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These men are not used to changes in temperature as we are and hence they must protect themselves far more fully." Three figures now entered the airlock of the Solarite, and muffled in heavy garments as they were, large under any conditions, they had to come through one at a time. Much that Arcot showed them was totally new to them.
An instant later the fuselage tore free, rocketing downward; the wings followed more slowly twisting, turning, dipping in mile-long swoops. The Solarite shot away from the spot at maximum speed away and up, with a force that nailed the occupants to the floor.
"Hold on everybody," Arcot called. "We're going to turn toward the planet now!" He depressed a small lever there was a sudden shock, and all the space about them seemed to burst into huge, deep-red atomic hydrogen flames. The Solarite reeled under the sudden pressure, but the heavy gyroscopic stabilizers caught it, held it, and the ship remained on an even keel.
Since the return of the Terrestrians to the Solarite, a great crowd of Venerians had gathered around it, awaiting a glimpse of the men, for the news had spread that this ship had come from Earth. Now, the crowd had divided, and a group of men was approaching, clothed in great heavy coats that seemed warm enough to wear in Terrestrial arctic regions!
In moments the interior of the Solarite became a scene of swift purposeful activity. All day the Terrestrians had been able to do so little in preparation for the conflict they knew must come, the battle for two worlds. They had wanted action, but they had no weapons except their invisibility and the atomic hydrogen. It would not sink a plane.
Arcot had left a small radio receiver with Tonlos in Sonor before he started on this trip, and had given him directions on how to tune in on the Solarite. Now he sent a message to him, telling that the plane had been brought down, and asking that a squadron of planes be sent at once.
It would only break open its armor, and they hoped, paralyze its crew. And on this alone they must pin their hopes. Arcot lifted the Solarite at once high into the air, and started toward the point on the border, where the plane had been seen crossing. In a short time Wade relieved him at the controls while he dressed.
Nine great planes were circling in the air; then in an instant they were gone, invisible. As swiftly the Solarite darted away with a speed that defied the aim of any machine. High above the planes they went, for with his radar Arcot could trace them. They were circling, searching for the Solarite.
There, on the back of the giant, the Solarite landed its great weight having no slightest effect on the Kaxorian craft. They found a trap-door leading down inside. However, the apparatus for opening it was evidently within the hull, so they had to burn a hole in the door before they could enter. What a sight there was for these men of Earth.
Suddenly Wade stopped short and exclaimed: "Arcot, this is senseless we can't do this! The machine is so big that it'll take us half an hour of steady walking to go around it. We'll have to use the Solarite to find an entrance!" It was well that they followed Wade's plan, for the only entrance, as they later learned, was from the top.
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