"He did nothing. The Terranian entered the building without first reporting to the sanitation chambers. We will resist this sort of thing to our utmost, Captain." "All right, you've said that before. I've got nothing against you, Mister--at least, nothing that I can prove, but if I don't get to the bottom of this trouble you'll soon find yourself putting up the most futile resistance in solar history. Now listen to me. Get everybody out of the UN building. What we're looking for must be right there. That may not be the only place, but it'll do for a starter." "I will have the building vacated, Captain. Will you please observe the sanitation procedure? We must not have any germ diseases transmitted on Primus." "If we pollute you we'll cure you. Quit worrying about it. Do as I tell you." * * * * * There was no reply. The transmission went dead. Grimes watched the TV screen which again showed the UN building. After a while three Primans scurried through the door and ran toward the city, not even glancing at the crumpled figure of the navigator. Grimes turned to Dr. Johnson, about to suggest that he name another man for the outside job when he noticed Bill Manson calmly adjusting the receiver-transmitter over his shoulder. He had already selected several items from the Mars kit spread out on the floor, and had slipped them into a plastic case strapped above one knee. "All right, Manson; you win," Grimes said gratefully. "But take it easy. There's no hurry. Examine everything inside that lobby before you take two steps away from the door. Better yet, stay outside for a while. He might have picked up some poison before he went in." "I'll do my best, Captain. Don't worry, I'll be back. Remember, I'm the boy who's getting married next June." The captain said nothing. He felt he was hitting a new low now--sending Manson out. Still it was the only sensible thing to do. What good would it do for him to be out there convulsing on the ground? Who could take over and run the ship any better if he did sacrifice himself? He snapped out of it and concentrated on watching the engineer's figure retreating down the long Priman airstrip. Except for the insignificant fungus growing out of the cracks, there was nothing of interest between the spaceship and the buildings and Manson hardly paused until he was opposite Lerner's body. "Don't touch him," Grimes ordered. "We'll look at him later if possible. And stand around for a while before you go any further. Is there anything peculiar at all? Any small animal life? Any strange smells?" "Just this stinking atmosphere. I don't see a thing, sir. There's no doubt that Lerner's dead." Grimes watched the engineer stroll around aimlessly in front of the UN building for a full twenty minutes and then finally gave him permission to enter.