nt toward
the others even as their own rays darted back. The beams that had been
loosed toward them grazed past them as Randall whirled their machine
to the wall, and he saw one of the three attacking mechanisms vanish
as Lanier's beams struck it.

Around--back--with instinctive, lightninglike motions he whirled their
centipede-machine in the great dim-lit cave as the two remaining ones
leapt again to the attack. Their rays shot right and left to catch the
two men's vehicle in a trap of death, and as Randall swung their own
mechanism straight ahead he glimpsed at the cavern's far end the great
earthen worm god still upreared.

On either side of them the red beams burned as they leapt forward, but
as though running a gauntlet of death Randall kept the machine racing
forward in the succeeding second until the two others loomed on either
side of it. Then Lanier's beams were driving in turn to right and left
of them and the two vanished as though by magic as they were struck.

"Up to the surface!" Lanier cried, his eyes on the glowing dial of his
wrist-watch. "We've been held hours here--we've but a half-hour or
more before earth midnight!"

* * * * *

Randall sent their machine racing again toward one of the upward
tunnels, and as the long mechanism began to climb smoothly up the
darkness he heard Lanier agonizing beside him.

"God, if we have only enough time to get to that matter-transmitter
before the Martians start flashing to earth through it!"

"But Milton?" Randall cried. "We don't know whether he's alive or
dead! We can't leave him!"

"We must!" said Lanier solemnly. "Our duty's to the earth now, man, to
the world that we alone can save from the Martian invasion and
conquest! At the hour of twelve Nelson will have the matter-receiver
turned on and at that hour the Martian will start flashing to
earth--unless we prevent!"

Suddenly Randall grasped the knob in his hands more tightly as light
showed above them. They had been climbing upward through the enlarged
tunnel at their machine's highest speed, and now as the tunnel curved
the light grew stronger. Suddenly they were emerging into the thin
sunlight of the Martian day.

In the crimson jungle about them were many Martians, milling excitedly
to and fro, and other centipede-machines that were blasting their way
down through tunnels to the worm world beneath.

Randall and Lanier, breathless, crouched low in the
transparen