The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tangle Hold, by F. L. Wallace

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Title: Tangle Hold

Author: F. L. Wallace

Illustrator: EMSH

Release Date: April 28, 2010 [EBook #32161]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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TANGLE HOLD

By F. L. WALLACE

Illustrated by EMSH

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Galaxy Science Fiction
June 1953. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.]

[Sidenote: Jadiver objected to being the greatest influence for good on
Venus ... because what was good for Venus was bad for Jadiver!]

Somebody was wrapping him in a sheet of ice and spice. Somebody was
pulling it tight so that his toes ached and his fingers tingled. He
still had fingers, and eyes too. He opened his eyes and they turned in
opposite directions and couldn't focus on what they saw. He made an
effort, but couldn't keep it up and had to let his eyes flutter shut
again.

"Rest. You're all right." That's where he got the idea of ice and
spice--from that voice.

"Mmmm," said Jadiver. He tried to raise his hand, but it wouldn't move.
It was good advice--to rest; he couldn't do otherwise. "What happened?"
he whispered.

"You had an accident. Remember?"

He didn't. It was his mind playing tricks, of course. It couldn't have
been pleasant if his memory didn't have access to it.

"Mmmm," he evaded.

"Go to sleep. We'll talk later."

He thought he felt something shoved deep in his flesh, but he may have
been wrong. In any event, the light that filtered through his closed
eyelids faded away and the external world, of which there wasn't much in
the first place, vanished completely.

* * * * *

Later, he awakened. How much later, he didn't know, but it may have been
days. The oppressive languor had left him and he felt capable of
movement. To prove it to himself, he turned his head. He was alone, and
he thought he recognized where he was. He didn't like it.

There wa