to meet the vicious jaw with a crack that told of the terrific
power behind it. Lifted from his feet and hurled half way across the
room by the impact, Rapaju lay motionless where he fell.

Carr was at the telescope. Their speed was close to fifteen hundred
miles a second. The monstrous mass of Mado's Sargasso Sea loomed close
in his vision. Off their course by a hundred miles or more. They'd
miss it all right. He had the situation in hand now on board the
_Nomad_. But how about the fleet behind them? He thought fast and
furiously. Another two minutes and they'd pass the thing; the
inexplicable horror which had accounted for the golden sphere of the
Europans. Could he use it? Suppose the fleet of the enemy--

The idea was full of possibilities.

He rushed to the stern compartment, and scanned the heavens for the
massed body of spheres he knew would be the fleet of the Llotta. At
this speed they must have fallen far behind. Yes, there they were. Not
so far behind at that. The battle in the control room must have been a
shorter one than it had seemed. He returned quickly to the controls
and reversed the energy, to give the fleet a chance to catch up to
him.

Closer came that mass of whitish jelly. And now it was much larger
than before. The terrible creature, for living matter it was, beyond
doubt, was growing with the rapidity of a rising flood. Great
tentacles of its horrid translucent substance reached in all
directions for possible victims. He sickened at the sight. But what a
fate for the fleet of the Llotta! If only he could maneuver them into
its influence.

* * * * *

He changed his course slightly and headed directly for the monster,
again increasing speed. Perhaps--if he calculated the forces
correctly--he could dive through it again with the D-ray to clear a
path. But no. It was a miracle they had escaped before, and now the
vicious thing was more than double its previous size. Once more he
altered his course. He'd cross in front of the thing; skim it as close
as he dared and shoot from its influence on the far side. The greater
mass of the enemy vessels and their lack of a quick-acting repulsive
force would prove their undoing.

Full speed ahead. A rapid mental calculation--an educated guess,
rather--and he set the automatic control. Turning around to start for
the stern compartment, he saw that Ora had recovered from her swoon
and now stood swaying weakly in the passage