Stricken with surprise and awe, Elza and I sat there motionless. Ourencampment was in a turmoil of confusion--chaos, out of which very soonorder came. The skeleton figures in the air--I saw now that there werenearer two hundred than one hundred--were perhaps two thousand feetaway, and at an altitude of about the cliff-ledge where Elza and I weresitting.
They swept forward, bathed in the Zed-ray with all our othersearch-beams darkened to give it full sway. Momentarily I saw themclearer; metallic cylinders in bony fingers, and a metal mechanism offlight encasing, yet not touching the ribs.
"Jac! Why don't our rays--"
As though to answer Elza's unfinished question, one of our towers turneda disintegrating ray upon them. A narrow pencil-point of light, barelyvisible in this flat daylight. It swung up into our Zed-ray, searchedand clung to one of the skeleton figures. Had it penetrated, the manwould have been dissipated like a puff of vapor. But it did not; andthen I knew that for that distance at least, this enemy's isolationpower--individual barrage--was too great.
Yet the assailed figure wavered! Our amplifier gave out his shout--halffear, half admonition. The line of skeletons swung upward. Came on, butmounted so that I saw that they were making for the summit of the cliffabove us--above our power house.
Their defense--invisibility, and a mere isolation barrage so that wecould not harm them with our tower rays while they kept beyond range.But what was their means of attack? Why would Tarrano....
"The power house," Elza answered; and I realized then that she had readmy thoughts. The power house, if they could demolish it....
Our thoughts, questions and answers unspoken, flew fast; but the dramabefore us unfolded faster. With the knowledge that we could see them,these invaders cast aside a portion of their equipment to give themgreater freedom. We could see the metal portions of the trappingsfalling like plummets. The skeleton images faded; and then as our towerwithdrew the Zed-ray and our search-beams picked them up, we saw ourenemies as they really were. Men clothed in a casing of cylindricalgarments with the flying mechanisms strapped to their chests; some withvisors and headpieces, nearly all with small weapons in their hands.
Keeping well away, they continued to mount. They were striving for thepinnacle of cliff-tops above us; but as our rays darted at them theyhalted, wavered; and now when nearly above the camp, they began mountingstraight up.
"Jac! Look there!"
One of our tower vehicles was preparing to rise. Its ray, following thesearch-beams upward, was aimed at the invaders, but they were beyond itseffective range. Their weapons of attack? I knew now.
"Suicides!"
Whether Elza said it, or merely thought it I do not know. One of thefigures came down as though falling. A few seconds only; but though oursearch-beam showed it, the smaller rays for those seconds missed it.Down--until no more than five hundred feet above us it checked its fall.A giant of a man; and with his hand cylinder--in range now--he shot abolt at our power house. It struck; I could see the flash, saw an aerialshatter before the charge went harmlessly into the body of the building.Then one of our rays caught the man; his figure crumpled; the shower ofsparks as his barrage was broken, exploded like a tiny bursting bomb;and as the sparks died, there was nothing where the man had been.
A suicide; but one of our aerials was shattered. And then others camedown--not many, for it was grim business and the courage of them musthave failed at the last. Falling bodies; tiny bolts striking the powerhouse; the sparks--then empty air where living men had been.
Our tower left the ground. Some of our men, with small flying platformsstrapped to them, were crowding its top. Its beams preceded it--but Isaw the beams breaking intermittently as the bolts struck the powerhouse. The invaders wavered with indecision. Some of them came down tovoluntary death; others strove for the cliff-top; some took flight. Ourtower swept into them; one of them, injured but not annihilated, fellwith a crash into the encampment.
Above Elza and me was a maze of flashing beams; futile bolts; the puffsof myriad sparks. A bolt seemed to strike quite near where we weresitting; I drew Elza back and we crouched in the hollow of a rock. Abody came hurtling down, crashed to the cliff-ledge almost at our feetwith the sickening thump of mangled flesh and broken bones--hung aninstant to give me a momentary glimpse of a face contorted in deathagony; then rolled over and fell further down the jagged cliff.
Then above us presently there was silence and the drab empty sky. Ourtower was back beyond the cliff-top. Soon it appeared; apparentlyunharmed, it came dropping down to its former place on the ground.
The first attack was over. And off in the distance a few solitaryfigures were winging their way back to the City of Ice.