ple over. They'd
find her in the morning and remove the tangle with the special tongs.

As for himself, it was too late. He might have got off Venus at one time
if he had concentrated on it. He hadn't tried harder because of Doumya
Filone. He had _wanted_ to believe her because--well, because.

"I told you I'd help, Jadiver. I will." The voice was distinct.

It wasn't Doumya Filone who'd said it. A tangle strand had worked up her
throat and gripped her face. She couldn't speak if she tried. Her gray
eyes weren't gray; they were the color of tears.

* * * * *

He looked around. It wasn't Doumya Filone--and there wasn't any other
person in the room.

"I've kept the police away," said the familiar voice. "I can protect you
for a while longer. There's still time to save yourself. But you have to
guess right. You can't make any more mistakes."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a voice. Doumya Filone didn't hear it; that
was obvious. It was the circuit then. Someone was making use of the
machine to actuate the auditory nerve directly. That was what he seemed
to hear.

Jadiver was tired and his body grimy, muscles twitching under the
tension. But if his unknown friend--real, after all--could out-wit a
room full of police and tinker with the mechanism which was supposed
to spot him, he couldn't do less.

He grinned. "I'll make it this time. I know what to do."

"The police haven't given up," said the voice. "I'm going to be busy
with them. Don't expect further communication from me."

He didn't know who the person was, in spite of the haunting familiarity
of the voice. And he wasn't going to find out soon. Probably never. It
was enough, however, to know that he had a friend.

He left Doumya Filone standing there, which was a mistake, he realized
as he reached the front office. He should have fired once more at her
hands. The screen was crackling; her hands had been free and she'd
managed to turn the screen on before the tangle strands interfered with
her movement.

He'd made a grave error, but not necessarily fatal. It would be some
time before anyone got there. By then he hoped to be safe.

He slipped through the corridors, went out the rear of the building and
looked around for an air cab. The place was deserted at this hour and no
cabs were in the nearby sky.

He had to walk and he didn't have that much time. He headed toward the
nearest main thoroughfare. It was in the opposite d