aring
silently above the jungle about the Golden City. They made no threat.
They offered no affront. But they soared, and soared....

A little after dawn, glitterings in the jungle announced the arrival
of the convoy. Messengers, in advance, shouted the news. Men from
Yugna went out to inspect. The atmosphere grew tense. The air fleet of
Rahn drew closer.

Slowly, a great golden gateway yawned. Four ground vehicles rolled
forward, and under escort of the Rahnians entered the city. Half the
captive women from Yugna were within them. They alighted, weeping for
joy, and were promptly whisked away. Evelyn was not among them. Tommy
ground his teeth. An explanation came. When one half the promised
ransom was paid, the others would be forthcoming.

Tommy gave grim orders. Half the foodstuffs were taken to the city
gate--half, no more. At his direction, it was explained gently to the
Rahnians that the rest of the ransom remained under guard of the
thermit-throwers. It would not be exposed to capture until the last of
the captives were released. There was argument, expostulation. The
rest of the women appeared. Aten, at Tommy's express command, piled
Evelyn and his own wife into a ground vehicle and came racing madly to
the tower from which Tommy could see all the circuit of the city.

"You're all right?" asked Tommy. At Evelyn's speechless nod, he put
his hand heavily on her shoulder. "I'm glad," he managed to say. "Put
on that gas mask. Hell's going to pop in a minute."

He watched, every muscle tense. There was confusion about the city
gate. Ground vehicles, loaded with foodstuffs, poured out of the gate
and back toward the jungle. Other vehicles with improvised
enlargements to their carrying platforms--making them into huge closed
boxes--rolled up to the gate. The loaded vehicles rolled back and back
and back, and ever more apparently empty ones crowded about the city
gate waiting for admission.

Then there was a sudden flare of intolerable light. A wild yell arose.
Clouds of steam shot up from the ready steam guns. But the circling
air fleet turned as one ship and plunged for the city. The leaders
began to drop smoking things that turned into monstrous pillars of
prismatically-colored mist. A wave of deadly vapor rolled over the
ramparts of the city. And then there was a long-continued ululation
and the noise of battle. Ragged Men, hidden in the jungle, had swarmed
upon the walls with ladders made of jungle reeds. Th