Not until they were within a few hundred feet from the ground did the machine men find the reason for their strange maneuvers. They saw a gleaming ovoid of metal which had previously been hidden by the Quari who were attacking it. The machine men now saw birds disappearing from time to time, and burned fragments of them came floating down. The help for which they had despaired had come at last! With a sudden barrage, which caused great havoc among the Quari and sent the survivors winging away, the metal skycraft descended the remaining distance. There was no attached basket, but a gondola of metal was built into the bottom of the globe. Propellers and steering gear were also visible. Out of the gondola raced 47X-09 and 22K-501. "You are found, finally!" cried 47X-09. "And none too soon, either!" "Shortly before dawn came, we saw your body lights shining near the foot of the mountain," 22K-501 told them as they were gathered up and taken aboard the gondola. "We were far off and high in the sky. We lost track of you for a while when it grew light, and then we had to fight off the birds. It was during their attack that we again located you with the mind detectors." "Tell me about the spaceship," the professor implored. "Is it all right and ready for flight?" "That we hope. It will call for a tremendous repulsion to free it of Ajiat's powerful grip. 20R-654 and 744U-21 are not entirely satisfied with the super-resisters which have been built, and so they have enlisted another strong ally to help the ship on its start." "The helium!" "Yes, 21MM392," 47X-09 vindicated the professor's inspiration. "The spaceship is not only filled to capacity with it, but several tanks have been built around the ship and are filled, ready for our flight. Of course, it will be useless after we once pass the atmosphere, but it is only for initial momentum." CHAPTER FIVE Thirteen Minutes They were soon back to the spaceship, and the search was at an end. For many days, two airships had searched both sides of the mountain and beyond. Vegetation had been cleared all around the ship for a distance of a hundred yards. The spaceship was entirely surrounded with a network of metal hawsers which secured it to the ground against the mighty pull of the helium. Entrance was gained to the ship by means of a helium lock. With the return of the four machine men, no further time was lost. They were to make one supreme effort. Success or failure hung in the balance. Failure meant a flaming death when the nova struck Ajiat in its swelling glare. "Every one of us must be securely fastened to a part of the ship," 744U-21 told them. "Our rise will be very sudden." The fateful moment arrived. Several machine men made a last minute inspection of the hawsers holding the ship. By a specially arranged device, they were to be cast off simultaneously. When all was ready, the hawsers were loosed.