Peeping through the spongy foliage at the edge of the forest, he watched the slug-men as they emerged from their homes and flocked toward the space-ship. He waited until twenty or thirty of them had entered the Goddard and had subsequently poured out again, rushing about in apparent excitement. Then he connected one of the wires to the storage battery.
From the distant loud-speaker came the faint but unmistakable sounds of a brass band playing a stirring march in six-eight time. The slug-men must have heard it, for they all stopped and turned their heads in the direction of the concealed phonograph.
For an instant they hesitated; then, like rats following the Pied Piper, they all trooped after the mysterious music, which they obviously assumed was being produced by the band of Earth-Folk.
Verger glanced at his wrist-watch, estimating the amount of time which the Callisto natives would require to reach the first phonograph. Then he disconnected the wires, waited a while, and switched the current to the second phonograph. In a similar manner he timed the intervening interval before connecting the third phonograph to the battery.
Having thus tricked the enemy into a wild goose chase, Captain Verger herded his party back toward the space-ship.
"Don't go in yet, ladies," he ordered. Then to Anderson he said, "Let's see what your supersonic dohickey will do to that tentacle thing that's holding our ship down."
Acting on this suggestion, Anderson aimed his invention at the thick coil of sinew which held the Goddard captive, adjusted the mechanism carefully, and turned on the power.
The thing began to writhe like a python in its death throes. Captain Verger fancied he could almost hear his beloved rocket-ship groan as the massive coils tightened convulsively around it. But the staunch plates of super-alloy, built to withstand the terrific pressures incident to interplanetary travel, held firm.
Bracing himself to keep from falling to the ground, which was trembling like a miniature earthquake, Anderson continued to shoot the powerful waves at the struggling tentacle. Finally, as the vibrations cut through the massive tissues, the folds which encircled the ship uncoiled and slithered inertly to the ground.