"The devil you will." Cosmo could feel sweat starting from his forehead. "That bird's savage as a tiger. You've already tried to trace it to its feeding ground, haven't you? That's why you planted a spy among my men, wasn't it?" "Yes sir," Bemmelman admitted with a sigh. "I don't mind telling you he was supposed to find out what and where the bird ate. But it damn near tore him to pieces." Cosmo didn't say anything. Bemmelman leaned forward, tapped his knee again. "Unfortunately, the birds are rare as the dodo. I've spent quite a bit of money trying to locate another. The only one that's been caught is in the Solar Apiary on Earth." Mention of the Ormoo in the Solar Apiary stirred Cosmo's memory. He stared at Bemmelman with narrowed eyes. The Ormoo in its wild state matured to its full size in a few months. The one which the Terran expedition had secured, hadn't reached adulthood until its nineteenth year. The discrepancy had been puzzling ornithologists ever since. Theories had flooded the scientific journals, but to date, no one had explained satisfactorily why a wild Ormoo should mature over twenty times as fast as the same bird in captivity. "Well?" Bemmelman rubbed his nose, his eyelids drooping. "If I show you where the Ormoo feeds, what guarantee have I that you'll carry out your side of the bargain?" "Just my word," said Bemmelman with a chuckle. "Just my word." Two rouge-like spots sprang out on Cosmo's cheek bones. He came halfway erect in his chair. "No violence, please." The planter held up his hand. "Look behind you." Cosmo turned his head. The two Jovian primitives were crouched to spring. He sank back in his chair, managed a tight grin. His lips felt dry, his stomach hollow. "I don't think you appreciate your position, Cosmo," said the planter silkily. "No sir, I don't." He heaved himself from his chair with a grunt. "I've something to show you. Come with me." The two Jovian Dawn Men fell in beside Cosmo again as he trailed the planter down three steps, along a short corridor to a sunken court. Bemmelman paused, pointed to a huge wooden cross in the center of the court. "You weren't depending on him, were you," he smirked. Cosmo felt his blood run cold. His fists clenched until the nails bit into the flesh. The body of Penang-ihtok hung from the cross. The outcast Fozoql had been crucified upside down. "You see," said Bemmelman, his voice heavy with assurance; "how futile it is to oppose me." Cosmo turned away from the cross with its grisly burden. He looked coldly, speculatively at Bemmelman's beefy smiling face. At the look, fright glimmered in the planter's eyes. He made a quick gesture to the Jovians who seized Cosmo by either arm. "Take him away," he ordered. "We'll talk it over tomorrow."