He started suddenly at a slight sound of movement in the rocks not two yards away in the direction of Evans. But it was far too faint for human feet on that treacherous ground. More probably it was some small monster--quite possibly attracted by the dubious warmth of Archer's body, which was certainly radiating for all it was worth. Wryly, he thought of one of the more abhorrent of the local fauna, a lizard-like creature which attacked any animal which had the single qualification of being within a considerable jumping range. The beastie combined the least intelligence with the most virulent poison in several star-systems. With barbed feet and tail, it clung to its victim through the death throes--which usually began immediately--and unless torn apart or crushed in the process, it fed. Fortunately, the species was one of hundreds equally numerous and generally less deadly. * * * * * At least five minutes had passed, by the most meticulous of estimates, when Archer saw the glow. He had been looking at it for several seconds, in the direction of Stokely, before he realized what it was. He had expected a modification of the greenish luminescence of the jade itself. But this was a mere patch of gray in the blackness, to begin with. It whitened, gradually revealing the blurred silhouette of the man within it. At that level it remained, and his outline grew no sharper. By blinking several times, Archer was able to distinguish the arms from the rest of him, and assumed from their respective positions that Stokely was holding his gun in his left hand, the syringe in his right. It seemed twice as long--by which Archer judged it was about half--before a similar dusky patch became visible in the direction of Evans. He showed up very soon thereafter, because unlike Stokely, he was churning his arms as if in direct combat with the cold. Archer began to count slowly to himself, swinging his arms in a period of about a second. He had not done so before, because it would have served no particular purpose, and would have made the time seem even longer. Now it was important not to allow too long an interval following the second revelation of the deadly symptom. There must not be too much time for the others to think about the situation. Yet there must be enough to insure his showing the symptom himself, if he were going to. He estimated that Evans' period of "incubation" had varied from Stokely's by about a minute, allowing for the difference in the time of exposure. If Archer's varied from Evans' by as much as two minutes, there could still be three minutes or more to go. Of course, it was possible that he already showed it--or even that he had been the first. Five minutes should allow a safe margin, he decided. Two minutes of it were now gone. Archer's arms felt like lead-weighted pendulums, yet he restrained the tendency to urge them to more rapid motion. The count of 60 took a small eternity.