Flint's passengers realized their peril. The two men jumped up, panic on their faces. But as Flint throttled the port jet frantically, futilely, Karen Vaun was on her feet behind him crying in a voice that was shaky but nonetheless sensible, "Where's the hand pump?" Miss Vaun was scared stiff but wasn't one to give up in a corner.

The bat came in from the side. Flint threw in his reverse rockets. The plane stopped as if it had rammed a planetoid, hurling the three behind him to the floor. The bat zoomed past them.

"The pump's under the floor!" Flint yelled over his shoulder. "Pull up that trap door." He gave the plane every ounce of juice its starboard jets would take, trying to gain what lead he could before the bat came back. In the mirror he saw the woman on her knees, pulling at the trap door, then jerking the manual pump lever.

And it worked! The port tube sputtered, then streamed smooth, a weak jet but enough to give a push from the left. And on the left, seconds away, Flint saw a medium-sized planetoid. The chase had taken them almost to the Ring.

The bat came down on his tail like another plane attacking. Flint dove straight at the planetoid. Behind him, Karen Vaun worked the pump madly, Hudson and Leggett stood by helplessly, staring up at the hairy face that grew larger every second above them.

Flint held his power dive till the last possible second. The planetoid changed from a globe to a flat surface. Trees separated from the green mass of jungle. Each leaf sprang up separate and distinct. Close behind the plane, the bat's mouth gaped open. Flint jammed his rise rockets in.

The trees came up with a sickening wobble, slanted back and down, then away. The plane brushed the branches as it zoomed skyward. Behind the plane, the bat twisted against its tremendous momentum, cut a wide swath through the tree tops. When it flapped up laboriously, circling, searching for them again, the plane was well beyond sight of its weak eyes.

Watching through the glass, Flint saw it circle higher, finally sail away toward the Ring. And as his fingers relaxed on the controls, he found himself laughing.

He headed the plane back toward the spot where the bat had interrupted their course. "Somebody keep pumping that jet," he said. "I was supposed to meet a fellow in another ship on the way out. He'll take you back to Saturn. I'm going after that bat."

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