bly.

Cole looked up. His faded blue eyes took in the sight of the three
children standing before him in the gloom. "I'll fix it for you. You
said you wanted it fixed."

"I want it back." Steven stood on one foot, then the other, torn by
doubt and indecision. "Can you really fix it? Can you make it work
again?"

"Yes."

"All right. Fix it for me, then."

A sly smile flickered across Cole's tired face. "Now, wait a minute.
If I fix it, will you bring me something to eat? I'm not fixing it for
nothing."

"Something to eat?"

"Food. I need hot food. Maybe some coffee."

Steven nodded. "Yes. I'll get it for you."

Cole relaxed. "Fine. That's fine." He turned his attention back to the
box resting between his knees. "Then I'll fix it for you. I'll fix it
for you good."

His fingers flew, working and twisting, tracing down wires and relays,
exploring and examining. Finding out about the inter-system vidsender.
Discovering how it worked.

Steven slipped into the house through the emergency door. He made his
way to the kitchen with great care, walking on tip-toe. He punched the
kitchen controls at random, his heart beating excitedly. The stove
began to whirr, purring into life. Meter readings came on, crossing
toward the completion marks.

Presently the stove opened, sliding out a tray of steaming dishes. The
mechanism clicked off, dying into silence. Steven grabbed up the
contents of the tray, filling his arms. He carried everything down the
hall, out the emergency door and into the yard. The yard was dark.
Steven felt his way carefully along.

He managed to reach the guide-light without dropping anything at all.

Thomas Cole got slowly to his feet as Steven came into view. "Here,"
Steven said. He dumped the food onto the curb, gasping for breath.
"Here's the food. Is it finished?"

Cole held out the inter-system vidsender. "It's finished. It was
pretty badly smashed."

Earl and Sally gazed up, wide-eyed. "Does it work?" Sally asked.

"Of course not," Earl stated. "How could it work? He couldn't--"

"Turn it on!" Sally nudged Steven eagerly. "See if it works."

Steven was holding the box under the light, examining the switches. He
clicked the main switch on. The indicator light gleamed. "It lights
up," Steven said.

"Say something into it."

Steven spoke into the box. "Hello! Hello! This is operator 6-Z75
calling. Can you hear me? This is operator 6-Z75. Can you hear me?"

In the darkness, away fr