nction for him, in
many ways, but not, I fear, a happy one."

Dodeth nodded silently. Now that the decision had been made, he felt
rather bad about it. Something in him rebelled at the thought of a
species becoming extinct, no matter how great the need. He wondered
if it would be possible for the biologists and the geneticists to
trace the evolution of the animal. He hoped so. At least they deserved
that much.

* * * * *

Dodeth Pell delayed returning to his own city; he wanted to wait until
the final results had been brought in before he returned to his
duties. The delay turned out to be a little longer than he
expected--much longer, in fact. The communicator in his temporary room
buzzed, and when he answered, Wygor's voice came to him, a rush of
excited words that didn't make any sense at all at first. And when it
did make sense he didn't believe it.

"What?" he squealed. "_What?_"

"I said," Wygor repeated, "that the report has come back from the
pesticide column! They've found no trace of any such animal as we've
described! They're nowhere to be found, in or near the clearing!"

"I think," said Dodeth very calmly, "that I'll take a little trip over
to the Brightside and take up permanent residence there. It's going to
be pretty hot for me around here before long."

And he cut the connection without waiting for Wygor's answer.

* * * * *

The armored car jounced across the grassland at high speed. Behind it,
two more cars followed, each taking care not to run exactly in the
tracks of the one ahead, so that there would be as little damage as
possible done to the grass.

In the lead car, Dodeth Pell watched the forest loom nearer, wondering
what sort of madness he would find there this time. Beside him, the
Eldest Keeper dozed gently, in the way that only the very young or the
very old can doze. It was just as well; Dodeth didn't feel much like
talking.

This time, as they approached the clearing, he didn't bother to tell
the car to stop two miles away. If the animals were gone, there was no
point in being cautious. All through the wooded area, he could see
occasional members of the pesticide robots. He told the car to stop at
the base of the little rise that he used before as a vantage point.
Then, without further preliminaries, he got out of the car and marched
up the slope to take a look at the clearing. Overhead, the burning
spark of the Y