Sue was silent and withdrawn the rest of the day. Several times her grey eyes filled with tears, but each time she brushed them away before they overflowed. And then the waiting ended. This time Merlo was accompanied by half a dozen other Martians who stationed themselves in the tunnel as guards. Merlo touched his _varlu_. It contracted about his hand and the Martian lifted it to his shoulders, where it flattened out and draped itself like a short cloak. "He says we should follow him," Susan translated his chirps. Once during their short walk Nick hesitated and looked back as though planning a break, but the ominous fluttering of half a dozen _varlus_ told him escape was impossible for the present. * * * * * An angry buzzing filled the vaulted room and fully a hundred Martians turned to stare as the humans were led into the council chamber. Merlo motioned them to the center and addressed an ancient Martian who occupied a dais at the far end. The presiding Martian answered at length, as though Merlo were a person of consequence, and then Merlo launched into his speech. He turned now and again to address various sections of the assembly, and his voice grew louder and faster as he progressed. The Earthman recognized the sharp, chopping gesture with which he emphasized his points. A gesture of killing, whether on Earth or on Mars. Merlo was demanding their death. At last he paused amid nods of approval and motioned for one side of the room to be cleared. He waited dramatically as Martians moved out of the way. Then from a pouch at his waist he drew Nick's pistol, raised it with a clumsy motion, and fired one shot against the blank wall. The sharp bark of the propelling charge and the roar of the explosive bullet blended in a thunderous concussion. Martians leaped to their feet with cries of rage, and even Susan Jones cupped her hands over tingling ears. Merlo waited for the uproar to subside. Then, pointing at Nick and Susan, he concluded with a threatening shout. Immediately another Martian leaped up and began to speak, also in an angry manner. "Damn it, you green-skinned monstrosities," Nick bellowed in English. "Leave the girl out of this! Can't you see she's been trying to help you?" Half a hundred _varlus_ stirred uneasily on Martian shoulders as the assembly stared uncomprehendingly. Nick turned to Susan. "Translate what I said," he snapped. She shook her head. "No use. But where's Klev?" Klev came through the doorway just then, hurrying as fast as his age would permit. Quietly he moved toward a vacant seat, and at once the chairs around it were empty too, Martians moving away as he advanced. They seemed to regard him with distrust, distrust and fear. He rose and spoke, the pleading note in his voice evident even to Nick. The others had been heard in silence, but time and again Klev was interrupted by shouts of disapproval.