"Eh?" said Isaac.
"Dogs can run wild," Matt reminded him. "They're a hell of a sight less
dangerous than bulls."
* * * * *
The next morning, it was decided that a party of five of the younger
men should reconnoiter the immediate vicinity, being careful not to go
so far that they couldn't make it back to the ship by dark.
"Be careful," the director admonished them. Matt, who was one of the
party, noticed that Isaac Trigg's hands shook slightly. He had not
shaved, and deep blue circles haunted his eyes. "The country hereabouts
seems to be quite wild. We ..." the director bit his lip--"we may have
come down in a plague area that has been segregated!"
The same thought had been uppermost in everyone's mind, but none of
them had had the courage to express it.
"Don't," went on the director, "drink or eat anything except what you
take along, and be careful about investigating deserted houses. That's
all, I suppose--and good luck."
They were turning to leave when Lynn Clark presented herself. "Hold
on," she said. "I'm going along."
"Nonsense!" exploded the director. "The women are staying here in the
ship!"