He crawled back to the edge of the precipice and peered down into the valley. There was no one to be seen. It was obvious that Colonel Petersen was still enforcing the six-man rule. As he watched, he saw the airlock door open. A spacesuited figure scrambled down the ladder and sprinted across the deadly sand of the valley floor. It was Sherri! Wayne held his breath, expecting at any moment that one of the little monsters beneath the sand would sink its vicious needle upward into Sherri's foot. But her stride never faltered. As she neared the precipice, another figure appeared at the airlock door and took aim with a gun. Wayne thumbed his own needle-beam pistol up to full and fired hastily at the distant figure. At that distance, even the full beam would only stun. The figure collapsed backwards into the airlock, and Wayne grinned in satisfaction. _Seven down. Fifty-two to go._ He kept an eye on the airlock door and a finger on his firing stud, waiting to see if anyone else would come out. No one else did. As soon as Sherri was safely up to the top of the precipice, Wayne ran to meet her. "Sherri! What the devil did you come out here for?" "I had to see you," she said, panting for breath. "If you'll come back to the ship before they beam you down, we can prove to Colonel Petersen that you're all right. We can show them that the Masters--" She realized suddenly what she said and uttered a little gasp. She had her pistol out before the surprised Wayne could move. He stared coldly at the pistol, thinking bitterly that this was a hell of a way for it all to finish. "So they got you too," he said. "That little display at the airlock was a phony. You were sent out here to lure me back into the ship. Just another Judas." She nodded slowly. "That's right," she said. "We all have to go to the Masters. It is--it--is--is--" Her eyes glazed, and she swayed on her feet. The pistol wavered and swung in a feeble spiral, no longer pointed at Wayne. Gently, he took it from her nerveless fingers and caught her supple body as she fell. He wiped his forehead dry. Up above, the sun was climbing toward the top of the sky, and its beams raked the planet below, pouring down heat. * * * * * He glanced at his wristwatch while waiting for his nerves to stop tingling. Sherri must have been the last one--the drug must have taken effect at last, and not a moment too soon. He decided to wait another half hour before he tried to get into the spaceship, just the same. The huge globe of the _Lord Nelson_ stood forlornly in the center of the valley. The airlock door stayed open; no one tried to close it.