty space that had been left, he
installed a second collector coil as gigantic as the main artificial
matter generator. Then he repaired the broken ray feed, and it, and the
companion coil which, with it, had been in the severed nose section,
were now in the same relative position to the new collector coil that
they had had with relation to the artificial matter coil. Next Arcot
built two more ray feeds. Now in the gigantic central power room there
loomed two tremendous power collectors, and six smaller ray feed
collectors.

His next work was to reconnect the severed connectors and controls. Then
he began work on the really new apparatus. Nothing he had constructed so
far was more than a duplicate of existing apparatus, and he had been
able to do it almost instantly, from memory. Now he must vision
something new to his experience, and something that was forced to exist
in part in this space, and partly in another. He tried four times before
the apparatus had been completed correctly, and the work occupied ten
hours. But at last it was done. The _Thought_ was ready now for the
battle.

"Got it right at last?" asked Wade. "I hope so."

"It's right--tried it a little. I don't think you noticed it. I'm going
down now to give them a nice little dose," said Arcot grimly. His ship
was repaired--but they had caused him plenty of trouble.

"How long have we been out here, their time?" asked Wade.

"About an hour and a half." The _Thought_ had been on the time field at
all times save when the Thessian fleet attacked.

"I think, Earthman, that you are tired, and should rest, lest you make a
tired thought and do great harm," suggested Zezdon Afthen.

"I want to finish it!" replied Arcot, sharply. He was tired.

In seconds the _Thought_ was once more over that fortified station in
the mountains--and the triple-ray reached out--and suddenly, about the
ship, was a wall of absolute, utter blackness. The triple-ray touched
it,