Now Gelerie arose, picked him up by the waist and carried him bodily toward the gathering. The militia were uncovering the seed pod. "Twitty," one of the men called. "What in heaven's name is she doing to you?" "You'll never guess," he fumed. "She's taking me to Alpha Centauri." "You don't mean it!" his crony replied. "Whatever will Babs think?" The military men ran back to the group. "Cadogan, sir. I believe you'd better come look. That clay mound behind all the rubble. It is just like the old man said it would be." Gelerie looked and saw her father at the vehicle. She raced forward with Twitty scratching and kicking. Cadogan said, "We found the old man wandering aimlessly. We asked him to show us where he came from. He kept pointing until we landed here. He has an excellent memory, but something has control of him. Something very sinister and weird, Twitty." Inside, Gelerie was getting a strong command from Threlkeld. "Get close, much closer. How can I effect a transit until you come within the required distance?" She thought-replied, "Well, get out of the pod so I can see you." "No! Get inside quickly. Homekind is ready whenever we are. Bring Twitty in with you and we'll be away!" Now the military men and Cadogan were clearing away the debris, half stumbling, half confused. "Get the girl. Don't let her get in that thing. No matter how absurd their story, don't let her get aboard that--that seed pod!" "Amazon," Threlkeld yelled. "Amazon, Amazon, Amazon! Gelerie--" * * * * * At that, Gelerie dropped Twitty and began swinging with both fists. She laid out two helicopter pilots and a civilian. She retrieved Twitty and her father said, "Now, get the devil in this pod so I can transfer back to the body! Then we can revert to type. I said get the devil in the pod so--" "No!" "Gelerie," his voice stormed, shattering her peace of mind. "No. If we go back to Alpha," she said, "I'll be a six-legged amphibian and Twitty will be a handsome human. He won't even know me!" Twitty looked at her. "Wh-who are you addressing?" From inside the voice thundered on. "Think of your father, who has worked all his life for you! Just one more assignment with inter-star patrol. Even ferry duty will suffice. Please let me have my specimen and my body. Gelerie! Please go inside the seed pod. Homekind will kill me in hours if I fail." Gelerie held Twitty at a distance. "I can't do it. I can't leave him." "Then bring him with you. What I keep telling you we came for--" "Not as human-animal versus animal-animal," she said. "I love him. I can't harm him." "In the ship, Gelerie! For your old Daddy. Inside, girl. In--" Gelerie was now close enough to permit her father's mind to transit. From inside he spoke aloud, "Well, thank Homekind for that! Now get in and we'll be off." "What about one of the others?" she said, now pointing at the three men who lay unconscious at her feet.