"The Oan still have a gun," he said. "When you are gone, they will return to use it on my people. That must not happen."
He said no more, but left the room. Na and the others heard the door of the sphere open and slam shut.
Carlson was the first to recover his wits.
"Come on," he said. "He may need help."
The three Earthmen armed themselves and left the ship. They saw Ro disappear into the wood and took after him.
Ro moved swiftly and silently. He slipped through the underbrush like an elusive phantom.
Some distance from the sphere he saw a grey shadow running ahead of him. He drew a bead on the creature and fired. A feeling of power surged through him as the rat man screamed and died.
He ran on.
Minutes passed before he saw the second Oan. The furry beast died a flaming death without uttering a sound.
Ahead of him, Ro saw a clearing. Instinctively he swerved from his course to circle it. He had gone halfway around, when his eyes caught sight of a twisted, grey body perched on a limb overlooking the clearing. It was the rat man he sought—the one with the ray gun, crouching there, waiting for Ro to step unsuspectingly into the clearing.