They heard the sound of rocket jets overhead, and it was magnified, built into thunder in their ears. The radio was still tuned to the field command radios, and they brought the sound of Grey's rocket ships from every corner of the planet. Before their eyes, the white mist swirled, and on the view screen were twelve small squares of silver. Suddenly, almost simultaneously, lurid streaks cut across those squares--flaming heat rays, softened into orange by the seething vapor! Deisanocta gasped. "You were right, Barry Williams! Had my forces not moved, they would have been destroyed. "But it is Grey who has failed this time!" Barry faced her slowly. His blue eyes rested on her lovely face, and the words he spoke caught in his throat. "Grey will wait a short while for the mist to dissipate," he said. "When it does not, he'll go back to the pictures. About every spot where a unit or force was shown, he'll draw a circle. The radius of that circle will be the distance a man can travel on foot from the time the photograph was taken, until the time the ships return a second time. "Then, one by one, he'll ray the entire area of those circles--concentrating as many ships as necessary for the job." Deisanocta came very close to him. The pleading in the depths of her eyes shook Barry Williams. Without realizing it, he put out his hands and again grasped her elbows. This time she did not draw away. She moved closer, until her lips almost brushed his as she spoke. He could feel her slim figure tremble, not with fear, but with struggling to repress the tears that were welling into her grey orbs, the sobs that were fighting her breath! "Then this is defeat?" she whispered. "My loyal followers wiped out--the mist, our weapon, swept from the planet?" "The only alternative," he said with sudden fierce tenderness, "is to order the units turned off and buried in the sand. Tell your men to split into small bands and hide in the desert. Their camouflage will protect them from Grey's scouts. "That way, Grey will think he's won, and your forces will be intact for the future." Deisanocta's small hand found his and held it as she issued the necessary orders. * * * * * When the screen was again blank, Barry Williams spun the dials. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Tuning in Earth on the regular broadcast channels." "Earth! At this time, Barry Williams, you would listen to Earth broadcasts!" He turned to her reproachfully. "Don't you trust me yet? I must know how my government is reacting to the situation here; for, if you follow my advice, you and I will be putting the case of the Martians before that government. I still think we have a chance of convincing them. But we'll need to find a spaceship, and take it." "You are right, Barry Williams," Deisanocta admitted sadly. "You were right in the beginning, and my efforts have only brought failure.