"No! No! Joe can't die. We've got to take him back to the cave!" "Why there?" "I don't know. I just know that's where he'd want to go and we've got to get him there." "I suppose it's the best place. Nobody in Sage Bend would help him I'll bet. They're--" "We've got to get him on Buck." "You'll have to go alone. I can't walk fast enough." "You can ride Buck too. Pop says a burro is one of the strongest animals there is. And it isn't far. Hurry. You've got to help me." * * * * * Somehow they pulled and tugged the body onto the back of the sleepy burro. Then Davey clambered on, balancing precariously on the animal's hips. Biddy took the reins and pulled Buck into movement and the strange cavalcade moved off across the desert. Half an hour later, Biddy cried, "There's the cave and some people are there. And they've got lights." Davey was craning his neck. "Look--look at that funny looking thing. It's--it's a ship of some kind." As they crawled slowly up the hill toward the rocks, they saw great activity. There were half a dozen young men moving from the strange ship into the cave and back again. As Buck came into the circle of light, two of the men came forward. They gave the body hanging limply over Buck's back their entire attention. They spoke to each other in some strange language and then the rest of the group were crowding about. "We found him hanging from a tree," Biddy said a little fearfully, but they paid no attention to her. They lifted the body from the burro and held it partially erect. After a short conference one of the men hurried to the ship and returned with a small tube that somewhat resembled a fire extinguisher. He pointed it at Joe's chest and pressed a button and a thin blue flame crackled as it seemed to penetrate the flesh. In a matter of seconds, Joe coughed, opened his eyes, and was standing without help. One of the men, frowning slightly, snapped a question in the strange language. He spoke at the same moment Biddy ran forward and cried, "Oh, Joe! You're all right. You aren't dead! We found you hanging there but I knew you were still alive. I just knew it!" * * * * * Joe smiled at her and laid a hand on her head. He ignored the other men, giving Biddy his attention as he said, "I'm a lot harder to kill than you would imagine." Davey had struggled forward on his crutches. He said, "But how on earth could you have lived? That strangling rope around your neck--" "I suppose this is Davey," Joe said. "That's right," Biddy assured him. "We were out looking for you." "As a matter of fact, Davey, the rope didn't hurt me at all. It was something else. I was knocked out completely by the chaotic vibrations flowing from the crowd that hung me to that tree. I'd have come around soon." "You mean they--lynched you?" "If that's the term."