ellow Sun cast its pale radiance over the landscape.

At the ridge, he stopped suddenly and ducked his head. Then he grabbed
his field glasses and took a good look.

The animals had built themselves a few crude-looking shelters out of
the logs, but he hardly noticed that.

There were four of the animals, in plain sight, standing guard!

The others were obviously inside the rude huts, asleep!

Great galloping fungus blight! Was he out of his mind? What was going
on around here? Couldn't the robots _see_ the beasts?

"That's very odd," said the voice of the Eldest Keeper in puzzled
tones. "I thought the robots said they'd gone away. Lend me your field
glasses."

[Illustration]

As he handed the powerful glasses over to the Keeper, who had followed
him up the hill, Dodeth said: "I'm glad you can see them. I thought
maybe my brain had been short-circuited."

"I can see them," said the Eldest Keeper, peering through the glasses.
Then he handed them back to Dodeth. "Let's get back down to the car. I
want to find out what's going on around here."

At the car, the Eldest Keeper just scowled for a moment, looking very
worried. By this time, the other two cars had pulled up nearby,
discharging their cargo of two more Keepers apiece. While the Eldest
Keeper talked in low tones with his colleagues, Dodeth stalked over to
one of the pesticide robots who was prowling nearby.

"Found anything useful?" he asked sarcastically, knowing that sarcasm
was useless on a robot.

"I'm not looking for anything useful, sir. I'm looking for the animals
we are supposed to destroy."

"You come over and tell the Eldest Keeper that," Dodeth said.

"Yes, sir," the robot agreed promptly, rolling along beside Dodeth as
he returned to where the Keepers were waiting.

"What's going on here?" the Eldest demanded curtly of the robot. "Why
haven't you destroyed the animals?"

"Because we can't find them, sir."

"What's your name?" the Eldest snapped.

"Arike, sir."

"All right, Arike," said the Eldest somewhat angrily. "Stand by for
orders. You'll repeat them to the other robots, understand?"

"Yes, sir," said the robot.

"All right, then," said the Eldest. "First, you take a run up that
hill and look into that clearing. You'll see those creatures in there
all right."

"Yes, sir. I've seen those creatures in there."

The Eldest Keeper exploded. "Then get in there and obey your orders!
Don't you realize that their very existence t