isle of an amphitheater.

It was pitch dark where he was, and he stood perfectly still, exploring
with his mind. He could not see any guards. The rows of empty seats were
arranged in circles around a central pit, large enough for any
entertainment Mr. Bellaver might decide to give. The pit was brilliantly
lighted, and from somewhere lower down came the intermittent sound of
voices.

Also from the pit came Shearing's cries. Hyrst began to tremble with
outrage and anger, and his still-uncertain mental control faltered
dangerously. Then from out of nowhere, a voice spoke in his mind, and he
saw the face of the woman he had seen twice before, the woman Shearing
served.

"Careful," she said. "There is a Lazarite with Bellaver. His attention
is all on Shearing, but you must keep your mind shielded. I'll help
you."

Hyrst whispered. "Thanks." He felt calm now, alert and capable. He crept
along the dark aisle, toward the pit.

Mr. Bellaver's theater lacked nothing. The large circular stage area was
fitted with upper and lower electro-magnets for the use of acrobats and
dancers with null-grav specialties. They could perform without
disturbing the regular grav-field of the _Happy Dream_, thus keeping the
guests comfortable, and by skillful manipulation of the magnetic fields
more spectacular stunts were possible than in ordinary no-gravity.

Shearing was in the pit, between the upper and lower magnets. He wore an
acrobat's metal attraction-harness, strapped on over his clothes. When
Hyrst looked over the rail he was hanging at the central point of
weightlessness, where everything in a man floats free and his senses are
lost in a dreadful vertigo unless he has been conditioned over a long
period of time to get used to it. Shearing had not been conditioned.

"Careful," said the woman's warning voice in his mind. "His life depends
on you. No, don't try to make contact with him! The Lazarite would sense
you--"

Shearing began a slow ascension toward the upper magnet as the current
was increased, from some unseen control board. He moved convulsively
turning horizontally around the axis of his own middle like a toy spun
on a string. His back was uppermost, and Hyrst could not see his face.

"Bellaver and the Lazarite," said the woman quietly, "are trying to
learn from Shearing where our ship is. He has been able so far to keep
his mind shielded. He is--a very brave man. But you'll have to hurry.
He's near the breaking point.