re, they
will be isolated for the good of our society."

The effect of his words was somewhat diminished by the brief glimpse
people had of Dr. Lanza, who reached a hand to help the Leader rise. For
Dr. Lanza wore an anxious frown, and his face was thin with worry.

In spite of numerous arrests, the rumors continued. For two weeks
sporadic outbreaks of the fever occurred, and then, abruptly, they
ceased.

* * * * *

It was more than a week after the last case had been reported that David
sat in his basement laboratory beside the opened mouse cage, watching
with wry affection as the furry creatures crawled over his hand. These
were historic mice, he reflected, whose reactions to SDE had opened up a
new world, a world which he must somehow help to make better than the
present one.

His three colleagues had returned a few days ago from their holiday.
They had calmly come back to work, and apparently nobody had thought to
put two and two together, and thus connect the epidemic with the
vacationers. It had been unfortunate that Tanya should have been put
under arrest; it was difficult trying to find amusement for Leah so that
she would keep out of sight, but still, on the whole, their luck had
been good.

But it was time for David to go back to work in his office. Gently he
detached the mice from his hand, dropped them into their cage, and
closed the wire trap. He took his leather pencil case and the keys to
his desk from the pocket of his lab coat and laid them on the desk,
below the nail on which his wristwatch hung. Carelessly he dropped his
lab coat onto the desk and reached for his jacket, then paused,
listening.

The chatter in the technicians' room suddenly died. In the unnatural
quiet sounded a steady march of feet.

David turned to meet the probing black eyes of Leader Marley. Just
behind him were Dr. Lanza and Officer Magnun.

There was no time to conceal his mice, David realized. Shrugging into
his jacket, he strode forward without hesitation, a smile on his face,
and stretched out his hand.

"Leader Marley! This is indeed an honor. If you had only notified us of
your visit, we should have been prepared."

"Young as ever, I see, Wong."

"Thank you, Leader." There was no banter in Marley's eyes, he noted, but
he continued amiably. "It has been some years since you have honored us
by a visit in person. I'm afraid a laboratory is not a very exciting
place, but I'd be ho