uit was broken. He shifted in the molecular drive,
pushing the acceleration to four gravities, as high as the men could
stand.

And still the powerful ship was being tossed about, the plaything of
inconceivable forces. They lived only because the forces did not try to
turn the ship more violently, not because of the strength of the ship,
for nothing could resist the awful power around them.

As a guide, Arcot used the compass gyroscope, the only one not twisted
far out of its original position; with it, he managed to steer a fairly
straight course.

Meanwhile, in the power room, Wade and Morey were working frantically to
get the space-strain drive coil recharged. Despite the strength-sapping
strain of working under four gravities of acceleration, they managed to
get the auxiliary power unit into operation. In a few moments, they had
it pouring its energies into the coil-bank so that they could charge up
the central drive coil.

Another silver bar fuse was inserted, and Wade checked the relays to
make sure they were in working order.

Fuller, who had regained consciousness, worked his way laboriously down
to the power room carrying three space-suits. He had stopped in the lab
to get the power belts, and the three men quickly donned them to help
them overcome the four-gravity pull.

Another half hour sped by as the bucking ship forced its way through the
terrific field in space.

Suddenly they felt a terrific jolt again--then the ship was moving more
smoothly, and gradually it was calm. They were through!

"Have we got power for the space-strain drive yet?" Arcot called through
the intercom.

"Enough," Morey cried. "Try it!"

Arcot cut off the molecular motion drive, and threw in all the
space-control power he had. The ship was suddenly supercharged with
energy. It jarred suddenly--then was quiet. He allowed ten minutes to
pass, then he cut off the drive and allowed the ship to go into free
fall.

Morey's voice came over the intercom. "Arcot, things are really busted
up down here! We had to haywire half the drive together."

"I'll be right down. Every instrument on the ship seems to be out of
kilter!"

It was a good thing they had plenty of spare parts; some of the smaller
relays had burned out completely, and several of the power leads had
fused under the load that had been forced through them.

The space-strain drive had been leaking energy at a terrific rate;
without further repair, it could not func