"The tank, of course! Didn't you hear our telecast? We can't possibly make it back to the gate without an armored car. My foot's broken, and--" Roberts stopped suddenly, an abrupt horror in his eyes. "You don't have one! You're here _alone_! Then you didn't pick up our call? But, why--?" "Never mind that," snapped Isobar, "now!" Placid by nature, he could move when urgency drove. His quick mind saw the immediateness of their peril. Unarmed, he could not help the Patrolmen fight a delaying action against their foes, nor could he hasten their retreat. Anyway, weapons were useless, and time was of the essence. There was but one temporary way of staving off disaster. "Over here ... this tree! Quick! Up you go! Give him a lift, Brown--There! That's the stuff!" He was the last to scramble up the gnarled bole to a tentative leafy sanctuary. He had barely gained the security of the lowermost bough when a thundering crash resounded, the sturdy trunk trembled beneath his clutch. Stony claws gouged yellow parallels in the bark scant inches beneath one kicking foot, then the Granny fell back with a thud. The Graniteback was _not_ a climber. It was far too ungainly, much too weighty for that. Roberts said weakly, "Th-thanks, Jonesy! That was a close call." "That goes for me, too, Jonesy," added Brown from an upper bough. "But I'm afraid you just delayed matters. This tree's O.Q. as long as it lasts, but--" He stared down upon the gathering knot of Grannies unhappily--"it's not going to last long with that bunch of superdreadnaughts working out on it! Hold tight, fellows! Here they come!" For the Grannies, who had huddled for a moment as if in telepathic consultation, now joined forces, turned, and as one body charged headlong toward the tree. The unified force of their attack was like the shattering impact of a battering ram. Bark rasped and gritted beneath the besieged men's hands, dry leaves and twigs pelted about them in a tiny rain, tormented fibrous sinews groaned as the aged forest monarch shuddered in agony. Desperately they clung to their perches. Though the great tree bent, it did not break. But when it stopped trembling, it was canted drunkenly to one side, and the erstwhile solid earth about its base was broken and cracked--revealing fleshy tentacles uprooted from ancient moorings! * * * * * Brown stared at this evidence of the Grannies' power with terror-fascinated eyes. His voice was none too firm. "Lord! Piledrivers! A couple more like that--" Isobar nodded. He knew what falling into the clutch of the Grannies meant. He had once seen the grisly aftermath of a Graniteback feast. Even now their adversaries had drawn back for a second attack. A sudden idea struck him. A straw of hope at which he grasped feverishly. "You telecast a message to the Dome? Help should be on the way by now. If we can just hold out--" But Roberts shook his head.