ss of her hair. Her eyes,
fixed and with staring pupils, peered between her fingers. And she
screamed.

Konar felt suddenly faint, as though the girl's horror was somehow
communicated to him. The scream reverberated through his brain, rising
in an intolerable crescendo, blotting out other sensory perception. He
fought to regain control of his fading senses, but the castle court
blurred and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. He started
sliding down an endless, dark chute, ending in impenetrable blackness.

* * * * *

Suddenly, the black dissolved into a flash of unbearably brilliant
light, and Konar's eyes closed tightly.

He was alertly conscious again, but his head ached, and he felt
reluctant, even unable, to open his eyes. Even closed, they ached from
the brilliant spots which snapped into being before them. He shuddered,
bringing his head down to his breast, gripping it with shaking hands,
and breathing with uneven effort.

This was like nothing he had ever met before. He would have to get back
to the others--find out what had happened to him--get help.

He concentrated on his eyelids, forcing them open. A crowd was
gathering, to look accusingly at the squire, who supported the fainting
girl in his arms. Her eyes fluttered weakly, and she struggled to regain
her feet.

"That awful thing! It's right over there!" She pointed at Konar.

Again, the unbearable ululation swept through his mind. Convulsively, he
swept his hand to his shield controls, fighting to remain conscious just
long enough to set his course up and away.

Before he was able to move and think with anything approaching
normality, he was far above the earth. He looked at the tiny castle far
below, noticing that from his altitude, it looked like some child's toy,
set on a sand hill, with bits of moss strewed about to make a realistic
picture. He shivered. His head still ached dully, and he could still
hear echoes of the horrified screaming.

"I don't know what it was," he told himself, "but I hope I never run
into anything like that again."

He located the hill which concealed the flier, and dropped rapidly
toward it.

As he entered, the pilot noticed him.

"Well, that was a quick mission," he commented. "How'd you----" He
looked at Konar's pain-lined face. "Hey, what's the matter, youngster?
You look like the last end of a bad week."

Konar tried to smile, but it didn't work very well.

"I ra