Wolf sat in the freezing ink and tried to keep as much of himself as possible from contacting the metal. For some hours a water drop had been falling somewhere on something tinny, and it did not fall with regularity; sometimes there were three splashes in rapid succession and then none for ten seconds, twenty seconds or even for a minute. The body would build itself up to the next drop, would relax only when it had fallen, would build up for the expected interval and then wait, wait, wait and finally slack down in the thought that it would come no longer. Suddenly the drop would fall--a very small sound to react so shatteringly upon the nerves.

The captain was trying to keep his thoughts in a logical, regulation pattern despite the weariness which assailed him, despite the shock of chill which racked him every time he forgot and relaxed against the metal. How hot was this foul air! How cold was this wall!

"Forrester," groped Morrison's voice.

"Hello"--startling himself with the loudness of his tone.

"Do--Is it possible they'll keep us here forever?"

"I don't think so," said the captain. "After all, our information won't be any good in any length of time. If you are hoping for action, I think you'll get it."

"Is ... is this good sense to hold out?"

"Listen to me," said the captain. "You've been in the service long enough to know that if one man fails he is liable to take the regiment along with him. If we fail, we'll take the entire army. Remember that. We can't let General Balantine down. We can't let our brother officers down. We can't let the troops down. And we can't let ourselves down. Make up your mind to keep your mouth shut and you'll feel better."

It sounded, thought the captain, horribly melodramatic. But he continued: "You haven't had the grind of West Point. A company, a regiment or an army has no thought of the individual. It cannot have any thought, and the individual, therefore, cannot fail, being a vital part of the larger body. If either of us break now, it would be like a man's heart stopping. We're unlucky enough to be that heart at the moment."

"I've heard," said Morrison in a gruesome attempt at jocularity, "that getting gutted is comfortable compared to some of the things these Saturnians can think up."

The captain wished he could believe fully the 

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