reputation of letting any project get out of
his hands."

Vye remembered. "Oh--your billion credit deal."

To his surprise Hume laughed. "Seems all very far and out of orbit
now, doesn't it, Lansor? Yes, our billion credit deal--but that was
thought out before we knew there were more players around the table
than we counted. I wonder...."

But what he wondered he did not put into words and a moment later he
added over his shoulder, "Better try to get some rest, boy. We've some
time to a set-down."

Vye did sleep, deeply, dreamlessly. And he roused after a gentle
shaking to see a beam of light in the sky ahead, though around them
was the solid darkness of night.

"That's a warning," Hume explained. "And I can't raise any reply from
the camp except a repeat of the distress call. If there is anyone
there now, he can't or won't answer."

Against that column of light they could make out the sky-pointed taper
of the spacer and the auto-pilot landed them beside that ship in the
middle of an area well lighted by the steady shaft of light from the
tripod standing where the atom lamp had been on the night they had
made their escape from camp.

Climbing stiffly from the small flyer they advanced with caution. A
very few minutes later Hume slid his ray tube back into its belt loop.

"Unless they've holed up in the spacer--and I can't see why they'd do
that--this camp's deserted. And they haven't taken any equipment with
them except maybe a few items they could back-pack."

The ship proved as empty of life as the campsite. A wall seat pulled
out too hastily so that it was jammed awry, the com cabin suggested
that the leave-taking, when and for what reason, had been a matter of
some emergency. Hume did not touch the tape set to keep on
broadcasting the call for assistance.

"What now?" Vye wanted to know as they completed the search.

"The safari camp first--and a call for the Patrol."

"Look here," Vye set down the ration container he had found, was
emptying it with vast satisfaction of one who had been too long on
tablets, "if you beam the Patrol you'll have to talk, won't you?"

Hume went on fitting new charges into his ray tube. "The Patrol has to
have a full report. There's no way of bypassing that. Yes, we'll have
to give all the story. You needn't worry." He snapped closed the load
chamber. "I can clear you all the way. You're the victim, remember."

"I wasn't thinking about that."

"Boy." Hume tossed the t