alone would not lift them up to maturity. The prisoners in the compounds learned nothing but hatred; they lived for nothing but revenge. Vividly Tchassen saw the nightmare of the future: the time when the savages on the Earth had weapons to match the dispersal ray; the time when they would be able to build ships that could invade the civilized galaxy.

The Captain paced the dusty floor in front of the serving counter. Briggan did not come in two hours to take over the watch; and he made no attempt to call the Sergeant. It was long after midnight, perhaps less than an hour before dawn, when something outside triggered the thermal-wire alarm. Simultaneously, as the blaze of white glared against the restaurant windows, Tynia screamed. Tchassen heard the explosive blast of a dispersal ray slashing into wood. A split-second later Tynia burst through the connecting hall and flung herself into Tchassen's arms.

"They're attacking!" she screamed.

"You saw them? Where?"

"Briggan. At the window. I—I shot him."

His fingers bit into the soft flesh of her arm. "Take it easy, Tynia. Tell me how it happened."

"I saw him when the alarm went off. He was lifting his dispersal ray, as if he meant to shoot you. I remembered how he had eaten meat last night, and I—I thought—" She shuddered. "I knew he was an Earthman. He was the one who blew up the supply robot; now he wants to kill us."

"You were sure Drein was an Earthman, too."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Obvious?" She shrank back against the counter.

He ignored her but kept her within the range of his peripheral vision while he glanced through the window, trying to locate what had set off the alarm. The circle of heat had melted all the snow and ice in the clearing; the trunks of the pines were smoldering and a corner of the building was beginning to burn.

Tchassen saw a chunk of flesh lying on the road—an animal of some sort which had blundered into the alarm wire. Then they had not been attacked by natives. The dead animal made it very clear that wild beasts still survived on the Earth. No wonder the natives were meat eaters! And, since they were, that meant they could live indefinitely 

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