As they neared, Rod forgot his caution, watched their approach. One of the men was huge and swarthy, his bushy hair black and his features heavy. His forehead, however, was high, and his face, despite the prominent nose and large eyes, was of a delicate gentleness; a man of strength, and mind. The other was tall and slender, well proportioned and broad of shoulder. His features were finely cut and his blond hair was thick and well groomed. He carried himself rigidly erect and with an air of suppressed feeling. His firm chin he held high and his eyes stared straight ahead, apparently at something far beyond. He was speaking softly to the woman, one muscular arm around her waist. The woman--she was more a girl--was almost as tall as the man. Her hips were narrow and her shoulders wide, but the fullness of her breast and her rhythmic, animal grace proclaimed her richly feminine. There was a clear beauty in her brown hair, the swift symmetry of her patrician nose, the ripe lips and in the sparkling blue of her eyes. All wore identical clothing, a loose suit of thin cloth; sandles upon their feet. They passed Rod without a glance. But as they passed the woman spoke. "It has been worth it--" Rod heard her say and they marched in the building and down the corridor. The Capeks followed them and Rod turned to watch their departure. But as they were half-way down the deserted hall, one machine made a restraining movement and they halted. A door opened and they passed from view into a side room. Rod stared at the vacant hall for a long moment, felt a strange sense of unease. Where were they going? Why were they led out, the others left behind? What had the woman meant by "It has been--" Suddenly his mind snapped with a hazard supposition. The brainless corpse he had seen! The Capeks bred _brains_! They used them as needed; so had said 83.... He dashed down the hall. There was no plan in his mind but action. He paused before the door, then pushed in. It was a wide chamber with no windows. The door was the only exit. Lighted by the same ceiling glow as all these rooms seemed to be, this light was more intense. Everything was spotless. And stark in the glare was a raised platform upon which rested five oblong tables. Upon the tables lay the men and the woman. Three Capeks stood near, two others--by their numbers those he had followed--stood by in the center of the room. The humans were strapped to the tables, a Capek stood over each of them. Rod noticed the walls were lined with shelves of glittering instruments. There was a stronger light over the platform. It was an operating room! His premonitions had been correct--these people were to be de-brained, at once. One Capek raised a thin lancet and his eye bent over the form of the dark-haired man. The others were arranging implements along the sides of the tables. Rod had not been noticed. Unresisted admission seemed customary at any place here.