"All right, you jerks," Red Brace shouted, "I'll go after him myself." He strode off up the road. Harvey Flanders ran after him. Baker could see, but not hear, the heated colloquy as the two men walked on, and then, finally, Brace turned around and came back, and the two men disappeared inside Flanders' house. Baker flicked a switch. Carsing's face appeared on the screen, with a brisk, "Yes, sir?" "Might be some trouble the next couple of days--perhaps even tonight," Baker said. "Double-check the infrared warning system, will you?" "Yes, sir." Baker went back to his highball, feeling rather pleasant. * * * * * Late that night, in Harvey Flanders' house, a long discussion went on among Harvey, Brace, Dr. Lurie, and the Schweitzer twins. "I went over it in detail with some of the old-timers here," Harvey said. "I also did some personal scouting, and everything they said seems to be true. Here's the setup: "Our idea of raiding the commissary for a lot of oxygen tanks is out. They don't keep any stock; there's never more than a single day's supply for the settlement. Of course, we can't make off with that, unless we want to kill off everybody else. "The oxygen plant itself is right up there on the hill, next to Baker's house. That's the key to his control, and he keeps it right under his thumb. Nobody--I mean nobody--except Carsing ever goes up there. They've got an endless belt system for taking up the empty tanks and sending back the full ones to the commissary." "That makes the whole thing simple," Red Brace said impatiently. "We go up there, knock off Baker and Carsing, and take over the oxygen factory." "It's not that simple," Harvey said. "I imagine the old boy has a way of keeping strangers out. The story I get is that he's got some sort of electronic telescope, and he sits up there all day watching everything that's going on. You're not going to sneak up on him, exactly." Brace stood up. "The longer we sit and talk, the more time he has to get set for us. Anybody coming with me?" He looked around. "Frankly, I don't give a damn if anybody comes or not. You'd only be in the way, anyway." He headed for the doorway. "Red, you can't go off half-cocked like this," Harvey pleaded. "So long," said Brace and went out into the cloudy night. Harvey looked around desperately. "We've got to stop him." "I say let him go," said Dr. Lurie. "He might find out something of value." "Get himself killed, more likely." Harvey went to the doorway. "Red!" he shouted. He got no answer. The road was empty as far as he could see in the clotted darkness. He raced around to the rear of the house and stood still. Faintly he heard the crunch and crackle of steps in the grain field. Red was hitting across country. Harvey raced into the field. "Red!" he shouted.