The girl frowned. "We do not consult Komso," she contradicted. "I take full responsibility." The man shrugged. "Let us go before the torvaks come," he evaded. Weapons were slung for carrying and the band leaped from the bottom and began swimming. Barry followed, keeping close beside the girl. Although he relied more on power than skill he found himself able to maintain their fast pace. He soon caught the knack of using the webs between his fingers and toes. And muscles trained under Earth gravity and without water support seemed superior to those of the Venusians. The men talked as they swam, and Barry remembered where he had heard those particular combinations of sounds before. A construction job had once taken him to an almost inaccessible mountain section of Mexico and there he had picked up a few words of the dialect used by the native Indian laborers. Aztec? Incan? Mayan? Something predating all three? He had no idea of its origin, but the similarity opened astounding trails of speculation. The girl, he learned from hearing the others address her, was named Xintel. * * * * * An undersea cliff loomed craggy and irregular ahead. As the group slanted up toward a black hole in its face the voices of the men took on tones of happy relief. But the girl was frowning. The group which had held together compactly during the long swim broke up, each man heading for the cave mouth at top speed. Barry saw that huge boulders had been piled one upon another to narrow the entrance until not more than three abreast could pass. Xintel motioned to Barry to stay close behind her. She seemed to be anticipating trouble. It came as they started to enter. A huge, bull-necked man with a well fed appearance in marked contrast to the lean muscularity of the other Venusians, stepped out and barred their passage, arms outflung. Heavy glittering bracelets jangled on his wrists. Something in the contrived melodrama of his gestures told Barry that unseen eyes were watching from the darkness. "Xintel! What is this thing you bring to the portal of Tana?" the man asked harshly. The girl stood her ground. "He comes with me!" "He's an alien. He must die!" The man's tone was arrogant. Xintel stiffened angrily. "He will not be killed, Komso. He is not a noru." Komso's face reddened angrily. "But he is--" he began, and then stopped abruptly. "You would take this one, then, into Tana itself?" His voice conveyed the impression that such a course was unheard of. The girl nodded, motioning Barry to follow. "Sacrilege! Offspring of a blasphemer!" Komso shouted. Xintel did not pause. Komso motioned and someone in the dark tunnel behind him placed a loaded crossbow in his hands. He swung the weapon to cover the Earthman. "Over my dead body shall this alien thing enter Tana," he snarled. Barry stood motionless and helpless, trying to conceal his fear.