Only damn it, he wasn't a spy, whatever else he might be. And there was no time left to find someone else to solve the problem that had been dumped into his lap. He couldn't turn himself in while that problem remained a race with death. Inside his mind was a slowly growing hatred of the Aliens, and he clung to it tenaciously. They'd denied him his right to be a normal human being--and while their imposed attitudes made it impossible for him to understand the absurd conduct of men, he was beginning to realize that the fault lay with him, and not with the rest of humanity. It was not a pleasant thought. Fresh guards had replaced the original pair. They swung in behind him, and then stopped at the entrance of the laboratory. He'd insisted that they stay outside, since he wanted no one to watch his experiments with the lizards. Complete ignorance of events was the only sure protection against spies. He headed around the computer by letting his feet guide him, and reached for the switch. It clicked, just as a voice sounded in front of him. "Norden, you damned fool! Leave those lights off!" But they were already on, showing the tall, unmoving figure of Armsworth standing before the cage of the lizards with a knife in his hand. IV Norden felt a wave of hate boil up in him, and made no attempt to check it. As he returned Armsworth's stare his mind reacted to the situation before he could realize more than a few of the implications. Obviously, Armsworth was a spy who knew of the work here, and had come to wreck it. With his rank, it would be easy enough for him to get in. Also, the man stood there with none of the fear he should have shown on being discovered, and Norden felt the sick confirmation of his being a pawn for the Aliens. But the fact itself gave him some chance. He lifted his arm to the switch, and then dropped it. "The guards would suspect something if I cut it off now," he admitted candidly. "Any suggestions?" "I could kill the lizards, let you discover me, and chase me out to explode," Armsworth said thoughtfully, without any emotional color to the suggestion. He shook his head. "I don't know. It's funny they can't trust you to stall off the Miles girl and have to send me here. With replacements scarce, I'd hate to blow up unless it's absolutely necessary." Then his eyes narrowed in incredulous alarm. "Wait a minute. You weren't supposed to know my identity." Norden's hand swept up, hit the light switch. His other arm jerked out for the big tongs he had noticed. He heard the spy leap, and recoiled just in time to avoid the rush. His arm came down with the instrument, and there was a solid thud. When he turned the lights on again, Armsworth lay on the floor with a gash across his head an inch deep. For a moment Norden was only aware of his own harsh breathing. Then, slowly and horribly, the corpse sat up and began hitching along the floor toward the cage of lizards.