p one of the little
creatures and cut it open, removing one of the foetuses.

"Make a film of that," he suggested.

She worked rapidly, scraping out the almost microscopic brain,
dissolving out the fatty substance, and transferring the result to a
film. This time, even at full magnification, there was no sign of the
filaments that were always present in diseased flesh. The results were
the same for the other samples they made.

"Something about the very young animal or a secretion from the mother's
organs keeps the bug from working." Doc reached for a bracky weed and
accepted a light from Chris without thinking of it. "Every kid I've
heard about contracted the plague between the second and third year.
None are born with it, none get it earlier. I've suspected this, but now
here's confirmation."

Chris began preparing specimens, while Doc got busy with tubes of the
culture. They'd have to test various fluids from the tiny bodies, but
there were enough cultures prepared. Then, if the substance only
inhibited growth, there would be a long, slow test; if it killed the
bugs, they might know more quickly.

Jake came in before the final tests, but waited on them. Doc was
studying a film in the microscope. He suddenly motioned excitedly for
Chris.

"See the filaments? They're completely disintegrated. And there's one of
the big cells broken open. We've got it! It's in the blood of the
foetus. And it must be in the blood of newborn children, too!"

Jake looked at the slide, but his face was doubtful.

"Maybe you've got something, Doc. I hope so. And I hope you can use it."
He shook his head wearily. "We need good news right now. A couple of big
rockets just reached the station and they've been sending shuttles back
and forth a mile a minute. Nobody can figure how they got here so fast
or what they're for. But it doesn't look good for us!"

XIII

Susceptibility

Doc could feel the tension in the village where GHQ was temporarily
located long before they were close enough for details to register. The
people were gathered in clusters, staring at the sky where the station
must be. A few were pacing up and down, gesticulating with tight sweeps
of their arms.

One woman suddenly went into even more violent action. She leaped into
the air and then took off at a rapid trot, then a run. Her hands were
tearing at her clothes and her mouth seemed to be working violently. She
was halfway to the top of the nearest dun