bly alive," Songeen murmured. "You would not understand, of
course. It is because I love him. He will not come, but he must have the
chance. And I must send a stranger to kill him, because he
has--forgotten."

Newlin stiffened angrily. He was on the point of rejecting the girl and
her project when a battery of lights moved toward them from the winding
lanes of the Park. Too well he knew what they meant.

As the wealthiest district of Venusport, Monta Park was smug,
respectable, luxurious--and protected. Roving radio-patrols of
Protection Police--privately hired thugs--guarded its dwellers and their
possessions. A prowling mono-car slowed and maneuvered to cast a
revealing spotlight on the loitering pair. Newlin, had he been alone,
might have dodged into the dense shrubbery, but the girl knew better.

[Illustration: _The spotlight meant violence and sudden death._]

Calmly she turned to face down the occupants of the PP car, and her
haughty expression would have chilled the blood of any PP constable
presumptuous enough to question her. Her attitude and the obvious
richness of her clothing seemed to satisfy the patrol, for the beam
swung briefly and hesitated on Newlin. He dropped behind her like a
servant bodyguard and hoped his scuffed space-leather was not too
noticeable. The beam held for seconds, then flicked out. Soundlessly the
patrol car vanished.

Neither spoke as the pair moved quickly into the precincts of the Park.
As residence area, it was splashy; a series of interlocked estates
rather than expensive mansions packed closely together. Each unit sat
alone in sprawling, neatly sheared grounds, landscaped with flowering
trees and set with the chill sophistication of statuary in gold, silver
and platinum. Botanical splendors from exotic worlds rioted in orderly
tangles of aromatic greenery, with sculpture of glass, marble and the
noble metals glinting like pale ghosts against the darker masses.

Shadows parted before them. Half-hidden among trees rose a slender
spire, needle-shaped, tall as a tower, but unwindowed. For a dwelling,
its design was curious, and the interior must consist of circular rooms
one above the other. At the base, an arched, oval aperture should have
been the door, but neither handle nor keyhole showed on the flat,
polished plate.

"Here we are," the girl said needlessly, her voice soft as a hint of
pain trembled in it. A tremor ran through her body as she thrust out two
objects towar