finding himself
shielded from the rays by the thick bole of a tree, scrambled into its
branches. A moment later the first wave of Indians passed below him.

For fully ten minutes he crouched there among the leaves. The barrage
of light, he discovered, had come from the towering robots, and he
recalled the dozen or so steel monsters that had left the camp soon
after the spaceship landed. Evidently they had been sent out to
encircle the camp so that no one might leave or enter until the
visitors permitted it.

* * * * *

Finally Enoch heard the Indians returning toward camp. He knew they
would search every tree hunting for him. Reloading his rifle, he
dropped to the ground and adopting the only maneuver they would not
expect, made his way cautiously back toward the camp.

He had hoped to skirt the camp itself and find an avenue to freedom in
the opposite direction. But his hopes were almost immediately dashed,
for he soon made out the darting rays of light marking more of the
robots.

Enoch was trapped. Taking advantage of every possible means of cover,
he inched ahead, changing his direction a dozen times, until he
suddenly stopped short, his path barred by the towering spaceship
itself. Staying within the dense shadows at its base, he began to
skirt the ship, hoping to find a place where he could hide out until
the enemy gave up the search.

But again his luck failed to hold. This time he was stopped by a wall
of metal fully ten feet high, which turned out to be one side of the
entrance ramp to the spaceship. Circling it would bring him right into
the camp, to climb over it was impossible; to turn back, useless. This
was the end of the line!

As he stood there trying to figure out his next move, he caught the
sound of a guarded movement some distance behind him. Instantly he
dropped to the grass, his long rifle ready to take at least one of his
enemies with him. And that was when he learned that the bottom of the
ramp was nearly two feet above the ground.

Even Macy's shopping service couldn't have furnished him with a better
hiding place. Enoch wriggled himself under the edge and lay there
breathing quietly, while, a moment later, three pairs of moccasined
feet moved over the spot where he had been hiding.

* * * * *

Some time passed. He could hear voices very near and the rustle of
feet moving through the grass. Then came the dull thud of met