The jeep leaped forward like a runaway stallion, Masterson behind the wheel, his pith helmet pushed back on his head. The jeep bounced over a jutting rock, sprang high into the air and came down on two tires, almost overturning. Masterson grinned, turned the wheel sharply to avoid a low stump, and stepped on the gas again.
Chuck saw Owen’s brows curl onto his forehead, watched a troubled look creep into his brother’s eyes.
“What’s the matter, Owen?” he asked.
“I don’t like the way he’s driving. This is rough country, Chuck. I don’t want any accidents.” He paused, turned and started walking toward the truck. “We’d better go after him.”
He hopped into the cab of the truck, and Chuck climbed in after him.
“We’ll be right back,” Owen called. “Please feel free to wander around at will.”
He turned on the ignition key, started the truck and gnashed the gears into place. He set the big vehicle into motion, watching the small jeep up ahead.
“He’s going like crazy!” Chuck said in surprise.
“I don’t get it,” Owen replied. “Where does he think he’s…”
“The force field!” Chuck shouted. “Suppose he…”
“Great jumping…” Owen never finished what he was saying. His hands tightened on the wheel and he pushed his foot down on the gas pedal. Chuck watched the foliage sweep by in a green blur, large palmlike leaves slapping the windshield as the truck shoved its way over the rough terrain. The truck rocked from side to side as it rolled over rocks and stumps, dropped into deep ruts, its thick tires fighting ground for every inch. Up ahead, the jeep bounced and rolled like a cork in an angry sea. Masterson was clinging to the wheel as if it were a life preserver.
“Yell to him,” Owen said anxiously. “Tell him he’s getting too close to the force field.”
Chuck climbed out of the cab onto the running board, clinging to the open door. He ducked as they barged through the leaves that hung from a huge tree.
“Mr. Masterson!” he shouted.
His voice lifted over the roar of the truck motor, fled into the foliage and echoed from the rocks.
“Mr. Masterson! The force field! You’re heading right for it!”
Masterson didn’t seem to hear. He kept the jeep going at its frantic pace, hopping over the ground like a huge bullfrog.
“For Pete’s sake,” Owen said, “stop him, Chuck!”
“Mr. Masterson!” Chuck bellowed, holding to the doorframe as the truck sped over the ground. “Stop! The force field!”
Masterson turned his head and seemed to understand, He stood up like a man who’d been stuck with a pin and suddenly leaped out of the jeep, hitting the lush growth underfoot and rolling over into a ball.
The jeep plunged ahead recklessly, bouncing over the ground in wild abandon.
“The jeep,” Owen said. “It’s going to crash the force field, Chuck.”
The jeep hurtled over a high, flat rock that jutted into the air at a sloping angle. It cleared the end of the rock like a diver leaving a diving board, hung on the air for a moment and then fell earthward.
“Chuck!” Owen shouted.
There was a sudden crackling of electricity. The jeep shuddered in a shower of sparks that surrounded it for several moments like a shimmering halo. It plunged ahead for several feet, carried by the force of its momentum, and then it stopped dead in a flat clearing of ferns.
“That does it,” Owen said disgustedly.
“What, Owen?”
“Those sparks, didn’t you see them? The jeep hit our force field, and the metal shorted it. This is great, positively great!”
“Wh-what are we going to do?” Chuck asked.
“I don’t know. Pick up that egg-headed idiot first, I guess. Of all the fool stunts.” Owen’s face was a bright red. He kept his lips pressed tightly together as he steered the truck to where Masterson was sitting on the ground, his elbows resting on his knees.
Owen stopped the truck beside him and leaned out of the cab.
“Remember those orders I gave before we left?” he asked, his voice fighting against the rage inside him,
“I remember,” Masterson said calmly.
“I said no one was allowed within three feet of the force field. Do you remember that?”
“I’m… I’m sorry,” Masterson said, lowering his head. “I wanted to get out of the jeep before we hit. I…”
Owen opened the door and dropped out of the cab.
“Why were you driving like a madman in the first place?” he wanted to know.
“I just… I was just anxious to see the animals up close, that’s all. I just wanted to take a good look at them.”
Owen nodded his head bitterly. “I’ll let you in on a secret, Mr. Masterson.”
Masterson lifted his head hopefully. “What’s that, Owen?”
“You’re
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“I mean you’ve shorted our force field. You’ve effectively knocked down the only protection that stood between us and the beasts out there. Do you understand that, Mr. Masterson? Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”
“You mean…”