their hands full. Kueelo knew it, too. He opened the door again and motioned the group through, as he and Naric kept them carefully covered.

"You may stay and fight it out with your brave Commander," Kueelo told them mockingly. "We have plans a little less foolhardy ... no, these two stay," he told Naric, indicating Tal Horan and the girl. "The Earthman, too!"

One of the Martians leaped forward, making a try for Kueelo's gun. Kueelo blasted him down calmly, the heat beam making a charred hole completely through the man's neck. The others dragged him out, the door clanged shut and the five of them were alone in Unit 26.

"Quickly now! They'll be giving the alarm! Naric, take the controls while I release the plates. But first...." Kueelo faced the three, holding a different type of gun, shorter and thicker. Without warning he aimed it at the floor near their feet. A projectile burst, a pinkish gas sprayed quickly up.

Ric tried to leap forward, but now he couldn't move! Intuition told him to hold his breath. He glimpsed Tal Horan trying to support the girl as she slumped to the floor. But Tal was going down too, slowly, his eyes burning hatred. Then things blurred for Ric. Somehow he kept himself erect as a shadow swayed toward him. His head seemed to burst, but he knew it wasn't the gas ... it was Kueelo's gun crashing down....

III

Someone slapped his face, a voice sounded urgently in his ear. Ric opened his eyes and looked up at Tal Horan, whose lean face broke into a grin.

"That's better. Kueelo must have hit you pretty hard!"

Ric struggled up. His head ached. They were somewhere in a tiny room, and he could hear a thin whine of rocket-tubes under full blast. The Martian girl was standing near, her attention torn between the Earthman and a view-plate looking out into space.

Ric walked a bit unsteadily to the view-plate. Far away in space he saw the Valiant still plodding its course, but their Unit seemed to be blasting away from it at a sharp tangent!

"Dar Mihelson anticipated trouble with the Earth Fleet," Tal Horan answered Ric's puzzled glance. "No spores are going to Earth, but he's determined to fight if necessary. We only want a place to live, Earthman, until we can get back to Mars and wipe out that red plague!"

"The 

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