fficer. I can't hardly believe it myself; but so help me, it's
gospel. I _saw_ it!"

"I'm waiting."

Cordell said doggedly: "The lab door was open a crack. I heard a woman's
voice in there, and it wasn't my wife's. It was a voice like--like
cracked ice. You know: cold and kind of ... well ... brittle and--and
deadly. That's the only way I can describe it.

"Anyway, I sort of hesitated there, outside the door. I didn't want to
go bulling in on something that wasn't none of my business ... but on
the other hand I figured my wife was in there, else Alma would've said
so."

"You hear anything besides this collection of ice cubes?"

The young man's jaw hardened. "I'm giving it the way it happened. You
want the rest, or you want to trade wise cracks?"

One of the men behind Kirk lunged forward, "Why, you cheap punk--"

Kirk stopped him with an arm. "I'll handle this, Miller." To Cordell: "I
asked you a question. Answer it."

"I heard Professor Gilmore. Only a couple words, then two quick flashes
of light lit up the frosted glass door panel. That's when I heard these
two thumps like when somebody falls down. I shoved open the door fast
... and right then I saw _her_!"

Kirk nodded for no apparent reason and was careful about knocking a
quarter inch of ash off his cigar. "Tell me about her."

The young man's hands were shaking again. He sucked at his cigarette and
let the smoke come out with his words: "She was clear over on the other
side of the lab ... standing a good two feet off the floor in the middle
of a big blue ball of some kind of--of soft fire. _Blue_ fire that sort
of _pulsed_--you know. Anyway, there she was: this hell of a
good-looking blonde; looking right smack at me, and there was this funny
kind of gun in her hand. She aimed it and I ducked just as this dim
flash of light came out of it. Something hit me on the side of the head
and I ... well, I guess I blanked out."

[Illustration: _She was standing a good two feet off the floor in the
middle of a glowing bubble that pulsed and wavered around her._]

"Then what?"

"Well, like I said yesterday, I suppose I just naturally came out of it.
I'm all spread out on the floor with the damndest headache you ever saw.
Over by the window is the Prof and--" he wet his lips--"and Juanita.
They're dead, Lieutenant; just kind of all piled up over there ... dead,
their heads busted in and the--the--the--"

* * * * *

He sat th