Two hours later, he had an opportunity to put his plan into practice. For out of the snow there emerged Haskell, and the men who had been left with him at the ship. Haskell started to run toward Lamoureux the moment he caught sight of the other group. "Here we are, Captain! We came as fast as we could!" Lamoureux's eyes were almost as cold as the snow. "How thoughtful of you." "Who else is hurt, Captain?" "Nobody's hurt, but somebody is going to be." Haskell looked surprised. "I don't get it. You told me to come as fast as I could, and you said that eight of the men were badly injured." "_I_ told you?" "Yes, sir. I thought you were hurt yourself, sir. Your voice sounded hoarse." Lamoureux's jaws were clenched together so tightly in his effort to maintain his self-control that his teeth hurt. He unclenched them. "I don't quite understand you, Haskell. My voice is as melodious as ever. Something else is strange, too. You ask who _else_ is hurt." "Yes, sir. We ran across Terrill a little while ago. He got brushed by the tail of some animal and was walking around in a real daze." "How do you suppose we're walking? At any rate, I'm glad you found him. See any signs of Carvalho?" "No, sir. We left the radio beam on to guide you--" "What's that? You're sure you left it on?" "Positive, sir." "Well, someone has turned it off! Someone--Oh, my God!" It was so damn simple, and he had never even thought of it. Carvalho was the man. Carvalho was shrewd and quiet, a man who could keep his intentions to himself and wreck an expedition without so much as being suspected. Subconsciously, Lamoureux hadn't quite believed in McCracken's guilt, despite the seeming evidence against him. McCracken had too genuine a love of horseplay, and of childish showing off. These things were hard to pretend. You didn't put snow down somebody's back when you were plotting to leave him marooned on a deserted planet. And you didn't impress people by making a seventy-five foot broad jump when you could impress them much more effectively by condemning them to slow death. * * * * * Once he had thought of it, Lamoureux couldn't doubt. Carvalho had turned off the radio beam at the ship. By now the _Astrolight_ was probably somewhere in space, possibly proceeding to some rendezvous with a rival expedition. Carvalho wouldn't dare appear back on Earth as the lone passenger returning on Lamoureux's ship. But he wouldn't have to. He could set the _Astrolight_ adrift, be "rescued" by the people who had employed him, and come back to tell of the dangers he had braved on Mercury. It all fitted in. Carvalho had been the one who had tried to hamper their work from the moment they had landed. When McCracken had shot that Mercurian-- Lamoureux asked, "What happened then? Try to remember." McCracken scratched his head vigorously. "I think Carvalho saw this Mercurian and started to yell and run. I thought he was scared. That's why I shot."