"Yesterday he gave me valuable minerals in exchange for a valueless jewel. Thus he gave life to me and to my family. And he gave me more than was needed, so that something more might be grown--for someone else. Thus he has fulfilled the highest tenet of our law. Sire--" Seekin bowed low. "--whatever it may be, I accept his fate." The words were simply spoken. The soft slurred sounds hardly disturbed the quiet air. But they carried a wealth of meaning. Over the vast throng a sigh arose as if the watching Martians were seeing a miracle. For the first time since he had been on Mars, Boyd Larkin saw a real smile appear on the bleak and bitter face of Malovar. The smile was almost a benediction. The benediction of that moment was shattered by a furious blast of sound. _Brrrrp, brrrrp, brrrrp!_ The sound of _Kell_ guns in operation. V The elder standing beside Malovar clutched his throat and collapsed, blood spurting from a hole in his throat. Larkin jerked startled eyes toward the source of the sound. On top of the coliseum was a group of men from the ship. Docker led them. They were firing _Kell_ guns indiscriminately into the Martian crowd. The brrrrrp-brrrrrp was an almost continuous blast of sound. Following the throb of the guns was the violence of the explosions of the striking missiles. The whole vast arena throbbed to the fury of the sound. "No!" Larkin screamed. This was a slaughter of helpless innocents. The Martians were unprotected, incapable of defending themselves. And they had done nothing wrong. "Stop!" The voice of Malovar was like thunder rolling through the arena. He spoke in Martian but there was no mistaking his meaning. He dropped the sword, took back his metal rod that was part of the regalia of his office, held it erect. In that moment he was like a tribal god ordering the lightning and the thunder. The answer, coming from above, was a slug that whistled within inches of Malovar's head and exploded behind him. "For the last time, stop!" Another slug howled downward. Then Malovar acted. Larkin was not quite certain what happened but out from the tip of the metal staff that Malovar held seemed to flash a bolt of blinding radiance. It was not a thunderbolt, it was not electrical, it was probably no force known to Earth scientists. Looking upward, Larkin expected to see the flashing radiance blast through the group of humans like a smashing thunderbolt, searing and destroying them, leaving in its wake chunks of charred and writhing flesh that had once been men.