and without that help, you’ll never accomplish anything. You’ve got to trust me. I’ll get the cage out of here and hide it.”

“But—” began Ward.

“I’ll hide here among these crates. You let ’em in. We’ll see what happens.”

This time the banks functioned, and Red ducked down out of sight. The panel slid slowly into the wall. The Officer standing framed in the opening was grossly huge, with a pasty dead white face and expressionless glassy eyes. His voice was low and hollow. He stepped inside and the door slid closed. Ward felt a smothering trapped cloud enveloping him, greater than any he had known so far, thick like poison air. Even the Executive Officer of a luxuriant space liner like the Sol! The inhumanness of the creature was obvious to Ward, but he could understand why it wouldn’t be to those uninformed. A little insight made all the difference. Why hadn’t Red needled him as he stood here? The cage, of course, but then—besides no one would suspect a passenger listed as Professor Limerick, harmless botanist and—

“You will come with me, Professor Ward.” It wasn’t a question.

“You must have the wrong compartment. I’m Professor Limerick. I’m going to study the indigenous spores along the canal at—”

“Doctor Ward, please,” the phlegmatic voice said. “You’ve suspected we are telepathic. Now you know. It is a superior weapon. We know you killed one of us in Washington, and that you registered as Professor Limerick and his assistant—” the cumbersome head swayed. “By the way, where is he?”

“In the gaming rooms,” said Ward quickly. “He ... er ... plays chess.”

“You will come with me now,” repeated the monotonous voice. The body shifted slightly.

“Will I?” said Ward. “You have no such right. As a passenger of—”

“You are a labeled psycho. I have full authority to confine you in a psychocell until we reach Mars. There is no other way. Our other methods have failed. For a human male, you have rather a finely developed mind. You will die enroute of—natural causes. A ship can never be held responsible for what happens to a psycho’s unpredictable nervous system in space.”

Ward’s eyes circled the room. Red! For God’s sake, Red! The cage of mercenaries rustled. The Mo-Sanshon retreated instinctively, then suddenly, with amazing agility, jumped 

 Prev. P 11/24 next