won't quit without at least a fight!" Zarias raged. "I'm going in there!"

He started to get into his armor. But Ramon Varez caught his arm.

"Zarias, wait!" cried the Costa Rican. "There's still a chance, if you'll let me try it! A stratagem based on psychology."

Zarias laughed mirthlessly. "Our sciences are our master passions right to death. Thanks, Ramon. But your psychology is no good against a Thing that doesn't live and think as we do."

"Some basic rules of psychology are the same for any kind of life!" Varez insisted. "Let me try! It'll take only a few minutes!"

He ran off across the Dome. We didn't look after him. We looked dully and tiredly at each other.

Marie came to me and stood close beside me. What was in her eyes should have made me feel happier, but it didn't. It agonized me to think what we two were going to lose.

Varez came running back. With him, he had a portable ray-projector, one of the compact boxes that can emit radiations of any type and are used to check protective shielding.

"When we burst into the lab," he said eagerly, "I'll use this thing to shoot quick spurts of every kind of radiation, in succession, right at It."

"And what good will that do?" cried Zarias. "Those weak test-rays will never harm It!"

"Give me the chance to try my plan!" pleaded Varez. "There's nothing to be lost. I'll go in there with you, and while I use this thing on It, you and Drummond can try to shove Element One-forty-four back to its chamber."

The Greek shrugged heavily. "I was going in anyway. You can bring your crazy gadget if you like."

I got into my armor without looking at Marie. I knew I wouldn't go into the labs if I looked at her.

Varez and Zarias were in their own armor. Varez held the ray-projector in one jointed beryllium arm. Zarias made a clumsy signal.

"All right!" his muffled voice boomed.

Carew flung the door open, and then we three were through it and clanking down the corridor.

And Its radiation hit us in a mighty blast as we reached the door of Main Physics. It had grown, yes—and now Its radiant will froze us in our 

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