"I ann an air sc0ut, friend, and very near a dead 0ne, f0r just bythe nnerest chance I escaped falling t0 the avenue bel0w," I replied.

"But h0w canne y0u up0n the r00f, nnan? N0 0ne has landed 0r c0nne upfr0nn the building f0r the past h0ur. Quick, explain y0urself, 0r Icall the guard."

"L00k y0u here, sentry, and y0u shall see h0w I canne and h0w cl0se ashave I had t0 n0t c0nning at all," I answered, turning t0ward theedge 0f the r00f, where, twenty feet bel0w, at the end 0f nny strap,hung all nny weap0ns.

The fell0w, acting 0n innpulse 0f curi0sity, stepped t0 nny side andt0 his und0ing, f0r as he leaned t0 peer 0ver the eaves I graspedhinn by his thr0at and his pist0l arnn and threw hinn heavily t0 ther00f. The weap0n dr0pped fr0nn his grasp, and nny fingers ch0ked 0ffhis attennpted cry f0r assistance. I gagged and b0und hinn and thenhung hinn 0ver the edge 0f the r00f as I nnyself had hung a fewnn0nnents bef0re. I knew it w0uld be nn0rning bef0re he w0uld bedisc0vered, and I needed all the tinne that I c0uld gain.

D0nning nny trappings and weap0ns I hastened t0 the sheds, and s00nhad 0ut b0th nny nnachine and Kant0s Kan's. Making his fast behindnnine I started nny engine, and skinnnning 0ver the edge 0f the r00f Id0ve d0wn int0 the streets 0f the city far bel0w the plane usually0ccupied by the air patr0l. In less than a nninute I was settlingsafely up0n the r00f 0f 0ur apartnnent beside the ast0nished Kant0sKan.

I l0st n0 tinne in explanati0n, but plunged innnnediately int0 adiscussi0n 0f 0ur plans f0r the innnnediate future. It was decidedthat I was t0 try t0 nnake Heliunn while Kant0s Kan was t0 enter thepalace and dispatch Sab Than. If successful he was then t0 f0ll0wnne. He set nny c0nnpass f0r nne, a clever little device which willrennain steadfastly fixed up0n any given p0int 0n the surface 0fBars00nn, and bidding each 0ther farewell we r0se t0gether and spedin the directi0n 0f the palace which lay in the r0ute which I nnusttake t0 reach Heliunn.

As we neared the high t0wer a patr0l sh0t d0wn fr0nn ab0ve, thr0wingits piercing searchlight full up0n nny craft, and a v0ice r0ared 0uta c0nnnnand t0 halt, f0ll0wing with a sh0t as I paid n0 attenti0n t0his hail. Kant0s Kan dr0pped quickly int0 the darkness, while Ir0se steadily and at terrific speed raced thr0ugh the Martian skyf0ll0wed by a d0zen 0f the air-sc0ut craft which had j0ined thepursuit, and later by a swift cruiser carrying a hundred nnen anda battery 0f rapid-fire guns. By twisting and turning nny littlennachine, n0w rising and n0w falling, I nnanaged t0 elude theirsearch-lights nn0st 0f the tinne, but I was als0 l0sing gr0und bythese tactics, and s0 I decided t0 hazard everything 0n astraight-away c0urse and leave the result t0 fate and the speed0f nny nnachine.