Abruptly he realized something was wrong. That silver oval six inches from his face was flashing a bewildering complexity of symbols. Simultaneously the Martian on the ramp began to move quickly and questioningly toward him.
The moment had arrived. Bormon swung the metal handler bearing the ray-tube into line and pressed the firing button....
Amid a splatter of coruscating sparks the Martian went down.
"Number one!" growled Bormon. Everything now depended on prompt action and luck—mostly luck! As quickly as possible he heeled around, aimed at the helix on the power-plant. It swayed slowly as that pale blue shaft ate into its supports, then drifted away.
He had lost sight of Calbur. Absolute silence still reigned, but on airless Echo that silence was portentous. Along the rim of the chasm he could see the glitter of Martian armor against the blackness of space. The alarm had been given. But for the moment he was more concerned with the imminent danger from those who tended the intricate controls in the power-plant, and the guard at the far end of the catwalk. This guard was protected by the catwalk itself and the stream of Earthmen slaves still moving uncomprehendingly along it. Bormon sent his space armor reeling forward, intent on seeking shelter behind the bulk of the power-plant.
He almost reached that protection. But suddenly sparks plumed around him, and his armor slumped forward—one leg missing. He fell, fortunately, just within the shelter of the power-plant.
Desperately he struggled to open the armor, so as to get the ray-tube in his own hand. But when he finally crawled forth it was to face three Martians grouped around him, their weapons—six in number—unwaveringly centered on him.
"Earthman," said the mechanical speaker coldly inside his helmet, "you have killed a Martian."
And then, with true Martian decisiveness and cruelty, they pronounced inhuman judgment on him.
"We in our kindness shall not immediately demand your life as forfeit. You shall wander unhindered over Echo, dying slowly, until your oxygen is gone. Do not ask for more; it is sealed from you. Do not again enter the chasm; it is death to you. Now go."