d that opening to free
his machine.

Randall clutched his companion's arm. "That machine!" he whispered.
"If we could capture it, it would give us a chance to get back to the
city--to Milton and the matter-transmitter!"

Lanier started, then nodded swiftly. "We'll chance it," he whispered.
"For our twenty-four hours here must be almost up."

* * * * *

They hesitated a moment, then crept forward from behind the great
earthen statue. The Martian had his back to them, his attention on the
freeing of his mechanism. Across the dim-lit cavern they crept softly,
and were within a dozen feet of the Martian when some sound made him
wheel quickly to confront them with the deadly tube. But even as he
whirled the two had leaped.

The force of their leap sent them flying through that dozen feet of
space to strike the Martian at the moment his tube levelled. One
hissing call he uttered as they struck him, and then with all his
strength Lanier had grasped the crocodilian body and bent it backward.
Something in it snapped, and the Martian collapsed limply. The two
looked wildly around.

Nothing showed that the Martian's call had been heard, and after a
moment's glance that showed the head of the centipede machine already
freed, they were clambering up into its control room, closing the
door. Randall seized the knob with which he had seen the machines
operated. As he pulled it toward him the machine moved across the
tunnel opening and raced smoothly over the cavern's floor. As he
turned the knob the machine turned swiftly in the same direction.

He headed the long mechanism toward one of the upward-curving tunnels
which the Martians had blasted larger in descending. They were almost
to it when there flashed up into the cavity from one of the downward
tunnel openings a centipede-machine, and then another, and another.
The Martians in their transparent-windowed control rooms took in at a
glance the dead crocodilian on the floor, and then the three great
machines were darting toward that of Randall and Lanier.

"The Martian we killed!" Randall cried. "They heard his call and are
coming after us!"

"Turn to the wall!" Lanier shouted to him. "I have the rays--"

* * * * *

At that moment there was a clicking beside Randall and he glimpsed
Lanier pulling forth two small grips he had found, then saw that two
crimson rays were stabbing from tubes in their machine's fro