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With Miko dead, a distress signal to Earth, and Potan in ignorance of Grantline's location, the treasure would be safe until help arrived from Earth. "By the infernal, little Anita, you look like a dove, but you're a tigress! A comrade after my own heart bloodthirsty as a fire-worshipper!" Her laugh rang out to mingle with his. "Oh no, Set Potan! I am treasure-thirsty." "We'll get the treasure.
The Benson curve light changed the path of the light rays traveling from him to me, I could not even approximate his true position! Anita was plucking at me. "Gregg, come." "I can't hit him," I gasped. Should I try the flash signal to Earth? Did we dare linger here? I stood another few seconds at the window. I saw Potan down in the confusion of the deck, training a telescope.
With my thoughts roving, we had been standing quietly at the cubby door for about fifteen minutes. My hand in my side pouch clutched the little bullet projector. The brigands had taken it from me and given it to Potan. He had placed it on the settle with my Erentz suit; and when we gained his confidence he had forgotten it and left it there.
The giant projector will be aimed and fired from up there." A thirty foot skeleton tower stood on the deck near us, with a spiral ladder leading up to a small, square, steel cubby at the top. Through the cubby window I could see instrument panels. A single Martian was up there; he had called down to Potan concerning the electronic projector.
I could see from where I sat at the table that there was a forward observatory tower under the dome quite near here. The ship was laid out in rather similar fashion to the Planetara, though considerably smaller. Potan had dismissed his men from the cubby so as to be alone with us.
If he does, Set Potan, we can blast him from here with a ray. Can't we?" "Yes," Potan agreed. "If he comes within ten miles, I have one powerful enough. We are assembling it now." "And we have thirty men?" Anita persisted. "When we sail down to attack him, it should not be difficult to kill all the Grantline party." "By heaven, Haljan, this girl of yours is small, but very bloodthirsty!"
"It's like this, Potan: if he could get you to land unsuspectingly near his cavern " I pictured how Grantline might have figured on a sudden surprise attack upon the ship. It was his only chance to catch it unprepared. We were all three in friendly, intimate mood now. Potan said, "We'll land down there right enough! But I need a few hours for my assembling." "He will not dare advance," I said.
Never fear, little Anita." "With you to lead us, I'm sure we will." A man entered the cubby. Potan looked frowningly around. "What is it, Argle?" The fellow answered in Martian, leered at Anita and withdrew. Potan stood up. I noticed that he was unsteady with the drink. "They want me with the work at the projectors." "Go ahead," I said. He nodded. We were comrades now. "Amuse yourself, Haljan.
He stood before us, towering over me. I saw a group of nearby workers stop to regard us. In a moment we would be causing a commotion, and it was the last thing I desired. I said in Martian, "Commander Potan told me, what I wish I can do. From the dome we look around to see where is the Grantline camp from here. I am pilot of this ship to go there."
I knew your brother indeed, you look very much like him." He swept his plumed hat to the grid with a swaggering gesture of homage. A courtierlike fellow this, debonair as a Venus cavalier! He accepted us. I realized that Anita's presence was extremely valuable in making us convincing. Yet there was about this Potan as with Miko a disturbing suggestion of irony. I could not make him out.
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