ert; some silent alarm might have
triggered that instant awareness of himself and his surroundings. There
had been no change in the star pattern still overhead; no one had
entered the round chamber. Shann rolled over on his mat bed, conscious
that all his aches had vanished. Just as his mind was clearly active, so
did his body also respond effortlessly to his demands. He was not aware
of any hunger or thirst, though a considerable length of time must have
passed since he had made his mysteriously contrived exit from the outer
world.

In spite of the humidity of the air, his ragged garments had dried on
his body. Shann got to his feet, trying to order the sorry remnants of
his uniform, eager to be on the move. Though to where and for what
purpose he could not have answered.

The door through which he had entered remained closed, refusing to
yield to his push. Shann stepped back, eyeing the distance to the top of
the partition between the roofless rooms. The walls were smooth with the
gloss of a sea shell's interior, but the exuberant confidence which had
been with him since his awakening refused to accept such a minor
obstacle.

He made two test leaps, both times his fingers striking the wall well
below the top of the partition. Shann gathered himself together as might
a cat and tried the third time, putting into that effort every last
ounce of strength, determination and will. He made it, though his arms
jerked as the weight of his body hung from his hands. Then a scramble, a
knee hooked over the top, and he was perched on the wall, able to study
the rest of the building.

In shape, the structure was unlike anything he had seen on his home
world or reproduced in any of the tri-dee records of Survey accessible
to him. The rooms were either circular or oval, each separated from the
next by a short passage, so that the overall impression was that of ten
strings of beads radiating from a central knot of one large chamber, all
with the uniform nacre walls and a limited amount of furnishings.

As he balanced on the narrow perch, Shann could sight no other movement
in the nearest line of rooms, those connected by corridors with his own.
He got to his feet to walk the tightrope of the upper walls toward that
inner chamber which was the heart of the Warlockian--palace? town?
apartment dwelling? At least it was the only structure on the island,
for he could see the outer rim of that smooth soft sand ringing it
about. The is