The original spokesman who had come up to the _Lancet_ was dead, but
another had taken his place as negotiator with the doctors--an older,
thinner Bruckian who looked as if he carried the total burden of his
people on his shoulders. He greeted them eagerly at the landing field.
"You have found a solution!" he cried. "You have found a way to turn the
tide--but hurry! Every moment now is precious."
During the landing procedures, Dal had worked to prepare enough of the
precious antibody suspension, with Fuzzy's co-operation, to handle a
large number of inoculations. By the time the ship touched down he had a
dozen flasks and several hundred syringes ready. Hundreds of the
unafflicted people were crowding around the ship, staring in open wonder
as Dal, Jack and Tiger came down the ladder and went into close
conference with the spokesman.
It took some time to explain to the spokesman why they could not begin
then and there with the mass inoculations against the plague. First,
they needed test cases, in order to make certain that what they thought
would work in theory actually produced the desired results. Controls
were needed, to be certain that the antibody suspension alone was
bringing about the changes seen and not something else. At last, orders
went out from the spokesman. Two hundred uninfected Bruckians were
admitted to a large roped-off area near the ship, and another two
hundred in late stages of the disease were led stumbling into another
closed area.
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