V'Naric did come again. He stared down at Blake's charred body and shook his head distressfully as he shut off the flame. He motioned for some of his men to take the body away.
"That is too bad," he said. "Very wasteful. It leaves only two of you." He nodded to the window. "It will soon be over with your friend down there, and I regret that. The fools have allowed it to progress too rapidly!"
Janus' attention was more on the flame-pistol than on the words. He glanced quickly at Devries, but the latter flashed him a look that said no.
V'Naric must have seen it. He raised the pistol slightly so that it leveled between them. "You are quite right," he said, "it would not be wise."
Janus tried to engage him in more conversation, but V'Naric seemed to know his purpose. He left, still watching them carefully as he shut off the flame and stepped out and turned it on again. His last words were: "I will leave you to decide between yourselves who will be next. It will be soon."
Janus whirled angrily. "Why didn't you take the chance? Now we're sunk. We'll probably never have another!"
"You're wrong," Devries replied. "Empty your pockets, quick!"
Janus stared at him, uncomprehending. "That slot in the doorway!" Devries explained. "I watched how V'Naric worked that key. I can't hope to duplicate it, but if we have a pocket knife or something—we might make a short circuit! Should have thought of that before."
Already he was searching his own pockets, and Janus quickly followed his example.