eason at all, he struck me in the stomach. Then he hit me
again a few more times, and I passed out."

"Did he say anything when he did this?" the Colonel asked.

"No, sir."

Wayne frowned. What was the sergeant trying to do? What the devil was he
up to?

"Corporal MacPherson," the colonel said, "Did you witness the fight?"

"Yes, sir," the small man said, stepping a pace forward.

"Describe it."

"Well, sir, we were up on top of the cliff, and we called--or rather,
_I_ called for the captain and the sergeant to come on up. Sergeant
Boggs took a hold of the rope and then the captain hit him in the belly,
sir. He hit him twice more and the sergeant fell down. Then the captain
told us to come down, which we did, sir. That was all." He gestured with
his hands to indicate he had no more to say.

Wayne could hardly believe his ears. Making an effort, he managed to
restrain himself.

"Private Manetti, do you have anything to add to that?" the colonel
asked.

"No, sir. It happened just like that, sir. We both seen the entire
thing. That's the way it happened. The captain hauled off and let him
have it."

The colonel swivelled around and let his cold eyes rest on Wayne.
"Captain, you have stated that Sergeant Boggs did not talk to either of
these two men after you struck him. That eliminates any collusion."

"Yes, sir," Wayne said stonily.

"I talked to both men separately, and they tell substantially the same
story. The records of all three of these men are excellent. The sergeant
claims he never saw any monster of the type you describe, and the group
I sent out to check says that there is no body of any alien animal
anywhere near the spot. How do you explain the discrepancies between
your story and theirs?"

* * * * *

Wayne glared angrily at the three men. "They're lying, sir," he said
evenly. "I don't know why they're doing it. The whole thing took place
exactly as I told you."

"I find that very difficult to believe, Captain."

"Is that a formal accusation, sir?"

Petersen shrugged and rubbed his hands against his iron-grey temples.
"Captain," he said finally, "you have a very fine record. You have never
before been known to strike an enlisted man for any cause whatever. I
hold that in your favor."

"Thank you, sir."

"On the other hand, the evidence here definitely indicates that your
story is not quite true. Now, we know that Lieutenant Jervis acted
peculiarly aft