Then hell erupted beyond the battle line. Blast followed concussive blast, causing the big gorillas to cower and the other ones to charge about in helpless panic. Between the jarring blasts sounded the rippling crackle of dual-mounted automatic snappers.
The screams faded off into the sky. A stunned silence reigned along the battle perimeter. An acrid smoke drifted over the ground.
Then, just as groups were sporadically renewing their death-grips here and there, the twin screams sounded beyond the mountain again.
V
"Two laps around the track and then to the showers!" yelled Greene, his fingers dancing over the rocket release and snapper buttons.
Leaning back against the rudder bar, Pritchard grinned. "You forget the passes along the river banks. They make it four laps."
Then he threw a quick glance over his shoulder, but he couldn't make much through the welter of rising dirt columns.
They came around the mountain in a tight curve. As they flattened for a run on the meadow they could see things scurrying for the water. The meadow itself was a churned and pitted mess. Bodies were thickly strewn everywhere.
"There she is!" yelled Sturgis. "You were right, chief. See her—over by the mountain?"