Free The Buccaneers of Venus Collection (Three novels in one volume!) by Otis Adelbert Kline

Grandon pulled the cab control lever, until both mattorks were trained over the side, then circled the crater and poured a deadly fusillade among the bewildered grampites. Soon the air was black with the creatures, dozens of whom attacked the craft, but without success. A number of them swarmed on the deck and endeavored to get at the inmates of the cab.
        "Give me your tork," said Vernia.
        He unbuckled his belt and handed her the weapon. She opened the door a little way and soon cleared the deck of enemies. Then, while Grandon raked ledge after ledge, she shot down those of the flying attackers who came within range. Most of them fell into the fiery lake, and soon the air was filled with the stench of scorched flesh and hair.
        For more than an hour they circled the crater, at the end of which time not a living grampite was in sight. The ledges were strewn with carcasses, and the lake of lava was sending up black clouds of smoke as it consumed those brought down by the tork. Grandon estimated that at least two-thirds of the population of that crater had been exterminated; the others had been driven to cover.
        The avenging craft again rose high above the mountain.
        "Now to return you to Reabon," said Grandon. "Can you tell me which way it lies from here?"
        "As I recall it, this place lies across the Azpok Ocean, directly south of Reabon. If you will steer due north, we should be able to arrive on ground that will be familiar to me, and we can then easily make our way to the capital."
        Grandon examined the Olban compass, which hung suspended by a tiny wire in the front of the cab. "I presume that, as in my own world, the compass always points toward the north."
        "It should," replied Vernia, "unless deflected by some counter magnetic attraction."
        Grandon set his course accordingly, traveling swiftly at a height of approximately two thousand feet.
        The ship was amply stored with provisions and water, and they ate their first food in nearly twenty-four hours while hurtling through space at a terrific rate of speed.
        "Try to go to sleep now," said Grandon. "In a few hours you will be safely home, and I will return to my faithful mountaineers. Then we can continue our war."
        "What if I should not choose to move against Uxpo?"
        "You would save the useless waste of thousands of human lives, and therefore place me eternally in your debt."
        "You have already put me under an obligation to you for which my entire empire would not be sufficient recompense. Since you will not accept the second highest office in Zarovia, I have decided to free Uxpo. We shall be neighbors and, I hope, friends."
        "In the name of the people of Uxpo I thank you for your generous decision, and…"
        He was interrupted by a series of rude shocks and a rending crash as they came to a complete standstill. Both were thrown violently against the front of the cab. Grandon struck his head on the butt of a mattork and lost consciousness. Vernia was more fortunate, as she fell feet foremost, although her ankle received a bad wrench.
        When she saw Grandon's face, pale as death, and the blood flowing from an ugly cut on his forehead, she flung herself down beside him and took his head on her lap. To her relief, she heard the beating of his heart when she placed her ear to his breast. Opening one of the provision drawers, she extracted a flask of water and bathed his face.
        Presently he opened his eyes.
        "What happened?" he asked. "What struck us?"
        "I do not know," she replied. "Lie quietly while I dress your wound. Then we will investigate."
     
     

CHAPTER IX
     
     
        GRANDON PROTESTED that the jagged wound in his forehead was a mere scratch, but Vernia insisted on binding it for him, and did so with adroitness.
        When she had finished, he rose dizzily and opened the door of the cab. A pungent odor