e jawed and gurgled for about an hour and
settled all the major points.

I found out that they were new priests; the previous ones had all been
boiled for letting the Holy Waters cease. They found out I was there
only to help them restore the flow of the waters. They bought this,
tentatively, and we all heaved out of the tub and trickled muddy paths
across the floor. There was a bolted and guarded door that led into the
pyramid proper. While it was being opened, the First Lizard turned to
me.

"Undoubtedly you know of the rule," he said. "Because the old priests
did pry and peer, it was ruled henceforth that only the blind could
enter the Holy of Holies." I'd swear he was smiling, if thirty teeth
peeking out of what looked like a crack in an old suitcase can be called
smiling.

He was also signaling to him an underpriest who carried a brazier of
charcoal complete with red-hot irons. All I could do was stand and watch
as he stirred up the coals, pulled out the ruddiest iron and turned
toward me. He was just drawing a bead on my right eyeball when my brain
got back in gear.

"Of course," I said, "blinding is only right. But in my case you will
have to blind me before I _leave_ the Holy of Holies, not now. I need my
eyes to see and mend the Fount of Holy Waters. Once the waters flow
again, I will laugh as I hurl myself on the burning iron."

* * * * *

He took a good thirty seconds to think it over and had to agree with me.
The local torturer sniffled a bit and threw a little more charcoal on
the fire. The gate crashed open and I stalked through; then it banged to
behind me and I was alone in the dark.

But not for long--there was a shuffling nearby and I took a chance and
turned on my flash. Three priests were groping toward me, their
eye-sockets red pits of burned flesh. They knew what I wanted and led
the way without a word.

A crumbling and cracked stone stairway brought us up to a solid metal
doorway labeled in archaic script _MARK III BEACON--AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL
ONLY_. The trusting builders counted on the sign to do the whole job,
for there wasn't a trace of a lock on the door. One lizard merely turned
the handle and we were inside the beacon.

I unzipped the front of my camouflage suit and pulled out the
blueprints. With the faithful priests stumbling after me, I located the
control room and turned on the lights. There was a residue of charge in
the emergency batteries, ju