ors, thanks to his
absorber. But direct contact could give him away. But most of those
had to be buried. That meant that he could keep close to the bushes
and not have to worry. The roots of the bushes fouled up the detection
instruments if they got to them. He made his way, judging each step
before he took it and at last stood by the door.

It was dark by then. He could see the stars in the clear darkness of
the sky. They seemed somehow brighter than they had before. Nelson
fished through his pack until he felt the familiar shape of the gadget
he wanted. It was smaller, more compact than the one he had used to
get over the fence; but it was more complex. He felt along the door
frame for the alarm trip and found it. He placed the gadget there and
switched it on. There was a short, low, buzzing sound as the gadget
did its job and Nelson glanced around nervously, in fear it had been
heard. The door's lock clunked back and Nelson released air from his
lungs. He pushed the door open and found himself in darkness.

He was in a corridor with doors facing off from it. He could see light
coming under two of the doors, meaning patrolmen behind them. He moved
cautiously by the two doors, almost opposite each other, to a door at
the end of the corridor. He grasped the handle and opened the door,
realizing too late that the door should have been locked.

But by that time the door was open. His hand darted to his holstered
furnace beamer and unlocked the safety. It was almost pitch dark in
the room but he heard the room's occupant turning over on the bunk and
mumble low, incoherently, in his sleep. Nelson waited a minute but
the man didn't wake up.

Nelson closed the door.

He tried another door; this time, one that was locked. He had no
trouble forcing the lock pattern; less than a minute later he was
inside, with the door shut behind him. He took out a flashlight.

This was the storeroom, all right. It was piled with boxes mostly
unopened. Nelson read the labels on the boxes and opened those which
contained food he needed and supplies. He found another pack in an
opened box in one corner and began outfitting it like his own. Or as
nearly like his own as possible; he know that he could never duplicate
or replace the gadgets Gardner had designed, and in a way he was
bitter about it. He found the ammunition stores and took as many
capsules for the furnace beamers as he could carry. He went to the
door but slipped the furnace b