rawn my ship inside
if, for your part, you promise to free Eliot Leithgow, who is aboard
with me, and the five patients on whom Ku Sui operated. If you don't
grant me that, I will oppose you to the last pull of my finger on
trigger."

"But, Carse--" the Master Scientist began, horrified: but his
expression of amazement faded when the slender man at the radio turned
his head and half-closed one eye in a wink.

"You will agree to that--and no tricks?" Tantril's voice repeated.

"I will agree to it. And as for tricks, what could I possibly try?
Your rays could burn through the maximum power of my web in three
seconds, as you say: I know it as well as you. I only wish there was a
chance to get out of your range in time."

"All right!" the Venusian replied decisively. "I agree. I'll release
Leithgow and the five patients. Keep away from the controls and I'll
draw you in."

* * * * *

Carse switched off the microphone.

"A hell of a lot Tantril's word is worth!" muttered Ban Wilson. Once
more, surprisingly, the Hawk winked. Friday was grinning now. For
once in his life he had guessed his master's strategy before the
others.

A mile and a half to the front lay the dome-end of the asteroid.
Perhaps nine hundred miles to the rear lay the tremendous mottled
curve of Earth with her dangerous upper layers of the stratosphere all
too close. In the very face of Earth, all three on a line, the ship
lay linked by a stream of purple to the great rough-hewn, errant
asteroid. Half the bulk of all three lay sharply outlined against the
black of space by the intense yellow light of the flaming distant sun.

The asteroid neared to a mile, then a half-mile. Hawk Carse said
curtly:

"Ban, when I give the word, put all the power we've got into our
defensive web. Load the generators; overload them; tax them to the
limit. That web must be as tough as possible for five seconds."

"Got you, Carse."

"You've--a trick?" ventured Leithgow timidly.

"I think I have, Eliot. Lar Tantril might have caught on when I turned
the ship, but unfortunately for him his brain is incapable of
proceeding past a certain point.... All right, Ban."

"Feel it!"

In answer to Ban's hands, the deck of the control cabin was literally
vibrating under the mounting speed of the generators in the
power-room. The generators could not stand that terrific overload
long: they would burn out. But Carse needed only a few seconds of