about, and finally identified its source. A small aircraft had come over
the valley from the other side of the mountain and was circling lazily
overhead. He froze, shrinking back under a pine-tree; as long as he
remained motionless, he would not be seen, and soon the thing would go
away. He was beginning to understand why the search for him was being
pressed so relentlessly; as long as he remained alive, he was a menace
to everybody in this First Century world.

He got out his supply of food concentrates, saw that he had only three
capsules left, and put them away again. For a long time, he sat under
the dying tree, chewing on a twig and thinking. There must be some way
in which he could overcome, or even utilize, his inherent deadliness to
these people. He might find some isolated community, conceal himself
near it, invade it at night and infect it, and then, when everybody was
dead, move in and take it for himself. But was there any such isolated
community? The farmhouse where he had worked had been fairly remote, yet
its inhabitants had been in communication with the outside world, and
the physician had come immediately in response to their call for help.

The little aircraft had been circling overhead, directly above the place
where he lay hidden. For a while, Hradzka was afraid it had spotted him,
and was debating the advisability of using his blaster on it. Then it
banked, turned and went away. He watched it circle over the valley on
the other side of the mountain, and got to his feet.




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