He sat silent, observing the creature, not daring to move. He sat until it was dark and the omnivore resumed its normal activity.
Normal? The word didn't apply on Glade.
The interlude with the omnivore provided him with one answer. He needed another one; he thought he knew what it was, but he had to have more data, additional observations.
He set up his equipment carefully on the fringes of the settlement. There and in no other place existed the information he wanted.
He spent time in the digger, checking his original investigations. It added up to a complete picture.
When he was certain of his facts, he called on Hafner.
The executive was congenial; it was a reflection of the smoothness with which the objectives of the colony were being achieved.
"Sit down," he said affably. "Smoke?"
The biologist sat down and took a cigarette.
"I thought you'd like to know where the mice came from," he began.