With the hated "zzap" sound, it fired one beam
toward the miner at the rear of the headlong retreat, and the man went
limp and collapsed. His momentum carried him forward several feet
before he stopped moving.
Zip saw it all in a split-second as his inertia carried him out of
view. He looked forward again and sped down the aisle; after passing a
few rows he turned again to the left. Far ahead of him he saw the
elevator door with the bulging rupture through which the airbot had
burst into the warehouse. Suddenly the airbot flew over the stack of
crates to Zip's left and appeared about fifteen yards in front of him.
A feeling of panicky horror surged through Zip as he saw the airbot
re-orient itself in his direction.
All at once every point of light on the airbot went out and it hung
motionless in the air. Then it sped back to the elevator door as if
jerked by a cable. It smashed through the hole it had made and flew
into the shaft. Instantly there was a dull "whump," more felt in one's
tissues than heard aloud. A bright light came through the opening like
a spotlight, then faded.
"What happened to the airbot?" Joe's amazed voice behind him asked the
question that was in Zip's mind.
"Let's go," said Zip. "Let's find out who's down and carry them away."
Both the Starmen were breathing hard, but quickly returned to normal as
they paced the aisles.
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