doctor had
prescribed--something he'd said, for the heart. It must have been pretty
powerful, too, for the doctor to warn against an overdose. Two at once
might do it, or another two a little later.

But there was Schaughtowl.

"Al," said Beryl, "stay with Clyde while I fix something for him to
eat."

She was more beautiful than ever. Emotions, he thought wryly, become a
woman; they thrive on them. In a few minutes a woman could change like
this. It was enough to make a man lose faith in the sex.

"Certainly," he said easily.

Curtis seemed to sleep with wide open eyes gazing blankly at the far
wall. Schaughtowl sat motionless before him, watchful as a dog, yet
still like a snake or spider patiently waiting. Didn't the beast ever
sleep?

A drink was what Stern needed. He went to the closet and poured a double
brandy. He sipped it slowly. As delicious fire ran down his gullet and
warmed his stomach, he felt his tension ease and a sense of confidence
pervade his mind.

He needn't worry. He was always successful, except that once with the
stocks. And he had calm nerves.

There were guards out in front now in khaki uniform; the Governor must
have called out a company of the National Guard. Stern noticed some
state police, too. The house was well guarded on the three sides
surrounded by a neat, white picket fence. In the back, the severe drop
into the ravine made guards there unnecessary.

It was dark before Dr. Curtis moved. Beryl was watching him; she had
little to say to Stern now.

"How about some broth, dear?" she asked Curtis immediately.

Slowly, Clyde's eyes focused on her. He smiled. "Let's try it."

He let Beryl feed him, sitting on a stool beside his chair and being
unnecessarily motherly and coddling about it.

For a while after he had eaten, Clyde sat in his chair, looking at Beryl
with his new and oddly gentle smile. It seemed to activate some hidden
response in her, for she glowed with tenderness.

"I suppose," Curtis slurred, "I ought to try to walk now."

"Let me help." Stern rose and crossed the room.

The Martian rustled like snakes in the weeds, and hissed.

Beryl said without suspicion, "Thank you, Al. I knew you'd do whatever
you could for Clyde." And she rested her hand trustingly on his arm.

What was past was past, not to be wept over, not to be regretted.

"Like to walk out in the back for the air?" Stern asked. "The breeze is
coming from that direction."

"That will do ve