Only a moment I gazed back upon that colossal spectacle never seen by man before, and knew that in that moment, far on the world's other side, the hundred great air-cities of the Asiatic Federation would be rushing eastward; the two great forces of hurtling air-cities were converging upon the American Federation. Then, as we shot forward with our own greater and terrific speed, the vast massed cities and the fleet before them had passed from sight behind us and only the hundred grim pursuing cruisers were visible in the night as we hurtled on!
On—on—and now I shouted to Hilliard to go beneath to the cruiser's motor room. He moved down toward them while I gripped the wheel tightly, standing there alone in the bridge-room of the long great cruiser that had but Hilliard and I inside it. And, while we hurtled on at our maximum terrible speed, as the cruisers behind drove steadily after us, we realized that we and our pursuers were outracing the sun around the earth! We saw by the growing light that we were high above the sea instead of land. The sea that we saw through breaks in the vapor-layer, gleamed to the west of us with sunset lines. We were over the Atlantic, and now, as hope of escape from our pursuers burned stronger within me, there came a sudden faltering in the steady drone of our great motors! I felt our cruiser lose speed in that moment, knew that faltering to be caused by the circuit-breakers tripping at the tremendous power we were using. But then after an awful moment of hesitation the motors were droning as loudly as ever as Hilliard, beneath, had thrown back the circuit-breakers in the connections that conveyed the static electricity from the atmospheric charge about us to our transformers. Only a moment had we faltered thus; but in that moment the hundred pursuers behind had come swiftly closer!
Onward still, like some phantom, we rushed, minute after minute of droning, racing flight, with the sunset ahead flaming brilliant now, as we overtook it. Steadily, the long gleaming ships behind us were creeping closer while the sun rose in the western sky. Though Hilliard was working like a madman in the motor-room beneath, tending the motors as a mother anxiously watches her child, he was but one and could not do the work of a dozen. And so, on after us, they came; drawing toward us so close that at last I knew that we could not win free of them in our frenzied flight. For, although we had rushed on for a time that seemed endless to us, and a few hundred miles remained between us and the American coast, their leaders were so near now that another minute, I knew, would find them using their bow-guns upon us.
Even as the thought came to me, there was a thundering detonation behind us and then but a few feet to either side, a shining heat-shell flashed past us. Another detonation, and another followed, and I knew that not for long could we escape them thus; since with each moment the shooting was becoming more accurate. So, just as a dozen of their bow guns thundered again, I suddenly drove the cruiser downward in a flying headlong plunge down through the vapor-layer beneath us; and, as the pursuing ships plunged straight down after us, I sent our own cruiser instantly whirling upward and through that layer once more!
It was a maneuver that gained us a moment's advantage; since when the pursuing ships drove up through the vapor-masses again on my track, it took them an instant to locate and shape their course after me. In that instant we had moved a little from them; but now, remorselessly as ever, they came on after us, as pursued and pursuing ships drove like light toward the flaming western sky. On and on, on until again they were close behind, until again their guns were beginning to thunder, and then I repeated my former maneuver, my last resort. I dived headlong downward again through the vapor-layer, and upward again, as their ships drove after me. But, when I flashed up again through the vapor-masses this time, I suddenly slowed my ship, slowed it and then held it motionless there in mid-air, with cold of icy fear tight around my heart in that moment! For, this time, half of the hundred pursuing ships had not dived down after me but had flashed on ahead as I drove down; and so, now, when I flashed up they hung before me, while the remainder drove still toward me from behind! I was trapped at last between their masses of ships before and behind me!
Slowing my cruiser, holding it motionless there with mechanical fingers in that moment, I knew it to be the end. Our last moment had come. The two masses of ships were moving toward me, from ahead and behind, were moving toward our cruiser. Our only escape cut off, no twists or turns now could save us; they were converging upon us, were moving deliberately toward us from either side. Another moment, I knew, and hundreds of heat-guns would thunder from them, hundreds of heat-shells would send our ship downward in flaring, fusing destruction. Another moment—
A great cry sounded beside me, and I wheeled to find Hilliard pointing mutely upward toward a mass of long, gleaming shapes that were rushing headlong down upon us from high above, that were diving headlong down upon the European cruisers to east and west of us, raining a hail of heat-shells upon them! "American ships!" My cry was echoing Hilliard's. Great gleaming cruisers, outnumbering the hundred east and west of us, were driving down upon those hundred with all their heat-guns thundering! Then in the next moment, while our own cruiser hung motionless, helpless there in mid-air, American and European cruisers were whirling in a mad, swift battle about us, ships striking and falling like lightning on all sides of us. And before we could comprehend with our stunned minds what was taking place, the European cruisers had suddenly dropped from that battle, had massed together and were splitting the air eastward, rushing back eastward and disappearing toward the mighty approaching armada of great air-cities and cruisers of which they were the scouts.
Now from the mass of the American cruisers one shot toward our own, level and hung beside our own ship, and as its door was flung open we opened the door of our own. I stared at a tall figure, not crediting my eyes.
"Macklin!" I cried as I recognized him: "Macklin! You got clear, then?"
"Brant—Hilliard—!" he was himself exclaiming: "It is you two in that ship, then! We were sent on a last patrol out here, saw your ship attacked by other European ships, came to your rescue—"