put his fishing tackle away. "Got to get ready for Star
Watch," he said. "I'm on the early trick tonight." He halted in the
kitchen doorway, still holding the rod and creel. He looked back at the
fish. "That kind of thing is likely to take all the fun out of fishing,"
he told her.

* * * * *

Usually, he found Star Watch a bore. There were often Saucer sightings,
it was true. He had had many himself, some of them very close in, but
all that had become routine. At first, the government had tried shooting
them down, but the attempts had ended in total failure and the Saucers
still came, aloof and unreasonable, as if they did not even know that
they were being shot at. Later, communication had been tried--but with
no better results.

Now, when the Saucers were sighted, the Watcher phoned in a report, some
bored plotter in Saucer Control took bearings and speed, or replied that
they had the thing on radar. The next day, the score of sightings would
be Spellcast--it was less exciting than watching for grunnion.

Tonight, however, Ward was excited. As he left his house, he set out at
a fast pace for the school. He found Bobby in front of the boys'
dormitory.

"What is it, John?" the boy called as he trotted over to the teacher.

"How'd you like to come on Star Watch with me?"

"All right." They went down the street together.

"I want to try something," Ward told the boy. "I think I know how we can
get in touch with the Saucer people."

"But they _have_ tried."

"Yes, I know--with radio and blinker lights and all that. But maybe
that's the wrong way. Bobby, you're a telepath, aren't you?"

"I'm not very good at it and anyway I don't think it'll work."

"Why not?"

"I tried once, but I couldn't seem to get anywhere. They seemed--I
dunno--funny."

"In what way?" Ward asked the boy.

"Just sort of funny."

"Well, if we're lucky, maybe we can try again tonight."

"Yeah," Bobby said, "it's probably a good night for it. Full moon. Why
do you suppose they seem to like the full moon, John?"

"I wish I knew."

It didn't look as if they were going to have any luck. They had waited
for two hours and Bobby was asleep on a bench in the small "duck blind"
the Watchers used. Then John heard it.

It was a high shimmer of sound and it gave him gooseflesh, as it always
did. He couldn't see anything yet. Then it appeared to the north, very
low, like a coagulation of the moonlight itself,