e careful. In an hour, Gregg, or less, I'll come back.... All
right, Coniston. Where is Miko? I want to see him. Stay where you are,
Haljan. In good time Miko will trust you with your liberty. You'll be
rich like all of us. Never fear."

She swaggered out upon the deck, waved at the brigand, and banged my
cubby door in my face.

I sat upon my bunk. Waiting. Would she come back? Would she be
successful?

XVI

She came. I suppose it was no more than an hour: It seemed an eternity
of apprehension. There was the slight hissing of the seal of my door.
The panel slid. I had leaped from my bunk where in the darkness I was
lying tense.

"Prince?" I did not dare say "Anita."

"Gregg."

Her voice. My gaze swept the deck as the panel opened. Neither
Coniston nor anyone else was in sight, save Anita's dark-robed figure
which came into my room.

"You got it?" I asked in a low whisper.

I held her for an instant, kissed her. But she pushed me away with
quick hands. She was breathless.

"Yes, I have it. Give us a little light--we must hurry!"

In the blue dimness I saw that she was holding one of the Martian
cylinders. The smaller size: it would paralyze but not kill.

"Only one, Anita?"

"Yes. And this--"

The invisible cloak. We laid it on my grid, and I adjusted its
mechanism. I donned it and drew its hood, and threw on its current.

"All right, Anita?"

"Yes."

"Can you see me?"

"No." She had stepped back a foot or two. "Not from here. But you must
let no one approach too close."

Then she came forward, put out her hand, fumbled until she found me.

It was our plan to have me follow her out. Anyone observing us would
see only the robed figure of the supposed George Prince, and I would
escape unnoticed.

The situation about the ship was almost unchanged. Anita had secured
the weapon and the cloak and slipped away to my cubby without being
observed.

"You're sure of that?"

"I think so, Gregg. I was careful."

Moa was now in the lounge, guarding the passengers. Hahn was asleep in
the chart room. Coniston was in the turret. Coniston would be off duty
presently, Anita said, with Hahn taking his place. There were lookouts
in the forward and stern watch towers, and a guard upon Snap in the
radio room.

"Is he inside the room, Anita?"

"Snap? Yes."

"No--the guard."

"The guard was sitting on the spider bridge at the door."

This was unfortunate. That guard could see all the deck clearl