e
inevitable. And only by action could he blot out the haunting mental
picture of Kaydessa once more drawn into the bondage she so hated.

Flanked by Jil-Lee and Buck, he climbed back through the tower window
and faced the glowing pillar.

He crossed the room, put out both hands to the sleek pole, uncertain if
the weird transport would work again. He heard the sharp gasp from the
others as his body was sucked against the pillar and carried downward
through the well. Buck followed him, and Jil-Lee came last. Then Travis
led the way along the underground corridor to the room with the table
and the reader.

He sat down on the bench, fumbled with the pile of tape disks, knowing
that the other two were watching him with almost hostile intentness. He
snapped a disk into the reader, hoping he could correctly interpret the
directions it gave.

He looked up at the wall before him. Three ... four steps, the correct
move--and then an unlocking....

"You know?" Buck demanded.

"I can guess----"

"Well?" Jil-Lee moved to the table. "What do we do?"

"This--" Travis came from behind the table, walked to the wall. He put
out both hands, flattened his palms against the green-blue-purple
surface and slid them slowly along. Under his touch, the material of the
wall was cool and hard, unlike the live feel the pillar had. Cool
until--

One palm, held at arm's length had found the right spot. He slid the
other hand along in the opposite direction until his arms were level
with his shoulders. His fingers were able now to press on those points
of warmth. Travis tensed and pushed hard with all ten fingers.

16

At first, as one second and then two passed and there was no response to
the pressure, Travis thought he had mistaken the reading of the tape.
Then, directly before his eyes, a dark line cut vertically down the
wall. He applied more pressure until his fingers were half numb with
effort. The line widened slowly. Finally he faced a slit some eight feet
in height, a little more than two in width, and there the opening
remained.

Light beyond, a cold, gray gleam--like that of a cloudy winter day on
Terra--and with it the chill of air out of some arctic wasteland.
Favoring his still bandaged side, Travis scraped through the door ahead
of the others, and came into the place of gray cold.

"Wauggh!" Travis heard that exclamation from Jil-Lee, could have echoed
it himself except that he was too astounded by what he had