"They've had enough," Ga-Marr exulted.
"Faggard is the one I want," Standish said. "We'll come back and tow in those two disabled ships later."
But the Earthman had reckoned without the huge planetoid swarm which lay directly in their path. The two Sirian ships plunged into the midst of these miniature worlds and in an instant were lost.
Power control wide open, Standish zoomed in pursuit. But though he swung the cosmoscope to every angle he saw no sign of his quarry.
"He's slid through our fingers this time," he told Ga-Marr bitterly. "But our chance will come again."
Heavily he swung the tiller and returned to the area of combat. The two helpless cruisers and the portions of the third were drifting idly without steerageway. Standish steered the Phantom alongside, shot out the magnetic grappling bars and secured the two derelicts.
Then he headed the big ship back to Lyra.
A great crowd awaited them. As the Phantom and its twin burden settled slowly downward, hundreds of Lyrians ran to the landing field. The court guard, resplendent in shining armor, took their places in formation, and the Emperor and his ministers hastily assembled on a raised pavilion.
Then the two wrecked cruisers were opened, and the prisoners led forth.
"You will be well treated," the Emperor addressed them collectively. "We do not subjugate our captives of war after your fashion; but until the Sirians cease their raids upon this planet, you will not be permitted to leave."