Long standing by the canal, he goes toward her, but is stopped by Tweel. Tweel takes out a gun that fires poisoned glass needles and shoots Long, who vanishes, replaced by one of the tentacled creatures that Jarvis rescued Tweel from. Jarvis realizes that the tentacled creature, which he names a dream-beast, lures in its prey by planting illusions in their minds. As Jarvis and Tweel approach a city on the canal bank, they are passed by a barrel-like creature with four legs, four arms, and a circle of eyes around its waist. The barrel creature is pushing an empty cart; it ignores them as it goes by. Another goes by. Jarvis stands in front of the third, which stops. Jarvis says, "We are friends," and the cart creature replies, "We are v-r-r-riends," before pushing past him. The cart creatures all repeat the phrase as they go by. The creatures return to the city with their carts full of stones, sand, and chunks of rubbery plants. Jarvis and Tweel follow the cart creatures into a network of tunnels. They get lost, and he and Tweel find themselves in a domed chamber near the surface. There they find the cart creatures depositing their loads beneath a wheel that grinds the stones and plants into dust. Some of the cart creatures also step under the wheel themselves and are pulverized. Beyond the wheel is a shining crystal on a pedestal. When Jarvis approaches it, he feels a tingling in his hands and face, and a wart on his left thumb dries up and falls off. He speculates that the crystal emits some form of radiation that destroys diseased tissue, but leaves healthy tissue unharmed. The cart creatures suddenly attack Jarvis and Tweel, who retreat up a corridor which leads outside, but the cart creatures corner them. Tweel stays by Jarvis' side rather than escape. Then an auxiliary rocket from the Ares lands. Jarvis boards the rocket, while Tweel bounds away into the Martian horizon. Back at the Ares, he tells his story to the other three crew members. Captain Harrison expresses regret that they do not have the healing crystal. Jarvis admits that the cart creatures attacked him because he took it; he takes it out and shows it to the others. Influence The story immediately established Weinbaum as a leading figure in the field. Isaac Asimov states that Weinbaum's "easy style