ht of the doc as being rather
mild-mannered. Damned flexible, humans!

VI

They found the door was torn off the storeroom. It hadn't even been
secured. Someone had just been in a terrific hurry. There wasn't a
single weapon left. MacFarland studied the disarray, then thoughtfully
hefted a broad-bladed pick axe.

"I'm of the opinion," he said quietly, "that in a short time things are
going to get a little rough around here."

"Now wait a minute, Mac," Gallifa protested.

"Sorry, boy," MacFarland said grimly. "If I knew everyone else was
barehanded, I would go along with you. I may not be the next victim--or
the tenth. I'll more than likely have to protect myself against someone
who has come down with it, however, and I've got an overwhelming desire
to stay alive."

Gallifa let his hands drop helplessly to his sides. MacFarland was
right, of course. They hadn't acted soon enough. Was this how panic was
born?

"Mac," Gallifa tried huskily. "We've got to keep our heads. If we don't,
we'll destroy ourselves."

"I'm open to any suggestions," MacFarland said steadily. "But until I'm
satisfied that the danger is past, I'll just hang on to this axe."

"Let's go back over to the hospital," Gallifa said wearily. "We'll use
Thorndyke's projector and go over every inch of micro-film we have. We
may be too close to the problem. There must be something we've
overlooked."

Outside the rain had slackened into a fine mist. Overhead the clouds
still held, but they were somewhat lighter. In a short while, it would
be dawn. Every light in the compound was burning fiercely. Gallifa
suddenly remembered the generator in the shack behind the Administration
Building. If anyone smashed or damaged the generator beyond repair, the
camp would be without power of any kind. And they might be forced to
warn the colonists to stay away from the planet.

He stopped MacFarland. "I think we better secure the door to the
generator shack," he said thoughtfully. "We can put a robot control on
the radio, but we have to insure power."

MacFarland understood the reason immediately. But before he could answer
angry voices rang out somewhere across the compound.

Gallifa hesitated. "You better see what that is," he told MacFarland.
"And I'll check the generator."

MacFarland nodded and slipped away. Gallifa detoured around the hospital
and carefully approached the Administration Building. Once he saw
something moving in the half-light and