nation fight back!

"The Martian government won't risk a war it isn't sure it will win. But it sees a chance to make sure! If the Ganymedians will keep their mouths shut, the Martians can make a base here. With this new gadget they can snipe our ships, one by one. If anything goes wrong, the Martian government will say it was a little group of earth-haters and they're so sorry! But if everything goes right, they'll have half our fleet before we know what's what!"

Dick Harkness' mouth opened and shut.

"If we don't get back," raged Joe, "Headquarters will query by space-radio. The Ganymedians will simply not answer. They do that sort of thing. Headquarters will send a ship here. It will disappear too, when its fuel blows. They'll send another and another. When they start sending squadrons, either the whole Martian Navy—armed with these gadgets—will jump them, or there'll be a sneak attack on all our bases, all our fuel-dumps will go—and what good's a fleet without fuel reserves and bases?"

"Then why warn us?" demanded Dick Harkness.

"The Ganymedians! Don't you see that either? The Martians can't do a thing without their help. They've got to keep their mouths shut! And they've said they will keep their mouths shut if the Martians will prove they're going to win! So the Martians are going to prove it—on us!"

Dick Harkness, his features slack and bewildered, shook his head.

"But—"

"The Ganymedians are cold-blooded. They won't risk anything. They say that something might go wrong. A ship might get away and warn our fleet. But if the Martians can win even after we know what they've got, why, then they'll play. So they've told us what the Martians have got. They won't let us use space-radio, or they let go.

"But if we prove we can lick the Martians after we've been warned, they'll consider we'll win, and they'll play with us. But if the Martians blow us up—" Then he added, gritting his teeth, "They're still around because they can jam our space-radio. If we try to send a report, or try to lift, they'll duck and use the Martian gadget. They're playing it safe all around!"

Dick Harkness looked dazed. "But—but—" Then he shook his head as if to clear it. "Logical people, aren't they? No manners, no morals, no weak spots at all. Not even pets! It sounds crazy, but they've never been 

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