g?"

A look of understanding crossed MacFarland's face. "The bull horn. Of
course! Everyone in camp can hear the bull horn."

They made it past the mess hall without drawing any fire. A few moments
later the resonant voice of the loudspeaker was booming across the camp.
Gallifa spoke slowly, methodically, trying to convince and reassure. He
paused, then once more repeated the plea.

He almost gave up. Then slowly the mapping gang edged into the open and
filed toward the Administration room. Finally the bio team left the mess
hall, and Gallifa let the heavy horn drop. What now? The present
nightmare was almost over, but what of the future?

"We will be able to control the gnomes locally," MacFarland said,
seeming almost to guess his thoughts. "As we expand, they will have to
give."

"Maybe," Gallifa said. "But just because they are rodents. Don't
underestimate their possibilities.

"The creatures of this planet have never been pressed. Nothing has been
able to push them up the evolutionary ladder. We'll be the toughest
environment they've ever faced, for we know the power of their defensive
mechanism. How well will we be able to compete if they learn to use it
as an offensive weapon?"

"We can't," MacFarland said.

"We know it's selective," Gallifa corrected. "They didn't bother either
Samuels or myself when we first contacted them. We also know all of the
stricken men weren't actively molesting gnomes. Therefore, some were hit
due to the actions of others. The only question is--how selective is
their power?"

"Then how _can_ we handle them?" MacFarland questioned soberly.

Gallifa shrugged. "I don't know," he said simply. "We're committed here,
and we'll stay. This isn't the first time the human race has been
challenged--it won't be the last."

Gallifa turned and walked toward the Administration Building. Humans had
solved a hundred problems on a hundred planets. Problems existed to be
solved. This one, too, would be solved. But no matter how hard or how
easy, it would be an experiment.

As all humanity was an experiment.

[Footnote: _Melvin Sturgis is a mechanical engineer employed by_
ROCKETDYNE, _Propulsion field laboratory--a division of North American
Aviation, Inc. Like many another brilliant young technician with an
extra-curricular, electronic string to his bow he has also been a
free-lance magazine writer for the past five years. We think you'll
agree he has scored heavily here, on the planet o