bitterness. "I'm afraid you
wouldn't be very comfortable in with me."

There was a time of silence. Frank took off his jacket, shirt and
trousers. It was funny, he thought. He'd spent his money, been drugged,
beaten and robbed as a result of one objective--to get into a room alone
with a girl. And a girl not nearly as nice as Nora at that. Now, here he
was alone with a real dream, and he was tongue-tied. It didn't make
sense. He shrugged. Life was crazy sometimes.

He heard the rustle of garments and wondered how much Nora was taking
off. Then he dropped his trousers, forgotten, to the floor. "Did you
hear that?"

"Yes. It's that--"

Frank went to the window, raised the sash. The moaning sound came in
louder, but it was from far distance. "I think that's out around
Evanston."

Frank felt a warmth on his cheek and he realized Nora was by his side,
leaning forward. He put an arm around her and they stood unmoving in
complete silence. Although their ears were straining for the sound
coming down from the north, Frank could not be oblivious of the warm
flesh under his hand.

Nora's breathing was soft against his cheek. She said, "Listen to how it
rises and falls. It's almost as though they were using it to talk with.
The inflection changes."

"I think that's what it is. It's coming from a lot of different places.
It stops in some places and starts in others."

"It's so--weird."

"Spooky," Frank said, "but in a way it makes me feel better."

"I don't see how it could." Nora pressed closer to him.

"It does though, because of what I was afraid of. I had it figured out
that the city was going to blow up--that a bomb had been planted that
they couldn't find, or something like that. Now, I'm pretty sure it's
something else. I'm willing to bet we'll be alive in the morning."

Nora thought that over in silence. "If that's the way it is--if some
kind of invaders are coming down from the north--isn't it stupid to stay
here? Even if we are tired we ought to be trying to get away from them."

"I was thinking the same thing. I'll go and talk to Wilson."

They crossed the room together and he left her by the bed and went on to
the door. Then he remembered he was in his shorts and went back and got
his trousers. After he'd put them on, he wondered why he'd bothered. He
opened the door.

Something warned him--some instinct--or possibly his natural fear and
caution coincided with the presence of danger. He heard the foots