Slaves of Mercury

h of Amo

se-bereft men. But he had jerked spasmodically erect. There was a sharp tinkling as the weakened leg links broke. He threw himself in a queer, awkward movement forward, directly in the path of the tubed weapon. A blinding be

s gun barked once. The monster tottered under the impact. A puzzled expression flitted over his pinkish eyes,

rotesque being and all that remained of Amos Peabody. The old President had saved his life at

shook him by

killed a Mercutian guard. Within

ked up at

," he echoed

nce of these devils from Mercury," Grim interposed swiftly. "W

Peabody. The small figure of a man got up from his chair beyond the charmed circle, and was threading his way forward. The local conveyors seemed to be moving backward at graded speeds. Bey

ices. Only a fan-shaped fin projected from the stern like the tail of a fish. The cockpit, if such it could be called, was tiny, just ample enough to accommodate the Mercutian's girth. Th

ay in the fli

the controls. No one knows how to operate them except the Mercutians.

t are those round glass disks stretched along the hull in

nce of two to three hundred feet. Melts everything in its path-men trees, rocks even. You saw one in action in t

" Hilary echoe

rently crystal for depths of ten to fifteen feet. Lead is the only element they can not penetrate. Another secret our scie

icated, and turned as weapo

peculiar vitreous mate

d out the principle

enses have the power of concentrating the rays of the sun to an almost infinite degree, and then spreading them out

wrinkled. For a long mome

their feet, the dismembered body of Amos Peabody, the cowed groups

moving if we want t

his hands resignedly. "We'l

. What's to prevent us from hopping to another

re plenty of Eart

won't

the first invasion. Even after the conquest there were plenty of men looking for an opportunity to fight them again. Amos Peabody headed the revolt. It was smothered in blood, so effectually that only slav

ho saw us will report to their

nod

l expect to curry

im. His jaw tautened. Thank the Lord he had been a

your life?" he asked

the mild blue e

The whole Earth is honeycombed with their guards. They have fli

veled all the outer planets and never met any intelligence equal to that of

took one startled look at the dead guar

id grimly. "There'll be a dozen guards dro

by main force when he heard a movement in back of them. He

up before on the express was

s voice was har

literally stumbled in his haste, c

of his gun boring into a lean flat stomach. The little man w

e I've been waiting to find someone with guts enough to

Hilary's fist, still tight on the gun butt, and pum

"I saw it all, I tell you," he babbled. "We've got them on the run. We

"One Mercutian doesn't make a Roman holiday. They're plenty more where he came fr

lf up to his full height. "What," he ejaculated, "me desert my friends? Wat Tyl

d. In truth, Grim had rather fairly described him as a gamecock. His stature, the bristly red hair that fla

o," he sa

g back and forth, but no one dared come closer. "Slaves," he grunted, "not a spark left in them." His eyes s

ng for us," h

iery little bantam, "we'

tiffened fingers of the dead gu

. "We're not waiting for them. That's suicide. Come. I'm afraid i

s, Grim and Wat, a grotesquely a

h, stark, servile fear smothering their dulled countenance

nveyors as hard as they could run. No Earthman tried to stop them; one look at their grim faces would have been a most

off the last slow-mo

, built on an antique design, pleasingly irregular and nestling to the ground as though it were indigenous to the soil. The walls were modern, though, of vita-crystal, wh

all sides except for a scattering of trees-poor enough cover. The

the house," Hilary answer

s can penetrate the vita-crystal walls

an't help it," he said

had been seen. A flash as of molten metal gleamed overhead. A blinding ray leaped for the ground, struck vic

!" Hilar

red his left side like a red-hot iron. The Mercutians were getting the range. Wat Tyler stopped short

lled back at him. "We don't wa

o soon, either. A beam slithered down the smoldering air, and the Earth literally boiled under its impact, di

onto a wide enclosed portico, in the old manner. Hilary

moment," Mo

ely. Then he too retreated to the outermost edge of the portico. Above, the crystal sudden

o the locked door like a runaway train. There was a grinding noise, a smash of

ulder streaming blood from a hundre

mountain like a twisting snake. His deft fingers reached in through the shattered crystal, pre

nd him. Hilary brought up the rear, Grim's great bulk

udden gasp-a

mean?" She was trem

against a solid wall. His heart pounded mad

o annoy you, miss, but they're af

quick sympathy in the clear

g crash reso

doubt hear," the little man

sped again.

keep hidden behind Grim's huge frame. What would she do now?

ilence. She had come

ll. It's my bedroom. Their search beams can not penetrate it; the walls are draped w

ing. A gush of joy overwhelmed

, for the

nalty of course,

surrender Earthmen to those beasts. Besides"-there wa

ly from behind Grim'

him; her slender white hand flew to her th

she choke

otion. Joan Robbins in his arms again-how he prayed for this moment in the icy reaches of interplanetary space. Yet

features, as though to assure

"I had almost given up all hope. Everyo

s sounde

d in his bass rumble, "but the Mercutians have la

slim straight figure tautened; her velvet

of you," she cried. "I'

with those brutes. You go along up, and I'll r

chance. Leave it to me." She literally pushed them wit

a chance. If not," he shrugged his sho

eavy thuddings

unded, "open or we blast our way in." Th

t. Very reluctantly Hilary followed h

for a moment until he found the button. The door whirred open, even as they hear