For a long moment, Ferguson appeared undecided. Then he looked at Dr. Hamlin. "I'm in trouble back home," he mumbled. "Bad trouble. They're going to find out about it any day, if they haven't found out already.... I--I'd better stay." * * * * * With Diane grasping his arm, Carl started down the long corridor of packing cases toward the open lock-door. "I'm sorry it turned out this way," he said. "As soon as we ready the ship I'll go back and talk to them again. Maybe they'll change their minds." Diane didn't answer. Instead she turned a last backward glance toward her father. It was a long glance. Too long. He was aware of her steel-tipped fingers digging into the sleeve of his jumper. He wheeled. Ten feet away, standing in a niche between the wooden cases, was a man. He wore a regulation space jumper and helmet, and was regarding them curiously over the barrel of a Westinghouse-chain-rifle. The man spoke: "I'm interrupting something, I hope," he said evenly. The man was Paul Spero. Carl eyed the man warily. Diane choked out a heavy gasp. "You should have killed me back in the ship like I suggested," Spero said smugly. "Now I'm going to have to kill you instead." Carl flicked a quick look at Diane. "What about her? Are you planning to kill her too?" The overhead light sparkled briefly across the rifle barrel as Spero snapped the weapon to his shoulder. Across the sights he said: "Diane will stay here with me. That's the way I planned it and that's how it'll be." "I know I'm interfering with your plans," Carl said with mock-concern, "but I don't think she is. Not unless she wants to of course." From behind the face-plate, Spero flashed a double row of teeth. "Stop stalling for time, Keating. You had your chance on the ship, and you muffed it. Now it's my turn!" Carl waited--waited while Spero's gloved hand tightened against the trigger-switch. The bolt coil snapped back. There was a dull click--nothing else.... "Did you really think I'd be stupid enough to leave you alone with a case full of live guns?" Keating said thinly. Bewildered, Spero snapped the rifle down to chest level, fumbling awkwardly with the trigger assembly. "It won't work," Carl said indulgently. "Before we left the ship I removed the anodes from every gun in the case. It's an old army trick, in case you haven't heard." With Spero glaring at him, Carl allowed his arm to brush against his own needle gun. He didn't bother to draw. "I think your friends are waiting for you," he said. Back in the control room, Carl went through the motions of readying the ship for take-off. Back in the galley he could hear Diane sobbing softly. Idly, he glanced out of the amber blister ports toward the big sphere-like structure that rose out of the sea of purple mud. It looked evil, and ominous-looking against the rain-sodden backdrop of the saroo forest.