"We were captured in a gigantic 'trap' built by one of these insects, that's all. From what we saw, I judge that most of Caltech's surface must be covered by these gigantic webs. Miles in extent, hundreds of feet deep. Webs of doom for the unwary. Being highly tensile, gummy, irradiated with a rather unusual form of inherent energy, these traps cannot be damaged by rocket blasts." He shook his head soberly. "I can't help thinking of those poor devils who died there. Like human flies in a monster's viscous web—"
"I can't help thinking of the poor devils who died there. Like human flies in a monstrous viscous web."
I prodded, "Lieutenant, the zymase?"
"Oh, yes. Of course. Well, you know what zymase is, don't you?"
"No," I told him. "Do you?"
"Naturally. A nitrogenous substance. A freshly expressed concentrate of yeast juice. Its action on sugar is to speed up, terrifically, the ordinary process that transpires when sugar and yeast are brought together. In short—fermentation!
"As soon as we emptied the zymase concentrate into the flood of honey—for it was that, though I might never have guessed it in time had it not been for you, dear!"