back like an expanding iris.

Some vague understanding came to him of the beast's ability to see in
the dark. They used these red-hot stones for illumination, but this
thing had seemed to see clearly even when the stones had ceased to
glow. And again, though indistinctly, Dean knew that those eyes might
be sensitive to infra-red radiations--they might see plainly by the
dark light that continued to flood these rocky chambers, though, to
him, the rocks had gone lightless and black.

* * * * *

Even as the quick thoughts flashed through his mind, he was thinking
other thoughts, recording other observations.

The rest of the face was red like the body; the head was sharply
pointed, and crowned with a mass of thin, clinging locks of hair. The
mouth, a round, lipless orifice, contracted or dilated at will; from
it came whistling words.

Out of the darkness, giant things were leaping. They clutched at
Rawson, while the first captor released his hold and drew back.
Taller, these newcomers were, bigger, and different.

In the red light from the hot rocks Dean saw their faces, in which
were owl eyes like those of the first one, but yellow, expressionless
and stupid. Their great bodies were yellow: their outstretched hands
were webbed.

For one instant, as Rawson's hand touched his pistol in its holster,
a surge of fighting rage swept through him. His whole being was in a
spasm of revolt against all this series of happenings that had trapped
him; he wanted to lash out regardless of consequences. Then cooler
judgment came to his aid.

Other figures, with faces red and ugly, expressive of nameless evil,
were gathered beside the one who still played the jet of cold fire
upon the walls. Like him they were naked save for a cloth at the waist
and the metal straps encircling their bodies. They, too, had
flame-throwers--he saw the long metal jets and their lava tips. Yet
the temptation to fire into that group as fast as he could pull
trigger was strong upon him.

Instead he allowed these other giant things to grip him with their
webbed hands and lead him away.

* * * * *

The wavering light had shown many passages through the rock. Glazed,
all of them. Either they had been blown through molten rock which had
then solidified to give the glassy surfaces, or else--and this seemed
more likely--the flame-throwers had done it. Rawson, scanning the
labyrinth for some r