"In the crates?" Richardson looked up. "Let me see now. Oh, yes, they were full of the seeds of plants and eggs and sperm of animals--sort of the beginnings of things." "And where was the ship going to?" * * * * * Again, Richardson concentrated before replying. "To another Earth," he said. "That's right. The old guy, our father, said that this one was going to be destroyed by some disaster, and the people standing about were laughing and jeering and saying the old man was crazy." "Do you know what sort of disaster was going to happen?" asked Franstein. Richardson looked at him and suddenly a smile formed on his face. "Now I know where that dream came from," he said. "Remember that book _On The Beach_? The story about how everyone on Earth was wiped out by nuclear fallout? That's it! I remember wondering when I read it if some of us would be able to go to another planet before anything like that happened here, and I remember thinking, too, that we'd probably take things like seeds and so on with us, and even the ova of animals, and that by then we'd probably know how to preserve them--freeze them or something of the sort." "We can do that now," Snow said. "Well, there it is, then," said Richardson, smiling again. "There's the explanation." "It explains the dream all right," agreed Snow, "but what about the sounds? Particularly those you made in the capsule?" "Lord, yes!" said Richardson, and the smile left his face. "I'd forgotten about those. That puts us back to where we came in, doesn't it?" "I'm not so sure," said Franstein. He got to his feet and, in his turn, prowled up and down the room, deep in thought. The others waited for him to go on, and presently he turned to them, a glint of excitement in his eyes. "I think we're onto something," he said. "Those sounds are obviously a part of your dream, Ham, including the ones you made in the capsule, and only you know what they mean." "But I don't even remember making them!" "No, but your mind does. If we can unlock your mind, we can find the secret, and there's a way in which it can be done. Hypnosis." "Hypnosis?" The others spoke at once. Franstein nodded. "I've got to put you into a hypnotic trance, Ham, and we'll play that recording back to you and I think--only think, remember--that you're going to be able to tell us what they mean. Any objection, Phil?" "You're the expert." "How about you, Ham?" "I'll do anything to clear up this business." He jumped to his feet. "Let's get on with it now. What do I do? Shall I lie down on the sofa?" "I didn't know you are a hypnotist too, Abe," said Snow. "I'm not surprised, though. I might have known." Franstein took no notice of this. He stepped up to Richardson and looked up at him, holding out one hand which the other, wonderingly, took. "The big thing is confidence, Ham," he said, looking up earnestly. "Complete confidence. You have that in me?"