ould only guess.

"Naturally," Jervis went on, "those who have already been injected with
the drug try to get others injected. When everyone aboard the _Mavis_
had been stung, they ordered me to take the ship home and get another
load of Earthmen. Apparently they like our taste. I had to obey; I was
completely under their power. You know what it's like."

"And what happened to the others--the eight men you left behind?" asked
Colonel Petersen.

Jervis clenched his teeth bitterly. "They just laid down on the
sand--and waited."

"Horrible!" Sherri said.

* * * * *

Jervis fell silent. Wayne was picturing the sight, and knew everyone
else was, too--the sight of hordes of carnivorous little aliens
burrowing up through the sand and approaching the eight Earthmen who lay
there, alive but helpless. Approaching them--and beginning to feed.

Just when the atmosphere began to grow too depressing, Wayne decided to
break the spell. "I'd like to point out that the valley's been
completely cauterized," he said. "The aliens have been wiped out. And I
propose to lead a mission out to reconnoitre for the double-nucleus
beryllium."

He looked around. "MacPherson? Boggs? Manetti? You three want to start
over where we left off the last time?"

Sergeant Boggs came up to him. "Sir, I want you to understand that--"

"I know, Boggs," Wayne said. "Let's forget all about it. There's work to
be done."

"I'm sorry I misjudged you, Wayne. If it hadn't been for your quick
action, this crew would have gone the way of the _Mavis_."

"Just luck, Colonel," Wayne said. "If it hadn't been for those
heavy-soled climbing boots, I'd probably be lying out there with the
rest of you right now."

Colonel Petersen grinned. "Thanks to your boots, then."

Wayne turned to his team of three. "Let's get moving, fellows. We've
wasted enough time already."

"Do we need spacesuits, sir?" Manetti asked.

"No, Manetti. The air's perfectly fine out there," Wayne said. "But I'd
suggest you wear your climbing boots." He grinned. "You never can tell
when they'll come in handy."

THE END

Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from _Amazing Stories_ October 1956.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The J