teena watching empty space with narrowed eyes and set mouth,
calculating a single wild chance. Bat, crouched on his belly, retreating
from thin air step by step and wailing like a demon.

"Toss me your blaster." Steena gave the order calmly--as if they still
sat at their table in the Rigel Royal.

And as quietly Cliff obeyed. She caught the small weapon out of the air
with a steady hand--caught and leveled it.

"Stay just where you are!" she warned. "Back, Bat, bring it back!"

With a last throat-splitting screech of rage and hate, Bat twisted to
safety between her boots. She pressed with thumb and forefinger, firing
at the spacealls. The material turned to powdery flakes of ash--except
for certain bits which still flapped from the scorched seat--as if
something had protected them from the force of the blast. Bat sprang
straight up in the air with a scream that tore their ears.

"What...?" began Cliff again.

Steena made a warning motion with her left hand. "_Wait!_"

She was still tense, still watching Bat. The cat dashed madly around the
cabin twice, running crazily with white-ringed eyes and flecks of foam
on his muzzle. Then he stopped abruptly in the doorway, stopped and
looked back over his shoulder for a long silent moment. He sniffed
delicately.

Steena and Cliff could smell it too now, a thick oily stench which was
not the usual odor left by an exploding blaster-shell.

Bat came back, treading daintily across the carpet, almost on the tips
of his paws. He raised his head as he passed Steena and then he went
confidently beyond to sniff, to sniff and spit twice at the unburned
strips of the spaceall. Having thus paid his respects to the late enemy
he sat down calmly and set to washing his fur with deliberation. Steena
sighed once and dropped into the navigator's seat.

"Maybe now you'll tell me what in the hell's happened?" Cliff exploded
as he took the blaster out of her hand.

"Gray," she said dazedly, "it must have been gray--or I couldn't have
seen it like that. I'm colorblind, you see. I can see only shades of
gray--my whole world is gray. Like Bat's--his world is gray too--all
gray. But he's been compensated for he can see above and below our range
of color vibrations and--apparently--so can I!"

Her voice quavered and she raised her chin with a new air Cliff had
never seen before--a sort of proud acceptance. She pushed back her
wandering hair, but she made no move to imprison it under the he