Finally he was forced to turn upon his tormentors. Two fell at the first blow of his metal fist. One fled across the room and pushed a large lever on the wall, as Rod killed the others. A narrow door opened at the end of the room and Capeks, a steady stream of them, began rolling out. The one who had opened the door shouted a command as Rod smashed him. The machines drew near, then rushed in a body. Rod retreated, wheeled about the room, a mad thing of metal, breaking everything in his path. Where was the main mechanism? His efforts had been useless, the light upon the ceiling still glowed, the whine of power continued. The controlling unit must be elsewhere. Suddenly he found himself in a corner, surrounded, others still entering the door. They were a wall of steel before him. * * * * * The first wave approached and he fought them off. But slowly, by their strength of numbers, he was forced to the floor, his wheels knocked from under him, tendrils covering his arms. They lifted him, marched to the center of the room. He was caught, He had failed! Mankind would continue in their power, they would be bred like sheep forever; mere brains to these mind-vampires. He had been their only hope.... The Capeks were apparently waiting for orders, holding him there in the middle of the room. He was held tightly by a dozen of them; the others returned to the compartment and the door closed. Rod tried commanding them to release him, to no avail. They remained silent and seemingly with little interest but to hold him there. They were probably mere workers, he thought, with practically no independent impulses. Glancing helplessly about the room, Rod noticed a glowing metal disk near his ring of captors. It was but a few feet from him, gleaming with a dull, reddish light; a glass tube encased in wire mesh. He had overlooked it before. Looking about, he saw it to be the only unshattered instrument in the room. It might be the main tube! Rod grew limp in their tendrils for a moment. Then suddenly he lunged backward, away from the tube with all his strength. It had the desired effect. The Capeks tugged at him. He went limp again. At the sudden cessation of his pull, the machines fell backward and he was forced forward upon their sprawled bodies. Swiftly he enlongated his neck. He raised it high, lashed down at the tube with his eye. Rod saw the mesh cave in and the glass shatter. Then his eye burst and all was black. He was jerked to his feet again, and despite the rattle of his captors' machinery, he felt a strange silence. The dynamos had halted. The power was off!