Case saw an opening and lashed out with his foot. The kick caught Engels low in the belly and drew a yell of pain. A fist thudded against Case's jaw. "You rat," Case said through drawn lips. "You'd sell out your own mother." "For the right price," Engels admitted, cheerfully. He turned to Yuna. "What'll we do with him?" "Put him with the rest. We can dispose of them later." * * * * * As a cell it was not too bad. But there was a stench that was nauseating. Case adjusted his eyes to the gloom and looked about. There were bunks along one wall, a few of them occupied. With the shutting of the door behind Case, men stirred. Two thin legs swung over the top of a bunk, followed by an equally thin body. "Take your gloating elsewhere, Engels," a sharp voice said. "The name is not Engels. It's Case Damon." "Huh?" There were more legs now, four pairs. Men were spluttering excitedly. Thin bodies slid out of bunks and feet came toward Case. There was one man he knew, Burnine, the pilot of the Mars-Venus liner which had vanished. "Case Damon! I knew sooner or later someone would get through." "Don't let your hopes run away with you," Case said. "I'm the only one, and it looks like I'll be the last." Burnine was crying, definitely and without shame. He fought to bring himself under control. "They're going to get away with it," he said, brokenly. Long imprisonment had broken him down. "Maybe," Case said. "It all depends on what the chances are of getting out of this cell before the next blast. The Council hasn't given up yet." "I know. But that humming means they're building up voltage for the next shot. It won't be long." "How do you know?" "Engels. He comes down here every couple of days to tell us we're chumps for not coming over to his side. Meanwhile, we've learned what goes on. In a year you can learn a lot if you keep your ears open." "A year," Case mused. "Since those liners disappeared." "Yeah. Engels and his pals were on the one I was piloting. They stuck guns in our ribs and took over and brought us here." "There are a couple of things I've got to know," Case said. "First, what kind of weapon are they using? Second, where are we?" "I can't quite answer the first. And I don't know exactly where we are, but I know how we got here. Maybe that will help. "It seems that someone on Earth was experimenting with a new force. He discovered that he could put a crack in the curvature of space. Once he got through that crack and found Yuna, he realized that with this weapon of Yuna's he could take over the Earth. I don't know who this person is, but Engels is working for him. So are a lot of other people." "What about these towers?" "They work automatically. Two of them contain the apparatus for building up energy. The blast is fired from this one. It's all timed to fit with the machine on Earth. That's why it takes exactly twelve hours." "Do you know where the main works are?"