cts were followed suddenly by flocks of birds. In
western states an increase in the number of jackrabbits always is
a forerunner of an increase in the number of coyotes. But the
jackrabbits carried parasites fatal to the coyotes. If man was a
rabbit, then perhaps he harbored the check to these creatures of
flame.

What check would limit the whispering spheres? No germ, surely.
What possible check was there except man's nature? What part of
man's nature? That was the answer Taylor wanted to know.

His chain of thought was suddenly interrupted.

Pember was coming on the run. The private saluted the captain.

"Something's wrong, sir! Orkins is throwing a fit."

"Can't you quiet him? The spheres are near."

"Norden held his hand over Orkins' mouth, but it made Orkins
worse. I--I think it's serious, sir."

Taylor followed Pember to the place where Orkins had been
digging. Norden was there, bending over Orkins, who lay on the
ground. Masters, standing behind Norden, shook his head.

"He's dead," Norden said, straightening.

"He was scared to death by the spheres," Masters said. "No one
harmed him, except to hold a hand over his mouth. He wasn't
choked. He could have breathed through his nostrils--"

"Wait--"

Taylor held up his hand. Something clicked in his brain.

Masters had said something about the spheres that fitted. He said,
_Maybe you don't have to touch 'em to kill 'em._ Figuratively
speaking, Orkins hadn't been seriously touched either.

The answer!

CHAPTER V

AN ESCAPE

Taylor ordered Pember and Norden to bury Orkins where he had been
digging, then the officer took Masters aside.

"We've got a weapon," Taylor announced.

Masters grunted:

"Yeah? Indians had bows and arrows, too. Look at what happened to
them."

"This is different. A new weapon. We can beat the spheres through
their emotions."

"You mean fear, love, hate--all that stuff? How do you know these
spheres have emotions?"

"What is life but a series of sensations and emotions? If the
spheres are alive, they must have something which correspond to
emotions. The emotions may be different from ours, but they'll be
emotions just the same. Orkins died of fear. Of course, you can
call it heart attack, but fear brought it on. That sphere that
had me cornered in the plant died, too. Do you see?"

"Was the sphere afraid of you or the tunnel?"

"Don't be flippant. The emotion wasn't fear. It might not have
been any emotio