? ? ? ? A dozen seconds would bring them into the tower. A single leap carried me to the heavy portal. With a resounding bang I slammed it shut.
? ? ? ? "The bar!" shouted Tardos Mors.
? ? ? ? I tried to slip the huge fastening into place, but it defied my every attempt.
? ? ? ? "Raise it a little to release the catch," cried one of the red men.
? ? ? ? I could hear the yellow warriors leaping along the flagging just beyond the door. I raised the bar and shot it to the right just as the foremost of the guardsmen threw himself against the opposite side of the massive panels.
? ? ? ? The barrier held--I had been in time, but by the fraction of a second only.
? ? ? ? Now I turned my attention to the prisoners. To Tardos Mors I went first, asking where the keys might be which would unfasten their fetters.
? ? ? ? "The officer of the guard has them," replied the Jeddak of Helium, "and he is among those without who seek entrance.
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