A picture hung a few feet to one side of the locked door. Shane stepped over to it and lifted it from the wall. It concealed another peep hole. Shading his eyes, the Earthman peered through the lens. Kyrsis was within ... Kyrsis and one of the captive _Chonya_ girls. The silver woman held the child upon her lap. She was talking to her--smiling, squeezing the chubby hands. Her manner was gentle, tender. Yet under it all, somehow, hung a weird, unholy note--grotesque, obscene. Some of the fear had left the child's eyes now. She smiled wanly ... nestled, not quite so tense, in the silver woman's arms. Kyrsis' eyes closed. Her lips parted, and Shane knew that she was singing as she rocked the child. The child's lips drooped. Trustingly, the small arms half-embraced the silver woman. The tired head rested on Kyrsis' breast. The child slept. Now new emotions came to Kyrsis' lovely face ... strange passion--a horrid anticipatory glow. Her nostrils flared. Her violet eyes grew large, gleamed with fires older than time itself. She cradled the child. Ever so tenderly, yet with a terrible air of strain, her parted lips sought the girl's. Shane stood frozen, breathing hard, tight in indecision's grip. The child moved languidly in Kyrsis' arms--restless, not struggling, and for a moment the silver woman straightened, sucked in air. Then, again, she pressed her lips against the girl's. Shane cursed beneath his breath and turned towards the door. But even as he did so, Kyrsis rose, the child still in her arms. The silver woman's face was serene now, ethereally beautiful, unmarred by any trace of strain. Gently, she laid down the still form of the child. Then, coming erect again, she moved towards the door. Shane slid the picture back into place and stepped out of sight in the adjoining room. * * * * * The door to the room in which Kyrsis had been, opened and closed. The silver woman passed down the hall, out of sight. Tense, silent, Shane made for the room from which she'd come. The door was unlocked now. Swiftly, he slipped inside and stepped to the couch where the _Chonya_ child still lay, so very still. He touched the soft hand. Lifted it with trembling fingers. Behind him, the door-latch clicked. Shane turned. Kyrsis stood watching him. "You come unannounced, Earthman," she murmured coolly. "I came in as you left," Shane said, and of a sudden his hands, his voice, his whole body, were shaking uncontrollably, gripped in a paroxysm of surging fury. "I saw you here, with the child! Do you hear me? I saw you--!" "So...?" Kyrsis' face was still calm, the violet eyes unfathomable. The veins at Shane's temples stood out, throbbing. With a tremendous effort, he brought his voice under a semblance of control. He said: "This child is dead!" CHAPTER XI They stood there thus for a long, taut, echoing moment.