o see a
gathering of the globes, or of the less impressive lowland beasts that
acted as herders. But there was nothing.

Freedom! He dragged himself to his feet. Free to go! He slipped Hume's
ray tube back into his belt. Hume was still in the valley!

Vye rubbed his shaking hands across his face. Through the barrier and
free--but Hume was back there, without a weapon, defenseless against
any questing beast able to nose him out. Sickly, without water and
protection, he was a dead man even while he still breathed.

Keeping one hand against the wall of the gap in support, Vye started
to walk, not out of the gap towards the distant lowlands, but back
into the valley, forcing himself to that by his will alone and
screaming inside against such suicidal folly. He put out his hand
tentatively when he reached the two points of rock where that curtain
had hung. There was no obstruction--the barrier was down! He must get
back to Hume.

Still keeping his wall hold, Vye lurched through the gate, was once
more in the valley. He stood swaying, listening. But once again there
was silence, not even the wind moved through trees or bushes. Placing
one foot carefully before the other he went on towards Hume's cave.
The haze which had clouded his thinking processes since that first
morning's awakening in this bowl was gone now. Except for the physical
weakness that weighted his body, he felt once more entirely alive and
alert.

Wriggling in the cave's entrance was the Hunter. He had freed the
bonds Vye had put on his legs, but his hands were still tied. His
face, grimy, sweat-covered, was turned up to the sunlight, and his
eyes were again bright with reason.

Vye found the strength to run the last few feet between them. He was
fumbling with those ties about Hume's wrists as he blurted out the
news. The barrier was out--they could go.

Then he was bringing one of those precious bulbs, raising it to Hume's
eager mouth, squeezing a portion of its contents between the man's
cracked and bleeding lips.

Somehow they made that trip back to the valley gate. When they saw
their goal, Hume broke from Vye's hold, tottered forward with a cry
not far removed from a sob. He rebounded to slip full length to the
ground and lie there. Sobbing dryly, his gaunt face, eyes closed,
turned up to the sky. The trap had snapped shut once again.

"Why--why?" Vye found he was repeating the same words over and over,
his gaze blank, unfocussed, yet turned t