Holding still to our triangular formation in that wild mélange of sight and sound, our ships levelled out once more, high above the city again now, and with only a scant dozen having been reached by the hail of heat-shells that had rushed after us from beneath. Then we were speeding westward over the tremendous city, high above it, scorning to stop for the swarms of patrol-cruisers that were dashing toward us. Those cruisers were rushing with suicidal fury toward us with every heat-gun detonating, but our own gunners were plying our batteries even as we dashed forward above the air-city, and on all sides of us the patrol-craft were flaring and fusing and crashing down toward the city beneath! Here high over the city, though, the shells of all the heat-guns that now were booming toward us could not reach us, and through battling ships and whirling beams and gloom of night we rushed westward over the giant air-city until in a moment more we were pausing over the western arsenals, and the western plaza where rested other massed cruisers of the great European battle-fleet. And then as I gave another order we were diving once more, down toward those buildings and cruisers! The Second Blow This time, though, all the colossal city beneath us was roused and roaring with fury as we shot downward, and from beneath there slanted up toward us a terrific hail of shining heat-shells from all the city's great batteries. Eastward the cruisers that had escaped our bombs there were rising and forming to attack us, while, even as we shot down, the cruisers beneath were rising and flinging themselves to one side for the moment to escape our swooping rush and bombs. But through storming shells and blinding beams we shot again on our terrific dive, until in another moment our fleet was levelling again above them and as Macklin drove our cruiser level before the rest I had pressed the remaining buttons, had sent our remaining heat-bombs whirling downward with those of all the ships about me! And then as our ships curved upward again, our terrific blow struck, the bombs were finding their mark again, were flaring and fusing with terrific heat and power into another giant mass of melting metal and awful heat there at the city's western edge.