he
could watch the window of Albert's room. As he figured it, the window
was the best bet. He stroked the long-barreled blaster lying beside him.
Johnson still hadn't a chance, but these delays in disposing of him were
becoming an annoyance.

Cautiously, Albert tried the grating that covered the window. The
Antarian climate had rusted the heavy screws that fastened it to the
casing. One of the bars was loose. If it could be removed, it would
serve as a lever to pry out the entire grating.

Albert twisted at the bar. It groaned and squealed. He nervously applied
more pressure, and the bar moved slowly out of its fastenings.

* * * * *

The Zark observed his actions curiously. Now why was its host twisting
that rod of metal out of the woodwork? It didn't know, and it was
consumed with curiosity. It had found no way to communicate with its
host so that some of the man's queer actions could be understood; in the
portions of the brain it had explored, there were no portals of
communication. However, there still was a large dormant portion, and
perhaps here lay the thing it sought. The Zark inserted a number of
tendrils into the blank areas, probing, connecting synapses, opening
unused pathways, looking for what it hoped existed.

The results of this action were completely unforeseen by the Zark, for
it was essentially just a subordinate ego with all the lacks which that
implied--and it had never before inhabited a body that possessed a
potentially first-class brain. With no prior experience to draw upon,
the Zark couldn't possibly guess that its actions would result in a
peculiar relationship between the man and the world around him. And if
the Zark had known, it probably wouldn't have cared.

Albert removed the bar and pried out the grating. With only a momentary
hesitation, he lowered himself over the sill until his feet struck an
ornamental knob on the wall. He glanced quickly down. There was another
protuberance about two feet below the one on which he was standing.
Pressing against the wall, he inched one foot downward until it found
the foothold. With relief, he shifted his weight to the lower foot, and
as he did a wave of heat enveloped his legs. The protuberance came loose
from the wall with a grating noise mixed with the crackling hiss of a
blaster bolt, and Albert plunged toward the street below.

[Illustration]

As the pavement rushed at him, he had time for a brief, ferven