The words were simply spoken. The soft slurred sounds hardly disturbed the quiet air. But they carried a wealth of meaning.
Over the vast throng a sigh arose as if the watching Martians were seeing a miracle. For the first time since he had been on Mars, Boyd Larkin saw a real smile appear on the bleak and bitter face of Malovar. The smile was almost a benediction.
The benediction of that moment was shattered by a furious blast of sound.
Brrrrp, brrrrp, brrrrp!
The sound of Kell guns in operation.
V
The elder standing beside Malovar clutched his throat and collapsed, blood spurting from a hole in his throat. Larkin jerked startled eyes toward the source of the sound.
On top of the coliseum was a group of men from the ship. Docker led them. They were firing Kell guns indiscriminately into the Martian crowd.
The brrrrrp-brrrrrp was an almost continuous blast of sound. Following the throb of the guns was the violence of the explosions of the striking missiles. The whole vast arena throbbed to the fury of the sound.
"No!" Larkin screamed.