Tarrano the Conqueror, page 88 by Raymond King Cummings
<< Return to Title Details & Download89
n him?
Abruptly he snapped his instrument back to his belt. He had not used it since the hostile lights had appeared. Previously, I knew, he had been watching those lights, with the curved ray of the instrument when the lights themselves had been below the horizon.
He turned now to me. "They are here, Jac Hallen. Almost here. And I am at their mercy." His tone was ironic; then it hardened into grimness. He was addressing me, but I knew it was for Elza's benefit he spoke.
"I came here to Earth, Jac Hallen, for certain things. I find them now accomplished. I belong here no longer." He laughed. "I would not force myself into a war prematurely. That would be very unwise. I think--we shall have to avoid this--engagement. I am--slightly outnumbered."
He called an order, quite calmly over his shoulder. I suppose, at that moment, the Earth war vessels were no more than five miles away. The whole sky was a kaleidoscope of darting lights. In answer to his order, from the peak of our tower a light bomb mounted--a vertical ray of green light. The bomb of surrender!
Tarrano chuckled. "That should halt them. Come! We must start."
He held a brief colloquy with a Venus man who appeared beside him. The man nodded and hastened back into the instrument room. The green light of our bomb had died away. The lights in the sky began fading--the whole sky fading, turning to blackness! I became aware that Tarrano had thrown around our tower a temporary isolation barrage. For a few moments--while the current he had at his command could hold it--we could not be seen on the image finders of the advancing vessels.
Tarrano repeated: "That should hold them--I have surrendered! They should be triumphant. And outside our barrage, our men will bargain with them. Ten minutes! We should be able to hold them off that long at least. Come, Lady Elza. We must start now."
With a scant ceremony in sharp contrast to his courteous words to Elza, he hurried us off. Three of us--Elza, Wolfgar and myself,