ls and navigational devices. A radio audiphone transmitter
and receiver, with its attendant eavesdropping cut-offs. And there was
an ether-wave mirror-grid. De Boer bent over it. And then I saw him
fastening upon his forehead an image-lens. He said:

"You stay here, Hans. You and Gutierrez. Take care of the girl and
this fellow Grant. Don't hurt them."

Gutierrez was a swarthy Latin American. He smiled. "For why would I
hurt him? You say he is worth much money to us, De Boer. And the girl,
ah--"

De Boer towered over him. "Just lay a finger on her and you will
regret it, Gutierrez! You stay at your controls. Be ready. This affair
it will take no more than half an hour."

A man came to the control room entrance. "You come, Commander?"

"Yes. Right at once."

"The men are ready. From the mine we might almost be seen here. This
delay--"

"Coming, Rausch."

* * * * *

But he lingered a moment more. "Hans, my finder will show you what I
do. Keep watch. When we come back, have all ready for flight. This
Grant had an alarm-detector. Heaven only knows what eavesdropping and
relaying he has done. And for sure there is hell now in Spawn's
garden. The Nareda police are there, of course. They might track us up
here."

He paused before me. "I think I would not cause trouble, Grant."

"I'm not a fool."

"Perhaps not." He turned to Jetta. "No harm will come to you. Fear
nothing."

He wound his dark cloak about his giant figure and left the control
room. In a moment, through the rounded observing pane beside me, I saw
him outside on the moonlit rocks. His men gathered about him. There
were forty of them, possibly, with ten or so left here aboard to guard
the flyer.

And in another moment the group of dark-cloaked figures outside crept
off in single file like a slithering serpent, moving down the rock
defile toward where in the cauldron pit the lights of the mine shone
on its dark silent buildings.

CHAPTER XII

_The Attack on the Mine_

There was a moment when I had an opportunity to speak with Jetta.
Gutierrez sat watchfully by the archway corridor entrance with a
needle projector across his knees. The fellow Hans, a big, heavy-set
half-breed Dutchman with a wide-collared leather jerkin and wide,
knee-length pantaloons, laid his weapon carefully aside and busied
himself with his image mirror. There would soon be images upon it, I
knew: De Boer had the lens-finder on his forehea