ders as if the neck were very short, or totally
lacking, was pear-shaped, with the longer end to the back, and the
sense organs of eyes and nose squeezed together on the lower quarter
of the rounded portion, with a line of wide mouth to split the blunt
round of the muzzle. Dark pits for eyes showed no pupil, iris, or
cornea. The nose was a black, perfectly rounded tube jutting an inch
or so beyond the cheek surface. Grotesque, alien and terrifying, it
made no hostile move. And, since it had not turned its head, he could
not be sure it had even sighted him. But it knew he was there, he was
certain of that. And was waiting--for what? As the long seconds
crawled by Rynch began to believe that it was not waiting for him.
Heartened, he pulled at the vine loop, climbed back into the tree.

Minutes later he discovered that there were more than two of the
beasts waiting quietly about the camp, and that their sentry line ran
between him and the clearing of the L-B. He withdrew farther into the
wood, intent upon finding a detour which would bring him out into the
open lands. Now he wanted to join forces with his own kind, whether
those men were potential enemies or not.

As time passed the beasts closed about the clearing of the camp.
Afternoon was fading into evening when he reached a point several
miles downstream near the river. Since he had come into the open he
had not sighted any of the watchers. He hoped they did not willingly
venture out of the trees where the leaves were their protection.

Rynch went flat on the stream bank, made a worm's progress up the
slope to crouch behind a bush and survey the land immediately ahead.
There stood an off-world spacer, fins down, nose skyward, and grouped
not too far from its landing ramp, a collection of bubble tents. A
fire burned in their midst and men were moving about it.

Now that he was free from the wood and its watchers and had come so
near to his goal, Rynch was curiously reluctant to do the sensible
thing, to rise out of concealment and walk up to that fire, to claim
rescue by his own kind.

The man he sought stood by the fire, shrugging his arms into a webbing
harness which brought a box against his chest. Having made that fast
he picked up a needler by its sling. By their gestures the others were
arguing with him, but he shook his head, came on, to be a shadow
stalking among other shadows. One of the men trailed him, but as they
reached a post planted a little beyond