A minute or two passed. The big plate grew increasingly indistinct, all details lost in a muddy wash of orange-brown shades. Green intruded suddenly; then McAllen muttered, "Picking up the cabin now."

There was a moment of silence, then Fredericks cleared his throat. "So far so good, Oliver. We\'re looking into the cabin. Can\'t see your man yet—but someone\'s living here. Eh, Simms?"

"Obviously," the psychologist acknowledged. He hesitated. "And at a guess it\'s no maniac. The place is in reasonably good order."

"You say Chard isn\'t in the cabin?" Spalding demanded.

Fredericks said, "Not unless he\'s deliberately concealing himself. The exit door is open. Hm-m-m. Well, the place isn\'t entirely deserted, after all."

"What do you mean?" asked Spalding.

"Couple of squirrels sitting in the window," Simms explained.

"In the window? Inside the cabin?"

"Yes," said Fredericks. "Either they strayed in while he was gone, or he\'s keeping them as pets. Now, should we start looking around outside for Chard?"

"No," Spalding decided. "The Base is too big to attempt to cover at pin-point focus. If he\'s living in the cabin and has simply gone out, he\'ll return within a few hours at the most. We\'ll wait and see what we can deduce from the way he behaves when he shows up." He turned to McAllen. "Ollie," he said, "I think you might allow yourself to relax just a little. This doesn\'t seem at all bad!"

McAllen grunted. "I don\'t know," he said. "You\'re overlooking one thing."

"What\'s that?"

"I told Chard when to expect us. Unless he\'s smashed the clock, he knows we\'re due today. If nothing\'s wrong—wouldn\'t he be waiting in the cabin for us?"