"Yes. He said he is going to take us somewhere--as soon as we have rested, and Degg has come to join us here. Take us somewhere--where we shall see a wonderful awesome sight. Frannie, he told me the men here in this world do not like their women. He has brought me and you--to show us to the men--that they may see how beautiful women can be. Then--they will join him to go down into smallness--to conquer----" Leela choked. She added, and a hush fell upon her voice: "Frannie, this Rokk has planned it all. He says there is too little food here. The women--and the children that the men no longer want to feed--are all placed apart. Exiled to a city--where he is going to take us. And show us----" A tapping at the window checked her. The girls stared at each other with the blood draining from their faces. A gentle tapping from outside. A scraping, fumbling as though soft fingers were working at the window. Frannie stood up, trembling. Then she moved along the wall, and with her face to the window, peered out. The tapping had stopped. Outside she saw a faint, lurid red glow. And three gleaming spots of green. Moving, peering. And then like the tendrils of a creeping vine, a leafy something, with a red sheen upon it, gently beating at the pane; tapping--fumbling. Frannie drew back. "Leela--out there----" But another sound stopped her. Someone--something--was unbarring the door of their room! The two girls were frozen with terror, incapable of sound or movement. A bar dropping with a muffled thump! The door slowly began opening inward. . . . It was the woman Mobah. Her face was grim; her dull eyes were smoldering green-black coals. She flung a menacing glance at the girls, moved swiftly across the room. Her fingers at the pane touched some hidden lock. The window swung open. Mobah darted back, seized Leela, tried to shove her toward Frannie and the window. Leela screamed, resisted, fought with all her little strength and called a warning to Frannie. But it was too late. Through the window a thick, red-glowing tentacle came slithering. Its green eyes were waving triumphantly. It caught Frannie; rolled back upon itself, jerking her upward. Heavy steps sounded in the passageway outside the room, and Rokk's alarmed voice, shouting. Rokk burst in. He knocked Mobah aside with a blow of his fist, and swept Leela protectingly backward. The segment of red thing within the room slithered out the window, carrying Frannie with it. II "She is gone, my lady Leela. It is unfortunate, but we can not help it. She is lost--we shall never see her again." Leela and Rokk were alone in the room. Leela shrank upon the couch; against his gaze she huddled with a corner of the robe drawn to shield her white limbs. He stood before her. "Gone, Leela. Dead, by now. . . . Don't shudder, little white woman. It is the law of life--some live, some die. . . . But Degg will be sorry." She had no words, no heart with which to answer.