"Come on, let's move back," Pid said. He and Ger started into the woods. Then he remembered Ilg. "Ilg?" he called softly. There was no answer. "Ilg!" "What? Oh, yes," an oak tree said, and melted into a bush. "Sorry. What were you saying?" "We're moving back," Pid said. "Were you, by any chance, Thinking?" "Oh, no," Ilg assured him. "Just resting." Pid let it go at that. There was too much else to worry about. * * * * * They discussed it for the rest of the day, hidden in the deepest part of the woods. The only alternatives seemed to be Man or Dog. A Tree couldn't walk past the gates, since that was not in the nature of trees. Nor could anything else, and escape notice. Going as a Man seemed too risky. They decided that Ger would sally out in the morning as a Dog. "Now get some sleep," Pid said. Obediently his two crewmen flattened out, going immediately Shapeless. But Pid had a more difficult time. Everything looked too easy. Why wasn't the atomic installation better guarded? Certainly the Men must have learned something from the expeditions they had captured in the past. Or had they killed them without asking any questions? You couldn't tell what an alien would do. Was that open gate a trap? Wearily he flowed into a comfortable position on the lumpy ground. Then he pulled himself together hastily. He had gone Shapeless! Comfort was not in the line of duty, he reminded himself, and firmly took a Pilot's Shape. But a Pilot's Shape wasn't constructed for sleeping on damp, bumpy ground. Pid spent a restless night, thinking of ships, and wishing he were flying one. He awoke in the morning tired and ill-tempered. He nudged Ger. "Let's get this over with," he said. Ger flowed gaily to his feet. "Come on, Ilg," Pid said angrily, looking around. "Wake up." There was no reply. "Ilg!" he called. Still there was no reply. "Help me look for him," Pid said to Ger. "He must be around here somewhere." Together they tested every bush, tree, log and shrub in the vicinity. But none of them was Ilg. Pid began to feel a cold panic run through him. What could have happened to the Radioman? "Perhaps he decided to go through the gate on his own," Ger suggested. [original: Ilg suggested (n. of transcriber)] Pid considered the possibility. It seemed unlikely. Ilg had never shown much initiative. He had always been content to follow orders. They waited. But midday came, and there was still no sign of Ilg. "We can't wait any longer," Pid said, and they started through the woods. Pid wondered if Ilg _had_ tried to get through the gates on his own. Those quiet types often concealed a foolhardy streak. But there was nothing to show that Ilg had been successful. He would have to assume that the Radioman was dead, or captured by the Men. That left two of them to activate a Displacer. And he still didn't know what had happened to the other expeditions. * * * * *