e government
knows that there are creatures in the spaceship, and he--" that would
be Vale "--will be trying to make them understand what kind of beings
we are. So there could be friendly communication almost any time. But
there aren't any news broadcasts on the air. I suppose it's too
early."

He agreed, with reservations. They made their way along the dew-wetted
surface of the highway. As the light grew stronger, Lockley glanced
again and again at Jill's face. She looked very tired. He reflected
sadly that she was thinking of Vale. She'd never thought twice about
Lockley. Even now, or especially now, all her thoughts were for Vale.

When sunlight appeared on the peaks around them, he said detachedly,
"You've had no rest for twenty-four hours and I doubt that you've had
anything to eat. Neither have I. If troops come up this highway we'll
hear the engines. I think we'd better get off the highway and try to
rest. And I may be able to find something for us to eat."

There are few wildernesses so desolate as to offer no food at all for
one who knows what to look for. There is usually some sort of berry
available. One kind of acorn is not bad to eat. Shoots of bracken are
not unlike asparagus. There are some spiny wild plants whose leaves,
if plucked young enough, will yield some nourishment and of course
there are mushrooms. Even on stone one can find liverish rock-tripe
which is edible if one dries it to complete dessication before soaking
it again to make a soup or broth.

Before he searched for food, though, Lockley said abruptly, "You said
you saw the creatures and they weren't men. What did they look like?"

"They were a long way away," Jill told him. "I didn't see them
clearly. They're about the size of men but they just aren't men. Far
away as they were, I could tell that!"

Lockley considered. He shrugged and said, "Rest. I'll be back."

He moved away. He was hungry and he kept his eyes in motion, looking
for something to take back to Jill. But his mind struggled to form a
picture of a creature who'd be the size of a man but would be known
not to be a man even at a distance; whose difference from mankind
couldn't be described because seen at such great distance. Presently
he shook his head impatiently and gave all his attention to the search
for food.

He found a patch of berries on a hillside where there was enough earth
for berry bushes, but not for trees. Bears had been at them, but there
were many le