Joel was sobbing. "My gun's empty! They're still coming."
Then he laughed hysterically.
"Look at them run! The fools didn't know my gun wasn't loaded!"
Apparently the radar eyes of the Martians could distinguish objects as small as a .45 automatic.
Gail sat tense as she listened to the sounds of battle. Her lips pressed tight, her eyes staring straight ahead.
And then we saw the brownish green depression to our right. We had reached Solis Lacus Major, and the spaceship was not far north and only about a dozen miles west.
Even minutes seemed like hours as we sped along. The Martian voices were plain now and we could still hear our three companions talking. At least, none had been baked in his spacesuit yet. As long as they kept the Martians from forming into long lines their spacesuits would protect them.
Then Gail screamed and pointed. To our left we saw the spire of the spaceship.
Swerving, I saw hordes of Martians closing in from the south. To the north were more of them. I was steering the Mars-car into the jaws of a trap that would close on us the minute we entered.
But not to enter the trap meant surer death. There was a chance for us if we could reach the ship.