_Great gods of space_, Knight thought in exasperation. _This dumb Mallory can't understand that Earth's destiny lies in his hands. He's got to turn the ship. I can't. The Thing is just strong enough to stop me. Something had to be done to shock Mallory out of his lethargy._ "Damn it, Mallory," Kent grated. "You stole my girl! The least you can do for me is to swing this ship around. By my Faith, it means everything." Mallory jerked. His green eyes suddenly came alive. "I stole your girl, huh? By your Faith? _Your_ Faith?" Mallory spun to the control board, snapped switches and barked alert orders. The ship shuddered as the bow rockets kicked up a cross power that swung the bow, spinning the two Earthmen in the pilot room off their feet. Mallory came to his feet, both fists swinging, his green eyes glinting, his red head bobbing. But Knight was quick on his feet, too, and he was dodging the light-moving Mallory. "I'll keep _It_," he said, side-stepping Mallory. _It_ was weakening within Kent Knight's mind. Knight knew that the minute he had ducked Mallory's first darting punch. _Just so long you can hold sway_, his mind jibed at the Thing, _then you succumb. This is just the start. We'll smash you one by one._ "You haven't done it alone," _It_ protested weakly. "You had a weapon, a terrible weapon, but you still don't know the weapon." When _It_ died, an intangible weight lifted from Kent Knight's mind. The intoxication of that feeling of an untrammelled mind mingled with the fiery liquor that still burned in his belly. "All right, Bob," he said, and he was grinning. "I'll fight you now." Mallory grinned back. "It's all right, Kent. I'm just beginning to understand. It's hazy, but somehow I feel that I have just escaped some terrible fate. I've been in a daze ever since we challenged the _Star Climber_. But what happened to me to do that, Kent?" Kent Knight, his mind exulting, told Mallory of the asteroid, the little fur-ball and the Arkkhans who were seeking to enslave Man. "But our minds are too strong for them," he pointed out at last. "They can keep us in thrall just so long and then they weaken and die." A shuffle of feet on the duralloy deck turned their heads. SP guardsmen were pushing their way into the pilot room, and they were laughing. Their laughter brought a sudden drenching to Knight's high-flying spirits. The Things still lived within these men. The threat to Earth was still alive, so long as the Things held sway within the minds of the crewmen. _But we need only to wait, and soon their minds will kill the Thought Conquerors._ Knight looked at Mallory. Mallory nodded and said, "It may take a long time." He reached to the control board and pushed the switch, turning the cycs up to full power. * * * * * It was then that the little butterball of fur rolled in from the passageway and scooted across the deck toward Mallory's legs.