Page:Amazing Stories Volume 15 Number 10.djvu/87

Rh upwards. "Break, destroy, kill," she said. But the creature only snapped its pincers together, not understanding. It could see no one on the roofs to kill.

"Give me your sword," she said to Don. Then, to the zekolo, "Climb, carry me."

At once a pincer lifted her onto its back, and another reached out to grip the wall above. Soon it was going up like a spider, carrying her.

Don watched, heart in mouth. If a soldier saw her now he had no deathray to defend her with. The street lights stuck out from the roofs of the buildings, at an angle. Wimpolo's figure was draped across one, the zekolo holding her in case she fell. She looked very small up there, but her shadow was enormous. He heard his sword ring against something. There was a sudden burst, a flash of flame, and fragments fell in the street.

Suddenly the place was in darkness.

ANS HOLORS put on the uniform of a dead soldier, and when the confusion began he walked boldly into the city. The guards at the gate were too busy to challenge him.

His army had melted into the confusion of the streets and a thousand obscure scraps raged in dark corners. More than half had been killed outside the city, he reckoned, but innumerable recruits had joined it inside. Vans had lost what little control he had over them. They were shouting, "Death to all humans!" and he knew that they would ray him down as soon as they saw him.

Vans did not like this sort of fighting, this peeping round corners and hiding in doorways and on roofs to aim deathrays. So that when an officer demanded to know who he was Vans felt quite happy as he struck the man a sideways blow with his flat hand, cracking his skull. That was how fighting should be done. Vans thought.

"You should not be so inquisitive. Got your ears boxed," he said. "That'll teach you not to ask awkward questions."

He stepped over the body and walked on.

But he had to use his deathray several times before he went very far. He was wearing his badges upside down and in the wrong places. They were mixed up, too. It was as though an Earth soldier wore a Sergeant's stripes on his arm, a Captain's badges on his shoulder, and on his head the hat of a Midshipman in the navy. Every soldier who came near him knew at once that there was something wrong. Vans was very puzzled at this. He thought his disguise perfect, yet these men all saw through it at once.

He saw a soldier coming toward him. Anticipating the man's suspicion, he flicked the deathray switch. The soldier did not fall, but came on. For a second or so Vans, who hardly knew fear, was frightened. Was the man immortal, impervious to the deadly ray? Then he remembered Bommelsmeths blanketing ray, and realized that the deathray had become discharged.

"What are you doing with that box?" demanded the soldier.

"Oh!" said Vans, trying to smile disarmingly, "I didn't see you there. I was just testing the valves. I had the lever at safety."

"It's not at safety now," said the soldier. "It's at full, lethal strength. I believe that you tried to murder me."

A hard, calculating look came into the man's eye. His left hand moved.

"He's got something in that pocket,"