re of everything.

And this much they had discovered: The plants of Alphegar IV had a nasty
habit of killing test animals.

* * * * *

"Of course," said Dr. Pilar, "we haven't tested every plant yet. We may
come across something."

"What is it that kills the animals?" asked young Captain Bellwether.

"Poison," said Major Grodski.

Pilar ignored him. "Different things. Most of them we haven't been able
to check thoroughly. We found some vines that were heavily laced with
cyanide, and there were recognizable alkaloids in several of the shrubs,
but most of them are not that direct. Like Earth plants, they vary from
family to family; the deadly nightshade is related to both the tobacco
plant and the tomato."

He paused a moment, scratching thoughtfully at his beard.

"Tell you what; let's go over to the lab, and I'll show you what we've
found so far."

Colonel Fennister nodded. He was a military man, and he wasn't too sure
that the scientists' explanations would be very clear, but if there was
information to be had, he might as well make the most of it.

* * * * *

SM/2 Broderick MacNeil kept a firm grip on his blast rifle and looked
around at the surrounding jungle, meanwhile thanking whatever gods there
were that he hadn't been put on the fence-mending detail. Not that he
objected violently to work, but he preferred to be out here in the
forest just now. Breakfast hadn't been exactly filling, and he was
hungry.

Besides, this was his pet detail, and he liked it. He had been going out
with the technicians ever since the base had been finished, a couple of
weeks before, and he was used to the work. The biotechnicians came out
to gather specimens, and it was his job, along with four others, to
guard them--make sure that no wild animal got them while they were going
about their duties. It was a simple job, and one well suited to
MacNeil's capacities.

He kept an eye on the technicians. They were working on a bush of some
kind that had little thorny-looking nuts on it, clipping bits off here
and there. He wasn't at all sure what they did with all those little
pieces and bits, but that was none of his business, anyway. Let the
brains take care of that stuff; his job was to make sure they weren't
interrupted in whatever it was they were doing. After watching the three
technicians in total incomprehension for a minute or so, he turned his
attention to