follows a rat.
He caught a wild man.

Retch stumbled against the wall, caught himself on one of the hand-made
chairs, jerked himself up, and drove at Parker. The pilot met the charge
head on. They went down locked together.

Retch was a tornado erupting with violent fury. He threw Parker away
from him, leaped to his feet. Parker pulled himself to one knee. The
fallen pistol lay in front of him. He snatched it up.

Retch was coming toward him. He saw the gun in Parker's hand, hesitated.

"I'll kill you," the pilot said.

* * * * *

Retch caught himself. For an instant he seemed to hang in the air before
Parker, yellow glaring in his eyes as he tried to make up his mind
whether or not to buck the gun.

"Get your hands up," Parker said.

Slowly the yellow went out of Retch's eyes.

"Get your hands up!" Parker repeated.

This time Retch obeyed him. Parker backed him against the wall, took the
second pistol from his pocket, his own gun.

"Damn you!" Retch snarled. Parker saw that the man was not speaking to
him but to Gotch, he saw also that during all this Gotch had not moved.
The man stood transfixed; afraid to move.

Parker turned to the two men behind the table. They had not moved
either, though Ulnar looked as if he was about to come to his feet.
Rozeno sat very still. There was sadness on his face.

"Go away," he gestured toward Retch. "And you, too, Gotch, go away."

"You mean we can go after--" Gotch faltered.

"I don't want to see either of you again," Rozeno said. There was actual
living pain in his voice. "Go!"

"Wait a minute," Parker spoke quickly.

"Yes, my son?" Rozeno's face lost its sadness when he looked at Parker,
it came alive with sudden animation.

"You don't mean to tell me you are going to let these two go?" the pilot
protested.

"Of course."

"But Retch tried to kill you."

"I know--"

"And he'll try it again. There's something here that's driving him
crazy. I don't know what it is but he knows. If you turn him loose--I
would just as soon turn loose a rattlesnake, Johnny Retch."

Parker's words were hard, blunt, forceful. But for all the effect they
had on the old priest, he might as well not have spoken them. Rozeno
smiled. "I do not think Retch or Gotch will ever harm us. They have no
means to harm us." He made a gesture with his hands, spoke a single
word, "Go!"

Retch and Gotch went quickly from the room, like men who were very glad