Free Unearthly Neighbors by Chad Oliver Page B

distance away. It certainly was not related to Rover, the powerful wolf-like animal they had seen in the forest. In fact, unless he was very much mistaken, the animal was a primitive type of primate.
    It was a small creature, no bigger than a large squirrel. It had a hairless tail like a rat, and its rather chunky body was covered with a reddish-brown fur. (It would have been practically invisible in the branches of the forest trees.) Its head, nodding in the sun, was large and flat-faced, with sharply pointed ears like a fox. The animal had perfectly enormous eyes; they were like saucers. When it looked casually at Monte, the animal resembled two huge eyeballs with a body attached.
    Many features about the animal were suggestive of the tarsier. To be sure, the tarsier was nocturnal, and there was no sign that this animal was equipped for hopping. Still, the tarsier was the closest analogy that Monte could find.
    It was the first animal that Monte had seen in the cave village and it prodded his thoughts toward the wolf-thing they had encountered in the forest. It was odd, he reflected, that they had encountered nothing like Rover in the village. As a matter of fact, now that he happened to think about it, it was odd too that…
    He stood up straight, a sudden chill lancing through his body.
    That was it. That was what was wrong about this canyon village. That was what had been bothering him, nagging at him. How could it be?
    Monte walked as quickly as he dared over to the trail and scrambled down it. He had to fight to keep himself from running. He hurried over to where Charlie and Larst were still yakking at each other. The old man—he looked positively ancient now—was plainly weary, but he was still answering Charlie’s questions.
    Monte touched the linguist’s shoulder. “Charlie.” Charlie didn’t even look around. “Not now, dammit.”
    “Charlie, this is important.”
    “Go away. Another hour with this guy—”
    “Charlie! We may not have another hour.”
    That did it. Slowly, reluctantly, Charlie Jenike got to his feet, stretched his sore muscles, and turned around. There were shadows under his eyes and his shirt was soaked with sweat. He was controlling his temper with a visible effort.
    “Well?”
    “Think carefully. Have you seen any men here today?” Charlie gave a sigh of exasperation. “Are you blind? What do you think I’m talking to, a horse?”
    “I mean young men—or even middle-aged men. Have you seen any?”
    Charlie shook his head, puzzled now. “No, I don’t think I have. But—”
    “But nothing. We’ve been idiots. There’s no one here except women and kids and old men!”
    Charlie’s face went white. “You don’t think—”
    Monte didn’t waste any more time. “Ace,” he snapped. “Walk over and get inside the sphere. Call the camp at once. Hurry, man!”
    While Ace started for the sphere, Monte eased his way over to where Tom was holding a group of kids enthralled with his string games. He squatted down beside him. “Tom. Try not to look alarmed, but I think we’re in trouble. There’s not a single solitary man of fighting age in this village. Ace is calling the camp now.”
    Tom stared at him, the cord forgotten in his hands.
    “Janice,” he whispered. “She’s back there—”
    Ace stuck his head out of the sphere and hollered: “I’m sorry, sir. The camp doesn’t answer.”
    The three men forgot field technique, forgot everything. As one man, they sprinted for the sphere.
    As he ran, Monte’s brain shouted at him with a single word, repeated over and over again:
    Fool, fool, fool!
    Ace had the sphere airborne almost before they were all inside.
    They flew at top speed into the gathering shadows of a night that was suddenly dark with menace.

7
    There was no fire; that was the first thing that Monte noticed. The camp clearing was gray and still in the early starlight. Nothing moved. The place was as lifeless as some forgotten jungle ruin, and the