ed.

"There's more of the lichen than you might think," David said, "if you
know where to look for it. But, even at that, there isn't very much. The
thing is, it looks like it's been cropped. It's never touched if the
plants are small, or half grown, or very nearly ready. But just as soon
as a patch is fully mature, it is stripped bare, and there never seems
to be any of it dropped, or left behind, or wasted."

"If that's all they have to live on," Thorne said, "they have it pretty
thin!"

The natives began to be seen nearer to the camp. At first there were
just glimpses of them, a hairy face or head seen at the edge of a rock,
or the sight of a stocky figure dashing from boulder to boulder. As they
grew braver, they came out more into the open. They kept their distance,
and would disappear into the rocks if anyone made a move toward them,
but, if no attention was paid them, they moved about freely.

In particular, they would come, each evening, to stand in a ragged line
near one of the nests of boulders. From there, they would watch the
crewmen eat. There were never more than twelve or fifteen of them, a
bandy-legged lot, with thick, heavy torsos, and hairy heads.

It was on one of these occasions that Dr. Thorne happened to look up.

"Oh, oh!" he said. "Here it comes!"

Renner turned his head, and rose to his feet. The other men rose with
him.

Three of the natives were coming toward the camp. They came along at a
swinging trot, a sense of desperation and dedicated purpose in their
manner. One ran slightly ahead. The other two followed behind him,
shoulder to shoulder.

Farrow reached for a ray gun in a pile of equipment near him, and raised
it.

"No weapons!" Captain Renner ordered sharply.

Farrow lowered his arm, but kept the gun in his hand.

The natives drew near enough for their faces to be seen. The leader was
casting frightened glances from side to side and ahead of him as he
came. The other two stared straight ahead, their faces rigid, their eyes
blank with fear.

They came straight to the table. There they reached out suddenly, and
caught up all the food that they could carry in their hands, and turned
and fled with it in terror into the night.

Somebody sighed in relief.

"Poor devils!" Renner said. "They're hungry!"

* * * * *

There was a conference the following morning around one of the tables.

"We've been here long enough to settle in," Renner said