doctor,"Kenniston repeated hopefully, to the Jovian. "Surely he wouldn't befoolish enough to shoot Ricky, even if I don't deliver the equipment."
"Kenniston, don't fool yourself," warned Holk Or. "The chief said he'dshoot him if you weren't back with the stuff in two weeks, and shoothim he will. John Dark never breaks his word."
That assurance sank the iron deeper into Kenniston's tormented soul.If that was true, and he knew in his heart it was, Ricky would die twodays from now unless he'd delivered the repair-equipment to Dark.
He mustn't _let_ Ricky die! Too much depended on his young brother'slife. He must save Ricky even if it did mean the capture of Gloria andthe others by the pirates. Better that they be held for ransom, thanfor Ricky to be killed!
* * * * *
Kenniston got to his feet, rigid with decision. "Then we've got to getout of here," he muttered. "We've got to escape and take word to Darkthat the equipment is here."
He continued quickly, "Holk, Dark's camp is only a few miles north ofhere. I spotted it as the _Sunsprite_ fell."
Holk Or uttered an exclamation. "Why the devil didn't you tell me so!I figured it was on the other side of the asteroid, maybe, and thatwe'd never find it in the jungle even if we did get away."
"It still won't be easy for us," Kenniston warned. "The Vestans mayget us in the jungle between here and Dark's camp. And anyway, how canwe get out of this cabin?"
The big Jovian grinned. "That'll be easy. I'd have been out of herebefore now, only I was waiting for the ship to quiet down."
Kenniston stared. "That door is bolted. And there's no tool or weaponin the cabin. They didn't forget a thing when they searched it!"
Holk Or's grin deepened. "They forgot one thing. They forgot howstrong a Jovian is on a little, weak-gravity asteroid like this!"
CHAPTER V
Night Attack
Kenniston caught desperately at the hope implied by the Jovian'swords.
"What do you mean, Holk?"
"I mean that I'm a hundred times stronger on this little asteroid thanI am on my own world, Jupiter. I can break the bolt of that door anytime I want to."
"But there's an armed guard stationed outside it."
"I know, and that's where you come in, Kenniston. When I rip the dooropen, you be ready to jump the guard."
Kenniston considered swiftly. The chance of their getting out of theship and safely through the jungles to the pirate camp, even if theyescaped this cabin, seemed a slim one. Yet it presented the onlypossibility of delivering the equipment in the hold to John Dark.
The bitter irony of it struck Kenniston, for the hundredth time. He,Lance Kenniston, honorable space-man for a dozen years, workingdesperately to aid the most notorious pirate in the void! Even drawinginto danger the girl for whom he felt--
He shut Gloria out of his mind. He mustn't think of her now. He mustthink only of Ricky, and of what would be lost if Ricky died. He mustrisk everything, sacrifice everything, to prevent that loss.
"We might as well try it now," he told the Jovian in low tones. "Theship seems quiet."
"I'll do my best to make as little noise as possible," Holk Ormuttered. "Are you ready?"
The Jovian's big hands grasped the knob of the door. Kennistoncrouched a little behind him, every muscle tense.
Holk Or suddenly put all his gigantically magnified strength into atremendous tug at the door. Its bolt snapped with a crack like that ofa pistolshot, and it swung wide open.
The man on guard outside turned startledly, his hand darting to theatom-gun at his belt and his mouth open to yell. But Kenniston hadlaunched himself like a human projectile as the door was torn open.
Kenniston's fist smashed the space-sailor's chin and the man saggedlimp and unconscious with no chance to utter the cry on his lips.Hastily, Kenniston took his atom-pistol and eased him to the floor.
He and Holk Or listened tensely. The single sharp crack of thesnapping bolt had apparently aroused no one. The ship was silent. Allaboard were sleeping exhaustedly.
"Come on," Kenniston murmured tensely to the Jovian. "We've got tohurry to get to Dark's camp before night is over."
Holk Or chuckled. "The chief will welcome us with open arms when helearns we've got the equipment here for him."
