nswer, he thought; he tried to hold his mind shut.

_You're traveling very fast: Much too fast!_

The ship lurched a bit, slowing down. Then--for several seconds--he was
as much in Calvin's mind as his own; their minds blended. The shielding
did not stop that. Calvin was waiting at the foot of the ladder for him
to return. _Don't wait_, Walt thought; _I'm_--And as unexpectedly as it
had commenced, the blending ceased; he was once again alone. Calvin!
Calvin! he thought. No answer. Calvin's abnormal, unpredictable mind
remained inaccessible.

_Hello_, Julia said sweetly. The complacency she conveyed, the assurity
of her thought, the self confidence, the self reliance--these things
troubled him.

* * * * *

The ship touched ground, bounced once and was still. The switch above
him flipped over with a nasty, metallic snicker. In a fever of haste, he
ripped out of the cocoon. He had less than twenty seconds to get outside
before the molecular reaction set in.

His feet pounded to the door; his hand found the lever; his body fell
hard against the surface. The door popped open and he sprawled across
the cool sand.

He was up and running.

At fifty yards he looked back panting. The ship began to glow a dull,
unexciting dun color. A wave of heat pressed against his cheek. The ship
folded upon itself and collapsed into a powder of dry, red rust.

The desert around him was endless; the chill of distance from which he
was completely unprotected caught in his throat. He sat down and huddled
up to protect himself from it. He trembled violently and whimpered for
Forential. Cold sweat drenched his body....

He forced himself to stand; slowly the reaction passed. He opened his
eyes. He took a deep, nervous breath and let it out.

And--

He wanted to fall to the ground and dig his fingers into it.

Good God! he thought. She's trying to teleport me to her! She had caught
him unaware, when the terror of the desert was still upon him. He could
not marshal his thoughts to resist her.

He twisted frantically. _Watch out! You'll kill me!_

The attempt ceased at once.

_... oh? I thought ... Yes, I can see now that...._ The thought ended
abruptly. There was an utter and terrifying silence from her direction.

His mind began to add up the overall situation with great speed.
_Hello._ She did not answer. He licked his lips.

_I wasn't_, he thought, ... _I wasn't serious when I tried to teleport