From where he stood on the scaffold, Larry could see a number of the
big transport cars coming down the incline. They were crowded with
prisoners and guards, and he caught the gleam of the hard brown shells
of Insect-men. Once unloaded from the cars, they all formed up in
columns and came quickly across the Plaza. Behind the front rank of
guards Larry saw Ripon, and some of the men from the _Sky Maid_, and
many whom he recognized as leaders among the Lunarians of the Lost
Caverns.
It was all over now. The prisoners trudged along like beaten men,
utterly disheartened although they were but thinly guarded. The
nobles grouped on the temple steps were laughing loudly, all their
nervousness of a moment ago gone before the reassurance of this
victory. Then, as the prisoners were halted in the Plaza directly
before the double line of soldiers that guarded the temple, an officer
beside Xylon leaned forward to point down at the commander of the
patrol that was bringing in the prisoners.
"That man wears the insignia of an Ensign of the first rank," he
shouted, "but there is no such man in the ranks of our officers! There
is treachery here!"
Before the man's words had died away, Crispin Gillingwater Ripon had
whipped a ray-gun out from under his cloak and smashed the officer's
chest into a charred pulp with the deadly blast of the rays.
In an instant the Plaza was a wild turmoil. The pretended prisoners
drew their hidden weapons. Those who had been masquerading as guards,
using the armor they had taken from the soldiers they surprised
and overwhelmed when they stormed the tunnel entrance, threw the
uniforms aside and charged into the fight. The rippling crashes of the
electronic guns rang out again and again, the murky flashes of the
Earth-men's death rays stabbed into the fray, and a clicking horde of
Insect-men charged home with their spiked clubs swinging.
[Illustration: _In an instant the Plaza was in a wild turmoil.... The
rippling crashes of the electronic guns rang out again and again. The
murky flashes of Earth-men's death rays stabbed into the fray, and a
clicking horde of Insect-men charged home with spiked clubs swinging._]
For the first few moments the fighting centered around the scaffold.
Xylon led a charge of picked men down to seize and keep the three
prisoners bound there, Ripon came storming through to effect a rescue.
When the mélee was over, Larry and Pyatt were free and Xylon had
retreated back to the temple steps, but Diana had disappeared.
"We got the rest of the crew from the _Sky Maid_ and all the men we
could collect at Chotan and crept up to the tunnel mouth," Ripon panted
as he thrust a ray-gun into Larry's hand. "We took the guards by
surprise and killed them before they could warn the valley behind."
It had been a daring raid, and at first its sheer audacity had carried
it near to complete victory. Now the superior numbers of the guards
were beginning to tell, and more of the troops of Gral-Thala came
pounding up at the double. The crash of the electronic guns became a
steady roar, and bodies were thickly strewn about the blood-smeared
surface of the Plaza of the Four Virgins. Then, with a long-drawn and
sullen shout, the mass of watching Lunarians flung themselves on the
soldiery. Hundreds died, but the others tore the guards to pieces with
their naked hands and then snatched up their weapons. The people of
Gral-Thala had risen against their oppressors at last!
* * * * *
With the uprising of the people, the battle ceased to be a fight and
became a massacre. The troops were selling their lives, as dearly as
they could, but thousands more citizens carrying improvised weapons
were pouring in from every street and the thing was only a matter of
time. Then, in the rear of the panic stricken mass of nobles who were
fleeing into the temple to make a last stand, while the vengeful pack
bayed at their heels, Larry suddenly saw Xylon!
The tyrant was standing beside one of the great stone columns that
supported the portico of the temple. He held the half naked body of
Diana before him as a shield. The girl's hands were still tied and she
could not pull away. A swarm of Insect-men, who were bounding up the
temple steps, halted as they saw Xylon hold an electronic pistol to the
head of their goddess.
"Keep back or she dies!" he shouted. "She is hostage for our safety!"
Larry lifted his ray-gun, and then lowered it again with a groan. He
dared not shoot with Diana's struggling body in the way. Nor had he any
doubt that Xylon would kill the girl without compunction if attacked.
Xylon began to edge back toward the temple door. Larry still stood
indecisive, the others seemed frozen in their places. Then another
white-and-gold figure darted out from the temple behind Xylon. The
renegade Colton twisted the gun from Xylon's hand!
The thing was over in an instant. Xylon released Diana and turned on
Colton with an oath, and the girl instantly dropped to the ground.
Steel flickered in the sunlight. Xylon drove a long knife home between
Colton's ribs, but before he could dart away Larry's ready ray-gun
struck him down with its blast. His quivering body rolled slowly down
the steps till the Insect-men reached it and literally tore it into
bloody bits.