r about me. I'm all
right."

She could be depended upon to keep up her end, Grant thought
admiringly.

On and on they floated in the welter of space. And still there was no
ray, nothing but unrelieved blackness. Pemberton was somewhat worried.
Had the saving ray been quenched at the source? Were they too late? If
so, they were doomed to a frightful obliterating fall to the surface
of the planet, or worse still, they were destined to swing endlessly
in space. Already the liner was far away, out of their grasp, even
had they desired to return.

His breath was coming in quick gasps now. "Scared?" he once more asked
the silent figure beside him.

"Frightfully--but carry on. We'll get there, wherever it is."

Her gay determination strengthened him wonderfully. On and on they
floated.

Suddenly the dim, dark bulk of the girl caught the uncanny orange
light. The next instant the creatoid fabric of his own suit caught it,
too.

"Thank God," he cried joyously. "It's still on. Just relax, Nona, the
ray will take care of us now."

He felt a powerful tug at his body, he was whirled completely around,
and then there was a steady pull. He was being catapulted down the ray
to the mysterious point of brilliance in the Great Red Spot. The girl
was right beside him. The space-liner was passed with a smooth rush,
and soon receded to a dwindling speck.

* * * * *

"Now will you explain?" asked Nona impatiently, after she had caught
her breath in sudden relief.

Grant stretched luxuriously before he began.

"Certainly. There's nothing for us now to do but wait until we get
pulled down to Jupiter, and that'll take some time. I hope we look
like Ganymedans."

"Will you get on with your story!" she cried.

He obeyed. He started from the beginning and went right up to the time
when he had so rudely thrust her out into space.

"You see," he explained. "I had put the puzzle together a bit, but
there were still pieces missing. For instance, those chaps down there
know that every space-liner is equipped with emergency space-suits.
Why pull the ship down with live men on board? That would naturally
mean a fight, and we have no mean weapons, what with disintegrator
ray-projectors and explosive electro-bullets." Then, again, for some
reason, there were Ganymedans on board. They would very likely be
whiffed out in the melee. The ship might be destroyed also, and they
evidently are very careful about