"What scientists they must be!" exclaimed Rob Pope. "This—hey!" he shouted, startled. "Here's an opening!"
Then he had walked on across the bowl. Bill Thihling, nearest him, tried to follow. He found there was no hole there. He skinned his nose on the force screen.
"Rob's crazy," he said. "He thinks there ain't no force wall there. So he walks through it. Only a loon could do it."
Pope came back. "I heard that. What the hell...? It was here a minute ago."
"Can't you get back?"
"No! The wall's solid again. By Jupiter, they let me come through; they wanted to see one of us at a time. All right, I'll play their game." He wheeled and marched straight toward the disk.
"Oh, Rob, come back!" screamed Win. "They'll do something awful to you!"
"Too late now," said Alan, taking her arm. "They've caught him in their cage like a rabbit."
"A fanged rabbit, anyway," said Don. "He's got his guns."
Rob walked under the silver ship, into its shadow. The aliens clustered about him. Beyond the wall of force, the men and the girl held their breath tensely.