tact with us. It has an
injured jet and is moving slowly back toward Terra, away from the
line."

"Good." Kramer nodded, a flood of relief rushing through him. He lit a
cigarette and gave one to each of the soldiers. The soldiers lit up.

"Sir," one of them asked, "is it true about the experimental ship?"

"What do you mean?"

"It came to life and ran off?"

"No, not exactly," Kramer said. "It had a new type of control system
instead of the Johnson units. It wasn't properly tested."

"But sir, one of the cruisers that was there got up close to it, and a
buddy of mine says this ship acted funny. He never saw anything like
it. It was like when he was fishing once on Terra, in Washington
State, fishing for bass. The fish were smart, going this way and
that--"

"Here's your cruiser," the other soldier said. "Look!"

An enormous vague shape was setting slowly down onto the field. They
could make nothing out but its row of tiny green blinkers. Kramer
stared at the shape.

"Better hurry, sir," the soldiers said. "They don't stick around here
very long."

"Thanks." Kramer loped across the field, toward the black shape that
rose up above him, extended across the width of the field. The ramp
was down from the side of the cruiser and he caught hold of it. The
ramp rose, and a moment later Kramer was inside the hold of the ship.
The hatch slid shut behind him.

As he made his way up the stairs to the main deck the turbines roared
up from the moon, out into space.

Kramer opened the door to the main deck. He stopped suddenly, staring
around him in surprise. There was nobody in sight. The ship was
deserted.

"Good God," he said. Realization swept over him, numbing him. He sat
down on a bench, his head swimming. "Good God."

The ship roared out into space leaving the moon and Terra farther
behind each moment.

And there was nothing he could do.

* * * * *

"So it was you who put the call through," he said at last. "It was you
who called me on the vidphone, not any hospital on Terra. It was all
part of the plan." He looked up and around him. "And Dolores is
really--"

"Your wife is fine," the wall speaker above him said tonelessly. "It
was a fraud. I am sorry to trick you that way, Philip, but it was all
I could think of. Another day and you would have been back on Terra. I
don't want to remain in this area any longer than necessary. They have
been so certain of finding me out in