It was one of those roaring, triumphant shouts I had heard earlier.

All eyes turned upward.

"Zar! The devils have breached a section of our defense!"

We could see them. Only a few of the blue warriors had gained the top of the wall but, unless they were halted, I knew that soon hundreds would be stepping over.

Scarcely stopping to think, I drew my blade from my belt and leapt for the nearest ramp leading to the wall-top. I ran up it faster than I had ever thought possible.

A blue Argzoon warrior, towering above me, turned as I shouted a challenge from behind.

Again he voiced that deep, maniacal laugh. I lunged with my blade and he parried the thrust with a swift movement of his own thick sword. I danced and saw a slight chance as his arm came round. I darted my sword at the exposed upper arm and was fortunate enough to draw blood. He yelled an oath and swung at me with his other weapon, a short-hafted battle-axe. Again my faster speed saved me and I ducked in under his clumsy guard to take him high in the belly. The sword flashed into his flesh and came out again.

His eyes seemed to widen and then, with a dying growl, he toppled from the wall.

Another came at me, more cautiously than his comrade. Again I took the attack to the towering monster.

Twice I lunged, twice he parried, then he lunged at me. I blocked his thrust and saw that my blade was only an inch from his face. I pressed the blade forward and took him in the eye.

I had now got the feel of my sword—a marvellous weapon, better even than the best I had used on Earth.

Now reinforcements had come to my aid. I glanced down on the other side of the wall at what seemed to be a great tide of turbulent blue flesh, leathern armor and flashing steel. A scaling ladder had been raised. More of the Argzoon were scaling it.

That ladder had to be destroyed. I made it my objective.

Although the scene was so confused and I could hardly tell what the general situation was, I felt a peculiar calmness sweep over me.

I knew the feeling. I had experienced it before in the jungles of Vietnam—had even experienced something like it in a particularly difficult engagement while fencing for sport.

Now that I had a few comrades at least, I felt even better. I stumbled on something and looked down. One of my assailants had lost his battle-axe. I picked it up in my left hand, testing its weighty and found it was not too badly balanced for me if I held it fairly close to the blade.

Both weapons ready, I moved forward in a halfcrouched position towards the next blue invader.