"Don't be frightened," his persuasive thought came. "It can't hurt you.
It's locked in a cage."

Then she slid the bolt and turned the handle. Her head hurt for an
instant; and she was inside, a blue and silver shadow in the dim
anteroom, with the tray in her hand and the books under her arm and her
pulse hammering.

She looked around the dim anteroom, at the spidery tangle of orange and
black ropes against the left-hand wall; then at the doorway in the
right-hand wall with the warm light streaming through. He was standing
in the second room, one hand on the chair for support, the other
extended toward her. For the first time he spoke aloud.

"Hello, butterfly," he said.

"Hello," she said. She smiled and walked forward into the light. She
reached out for his hand.

Then she stopped short, her hand pressed against an impenetrable wall.

* * * * *

She could see him standing there, smiling, reaching for her hand, but
there was an invisible barrier between them. Then, slowly, his room
began to fade, the light dimmed, his figure grew watery, transparent,
vanished. She was standing, staring at the riveted steel bulkhead of a
compartment which was lit only by the dim light filtering through the
thick glass over the transom.

She stood there frozen, and the ice in the glasses tinkled nervously.
Then the tray slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. Icy
liquid splashed the silver sandals. In the silent gloom she stood
immobile, her eyes wide in her white face, her fist pressed to her
mouth, stifling a scream.

Something touched her gently at head and wrist and ankle--all over her
body. The web clung, delicate as lace, strong as steel.

Even if she had been able to move, she could not have broken free as the
thing against the wall began to clamber down the strands on eight furred
legs.

"Hello, butterfly," he said again.

--KENNETH HARMON

Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from _Galaxy Science Fiction_ February 1954.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
typographical errors have been corrected without note.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Passenger, by Kenneth Harmon

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PASSENGER ***

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