Nathan had never been in the part of the cavern which they were
entering. He knew the narrow passage must have been covered by a thin
shell of rock in his time.
They came at last into a chamber that was the equal in size of the main
one. There was daylight visible and the pink radiance from Firebird
began to die. When it was gone she seemed smaller and more fragile
than ever. Only the little blue lights in her eyes seemed hard and
unyielding.
Within the chamber Nathan stopped and gasped. There was the glistening,
silver hull of a space cruiser. And high on the nose of it was the
dread name: _Corsair_.
_Corsair_--the famed pirate vessel that had outrun every ship that had
ever pursued it. In a hundred acts of piracy, the Firebird had escaped
without leaving a trace by means of the _Corsair_.