her said. "Well, if you like, I'll show you." He
reached into his coat and brought out something. Something that flashed
and glinted, something slender. A rod of pale fire.

The three stared at it. Sickened shock settled over them slowly.

Thacher held the rod loosely, calmly, pointing it at Erickson. "We knew
you three were on this ship," he said. "There was no doubt of that. But
we did not know what had become of the City. My theory was that the City
had not been destroyed at all, that something else had happened to it.
Council instruments measured a sudden loss of mass in that area, a
decrease equal to the mass of the City. Somehow the City had been
spirited away, not destroyed. But I could not convince the other Council
Leiters of it. I had to follow you alone."

Thacher turned a little, nodding to the men sitting at the bar. The men
rose at once, coming toward the table.

"A very interesting process you have. Mars will benefit a great deal
from it. Perhaps it will even turn the tide in our favor. When we return
to Marsport I wish to begin work on it at once. And now, if you will
please pass me the briefcase--"

Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from _Planet Stories_ January 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Crystal Crypt, by Philip Kindred Dick

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