accounted for approximately an equal number of the Star's security
force first.

* * * * *

Five Star men came piling out of the fifth level portal behind him a
minute or two later, Ryter in the lead. Orca behind Ryter. All five
held leveled guns.

"You won't need the hardware," Quillan assured them. "It's harmless
enough now. Come on in."

They followed him silently up to the cubicle, stared comprehendingly
at dials and indicators. "The thing's back inside there, all right!"
Ryter said. He looked at Quillan. "Is this where you've been all the
time?"

"Sure, Where else?" The others were forming a half-circle about him, a
few paces back.

"Taking quite a chance with that Hlat, weren't you?" Ryter remarked.

"Not too much. I thought of something." Quillan indicated the
outportal in the hall. "I had my back against that. A portal's
space-break, not solid matter. It couldn't come at me from behind. And
if it attacked from any other angle"--he tapped the holstered Miam
Devil lightly, and the gun in Orca's hand jerked upward a fraction of
an inch--"There aren't many animals that can swallow more than a bolt
or two from that baby and keep coming."

There was a moment's silence. Then Orca said thoughtfully, "That would
work!"

"Did it see you?" Ryter asked.

"It couldn't have. First _I_ saw of it, it was sailing out from that
corner over there. It slammed in after that chunk of sea beef so fast,
it shook the cubicle. And that was that." He grinned. "Well, most of
our troubles should be over now!"

One of the men gave a brief, nervous laugh. Quillan looked at him
curiously. "Something, chum?"

Ryter shook his head. "Something is right! Come on downstairs again,
Bad News. This time we have news for you--"

The Brotherhood guards on the ground level had been taken by surprise
and shot down almost without losses for the Star men. But the battle
on the fourth level had cost more than the dead left up there. An
additional number had returned with injures that were serious enough
to make them useless for further work.

"It's been expensive," Ryter admitted. "But one more attack by the
Hlat would have left me with a panicked mob on my hands. If we'd
realized it was going to trap itself--"

"I wasn't so sure that would work either," Quillan said. "Did you get
Kinmarten back?"

"Not yet. The chances are he's locked up somewhere on the fourth
level. Now the Hlat's out of the way, som