Kenniston gripped the atom-pistol as they stole through the dark shipand out of the space-door. Outside, they paused in the darkness.
The scene was one of magic, unearthly beauty. The metal bulk of thecruiser and the towering jungle around the clearing were washed bybrilliant silver light that fell from the wonderful night sky of thisWorld with a Thousand Moons.
A thousand moons indeed seemed blazing in the canopied heavensoverhead! The whole dark sky was crowded by the shining moonlets thatrushed ceaselessly across the firmament with the spinning of themeteor-swarm of which they were part. It was like the glorious vistaof a world seen in dreams.
But Kenniston was familiar with the unearthly spectacle. He led theway rapidly toward the northern edge of the jungle.
"We'll just have to plunge in and head north," he told the Jovian. "Ifwe reach that little lake, we can soon find Dark's camp."
They started into the dense jungle, a fairyland of silver beamssifting through the choking fronds. Something scurried close by.
"Kenniston, shoot!" cried Holk Or instantly.
* * * * *
Kenniston had already glimpsed the white beast scurrying toward themacross a little patch of moonslight. It was one of the bigmeteor-rats. On its neck bunched one of the little gray masses--aVestan.
The horror inspired by the hideous parasites tightened Kenniston'sfinger convulsively on the trigger of the atom-pistol. The cracklingbolt of fire from the weapon ripped into the Vestan on the meteor-rat,and both parasite and animal victim were instantly a scorched, smokingheap.
"Hell, that's torn it!" cried the big Jovian. "We've roused the wholeship!"
Men awakened by the blast of the atom-gun were pouring out of the_Sunsprite_, rushing after the two escaped men. Kenniston heardCaptain Walls shouting.
"They're in the jungle here! Spread out and surround them!" theofficer was ordering.
Kenniston and the Jovian plunged forward, seeking to escape northward.But they had come up against an impenetrable abatis of brush.
Before they could find a way around it, they heard men crashing allaround them. They were completely encircled.
"Kenniston, you and that Jovian walk back into the clearing with yourhands raised or we'll blast every inch of the brush till we get you!"came the stentorian shout of the captain.
"The devil--they've got us boxed!" exclaimed Holk Or furiously. "We'lltry to fight our way through."
"No!" Kenniston declared. "We couldn't make it anyway. And I'm notgoing to shoot innocent men."
Holk Or angrily grabbed for the atom-pistol, but Kenniston promptlythrew it away. Not even in this last extremity could he bring himselfto kill.
"You're a fool!" gritted the Jovian. "Now there's nothing for it butsurrender."
With their hands raised, they walked out of the jungle into thebrilliant silvery light of the clearing. Instantly they weresurrounded by Captain Walls, Murdock and the other armed crew-men.
The girls and their scared chaperon, and young Lanning and RobbieBoone, were emerging in alarm from the _Sunsprite_. Kenniston did notlook toward them.
Captain Walls' face was grim in the moonslight, as he and his mencovered the two captured fugitives. "Kenniston, you and this Jovianwere going to make your way to John Dark and tell him of our presencehere, weren't you? You needn't deny it--it's plain enough."
"Sure we were!" exclaimed the angry Jovian. "We'd have made it, too,if a Vestan hadn't jumped us in the jungle."
"That would have meant capture of us all by Dark's pirates," said thecaptain grimly. "You two are a danger to us all, while you live. I'mgoing to remove that danger. As master of a space-ship, I have legalright to order summary execution of any spac
e-pirates I capture. I'mgoing to order that now."
"You're going to kill them?" exclaimed Gloria. "Oh, no--you can't!"
"It's absolutely necessary, before they betray us to the pirates, MissLoring," defended the captain. "They'd be sentenced to death by thecourts if we took them back to Mars, anyway. But we daren't take achance on keeping them prisoned that long."
"But just to shoot them down!" said Gloria horrifiedly. "I won't standfor that!"
Murdock took her by the arm. "It's space
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