by a
heat-ray, came hurtling down past me. The other wavered--a girl with her
flying mechanism out of control. She was a hundred feet or more above
me, wavering downward. Elza! I shot myself up to her, seized her in my
arms, my own supporting mechanism sustaining us both. Elza, spent, but
uninjured, I held her close.

"Elza dear! My Elza!"

We hung there in the air. From out the vanishing city, rising through
the steam came a small metal vehicle. A pointed cylinder, in height no
more than twice that of a man. It came up slowly. Its rectangular door
was open. As it reached our level and went past us quite close, I saw a
man's figure standing there. Tarrano! Tarrano alone! From the wreckage
of his city, making his escape alone!

Without thought--holding Elza tightly within my arms--I flung us upward.
Tarrano saw us, recognized us. He slackened his upward pace. With my
sober reason gone, I strove to overtake him; saw the sardonic leer on
his face but did not realize that he was waiting for us. We caught up
with his vehicle; he pulled us through the doorway, to the floor of the
narrow circular room with its heavy translucent panes.

He was bending over me, leering. "Jac Hallen! And my little Lady Elza!
How fortunate!"

I cast off Elza and gained my feet. For an instant we stood--Tarrano and
I--measuring each other. He seemed calm; his face bore a slow sardonic
smile; he was unarmed, drawn back against the concavity of the wall,
watching me with his steady, keen eyes. Behind him through the low
window, I saw the white ground now far below us; we were rising swiftly.

"So you brought my Lady Elza back to me, Jac Hallen?"

He got no further, for with a leap I was upon him. To use my weapons in
these narrow quarters would have been suicide. My body pinned him
against the wall as I lunged; my fingers strove for his throat.

He was no larger than I, but the strength of him was extraordinary. His
body stiffened to resist my impact; one of his hands gripped my wrist;
his other hand--the heel of it--came up beneath my chin, forcing my head
back.

He fought silently, with movements that seemed almost deliberate. Into
the center of the room we struggled. I saw that Elza was upon her feet,
a hand pressed to her mouth in terror.

"Elza!"

I had meant to tell her to use the control levers which were on a small
table nearby--to bring us back to the ground; but with this momentary
diverting of my attention, Tarrano's fist st