hem. From
these spots, vast amounts of heat surged over the planet and changed it.

Heat meant death and doom to every living frigi-plasmic thing on
Neptune. Desperately, they increased their warfare, but the heat sapped
their strength, destroying them, until now they knew it was but a matter
of time before the Neptunians, beast and vegetable alike, would vanish
totally.

"So that's it," breathed Burl. "That's where the Sun-tap energy is
going. The Plutonians want Neptune because it's near their old moon, and
they have to warm it up to live on it. Of course! And Neptune's too far
from the Sun to explode when it novas, it will just get comfortable for
the Plutonians!"

The Neptunians continued their strange tale. They had built a crude
spaceship and manned it with a suicide battalion of the most desperate
warriors of their race. They had journeyed to Triton in hopes of seizing
it and destroying the foe from there. The stick-men had attacked and had
been beaten back.

Now there were only a few dozen of them left--the last soldiers of their
invasion and ignored by the enemy. And here they were, explaining this
to Burl whom they recognized as an ally.

Russ's voice suddenly broke into Burl's thoughts, "There's some sort of
ceremony beginning here. There's a procession of Plutonians dressed in
golden robes marching down the center of the hall, carrying staffs with
moon pictures on them.... They're chanting in unison, though it sounds
like barking. Can you hear it?"

Burl could. It sounded faintly in his earphones like the noises in a dog
pound.

"Now they're circling around. They're opening one of the cases. The
glass slides back.... Say! The exhibits aren't dead. I see something
moving.... It's a man!"

Russ's voice stopped suddenly. Faintly, Burl could hear the barking and
then Russ's terrified voice. "It is a man, Burl. He's dark-skinned and
wearing white cotton pants and a homespun shirt. He looks like an
Indian, maybe a South American Indian. When they lifted the glass, he
just walked out and stood as if he were all mixed up. Then he got scared
and started to run."

The voice was silent a moment. "They grabbed him, Burl. They
_sacrificed_ him! And now they're coming for me."

"Stop them!" Burl yelled wildly. "Do something!"

"I can't stop them." Russ was resigned. "They're taking me to the empty
glass case. I guess I'm elected to be the next exhibit. They're shoving
me in!"

Outside Burl's enclosure the