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Morey turned down the volume. The sparkling little lake passed beneath them as they shot on, seventy-five miles above the surface of the planet. When they had first entered the atmosphere, they had the impression of looking down on a vast, inverted bowl whose edge rested on a vast, smooth table of deep violet velvet.
Apparently the Thessians were holding off for the present. "In a way," said Morey seriously, "it was distinctly fortunate that we were attacked almost at once. Their instantaneous system of destruction would have worked for the one shot needed to send the Ancient Mariner to eternal blazes." He laughed, but it was a slightly nervous laugh.
"Nice place for a picnic; we'll have to remember that place. It isn't more than twenty million light years from home." "Yes," agreed Morey, "it is handy. But suppose we find out where home is first; let's go find the local inhabitants." "Excellent idea. Which way do we go to look?" Wade asked. "This lake must have an outlet to the sea," Morey answered. "I suggest we follow it.
They left the message in the tower, and Arcot closed the door, leaving the pyramid exactly as it had been before they had come. "Say!" Morey commented, "how did you open and close that door, anyway?" Arcot grinned. "Didn't you notice the jewel at the corner? It was the lens of a photoelectric cell. My flashlight opened the door. I didn't figure it out; it just worked accidentally."
Perhaps that was what made Fuller ask: "If this happened to a star so much like our sun, why couldn't it happen to Sol?" "Perhaps it may," said Morey softly. "But the eternal optimism of man keeps us saying: 'It can't happen here. And besides " He put a hand on the wall of the ship, " we don't ever have to worry about anything like that now.
Morey stepped forward, and while Arcot held it in the air with his ray, Morey propelled it slowly with his, till it was directly under the corridor leading upward. Then Arcot gave a sudden increase in power, and the plate moved swiftly upward, sailing out of sight. Arcot shut off his ray, and there came to their ears a sudden crash as the plate fell to the floor above.
Morey, with his normal weight well over two hundred, jumped far to one side of a clumsy rush of a peasant, leaped back, and caught him from behind. Lifting the smaller man above his head, he hurled him at two others following. The three went down in a heap. Most of the men were about five feet tall, and rather lightly built. The "Greek God" had not yet materialized among them.
As they had hoped, the deadly new ray stabbed out from somewhere on the side of the fort. It was not within the fort. "Which means," pointed out Morey, "that they can't make stuff to stand that. Probably the projector would be vulnerable." But a barrage of heat rays which immediately followed had no apparent effect.
Since there were no metallic conductors on the ship, no damage was done. Arcot immediately hid behind his perfect shield the space-distortion. "That's no mild dose," he said in a tense voice, working rapidly. "He's a real-for-sure battleship. Better get down in the power room, Morey." In a few moments the ship was ready again.
But there is so little you know about me and most of it bad I don't see how I really get in on this opportunity but," he added hastily, "I certainly don't intend to keep the old boy knocking I'm with you, since I'm invited!" Arcot smiled. "Then you'll definitely support us?" "Yes, I will," replied Morey, Senior, seriously, "for I think it's worth doing."
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