"Carver. Captain Brown. He's—I don't know!"
Sampson said gruffly, "Looks like he's dead. The men on guard duty said he didn't move once all night."
Icy bands constricted suddenly around Garth's heart. Without answering he got his kit and went over to examine Brown. The man lay motionless, his breathing normal, but a deep flush on his brown cheeks.
"It isn't the Plague, is it?" Sampson asked, his voice not quite under control.
Garth shook his head. "Hell, no! It's—" He hesitated.
Paula caught his arm. "What? Some insect poisoned him—one of those butterfly-things?"
Garth carefully repacked his kit. He didn't look up.
"He's got a dose of the Noctoli pollen. That's all. It's not fatal. He'll come out of it after he leaves the Forest, or after he builds up immunity."
"How long would that take?"
"A month or more."