clawing at the gun in his belt.
Dirk dove forward and catapulted himself at Skarack's huge form. His iron-hard shoulder slammed into Skarack's middle with the force of a battering ram. Both men rolled to the ground, fists driving like pistons. Behind him Dirk heard the sounds of shouting, struggling men, but he had a battle on his own hands that needed his attention.
Skarack attempted to drive his knee into Dirk's groin, but missed as Dirk slammed his fist wrist-deep into the big man's belly. Dirk knew a merciless, grim joy as his rocky fists battered into Skarack's face and body.
His hands fastened into the big man's leather shirt like iron claws. Rising then, he jerked Skarack to his feet. The big man flailed wildly at him, but Dirk stepped under the blows and let his right drop in a vicious chopping stroke across the man's jaw.
His cold fury drove him on relentlessly. His heavy, powerfully packed shoulders swayed rhythmically as he exploded rights and lefts into Skarack's face and body. Blows that were as fast as the flick of a snake's tongue, and as savagely destructive as a trip-hammer.
Skarack staggered back and Dirk stepped in throwing all of his hatred and pent-up rage behind one ax-like blow that blasted into the big man's loosely hanging jaw. A dull crack! sounded. The noise might have been made by a thick branch snapping. But Dirk saw Skarack's queerly twisted position on the ground and knew it was no branch. The big man's twisted, red neck had made the noise.
Dirk twisted about, but he saw then that the fight was over. The prisoners had leaped on the guards when their attention had been distracted by the girl. They had soon finished things.
Dirk sprang then to the side of the girl and helped her to her feet. On her right palm he saw a red, sponge-like object.
"You were magnificent," he said simply. "I deserve a thrashing for even thinking you might have double-crossed us."
The girl smiled and held up the electric hypnotic pad with which she had put the two guards out of commission.
"The only way I could think of to get near enough to use this was to pretend to have changed my mind about everything. I stole this hypnotic pad from Skarack's office, hoping I'd get a chance to use it sometime. When I saw that he had discovered your plot I decided I'd never get a better opportunity to at least try to use it."
Vyers came up smiling.
"Everything's under control," he said happily. "Guards rounded up, Skarack out of the way—for good. When we get the supply of the hypnotic antidote we'll let the rest of the men loose."
"Perfect," Dirk said.
He looked down at the small fair head close to his shoulder. Then he put his arm around her shoulder.
"Perfect," she murmured.
JUPITER'S STRIPED JACKET
THE canals of Mars have been advanced as possible attempts on the part of inhabitants of this planet to contact Earth. Now in one of the largest of the Sun's planets, a somewhat similar phenomenon has been noted by astronomers. It is the symmetrically striped appearance of Jupiter. Scientists are unable to account for the existence of the rings, which circle the huge planet in much the same manner as do our meridians.
These indications along with static which has been heard during the last decade, and which scientists agree emanates from space, would seem to make even stronger the case of those who believe the neighboring planets to be inhabited by intelligent life.