e to
carry on, and after all," he added with an ironic smile, "it's getting
later than we might think."

He handed each man a sheet of paper whose contents were identical. They
studied them. Karl Haslam was the first to speak.

"You think, then, that other cases of Blue Martian may develop?"

"It is certainly probable. Those _Fafli_ insects were never caught."

Karl looked back at his paper. It contained a list of names, some of
which were well known to all the country, some of them obscure.
Thoughtfully, he nodded as he ran down the list.

Hudson glanced up, frowning, his finger pointed at one name.

"I don't know," he said slowly, "that this particular experiment would
prove useful. Surely the Lanza method has not proved to be as effective
as we once hoped."

"You may be right. But there's the bare possibility that the _modified_
Lanza method might be of enormous benefit to us."

"It is uncertain. Too much of a risk. That's my opinion."

"Then I'll reconsider. The rest has your approval? Very well. And now
what choice have you made for your holiday?"

"I think we are all agreed," said Karl soberly. "We'll have an Aimless
Tramp."

"An excellent idea," approved David. "Oh, Jones, will you get an aircab
to take the doctors to BureauMed, and then arrange for their Roboplanes
to be serviced and ready in an hour?"

"I don't know as I ought to leave my post," said Jones.

"You'd rather stay with us and perhaps be exposed to the Fever?"

"Okay, okay!"

When his footsteps had died away, David leaned forward.

"We've done our best. Another month or so and we should be completely
ready for our retirement act."

"If we have a month," said Faure.

David grinned. "Well, if our time runs out, at least we'll go down
fighting. You know all your lines, your props are ready, the plot is
worked out, and we can slip into our makeup in an instant--provided the
audience shows up."

"You're getting to be quite a joker, David," said Karl. "What if the
audience comes around to the stage door?"

"Then we'll try to receive him properly. Our Leader is a man of iron,
but I doubt that he's immortal."

They heard the approaching guard.

"I'm sure you'll benefit from your holiday," David went on. "That last
checkup showed an antibody titer entirely too high for safety."

"In other words, it's time for us to get going?" asked Karl, smiling.

"That's right. Only the next time the antibody curve rises, it will be
for keeps