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About forty feet down, the floor of the tunnel curved sharply and leveled off; a short distance farther on a number of other level tunnels merged with it, and the shape changed; from a tube perfectly circular in cross-section, it became a flattened oval, perhaps half again the height of a man, and at least three times that dimension in width.

Our party was joined by scores of other Aranians, who darted in from side passages; some going ahead, some closing in behind us, until the tunnel was filled with the peculiar brittle sound of their walking.

“They don’t lack for numbers,” muttered Correy softly. “Think they’ll make trouble, sir?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. I showed them what the ray would do; I believe it threw a scare into the old chap. Did you tell them what we would do if they played any tricks, Tipene?”

“Certainly; my own life is endangered, isn’t it?” snapped the Zenian.

“It certainly is,” I told him grimly. “And not only by the spiders, if you make any suspicious moves.”

* * * * *

We went on without further conversation, until we came to the beginning of the cubicles Tipene had mentioned.

Each of these was closed, or could be closed, by a circular door such as those which concealed the outer entrance to the tunnels, save that these were swung on a side hinge. From the central passage we were following, smaller ones branched off in all directions: to the left, to the right; upward and downward. And all were lined with the cubicles, from which a constantly increasing army of Aranians emerged to accompany us.

We had gone but a short distance into the “city” when our ancient guide paused, turning to stare down a deserted passage.

“He says,” grunted Tipene–as near a grunt as the high-pitched Zenian voice is capable of, “that they’re down there. He asks that we go and get them; he is afraid. They have killed two of the Aranians already with their atomic pistols.”

“For which I don’t blame them in the least,” said Correy. “I’d get as many as I could before I let them sink their mandibles into me.”

“But I thought they were hostages, and being treated as such?”

“The Aranians got tired of waiting; some of the younger ones tried to do their own executing,” explained Tipene. “The whole brood of them is in an ugly mood, the old fellow tells me. We were fools to come!”

I didn’t argue the matter. You can’t argue such a matter with a man like Tipene. Instead, I lifted my voice in a shout which echoed down the long corridors.

“Brady! Inverness! Can you hear us?”

For a moment there was no reply, and then, as our ethon lights played hopefully along the passage, a circular door opened, and Inverness, his pistol drawn, peered out at us. A moment later, both he and Brady were running toward us.

“Hanson!” cried Inverness. “Man, but we’re glad to see a human face again–but why did you come? Now they’ve got us all.”

“But they’ll let us all go,” I said, with a confidence I did not feel. “I’ve demonstrated to one of their leaders just what the Ertak can do–and will do–if we aren’t aboard, safe and unhurt, in three hours.”

“The young bloods don’t obey well, though,” said Brady, shaking his head. “Look at them, milling around there in the central passage! They didn’t see your demonstration, whatever it was. They started for us some time back, and we had to rip a couple of them to pieces, and barricade ourselves.”

“Well,” said Correy grimly, “we’ll soon find out. Ready to start back, sir?”

* * * * *