othe his injured flesh.

He came upon a vat without vegetation and, at first joyous glance,
thought it empty. Then, disappointment, a comparatively fresh body
floated in it, just under the surface.

It was the body of a man. Naked, it was smooth and plump with the water
that had seeped into its tissues, and it was a uniform dead-white all
over, like the belly of a fish. The face and lips were monochrome white,
the hair was bleached, and when it opened its eyes, they were so
colorless that the action was almost unnoticeable.

Realizing, Happy was paralyzed with shock.

The dead creature's eyes moved from side to side, then stopped, fixing
on Happy. Its chest began to rise and fall slowly, with
breathing--_under water_.

"Shadow!" squeaked Happy helplessly.

Shadow appeared beside him.

"Shadow, it's alive," whispered Happy, desperately frightened.

The two stood side by side, staring breathlessly down into the water.
The creature in the vat moved its hands tentatively, it opened its mouth
and closed it. Then it stirred with purpose, turned and climbed up over
the side of the vat, dripping like a weird creature from the depths of
the sea.

It stood up before them, dripping.

The man bent slightly and belched forth a great quantity of water from
his lungs. He straightened, and breathed in the air in great, satisfied
gasps.

"I'm Dark Kensington," he said in a rusty voice. "Where is this?"

At his words, Shadow disappeared.

Dark Kensington. Had Maya seen him now, she could not possibly have
recognized him. The muscular body and dark, handsome face were bloated
and pale. The black hair was bleached to pale seaweed, and the blue eyes
were completely colorless now.

"This is the Canfell Hydroponic Farm," answered Happy, gaining a little
courage. "Under the surface of the Desert of Candor."

"The Desert of Candor?" repeated Dark, and the pale lips twisted in a
smile. "They hauled me quite a way. I was at Solis Lacus."

"How did you get here?" asked Happy with sudden eagerness. "Only dead
people are thrown in the vats, to make chemicals for the plants. How
could you stay alive under water?"

"I imagine I can breathe water for the same reason I can still live
after a heat beam burned my guts out, but I don't know what that reason
is. I imagine that the first step in finding out is to get out of this
place."

"You can't get away from here," said Happy positively. "Nobody ever
has."

"We'll see," said Dar