Flint held his power dive till the last possible second. The planetoid changed from a globe to a flat surface. Trees separated from the green mass of jungle. Each leaf sprang up separate and distinct. Close behind the plane, the bat's mouth gaped open. Flint jammed his rise rockets in.
The trees came up with a sickening wobble, slanted back and down, then away. The plane brushed the branches as it zoomed skyward. Behind the plane, the bat twisted against its tremendous momentum, cut a wide swath through the tree tops. When it flapped up laboriously, circling, searching for them again, the plane was well beyond sight of its weak eyes.
Watching through the glass, Flint saw it circle higher, finally sail away toward the Ring. And as his fingers relaxed on the controls, he found himself laughing.
He headed the plane back toward the spot where the bat had interrupted their course. "Somebody keep pumping that jet," he said. "I was supposed to meet a fellow in another ship on the way out. He'll take you back to Saturn. I'm going after that bat."
Karen Vaun prevailed on her men to take over the pump. She came and stood behind Flint, holding tightly to the back of his chair. Her lips opened but it was a moment before any words came out. Finally, "You're going after that thing!"
"Lady," Flint said, "if you knew how long I've been hunting one of those critters, you'd know how quick I want to get rid of you and get on its tail." He looked back at her, grinned. He had too much to do to be angry now. Get back, get his big guns in the plane, then find that bat. You couldn't miss something that size. Shoot him up a little. Not much—wing him. That circus wanted him alive. One million bucks!
The kidnapping, of course, was all off now. He felt almost friendly toward the woman. "You were a mighty big help on that pump, Miss Vaun," he said. "You're braver than I thought." It was the first kind word—or thought—he'd managed about her since they'd met.
"What—was it?"
"Space bat. It's a kind of giant bat. Nobody knows where they come from—somewhere out in space. One comes in every year or so. It feeds on what wild life it can find, then sails back out into the darkness. They kill off almost as many animals as your fur hunters—" And this last, he regretted as soon as he'd said it. The woman's eyes misted, strangely enough; her lower lip trembled. And Flint frowned, suddenly amazed, as he looked at her.