"If you've gone far enough into the Black Forest—"
Garth said angrily, "Remember what I told you about the Noctoli? The effect of the pollen? When I got back to Oreport here I had amnesia. I—" He hesitated. "I don't remember. I never did remember what happened in the Black Forest."
"Um-m." Brown rubbed his cheek again. "A lost race of savages no outsiders have ever seen—a race speaking the tongue of the Ancients. How could they live around those Noctoli flowers of yours?"
"Natural immunity," Garth said. "Built up over a period of generations. I didn't have that—then."
The girl leaned forward, ignoring Brown. "Mr. Garth," she said swiftly, "I think I'd better explain a bit more. Shut up, Carver!" She frowned at Brown. "There've been too many mysteries. Here's the set-up. I've got half of a—a map. It shows the location of something in the Black Forest that's immensely valuable—the greatest treasure the System's ever known. I don't know what it is. The original inscription, in the Ancient's language, is cryptic as the devil. But the Ancients thought this treasure important enough to be worth hiding in the Black Forest. They set the Zarno to guard it. See?"
Garth grunted. "So what?"
"Well—I'm Paula Trent, archaeologist. Not that it matters. For months Carver and I have been waiting our chance to fit out an expedition and come on here. We didn't have the money, at first, and when we did get it, the government refused us permission. We had no proof, they said, and the Black Forest is impenetrable. So we waited. A month ago we got wind of a research ship, the Hunter, coming on here to investigate Chahnn. The same old stuff—digging around in the ruins, trying to find out what made the machines and robots tick, trying to make sense out of the inscriptions. Trying to find a cure for the Silver Plague."
Garth said, "No cure's been found yet, then."
Paula shook her head. "No. Since it started on Earth ten years ago, it's wiped out one-twentieth of the population, and unless it's stopped, it'll destroy all life on our world. But that's old stuff. Except the government's sending out their best men to Ganymede, because it's known the Silver Plague existed here once and was conquered. The inscriptions in Chahnn show that. But they don't say what the treatment was, or give any hints. However—" She brushed red-gold hair from her forehead. "Carver and I have planted men in the Hunter crew. Tough, good men who'll strike out with us into the Black Forest. With equipment."