ung across his vision; slithered
clammily over the glass of one of the forward ports. They were into
the thing! It was the end! He groaned aloud as he fumbled with the
mechanisms and strove to formulate a plan of escape.

* * * * *

The fleet, he knew, was just behind. An enormous mass. The repulsive
energy astern would be terrific. He turned it full on. The whiteness
obscured his vision. Then it was gone once more. A single streamer
waved before him and encompassed them. The movement of these members
must be inconceivably rapid, else they'd be invisible at the speed the
_Nomad_ was traveling. Full speed ahead. The repulsion full on in the
direction of the center of the mass as well as astern. The framework
of the _Nomad_ creaked protestingly from the terrific forces that tore
at her vitals.

Then suddenly they were released. The _Nomad_ was shooting off into
space. The resultant of those combined forces had done the trick. Only
the edge of that devil-fish of space, had they touched. Free--they
were free of the monster! The red veil lifted. He rushed to Ora's
side. She was kneeling at one of the floor ports, breathing heavily
but unharmed.

Below them they saw the swiftly receding mass: the fleet of the Llotta
diving headlong, drawn inexorably into the rapacious embrace of the
vile creature of the heavens. An instant the awful whiteness of the
thing closed in greedily about the many spheres of the fleet;
swallowed them from sight and contorted madly and with seeming glee
over the triumph. Then, in a burst of blinding incandescence, it was
gone. The monster, the fleet--everything--blasted into nothingness.
The fuel storage compartments of the vessels of Ganymede had exploded!
The heavens were rid of the inexplicable growing menace; the inner
planets were saved from a terrible invasion. And the _Nomad_ was safe.
Ora, Detis, Mado--all were safe!

At his side Ora was trembling. Gently he raised her to her feet, and
took her into his arms.

CHAPTER X

_Vagabonds All_

Together they cared for Detis and Mado; made them comfortable in their
bunks until the time when the effects of the gas would wear off.
Lucky it was that Rapaju had used the gas pistol rather than the ray.
Perhaps it had been a mistake. Or perhaps he had needed the scientific
knowledge of Detis, the familiarity with the inner planets that was
Mado's. At any rate, they had no delusions regarding his designs on
Ora or