thwest and were
felt from British Columbia as far south as San Francisco and east to
Salt Lake City.

In his bachelor apartment, Troy was sprawled on the edge of his bed
when the first shock wave struck. The shuddering, stomach-churning
wave tossed him to the floor and a picture dropped to smash against
the floor.

[Illustration]

"What the hell," Troy exclaimed in shocked sleepiness as he tried to
get up. The floor continued to sway under him. He got to his hands and
knees and fought to orient himself and his thinking about what was
happening.

His first thought was an explosion and he staggered toward the window.
There was no sign of one. A minute later, the second and lighter
tremblor hit and he grabbed for support.

Across the city Alec and Carol sat up wide awake during the last
instants of the first jolt. Without a word and with a single mind,
they rushed for the other bedroom to seize and comfort the frightened
and crying Jimmy. They were clutching him closely when the second
shock struck.

"It's a quake," Alec analyzed calmly, "nothing to be frightened
about." He, too, walked to the window to see if there were outer signs
of damage. When it looked fairly normal, he went back to the bed to
help Carol calm the frightened child.

"Mother Nature is just shaking things into place a little," Alec told
his son. "It's nothing to fear, old man. Come on, let's go out in the
kitchen and get a cup of hot chocolate and then we'll all go back to
bed."

Jimmy wiped his eyes and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. "Can
I sleep in with you and Mom," he asked.

Alec ruffled the already mussed hair. "Sure you can, big fellow."

They went into the kitchen and Carol began making cocoa. Alec was
fishing in the cupboard for the cookie jar when the vidiphone buzzed.
He went to the wall and pressed the "Answer" button.

The worried face of Jordan Plumber snapped onto the screen.

"Alec," he said grimly, "get over to the office right away. All hell's
broken loose."

"I'll be there as soon as I can dress," Alec said. "What's happened?"

"The quake has cracked the Spokima Reservoir. Right now we've already
lost nearly a million acre feet and God only knows how much more is
going out. Snap it up." The screen went blank.

Alec turned to Carol. Her face was ashy and she bit on a knuckle to
fight for control.

He put an arm around her. "We'll manage it, baby. I've got to go." He
turned and hurried from the kitchen t