And the sixteen tubes mounted in twin rings about each vessel served equally well as weapons. When focused on a point, the impact-pressure of their rays equaled that of the projectile from an ancient cannon. Metal in the positive ray is heated to fusion, living matter carbonized and burned away. And the positive charge carried by the ray is sufficient to electrocute any living being in contact with it.
This Moon Patrol fleet of nine sunships was setting out in pursuit of the Prince of Space, the interplanetary buccaneer who had abducted Paula Trainor and her father, and the enigmatic Mr. Cain. Bill was going aboard as special correspondent for the Herald-Sun.
On the night before the Helicon, the sunship which had been attacked in space, had been docked at Miami by the rescue crew put aboard from the Avenger. The world had been thrown into a frenzy by the report of the men who had examined the two hundred dead on board.
"Blood sucked from Helicon victims!" the loud speakers were croaking. "Mystery of lost sunship upsets world! Medical examination of the two hundred corpses found on the wrecked space flier show that the blood had been drawn from the bodies, apparently through curious circular wounds about the throat and trunk. Every victim bore scores of these inexplicable scars. Medical men will not attempt to explain how the wounds might have been made.
"In a more superstitious age, it might be feared that the Prince of Space is not man at all, but a weird vampire out of the void. And, in fact, it has been seriously suggested that, since the wounds observed could have been made by no animal known on earth, the fiend may be a different form of life, from another planet."
Bill found Captain Brand, leader of the expedition, just going on board the slender, silver Fury, flagship of the fleet of nine war-fliers. He had sailed before with this bluff, hard-fighting guardsman of the space lanes; he was given a hearty welcome.
"Hunting down the Prince is a good-sized undertaking, from all appearances," Bill observed.
"Rather," big, red-faced Captain Brand agreed. "We have been after him seven or eight times in the past few years—but I think his ship has never been seen. He must have captured a dozen commercial sunships."
"You know, I rather admire the Prince—" Bill said, "or did until that Helicon affair. But the way those passengers were treated is simply unspeakable. Blood sucked out!"
"It is hard to believe that the Prince is responsible for that. He has never needlessly murdered anyone before—for all the supplies and money and millions worth of vitalium he has taken. And he has always left his engraved card—except on the Helicon.