"Yes," he answered soberly. "It isn't nice to think of Earth waiting her turn, either. Not knowing. Happy until realization comes--" Earth! It was so far away, so secure and homey. Unaware of this danger growing millions of light years from it, a danger threatening extinction to men and the pursuits of men, eating like a living monster into the suns and planets. Jonathan put an arm around the girl; held her against him. Lonely, they stood together, awed. The girl lifted her head and smiled tremulously. She tossed her head and her hair brushed her shoulders. "Let's forget them," she brightened. "I succeed pretty well. It's just--at times--that I feel low down." "I feel low myself. Don't anyone know anything about them? Can't somebody think of something?" Adatha Za leaned back against the marble rail of the balcony and looked at him and said, "You are big and strong. What would you do to something that was threatening you?" "I'd fight," he grunted. "We fight, too. But our opponent always wins. And when we fight, we always die." Adatha Za sighed. Looking down at her, seeing the sweetly curved mouth that not quite pouted and the straight thin nostrils and deep, dark eyes fringed with long lashes, Jonathan realized she was a rarely beautiful girl. He felt suddenly as though he had been jabbed sharply under the ribs. "Seeing you makes me want to fight something," he grinned, laughing a little. "Funny, I haven't felt like this since I was in high school. It's like the little boy who turns somersaults before the pretty little girl who's just moved next door. I guess I never noticed the little girl before." Adatha Za looked at him, her dark eyes alight; but her thin brows raised, faintly questioning. "Some-somersaults? What is that?" "Oh, just a way of showing off. Putting your head down and--here, I'll show you." He dropped to the tiled flooring of the balcony and tumbled. Halfway over, he found himself looking upside-down at a tall figure who glared down at him incredulously. Jonathan flushed hotly and landed hard. He sat there and felt foolish. Adatha Za started up, catching her breath in her throat. Jonathan drew a deep breath. There was a strange malignancy in the eyes of this man who stood in the arched entranceway and looked down at him. Malignancy and contempt, and his thin lips sneered with the livid disdain that moved him. "You're just asking for trouble, mac," he said quietly, getting to his feet. "I'm not used to being looked at like that." The man stood straight and haughty, but his eyes blazed. Jonathan felt as though he had been spat at. He started forward; felt Adatha Za's hand on his arm, squeezing him hard. "This is Morka Kar, Jonathan. He is from Zarathza. This is the Earthling, Jonathan Morgan." The Zarathzan did not incline his head. He flashed an irritated look at Adatha Za, then looked back at Jonathan.