"All you said was that it'd be dangerous. None of us knew the Forest. Those damn bloodsucker plants are the worst. They reach out at a guy everywhere he turns. And the other things--we can't get through, Captain! You ought to be able to see that yourself!" "Nobody's been killed so far." "Blind luck. And Garth, too. He knows this country. If we didn't have him, we wouldn't have lasted a day." "We've got him," Brown said crisply. "So we're going on. Only three more days, anyhow. That's enough. Start cooking your rations." He turned his back on Sampson and walked away. The red-haired giant hesitated, scowling. Finally he shrugged and glanced around at the others. That broke the tension. One by one the men scattered to prepare food. Only Garth was gnawed by a persistent, deep-rooted fear. He didn't admit it, even to himself. But he watched Brown closely that night, and finally unpacked his medical kit and carefully searched it for something he knew wasn't there. He was dreading the next morning. V Slow reddish dawn brightened over the Forest. Garth felt someone shaking him. He grunted, stirred, and opened his eyes to see Paula's white face, and, behind her, Sampson. "Yeah. What's wrong?" He scrambled out of his blankets, blinking. The girl, pale to the lips, pointed toward a recumbent figure. "Carver. Captain Brown. He's--I don't know!" Sampson said gruffly, "Looks like he's dead. The men on guard duty said he didn't move once all night." Icy bands constricted suddenly around Garth's heart. Without answering he got his kit and went over to examine Brown. The man lay motionless, his breathing normal, but a deep flush on his brown cheeks. "It isn't the Plague, is it?" Sampson asked, his voice not quite under control. Garth shook his head. "Hell, no! It's--" He hesitated. Paula caught his arm. "What? Some insect poisoned him--one of those butterfly-things?" Garth carefully repacked his kit. He didn't look up. "He's got a dose of the Noctoli pollen. That's all. It's not fatal. He'll come out of it after he leaves the Forest, or after he builds up immunity." "How long would that take?" "A month or more." Garth bent over the apparently sleeping man. "Get up, Brown," he said insistently. "Hear me? Get up?" The Captain stirred. His eyes opened, blank and unseeing. He drew himself from his blankets and rose, looking straight ahead. Paula shrank back with a little gasp. There was a flurry of movement among the men in the background. "He'll be all right tonight. The poison only works in the daytime--I've told you that." "We can't march at night," Paula said. "Not--here!" "I know. It's impossible. Our lights would attract the butterflies--and plenty of other things." Sampson whirled on the others. "Pack your equipment! We're getting out of here, fast!" They hurried to obey. Paula got in front of Sampson as he turned, and the giant stopped, blinking at her.