y
have public welfare, and atomic bombs, and rockets to the moon to sink
their money into." Morgan stared at the man. "But what can _I_ do?"

"You can _write_! That's what you can do. You can tell the world about
me, you can tell exactly what has happened. I know how public interest
can be aroused in my world. It must be the same in yours."

Morgan didn't move. He just stared. "How many people have you talked
to?" he asked.

"A dozen, a hundred, maybe a thousand."

"And how many believed you?"

"None."

"You mean _nobody_ would believe you?"

"_Not one soul._ Until I talked to you."

And then Morgan was laughing, laughing bitterly, tears rolling down his
cheeks. "And I'm the one man who couldn't help you if my life depended
on it," he gasped.

"You believe me?"

Morgan nodded sadly. "I believe you. Yes. I think your warp brought you
through to a parallel universe of your own planet, not to another star,
but I think you're telling the truth."

"Then you _can_ help me."

"I'm afraid not."

"Why not?"

"Because I'd be worse than no help at all."

Jefferson Parks gripped the table, his knuckles white. "Why?" he cried
hoarsely. "If you believe me, why can't you help me?"

Morgan pointed to the magazine lying on the table. "I write, yes," he
said sadly. "Ever read stories like this before?"

Parks picked up the magazine, glanced at the bright cover. "I barely
looked at it."

"You should look more closely. I have a story in this issue. The readers
thought it was very interesting," Morgan grinned. "Go ahead, look at
it."

The stranger from the stars leafed through the magazine, stopped at a
page that carried Roger Morgan's name. His eyes caught the first
paragraph and he turned white. He set the magazine down with a trembling
hand. "I see," he said, and the life was gone out of his voice. He
spread the pages viciously, read the lines again.

The paragraph said:

"Just suppose," said Martin, "that I _did_ believe you. Just for
argument." He glanced up at the man across the table. "Where do we
go from here?"

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Circus, by Alan Edward Nourse

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