Part 9 (1/2)

At the left and right the knobbed arhtened; flexing therotesque imitation of a boxer And at the end of each of the six arms the spheres were clustered thick, studded with the pyraloves of those ancient gladiators who fought for i, testing itself like an athlete--a chi sky, in the green of the hollow, the armored hosts frozen before it--

And then--it struck!

Out flashed two of the ar force They sliced into the close-packed forward ranks of the araps

Sickened, I saw fragments of man and horse fly Another ar snake, clicked at the end of another, becah the huddling ht-forward blow drove a third ariant punch

All that host which had driven us fro The horse heedless over the foot seeo with--AMUsemenT!

Before they could cover a hundred yards it had disintegrated I heard the little wailing sounds--then behind the fleeing led pillar; into place sprang the flexing arain it took its toll of theroups, for the sides of the valley They were like rats scareen bowl And like a monstrous cat the shape played with them--yes, PLAYED

It melted oncearlobe and cube and upon its apex a wide and spinning ring of sparkling spheres

Out fro, undulating like a serpent of steel, four score yards at least in length

At its end cube, globe and pyrae trident

With the three long prongs of this trident the thing struck, swiftly, with fearful precision--JOYOUSLY--tining those who fled, forking theh in air

It was, I think, that last touch of sheer horror, the playfulness of the Sue to the roof of my terror-parched mouth, and held open with led to close

Ever the armoredat their heels on its tripod legs

Fro snake streaaze fro in Drake's ar out upon that slaughter, cal it, it came to me, with eyes impersonal, cold, indifferent as the untroubled stars which look down upon hurricane and earthquake in this world of ours

There was a rushi+ng of

Were they maddened by fear, driven by despair, determined to slay before they themselves were slain? I do not know But those who still lived of theus

They clustered close, their shi+elds held before them They had no bows, these men They lea rocked toward us, theserpent, flying to cut between its weirdscreaht upon the pikes!

”Chiu-Ming!” I shouted ”Chiu-Ming! This way!”

I ran toward hione five paces Ventnor flashed byI saw a spear thrown It struck the Chinaman squarely in the breast He tottered--fell upon his knees