As the others watched anxiously, Jak had inserted the needle into the large vein on the inside of his father's left elbow. With his thumb Jak had softly rubbed the vein just above the needle's point, to assist the flow of the nutrient. Soon it was done. Mr. Carver had stirred and his eyelids had fluttered when the needle was inserted but he had not fully regained consciousness. That first feeding so successfully accomplished, Mrs. Carver did not seem to worry quite so much about her husband, although she was careful to keep track of the feeding times, and to remind her sometimes forgetful son of his duty. The feeding given this day, the boys consulted together. "Shall we wear our spacesuits?" Jon asked. "I don't see why. It's hot outside, but bearable, and the air's all right," Jak answered positively. "I not only tested it, but I breathed the sample I took in through the trap. It smells good, and hasn't hurt me any. We'll take our guns, and I want my magnifying glass and knapsack for specimens." "And I'll put some multiform tools in my belt. Then, in case there's anything that needs doing on the tubes or hull, I can do it quickly." The two brothers assembled their gear and Jon was just reaching for the button to open the inner door when they stopped short and shrank back. For a terrific roar came from outside ... such a tremendous sound it penetrated even the hull of their ship! 3 At that horrid noise, the two boys stood frozen a moment, then with one accord raced to the control room, where they peered out of the quartzite ports. "Great whales, look at that thing!" Jon shouted as they caught their first glimpse outside. "Yeow!" Jak yelled in amazement. "What do you suppose it is?" "Never saw anything like it before." They stared in awe at the tremendous creature standing in the little clearing, looking belligerently toward their ship. It was so unlike any Earth beast it was no wonder the boys were startled. The huge body was covered with heavily matted fur. It must have been at least a dozen feet long, and stood about eight feet tall. But the striking thing was that the body was triangular, and the beast was three-legged--two at the back and one in front. There was no tail, and the blocky legs--one at each corner of the weirdly triangular body--seemed to end in clawed feet. The head was shaped something like that of a horse, but the huge mouth, now partly open, was seen to contain great fangs, larger than those of any beast the boys had ever seen in Terran zoos or on any planet they had visited. Two of the tusks were almost like the ones they had seen in pictures of ancient saber-toothed tigers. The whole getup gave such an effect of fierceness that both boys felt a shiver run down their spines. Jak's voice was tremulous as he spoke. "Yipe! I'm sure glad I'm not out there with that."