"Terry here." He motioned at Terry's bloodcaked arm. "You'd have to
tie him down to work on him, though. Maybe he can go until we get
organized."
They separated in the corridor and Underwood hurried on toward the
stern locks. As he came up he could see a large group of the men
gathered around. Apprehension drove him to a run along the narrow
passageway. The group turned as they heard his footsteps and made a
path for him.
A scene of death lay before him. Bodies of scientists and Disciples lay
side by side on the floor. There were Roberts, the surgeon, and Parker
and Muth, two of the chemists. Three others were not recognizable. Six
of his own men had died and five of the Disciples before the gas had
brought an instant and bloodless end to the battle.
He turned away. He wished there might have been some other way than
sacrificing those men, but if the scientists had not held the lock, the
Disciples might have remained in permanent control of the ship.
* * * * *
He beckoned to Terry, who was checking the roster with Mason. "Have you
accounted for everyone yet?"
"Peters, Atchison, and Markham appear to be the three we couldn't
identify," said Terry. "And, of course, Jandro. No one has heard or
seen anything of him since he killed Rennies."
"Jandro!" Underwood was suddenly and fearfully aware of Jandro's
absence. "We've got to find him. There's no use of any of us leaving
unless we do."
"I couldn't be sure, but I think I saw him from the lock viewplates a
minute ago," Captain Dawson said. "There's no way of telling except by
that oversize spacesuit, but he may be lying on the ground out there."
"If he's been killed--" Underwood raced toward the nearest viewing
station.
He switched it on and scanned the area about the ship. Disciples were
milling about, hesitant about using their Atom Stream weapons to force
entrance without orders from their Commander.