the fourth day, disaster struck. The jeep was bouncing over the mossy path between the great slime-covered trees when, quite suddenly, Elliot spied something rope-like slithering down a vine directly in the path of the car.

"Snake!" he yelled, and jerked the wheel to one side. The jeep swerved.

"Watch what you're doing!" Blayne growled. But it was too late. The right wheel hit a hidden rock, and the vehicle turned over on its side with a rending crash.

Elliot was dazed, but he knew he still had to act fast. He sprang from the overturned jeep, with Blayne behind him. The tree-snake that had caused him to swerve was still coming toward them, its white fangs dripping venom.

It sprang forward to strike, but Elliot's hand was faster. He closed his fingers savagely around the reptile's neck. He held the head at arm's length.

The snake's twelve-foot body whipped around Elliot's throat and chest, pinning one arm to his side. The rocket pilot felt the dry, loathsome odor of the reptile drifting into his nostrils, and retched. He gasped for air and tightened his fingers on the snake's throat, drawing his hand together as closely as he could. It was a question of which one would hold out longer.

Elliot's eyes began to dim. What the hell was that fat fool Blayne doing?

"Blayne!" he shouted.

But Blayne didn't answer. With one desperate surge of power, Elliot clamped his fingers even tighter.

Something snapped. The snake gave one convulsive shudder and dropped its lifeless coils from Elliot's body. He stood up, quivering with tension.

As the snake hit the ground, a pencil beam seared the air, burning its head off. "That's that," Housten Blayne said in relief.

Elliot whirled to face him. "Why the devil did you stand there? It could have killed me. Why didn't you use your knife?"

Blayne shrugged. "You were doing all right. Now do something about the car, will you?"

Elliot repressed a vivid curse and turned away. The sight of Blayne sickened him, and he wished there were some way of exacting the revenge Blayne merited without forfeiting the cash for the trip. There wasn't.

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