After a while he noticed that the flashes of lightning were spaced more widely apart. The storm was moving on toward the north, leaving the island behind. How much longer would he have the protection of the lightning? Another ten or fifteen minutes? He heard something whimper. He swung his flashlight around and saw his dog, Oro, coming toward him. His dog--or the Quedak's dog? "Hey there, boy," Drake said. He wondered if he should drop the direction finder and get the revolver out of his belt. He wondered if the revolver would still work after such a thorough soaking. Oro came up and licked his hand. He was Drake's dog, at least for the duration of the storm. They moved on together, and the thunder rumbled distantly in the north. The signal on his RDF was very strong now. Somewhere around here.... He saw light from another flashlight. Sorensen, badly out of breath, had joined him. The jungle had ripped and clawed at him, but he still had his rifle, flashlight and direction finder. Oro was scratching furiously at a bush. There was a long flash of lightning, and in it they saw the Quedak. * * * * * Drake realized, in those final moments, that the rain had stopped. The lightning had stopped, too. He dropped the direction finder. With the flashlight in one hand and his revolver in the other, he tried to take aim at the Quedak, who was moving, who had jumped-- To Sorensen's neck, just above the right collarbone. Sorensen raised his hands, then lowered them again. He turned toward Drake, raising his rifle. His face was perfectly calm. He looked as though his only purpose in life was to kill Drake. Drake fired from less than two feet away. Sorensen spun with the impact, dropped his rifle and fell. Drake bent over him, his revolver ready. He saw that he had fired accurately. The bullet had gone in just above the right collarbone. It was a bad wound. But it had been much worse for the Quedak, who had been in the direct path of the bullet. All that was left of the Quedak was a splatter of black across Sorensen's chest. Drake applied hasty first aid and hoisted Sorensen to his shoulders. He wondered what he would have done if the Quedak had been standing above Sorensen's heart, or on his throat, or on his head. He decided it was better not to think about that. He started back to camp, with his dog trotting along beside him. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Meeting of the Minds, by Robert Sheckley