s the main cranial power lead,
number six was the return wire.

With his precise touch he separated these two from the pack and glanced
idly around the room. Druce was dozing on a chair in the opposite
corner. Coleman was talking on the phone, his voice occasionally rising
in a petulant whine. This wasn't interfering with his attention to
Jon--and the radio switch still held tightly in left hand.

Jon's body blocked Coleman's vision, as long as Druce stayed asleep he
would be able to work on the head unobserved. He activated a relay in
his forearm and there was a click as the waterproof cover on an exterior
socket swung open. This was a power outlet from his battery that was
used to operate motorized tools and lights underwater.

If Venex 17's head had been severed for less than three weeks he could
reactivate it. Every robot had a small storage battery inside his skull,
if the power to the brain was cut off the battery would provide the
minimum standby current to keep the brain alive. The robe would be
unconscious until full power was restored.

Jon plugged the wires into his arm-outlet and slowly raised the current
to operating level. There was a tense moment of waiting, then 17's eye
shutters suddenly closed. When they opened again the eye tubes were
glowing warmly. They swept the room with one glance then focused on Jon.

The right shutter clicked shut while the other began opening and closing
in rapid fashion. It was International code--being sent as fast as the
solenoid could be operated. Jon concentrated on the message.

_Telephone--call emergency operator--tell her "signal 14" help will--_

The shutter stopped in the middle of a code group, the light of reason
dying from the eyes.

For one instant Jon's heart leaped in panic, until he realized that 17
had deliberately cut the power. Druce's harsh voice rasped in his ear.

"What you doing with that? None of your funny robot tricks. I know your
kind, plotting all kinds of things in them tin domes." His voice trailed
off into a stream of incomprehensible profanity. With sudden spite he
lashed his foot out and sent 17's head crashing against the wall.

The dented, green head rolled to a stop at Jon's feet, the face staring
up at him in mute agony. It was only Circuit 92 that prevented him from
injuring a _human_. As his motors revved up to send him hurtling forward
the control relays clicked open. He sank against the debris, paralyzed
for the instant. As s