Instantly Macklin whirled our cruiser again up and back, and as the rest of our scout-squadrons turned and leaped back through the air after us, we saw that the battered European scout-lines were receding also, racing back toward their own main fleet. That mighty fleet was in full sight to the eastward now, its five thousand great cruisers advancing majestically toward us in the familiar battle-formation of the European Federation--a great ring or hollow circle of ships. On they came, the scouts taking their place within that circle with the rest. Then we, too, had fallen back into place at the head of our own two great columns, the silver-striped flagship of the First Air Chief before us, and slowly now, with ten miles more of clear air between them, the two giant armadas were advancing toward each other. Standing there with Macklin, heart pounding, I gazed watchfully ahead as our fleet and the European one swept nearer toward each other. We came each withholding our fire for the moment, since the heat-guns have but a short effective range. Although outnumbered two to one, we were moving steadily toward the oncoming giant circle of the enemy. Then suddenly the ships of the great European fleet, still holding its circular formation, had leapt steeply upward with sudden tremendous speed, to slant above us! As they did so, a quick order rang from the distance-phone and the two great columns of our fleet had leapt upward also, up to the level of the other until a split-second more would have seen us crashing headlong into that oncoming circular fleet. I saw the air before me filled with gleaming ships rushing lightning-like towards us, heard another order ring out, and then Macklin had swung our cruiser to the right and our whole great fleet had divided, one column flashing like light to the right of the oncoming European fleet and the other column to the left of it. Before they could change formation or slant down to escape that swift maneuver of ours, we were flashing past them on both sides, and then to right and left of them our heat-guns were thundering and loosing a storm of swift heat-shells. As those shells struck, as our passing column loosed a hail of them upon the European cruisers, the air about us seemed filled completely with blinding bursts of light and heat. Scores, hundreds, of the enemy ships were withered by that deadly fire from right and left, glowing and melting and plunging downward like chariots of white fire.