| abstract
| - John, Don, Will and the Robot leave the campsite in the chariot to set up microwave relay stations. A meteor storm strikes soon after and the men are barely able to reach shelter in time. Back at the Jupiter 2, Dr. Smith believes that the meteor storm was in fact a barrage to weaken them prior to an invasion by aliens, but Maureen dismisses his worries as unfounded. She is more concerned that the men were safe. Maureen, Penny, Judy and Smith notice a fresh crater on their way to find the men. Nearby the crater is a wrecked human spacecraft, but it is empty. After they leave, a horned beast climbs from the crater and watches them. That night, the force field is turned on for protection as everyone is beginning to feel a bit jittery, especially when they discover some of their food is missing. After being awoken in the night by strange howling, Maureen and Judy set out armed the next morning to investigate and find a small dog in the wilderness. Although they do not know where the dog came from, they allow Penny to adopt it. The only reasonable explanation they have is that it was an test animal sent out into space many years before, but Dr. Smith is certain it is a hostile alien in disguise, his opinion strengthen when the dog growls and snaps at him. The women also find some fur caught on a rock; when Judy analyzes it, she determines that it could not have come from the dog and they conclude that there is still something lurking out there beyond the camp. They suspect that the weird ecology of the planet may be responsible for one of the local life forms growing large enough to become a danger to them. That night the find that the force field will not function because its batteries have run down. The dog has also run off and Penny has gone to look for it, narrowly missing an encounter with the alien creature instead. Maureen is furious to find that Dr. Smith has disassembled all of their weapons in order to clean them, and they are now utterly defenceless. Penny finally manages to find the lost dog, but it is clearly agitated and nips and struggles to escape when she attempts to pick it up. Penny is shocked, but does not realize the monster is now drawing closer to her and the dog sees it. Meanwhile, the men are able to establish communication with the Jupiter 2, and although she is uncertain and worried, Maureen reassures her husband that everything is all right at camp; after all, other than finding a dog, there has been no concrete evidence of any danger. John does not believe her and immediately orders the chariot to return to camp. Once back, Will reassembles the weapons, and the family go out to find Penny (and Judy, who had gone out earlier to look for her sister). When they find them, the monster is upon them, and only through quick action are John and Don able to drive it away before the girls are harmed. Will quickly finds the dog, and dropping his gun picks it up and holds it. Dr. Smith insists John or Don kill it, but they laugh at his belief that it is an alien spy. As one last service, the dog leaps from Will's arms when the alien beast reappears and chases it back to its crater.
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