curt
wave.

"Will ... will you have someone see to him, please?" Kinton requested,
turning toward the helicopter.

"Yes, George," said Klaft. "George...?"

"Well?"

"It would be very instructive--that is, I believe Dr. Chuxolkhee would
like to--"

"All right!" yielded Kinton, surprised at the harshness of his own
voice. "Just tell him not to bring around any sketches of the various
organs for a few months!"

He climbed into the helicopter and slumped into his seat. Presently, he
was aware of Klaft edging into the seat across the aisle. He looked up.

"The police will stay until cars from town arrive. They are coming now,"
said his aide.

* * * * *

Kinton stared at his hands, wondering at the fact that they were not
shaking. He felt dejected, empty, not like a man who had just been at
a high pitch of excitement.

"Why did you not let him go, George?"

"What? Why ... why ... he would have destroyed the ship you worked so
hard to build. There is no safe path through the Dome of Eyes."

"No predictable path," Klaft corrected. "But what then? We would have
built you another ship, George, for it was you who showed us how."

Kinton flexed his fingers slowly.

"He was just no good. You know the murder he did here; we can only guess
what he did among my own ... among Terrans. Should he have a chance to
go back and commit more crimes?"

"I understand, George, the logic of it," said Klaft. "I meant ... it is
not my place to say this ... but you seem unhappy."

"Possibly," grunted Kinton wrily.

"We, too, have criminals," said the aide, as gently as was possible in
his clicking language. "We do not think it necessary to grieve for the
pain they bring upon themselves."

"No, I suppose not," sighed Kinton. "I ... it's just--"

He looked up at the pointed visage, at the strange eyes regarding him
sympathetically from beneath the sloping, purple-scaled forehead.

"It's just that now I'm lonely ... again," he said.

Transcriber's Note:

This e-text was produced from Space Science Fiction February
1953. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the
U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Exile, by Horace Brown Fyfe

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EXILE ***

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