It was Johnny who struck the first blow--clumsily, lifting his great right arm up and bringing it down stiffly on the other Robot's head. Metal arms came up, swung blurringly. A clanging tumult deafened Johnny as dents appeared inside the chamber of his own Robot's head. He triggered the levers mechanically now, aware that they were fighting under a tremendous disadvantage, for their fingers were still stiff on the unfamiliar controls and their artificial reflexes could not hope to match the Robot's. "Look out, Johnny--" Two metal shapes loomed, Westler and the real Robot. The three of them came together, clashing, clanging, metal arms swinging and wrecking metal bodies. It was Westler's Robot which went down first, slowly, buckling at the knee joints and then collapsing. Metal feet drove down upon it ponderously, crushing the head section. Westler's Robot was still. Johnny hammered with huge metal hands at the other robot hardly knowing where he might strike a mortal blow. But the Robot slowed, its reactions grew feeble, its blows denting Johnny's head-chamber no longer. Finally, it sprawled across Westler's Robot, then rolled away and was still. Cursing to himself, Johnny climbed down from his Robot, found the battered head plate of Westler's, forced it open. He saw at once he could never hope to extricate the older man, for the metal walls of his chamber had been crushed, knifing into bone and flesh and trapping him. "Amos, can you hear me?" * * * * * The eyelids fluttered open with pain. "I never will see the end, Johnny...." "What are you talking about?" "Don't ... fool me. I'm all broken, inside. I--" "We'll get you out of there in no time." "You'd have to melt ... the metal down to ... do it, and you know it." "We'll do it." "Your only hope is that the Robot did not have time to broadcast a warning. If ... he did ... you will have to hurry, but--" "They still don't know our plans. Maybe they think we only want to escape, using these Robot bodies for a disguise." "Perhaps. I hadn't thought ... of that." Westler lapsed into silence, his face twisted with pain. "If you can do it, if you can destroy their cybernetics center ... new start for humanity. I was going to tell you about the Plague, Johnny. The Robots ... have been using ... a particularly virulent form of the ... toxin which does not exist naturally. Spreading it in the air, all over the earth. That, combined with the ... toxin carried by a Shining One, causes illness ... and death." Westler's words were harder to hear now, low, the barest whisper of sound. Johnny leaned close to the glazed eyes, the barely opening lips. "When the Robots are ... gone ... the Plague will die out almost at once. Shining Ones even will be harmless. You see why it's so important? You see...." "I could never do it without you. We'll hide away somewhere, nurse you back to health--" "Stop fooling ... an old man. We both know I'm dying."