"Lensman Morgan lives, and so does Star A Star."
Jalte had not been able to report to his chief any news concerning the fate of that which the speedster bore, since spies no longer existed within the reservations of the Patrol. He had learned of no discovery that any Lensman had made. He could not venture any hypothesis as to how this Star A Star had heard of Jarnevon or had learned of its location in space. He was sure of only one thing, and that was a grimly disturbing fact indeed. The Patrol was re-arming throughout the Galaxy, upon a scale theretofore unknown. Eichmil's thought was cold:
"That means but one thing. A Lensman invaded you and learned of us here—in no other way could knowledge of Jarnevon have come to them."
"Why me?" Jalte demanded. "If there exists a mind of power sufficient to break my screens and tracelessly to invade my mind, what of yours?"
"It is a thing proven by the outcome." The Boskonian's statement was a calm summation of fact. "The messenger sent against you succeeded; the one sent against us failed. The Patrol intends and is preparing: certainly to wipe out our remaining forces within the Tellurian Galaxy; probably to attack your stronghold; eventually to invade our own galaxy. It is well—for that reason, in part, was the Lensman Morgan sent back as he was sent."
"Let them come!" snarled the Kalonian. "We can and we will hold this planet forever against anything they can bring through space!"
"I would not be too sure of that," cautioned the superior. "In fact, if—as I am beginning to regard as a probability—the Patrol does make a concerted drive against any significant number of our planetary organizations, you should abandon your base there and return to Kalonia, after disbanding and so preserving for future use as many as possible of the planetary units."
"Future use? In that case there will be no future."
"There will be," Eichmil replied, coldly vicious. "We are strengthening the defenses of Jarnevon to withstand any conceivable assault. If they do not attack us here of their own free will, we shall compel them to do so. Then, after destroying their every mobile force, we shall again take over their galaxy. Arms for that purpose are even now in the building. Is the matter entirely clear?"
"It is clear. We shall warn all our groups that such orders may issue; and we shall prepare to abandon this base if such a step should become desirable."