t?"

"Umm-mm, that's true," Judd said.

Lindy nodded.

"Well, that's one half of it. There's so much about life we don't
understand. Black Eyes uses energy of an unknown intensity, and the
result maintains Black Eyes' life. Now, although that is the case, your
animal did not live a comfortable life in the Venusian swamp. Because no
animal would attack it, it could not be harmed. Still, from what you
tell me about that swamp ...

"Anyhow, Black Eyes was glad to come away with you, and everything went
well until you landed in New York. The noises, the clattering, the
continual bustle of a great city--all this frightened the creature. It
was being attacked--or, at least that's what it must have figured.
Result: it struck back the only way it knew how. Have you ever heard
about sub-sonic sound-waves, Mr. Whitney, waves of sound so low that our
ears cannot pick them up--waves of sound which can nevertheless stir our
emotions? Such things exist, and, as a working hypothesis, I would say
Black Eyes' strange powers rest along those lines. The whole city is
idle because Black Eyes is afraid!"

In his exploration of Mars, of Venus, of the Jovian moons, Judd Whitney
had seen enough of extra-terrestrial life to know that virtually
anything was possible, and Black Eyes would be no exception to that
rule.

"What do you propose to do?" Judd demanded.

"Do? Why, we'll have to kill your creature, naturally. You can set a
value on it and we will meet it, but Black Eyes must die."

"No!" Lindy cried. "You can't be sure, you're only guessing, and it
isn't fair!"

"My dear woman, don't you realize this is a serious situation? The
city's people will starve in time. No one can even bring food in because
the trucks make too much noise! As an alternative, we could evacuate,
but is your pet more valuable than the life of a great city?"

"N-no...."

"Then, please! Listen to reason!"

"Kill it," Judd said. "Go ahead."

Dr. Jamison withdrew from his pocket a small blasting pistol used by the
Department of Domestic Animals for elimination of injured creatures. He
advanced on Black Eyes, who sat on its haunches in the center of the
room, surveying the scientist.

Dr. Jamison put his blaster away. "I can't," he said. "I don't want to."

Judd smiled. "I know it. No one--no _thing_--can kill Black Eyes. You
said so yourself. It was a waste of time to try it. In that case--"

"In that case," Dr. Jamison finished for him, "we're helpl