He swore under his breath, slid off the table, began to throw his equipment into the pack. "Have you any ideas about how we can get out of here?" "Don't be angry, Jupiter. I was only teasing. I--" Tabak's eyes suddenly widened. She was staring beyond him, Jupiter realized. He twisted around, reaching instinctively for his carbine. Not thirty feet behind them an adult Anolyn sprawled on the floor, tentacles exploring the air. Its soft brown eyes were regarding them intently. The gray doughy face was expressionless. "Quick! Kill it!" Tabak screamed. "Kill it before it sends out a call for help!" The creature was obviously puzzled, unable to understand why the two humans failed to respond to its control. Jupiter shot it squarely between the eyes. The hollow, pointed bullet, blew away the entire back of its head. It slumped into a quivering heap. A pool of thin, pinkish blood made an ever-widening stain on the floor. "The cat's out of the bag now," he said in a tight voice. Tabak nodded. "There's a guard at the door. You'll have to kill him, Jupiter, before we can get out of here. I only hope you're as good as you think you are." Jupiter took a short length of strong plastic cord from his pack, made a loop in it. His face looked older, grimmer. His vivid green eyes were dull. "Where is he stationed?" he said. * * * * * The dissection laboratory occupied a long, hall-like room in one wing of the temple. The pool of water was at one end, the main entry at the other. Tabak wound the black cloth about herself sarong-fashion, nodded towards the arched doorway. "There's a--a lobby of sorts through there. The guard stays just outside on the street. He'll be a Nehogan, Jupiter. They're terrible men--" Jupiter brushed past her. He reached the lobby, crossed it swiftly. "Open the door," he said to Tabak who had followed him. She looked suddenly frightened. "I can't, Jupiter. Not without the Anolyn on the back of my neck to transmit my thought! We'll have to go back the way we came." His eyes sought the door. The blank, solid panel mocked him. He ran his fingers over its surface, but could find no slightest protuberance anywhere. "Look out!" Tabak suddenly whispered. Jupiter sprang back like a startled cat. The door was opening. The thick, solid panel swung inexorably inward. He flattened himself against the wall, the carbine clubbed in his hands. His palms were sweaty. Then an Anolyn appeared in the entrance, scuttled inside on its eight tentacles. Jupiter swung the carbine. There was a dull crunch as the stock connected with the creature's head. Jupiter didn't give it a second glance, but sprang into the doorway. A tall, coppery Nehogan warrior lounged just outside. With a flick of his wrist, he dropped the loop of plastic over the guard's head, yanked him backward through the door.