And then, fantastically, the battle seemed to hang poised. There came a grinding, shuddering sound. A series of these sounds. The ground seemed to vibrate, and then along the twilight strip came a towering, stalking, fifty-foot shape. One of the robots! It came swiftly, purposefully, huge eyes glaring down--straight for the battle line! V "This does it," Janus groaned. "That thing looks mad!" But no other robots came, and he raised his beam-pistol in readiness as the great monster came bearing down. "Hold it," Mark caught his wrist. "Hold your fire, men!" For the Perlacs were fleeing! Forgotten now was the fury of battle as they raced _en masse_ back to the darkness of their forest! And abruptly the robot swerved in its course, went after them with purposeful strides. It bent down a little and swept huge, claw-like hands close to the ground. A few of the Perlacs were caught, dashed to the ground, never to rise. Almost gleefully the metal monster trampled down the edges of the forest. The Earth people could only watch wearily, numbly. It was over. Unbelievably, the battle was over. Tiring at last of its mad sport, the robot turned and came striding back. Heedless of Mark's warning, Mari stepped forth and faced it defiantly, rifle held in readiness. Tall and straight, her golden hair tumbling down, she was a defender of her people to the last. And the robot paused! Only for a second, during which it seemed to be surveying her. Then it came on, but stopped some twenty yards away. Then it spoke! The voice was rasping, metallic, but the words were unmistakable: "Hi-ya, bud. What's cookin'?" Janus' voice was a ridiculous gurgle in his throat. He took a step backward and his eyes bulged. For the thing had seemed to be addressing _him_! At last he got the words out: "Ketrik! By all the red-tailed Zigs on Venus, it's Ketrik! Only he could use an archaic expression like that--what's cookin', indeed!" There came a rumble of metallic laughter. "Hi-ya, Janus! Haven't seen you in years. And Kaarj! Last time I saw you was on Deimos, when I robbed the temple of ancients. How are you, kid?" The robot went down, extended a long metal finger as big around as a man's arm. Kaarj retreated hastily! "Well, ain't any of you glad to see me?" the voice came mockingly. "And after I saved your battle, too!" "Sure, we're glad to see you," Janus replied shakily. "But good Lord, man, come down out of that thing so we can get a look at you!" "Hell, no. I'm havin' fun! Anyway, I'm not up here. Not the real Ketrik. My body's lying in an alcove back there at the temple of robots." Mari had come to stand beside Janus. Her face was flushed from the recent battle, but some of her defiance had fled. The robot bent closer still, seemed to be peering. Then came a long whistle, metallic but shrill, and one of the huge eyes winked!