The haunting sound of the alegoyle deterrent stuttered twice over two minor notes, faded down a glissando and drifted into silence. Only a little more than half an hour earlier, Klane had watched the creature depart in the aerocopter. Now Ketha had taken the risk and followed his instructions to stop the defensive broadcast. Klane picked up the amplifier and touched two spots on the control face before whistling his own summoning tune. Magnified by the device, the call rang out loudly over the moors. It seemed a long wait but in fact it was only three minutes later that a joyful Suak rejoined his master, circling overhead. The alegoyle had spent the time since Klane entered the crater flying all around the edges of the screened zone. He had found Lyr, free from his tether and wandering riderless and he knew that Klane must be in big trouble to have left his horse for so long, but the creature's deterrent, though only intended to protect it from wild alegoyle was too difficult for Suak to overcome. The blessed quiet followed by the sudden familiar whistle was all he needed to glide swiftly into the base. That was the easy part. Now Klane needed to try something which man and alegoyle had practiced only a few times. He pocketed the amplifier, for Suak was close enough to hear his voice directly and he called out his request in the sing-song tone they'd used in training. He had to make the call three times for the position was awkward and Suak needed to circle the specimen jar a few times more to gauge distance and depth but at last the predator understood what was required. Then the alegoyle swooped. His talons grasped Klane firmly at the shoulder blades and wings beating frantically, muscles straining into the sky, he lifted his master almost vertically clear out of the top of the glass cylinder walls. It was just as well that Klane's shoulder protection was thick and well padded for he could feel the harsh grip of the alegoyle's talons even through his armour. He bent his legs as Suak rose and all at once he was clear of the slippery surface he'd been unable to climb. Klane was free! Then an alarm sounded again...