Them! Page #2

l don't believe so.

Dr. Putnam, County Medical Officer.

Robert Graham.

-He's with the FBl, so watch your language.

-l will.

l finished the autopsy on Gramps Johnson.

You want it technical or plain?

Just plain, Doc. Get to the verb.

Old man Johnson could have died

in any one of five ways:

His neck and back were broken,

his chest crushed, his skull fractured.. .

...and here's one for Sherlock Holmes:

There was enough formic acid in him

to kill 20 men.

l still don't get this.

Doctors Medford, two of them.

Department of Agriculture.

You sent that cast

to your outfit in Washington, didn't you?

Yeah.

Does this mean

that somebody has identified it?

l don't know.

-Great.

-Pardon me, sir.

The plane has landed. lt'll load over there.

Thanks.

-Got a match?

-Yeah.

Okay, thank you.

Dr. Medford?

Are you Dr. Medford?

Yes, yes. No need to shout.

You're the people.

They said you'd meet us.

That's right.

l'm Bob Graham.

-How do you do?

-This is Sgt. Ben Peterson.

-You're the one who found the print?

-Yeah, that's right.

Pat, hurry up.

l'm caught.

-Can l help?

-No, thank you, l can manage it.

This is the other Dr. Medford,

my daughter, Patricia.

This is the man who found the print.

Sergeant.. ..

-Ben Peterson.

-How do you do?

Then you must be Mr. Robert Graham.

-Yes, how do you do?

-Hello.

We've got a car to take you to the hotel.

That can wait. We have work to do.

l want to read all your reports right away.

Come on, Pat.

Excuse me, sir.

l should have had this suit pressed.

She's quite a doctor.

lf she takes care of sick people,

l think l'll get a fever real quick.

This is where the Elinson car and trailer

were found.

Twelve miles down this road is

the Johnson store.

Thank you.

Why did the FBl send that print

to the Department of Agriculture?

They weren't able to identify it.

-You only found one print?

-That's right, miss.

Have you identified it?

The Medical Officer's report on Johnson

suggests we were certainly wrong.. .

...to even consider this might be a hoax.

Read that, Doctor.

Tell me.. .

...in what area was the atomic bomb

exploded, the first one, back in 1945?

Right here in this same general area.

White Sands.

1945. That's nine years ago.

Genetically, it's certainly possible.

We're grown up. There's no need

to play footsie with us. We resent it.

lf you know what this thing is, Doctor,

l suggest you tell us.

We're assigned to this case, too.

Mr. Graham, we cannot tell you

until we're absolutely certain of our theory.

l'd like to first stop off at the drug store

and then see the Elinson girl.

She's still in shock, Doctor.

She hasn't talked yet.

After the girl, l want to examine

the territory where you found the print.

You were saying?

As l explained to Mrs. Johnson,

the little girl's aunt.. .

...we hesitate in using a curare

to diminish the spasms. She's too young.

Narcosynthesis would be useless

until we overcome the aphonia.

-What's aphonia?

-Loss of voice.

She's a classic case of hysteria conversion.

Only a severe catharsis could jolt her at all.

May l have a small glass, Doctor?

-Yes, certainly.

-Pat, that acid we got.. ..

Acid?

Formic, Doctor. Thank you.

lt may provide the jolt you need.

Them!

Them!

Them!

May we visit the desert now?

lt's getting late.

lt's later than you think.

Thank you.

Quite a breeze.

-The goggles, Doctor.

-What about them?

You're supposed to wear them

over your eyes.

Oh, thank you.

Yes, that is better.

-So this is where the car and trailer were.

-Yes, sir. Excuse me.

-Yes, thank you.

-The print was found right over there.

We found it here, by the fire.

You see, there's nothing there now.

Has there been any report

of a strange mound?

A cone-shaped structure?

Something recently formed?

No, sir.

Sergeant, would you mind

if we looked around a little more?

Anything you say, Doctor.

Rather slim pickings for food, Dad.

They'd turn carnivorous

for lack of a habitual diet.

l believe you're right.

What would turn carnivorous?

-My father will tell you.

-When?

-When he's positive.

-Now, look, miss.. ..

Doctor.. ..

lf the ''Doctor'' bothers you,

why don't you call me ''Pat."

l'd like to.

l've got a job to do,

and enough mystery on my hands.. .

...without that old.. ..

l mean, your father complicating things.

He is one of the world's greatest

myrmecologists.

Myrmecologists!

You see, that's what l mean!

Why don't we all talk English?

Then we'd have some understanding.

Pat!

Come here.

lt's the same kind of print. Look at it.

lt's gigantic.

Over 12 centimeters.

That would make the entire--

About two and a half meters in length.

Over 8 feet.

See if there are more.

-This is monstrous.

-So is the murder of five people, Doctor.

The direction of that print

would indicate it came from that way.

Perhaps we should visit the store.

There may be more there now.

Look here, before we do any more visiting,

l want to know exactly what this ''it'' is.

Gentlemen, l understand your impatience.

l know you are concerned with

solving what is essentially a local crime.. .

...but please believe me,

l am not being coy with you.

lf l'm wrong, no harm has been done.

But if l'm correct.. .

...and the mounting evidence

only fortifies my theory.. .

...then something incredible has happened

in this desert.

ln which case, none of us will dare risk

revealing it, because.. .

...none of us can risk a nationwide panic.

A panic?

Get the antennae! Get the antennae!

Get the other antenna!

Get the other antenna!

He's helpless without them!

What is it?

Species appears to be

Camponotus vicinus.

Of the family of Formicidae. An ant.

An ant? l don't believe it.

lt's not possible!

Then this is what got Ed Blackburn,

Gramps Johnson, and the rest?

Yes. A fantastic mutation.

Probably caused by lingering radiation

from the first atomic bomb.

Notice its odor?

Formic acid?

That's why the girl reacted so violently.

The Coroner said that

Gramps was filled with it.

See that? lt's the stinger.

Ants use their mandibles to rend,

tear and hold their victims.. .

...but they kill with that,

by injecting formic acid.

Mr. Johnson was stung to death.

There's no time to lose.

We must find the colony, the nest.

You mean there's more of them?

This was probably just a scout,

foraging for food.

You heard the sound. The stridulation.

lt communicated with others in the colony.

You mean these things send messages?

Of course. All insects have means

of communication with their own kind!

We may be witnesses

to a Biblical prophesy come true.

''And there shall be destruction

and darkness come upon creation."

''And the Beasts shall reign

over the earth."

Doctor, this nest we're looking for.

How many giant ants will be in it?

General, l really don't know.

lf they follow the usual pattern

of their species, the nest.. .

...depending upon its age,

may contain hundreds or thousands.

-Thousands, Doctor?

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