"You can't leave the Captain here, Sampson." "We'll carry him, then. But we're getting out." Garth moved to Paula's side. "You won't need a litter. He can walk. Noctoli poison works like hypnotism. You're semi-conscious, but your will's in abeyance. If anyone tells Brown to follow us, he'll do it." Paula was biting her lip. "We can't go back now. We've only three days to go." "Look," Sampson said grimly, "why in hell should we commit suicide? Suppose we head on for three days. We reach this lost city of yours, or whatever it is. What then? We're in the middle of the Black Forest. Another thirteen days to get out! It's too much of a gamble. We're leaving now, and you can come along or stay here--suit yourself!" He turned away. * * * * * Left alone, Paula looked helplessly from the motionless, staring figure of Brown to Garth. "Carver!" He didn't move. Garth grinned wryly. "He'll obey commands, that's all. He won't wake up till tonight." Paula clenched her hands. "We've got to go on! We've got to! If we go back now--" "Commander Benson will clap us in the brig, eh?" She looked at him angrily. "It isn't only that. We'd lose our chance. You were right, Garth--we're after the power-source of the Ancients. The secret's hidden here, in the Black Forest. That cipher from Chahnn proved that--to me, anyway. Earth needs power, more than you can imagine. Without it, civilization will collapse--soon, too." "Suppose we go on," Garth said slowly. "I didn't tell you this, but the reason the poison hit Brown was because my antitoxin was too old. He had a short dose, too. The other men--well, they'll go under themselves in a day or so. You, too." Blue smudges showed under the girl's eyes. "Oh," she said after a moment. "So it's like that." "Just like that." Paula's stubborn chin tilted up. "I don't care--there's still a way. We'll be all right at night, you said. Well, we'll do our traveling and fighting by night." "Fighting?" "The Zarno. Garth, we've got to do it, somehow. Once we find that power-source, we can use it! There'll be weapons the Ancients left, I'm sure of it. The murals at Chahnn showed they had weapons, strong enough to conquer the Zarno. If we can get those--" "You're crazy," Garth said. "Plain crazy. What the hell do you expect me to do about it? Sampson would knock my block off if I tried to stop him now." But he was thinking: we're losing more than a chance to find the Ancient's power-source. I'm losing my chance to find the cure for the Silver Plague. "No," he said stubbornly. Paula's lip curled. "I should have known better than to ask you for help. I'll handle this myself." She unholstered her gun. Garth looked at her. She'd fail. She couldn't handle these ten hard-shelled fighters, headed by Sampson. She'd fail. And, in the end, she'd go back to Earth, in the brig, back to the certain death of the Silver Plague. Oh, it might miss her, of course. But it might not.