a single carton and a sheet of paper in hand. The
man's face was white and his eyes looked as though they were about to
drop out. He grabbed the phone on the counter and dialed, missed because
his hand was shaking so, and dialed again. This time he got the number.

"Security? Is this security? Get over here, quick! Warehouse Eight.
Hurry! The Earthman has been here!"

Rick stared, popeyed. The Earthman! He asked quickly, "What happened?"

The clerk swallowed hard. Obviously he was scared stiff. "They were
empty," he said. "All of them. Empty! Honest! And in one I found this."
He handed Rick the scrap of paper he carried.

Rick smoothed it out on the counter and his pulse speeded. It was a good
sketch, done in ink, of a knight in full armor. Crushed under one mailed
foot was a rocket. The knight carried a shield, and emblazoned on it
were two words.

_Homo Terrestrialis._

The mark of the Earthman!

Hank Leeming, Rick's security officer roommate, and an older man he
identified as Colonel Tom Preston, Chief of Security, pulled up at the
door in a jeep and hurried inside.

Preston took over. "All right, Jimmy. What's this about the Earthman?"

The clerk silently handed him the slip of paper.

The Security Chief examined it. "His mark, all right. Where did you find
it?"

The clerk was still shaky, and he had a hard time putting his discovery
into words. Rick tried to help him out. "He found some cartons that were
empty. Transistor cartons, I guess. This was in one of them."

Preston's eyes fixed on him. "Who are you?"

"My name is Brant, sir. I'm with Pegasus."

Preston's eyes acknowledged Rick's name, but he turned to the clerk. "Is
that right, Jimmy? Transistors missing?"

Jimmy found his voice. "Yes, Colonel. At first I thought it was a
mistake--a few empties put back on the shelf by accident. But they were
all empty, sir. All of them! There isn't a transistor in the warehouse!"

Preston nodded. "Take over, Hank. Shake the place down. Get one of the
boys with a kit and check for fingerprints on the stacks and empty
cartons. Jimmy, come with me. We'll check your inventory with Pat
O'Connor."

Pat O'Connor was the base supply officer. Preston and the clerk
departed. Hank paused long enough to say, "Better take the stuff you
have, Rick. Looks as if you'll have to wait for the transistors."

Obviously there wasn't anything else to be done. Rick found a hand
truck, loaded on the supplies, and went back