Onward the fugitives plunged, through great caves, winding passages. Once they swept through a grotto in which a dozen of the ugly sub-women were gathered, but before the shrill-voiced creatures could attack them, they had reached a rocky gallery beyond. Haller forced himself on, heart pounding. In spite of the dank chill of the caverns he was bathed in sweat; beside him old Barger was wheezing noisily, gasping.
With all their effort, however, the glowing monstrosities were gaining rapidly. Haller cast a furtive glance over his shoulder, saw a squat figure only a step behind him, and beside the sub-man raced Kindt. Kindt, turned renegade! Carlson and the others didn't surprise him; scum of the space-ports, they were hardly above the inhabitants of the asteroid. But Kindt had seemed different.
The squat green figure, face set in a savage grin, increased his speed. In another moment his clutching hand must seize Steve, drag him down. Suddenly Haller heard the strangled shout:
One backward glance Steve had, of Kindt throwing his weight against the foremost pursuer. Down they went in a tangled heap, blocking the narrow passage, and the others fell over them. Then an atomite gun flared blue in the darkness and Kindt's shouts abruptly ceased.
"A right guy," Barger panted. "Plenty right. And I thought he was yellow! We.... Look! Light!"
Far ahead feeble sunlight gleamed, and the passage slanted upward. The sub-men had resumed the pursuit, but it was evident that they couldn't make up the lost distance before their prey reached the surface of the little world. But even though free of the caverns, the three fugitives could never hope to reach the _Lodestar_ without being overtaken. Even if they did reach it, the ship could not break the magnetic grip.
"No ... no use, Steve!" Fay whispered. "They're bound to get us in the end! Join them, let me go! It's your only chance!"
"Forget it!" he gasped. "Food and water on _Lodestar_! Can stand seige for months once we reach it! Come on!"
The mouth of the passage was only a few feet away, now. Behind them the howling phosphorescent figures were closing in swiftly. All at once Barger, in the lead, gave a cry, pointed through the passage entrance. In the dark sky high above, something huge, glowing, was exploding into a rain of white-hot dots.