They were closing in on us now from three sides. Arrow after arrow I drove into them, nor once did I miss my mark; but they only stopped those that I hit--the others slunk steadily forward. They were almost upon us as I loosed my last arrow. Nalte was standing close beside me. I put an arm about her. "Hold me close," she said. "I am not afraid to die, but I do not want to be alone--even for an instant." "You are not dead yet, Nalte." I couldn't think of anything else to say. It must have sounded foolish at such a time, but Nalte ignored it. "You have been very good to me, Carson," she said. "And you have been a regular brick, Nalte, if you know what that means--which you don't." "Good-by, Carson! It _is_ the last second." "I guess it is, Nalte." I stooped and kissed her. "Good-by!" * * * * * From above us and behind us on the mound came a sudden crackling hum that was like the noise that an X-ray machine makes, but I knew that it was not an X-ray machine. I knew what it was even without the evidence of the crumpling bodies of the zangans dropping to the ground before us--it was the hum of the r-ray rifle of Amtor! I wheeled and looked up toward the summit of the mound. There stood a dozen men pouring streams of the destructive rays upon the pack. It lasted for but a few seconds, but not one of the ferocious beasts escaped death. Then one of our rescuers (or were they our captors) came toward us. He, like his companions, was a man of almost perfect physique, with a handsome, intelligent face. My first impression was that if these were fair examples of the citizens of that white city from which I assumed they had come, we must have stumbled upon an Olympus inhabited solely by gods. In every company of men we are accustomed to seeing some whose proportions or features are ungainly or uncouth; but here, though no two men exactly resembled one another, all were singularly handsome and symmetrically proportioned. He who approached us wore the customary gee-string and military harness of the men of Amtor. His trappings were handsome without being ornate, and I guessed from the insigne on the fillet that encircled his brow that he was an officer. "You had a close call," he said pleasantly. "Rather too close for comfort," I replied. "We have you to thank for our lives." "I am glad that I arrived in time. I happened to be on the river wall as you drifted past, and saw your encounter with the men from Kormor. My interest was aroused; and, knowing that you were headed for trouble down river on account of the falls, I hurried down to try to warn you." "A rather unusual interest in strangers for a man of Amtor," I commented, "but I can assure you that I appreciate it even if I do not understand it."