"_I'm_ not anxious to," Marnay replied. And then he jumped as a cold, strange voice came through the open radio. "The _Vera_? Hello! This is Prather. You will please go into a drift while I board you. You have a cargo I should like to inspect." The voice was mocking, but at the same time anticipatory. So the bait had worked! Marnay reached automatically for the shut-off control, but Kennett's voice stabbed at him: "Leave 'em alone! You will maintain one-quarter speed. And leave our sender off, don't answer; let him think we've got no radio at all, so he'll ram us." So he'll ram us! That was a nice pleasant thought, Marnay thought, wiping sweat from his brow. But he obeyed Kennett's orders. Again came Prather's voice: "Attention _Vera_! You will go into a drift immediately or take the consequences. Last warning." Marnay had an overwhelming desire to shut off the tubes, but he didn't. He maintained their one-quarter speed. Then through the speaker the two men heard: "They have no radio. We'll ram. It's just as well." Marnay could almost imagine Prather's shrug. * * * * * From the panel Kennett said "Okay! Fine! He's still coming at us. You can lock the controls now, and come over here." Marnay did that willingly. He peered into the panel. Then he gasped. The huge, black pirate ship was looming up terrifyingly large, filling half of space, speeding straight at them. It couldn't have been a hundred miles away, Marnay thought, and in another minute it would smash through the _Vera_ like an eggshell! Marnay waited for Kennett to make some move. He made none. Then, in a sudden flood of horror, Marnay realized the other's purpose. Revenge, of course, he had known that! But he was going to sacrifice both their lives for it! Kennett shook him away angrily. "Keep cool! You'll see something in a minute--get ready!" Still they watched and waited. The detector dial registered the swiftly diminishing distance--fifty miles, twenty miles, ten.... Then Kennett was on his feet, moving with swift surety to the wall, opening a small iron locker. There Marnay glimpsed a complete set of odd looking controls. Swiftly Kennett plugged in a bank of connections, electric cables. He grasped a heavy lever. He stood there, looking over at the detector dial. It showed three miles. "All right," Kennett yelled, "hold tight!... Now!" His hand came down on the lever. * * * * * For a moment Marnay thought the pirate ship had rammed them, or that they had exploded, or both. He and Kennett were suddenly hurtling outward ... at terrific speed ... their tiny compartment away from the rest of the ship!