Giants on the Earth | Page 9

four remaining Jovians backed away but Damis was not to
be denied. He rushed in and grasped another about the waist, avoiding
the swing of the forty-pound ax, and dragged him back. The swords of
the Terrestrials pierced the struggling guard from the rear and Damis
rushed toward the three survivors.
Heartened by his aid, the remnants of Monaill's band charged with him.
Two of the Jovians fell before the swords of the Earthmen and the third
went down before a blow of Damis' fist. As he turned back to the ship,
Turgan, followed by the crew of the ship, dashed up.
"Into the ship!" cried Damis. A glance showed that the Jovian guards
were less than two hundred yards away and were coming on in huge
leaps. The door of the space ship was open and the band of Terrestrials
clambered in.
"Quick, Damis!" came Lura's voice.
The Nepthalim turned to enter but his gaze fell on the six survivors of
Monaill's band.
"In with you!" he cried sharply.
* * * * *
The Terrestrials hesitated but Damis grasped the nearest of them by the
belt and threw him bodily into the ship. The others hesitated no longer
but clambered in. The Jovians were less than fifty yards away and
already deep violet flashes began to come from the tubes they carried.
Damis stooped and grasped one of the dead Jovians. With an effort
possible to only two men on Earth, himself and Glavour, he raised the
body above his head and hurled it straight at the oncoming Jovians. His
aim was true and three of them were swept from their feet. With a
mighty bound, Damis sprang through the door of the space ship and the
airlock clanged shut behind him.

The crew of the ship were already in place, awaiting orders. There was
no time for instruction and Damis leaped to the control board. He
pulled a lever far down and in an instant the entire crew was flat on the
floor as though an enormous weight had pressed them down. With a
superhuman effort, Damis raised himself enough to cut off the power.
The ship shot on through the rapidly thinning air, its sides glowing a
dull red. The heat inside the ship was almost intolerable.
As the pressure of the enormous acceleration ceased, the bruised
Terrestrials struggled to their feet. Damis turned to another lever and a
breath of icy air swept through the ship.
"This will help for an instant," he gasped, "and the cold of space will
soon cool us down. I had to give the ship a tremendous start or the
tubes of the Sons of God would have reduced us to elemental atoms.
Keep away from the walls and don't exert yourselves. I can handle the
ship alone for the present."
* * * * *
For half an hour the ship charged on through space. Damis presently
pulled the control lever down and placed the ship under power. The
walls changed from dull red to black and the temperature in the ship
grew noticeably lower. Damis made his way to one of the walls and
tested it with a moistened finger.
"It's cool enough to touch," he announced. "Fortunately the insulating
vacuum between the inner and the outer skins was at its maximum,
otherwise we would have been roasted alive. The external wall was
almost at the fusing point. We can move around now."
He posted lookouts at the observing instruments with which the ship
was equipped and instructed them in their duties and the manipulation
of the instruments. He placed one man at the control lever of the stern
rocket-motors. As he turned away from the control board he saw Lura
standing quietly in a corner. He opened his arms and she ran to them
with a cry of joy.

"Oh, Damis, I was so afraid for you," she gasped, "and I wanted to hug
you when you jumped in and Father closed the lock behind you but I
knew that you had to take care of the ship. Were you hurt at all?"
"Not a bit, darling," he assured her, "but it was touch and go for a
moment. I didn't know whether the guards would dare to disintegrate
the ship without orders from Glavour. In any event, the blasts of the
stern motors must have hurled them half a mile. No strength could
stand the blast of gas to which they were subjected. Are you all right?"
"Perfectly," she replied; "I never was in any danger. I was the first one
in the ship and the only chance I had to be hurt was to have you
overcome and the ship recaptured. In that case, I had this."
She displayed a small dagger which she drew from the