hen Venza's voice: "It's letting me talk. We're better now."

They were recovering, Anita was bending over them. "Gregg, they're all
right. The shock is wearing off, thank God."

But I did not dare move to them. My light on the snarling thing across
the cave held it, but I did not dare to relax my attention.

I called, "Stay with them, Anita." I moved slowly forward, holding the
beam steady. The cave floor was littered with loose stones and
boulders. Ten feet from the pinned animal I selected a great chunk of
rock. It towered in my hand, but the weight of it was only a few
pounds.

The gravity held the animal as though I had pinned it by a pole. From
the distance of a few feet I heaved the boulder. The palpitating head
mashed against the wall. The body and the pulp of the head and the
boulder sank to the floor when I removed the beam.

"Snap, thank God you've recovered! And you, Venza!"

Anita and I sat with them. They had been fully conscious all the
while, but they were out of it now.

An hour passed while we sat crouched, listening to the storm.

"It's letting up," Venza said out of a silence.

Anita was sitting over the prone form of Molo. He had stirred and
mumbled several times.

"Let's see if we can get out of here," Snap suggested.

Rocks had fallen and blocked the only exit from the cave. But to our
strength, even the hugest of the rocks was movable.

"Shall we try it now, Gregg?"

As though we were elephants, heaving and pushing, we struggled with
the litter choking the passage. There was a danger that the whole
thing would cave in on us; but we were careful of that. We tossed the
small rocks aside like pebbles. There was one main mass. Together we
pulled and tugged and shifted it. A small opening was disclosed, large
enough for our bodies. The wind puffed in through it.

The girls called us. Molo had regained consciousness. The blow from
the rock had only stunned him. We bound his wrists with a portion of
his belt which we cut into strips.

"What is it you do with me? Is Wyk dead?"

"Yes."

He lay silent and sullen. "Look here, Molo, we're going to get out of
this, and you're going to help us. If you don't...." The knife which
we had taken from him to cut his belt was in my hand. I drew its blade
lightly across his throat. "Will you talk freely and truthfully?"

"Yes, I will talk the truth."

"Do you know where the control station is located?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"Not far."

"The