"They're escaping!” yelled a blinded officer.
The Planeteers plunged around the corner of the huge mansion, toward the long, low rocket-cars parked in front.
Sual Av jumped into one, whose power-chamber was throbbing. As the others leaped in after him, the bald Venusian yanked back the throttle. The car rabbited out through the dark grounds with a rising roar from the rocket-tubes at its rear.
"Straight for the spaceport!” Thorn yelled.
"Hold tight!” called Sual Av, with a throaty laugh. “I always did want to let one of these things out!"
A whizz and roar, a spuming flash of fire — that was the stolen rocketcar as it shot through the streets. Its speed was suicidal, but streets were almost empty at this late hour.
Now the spaceport was close ahead. Thorn could see the soaring tower of the starter, flashing varicolored landing signals to a huge freighter that was sinking ponderously down out of the stars with all its blasts braking.
The audio speaker in the car broke into frantic voice. “All police! The Planeteers have stolen a police rocket-car and are making for the spaceport, after making an attempt to kidnap the Chairman! Shoot on sight!"
"Look ahead!” yelled Gunner Welk.
Men in white uniforms were running across the spaceport toward them, between the great docks and the big freighters and liners that rested like huge torpedoes on the tarmac.