Atoms -- Fiction; Chemists -- Fiction; Love stories; Science fiction
Oteo led the two men swiftly through the city towards Reoh's house.
There were few pedestrians about and no one seemed particularly to
notice them. Yet somehow, the Big Business Man thought, there hung about
the city an ominous air of unrest. Perhaps it was the abnormal
quiet--that solemn sinister look of deserted streets; or perhaps it was
an occasional face peering at them from a window, or a figure lurking in
a doorway disappearing at their approach. The Big Business Man found his
heart beating fast. He suddenly felt very much alone. The realization
came to him that he was in a strange world, surrounded by beings of
another race, most of whom, he knew now, hated and feared him and those
who had come with him.
Then his thoughts took another turn. He looked up at the brilliant
galaxy of stars overhead. New, unexplored worlds! Thousands, millions of
them! In one tiny, little atom of a woman's wedding-ring! Then he
thought of his friend the Banker. Perhaps the ring had not been moved
from its place in the clubroom. Then--he looked at the sky again--then
Broadway--only thirty feet away from him this moment! He smiled a little
at this conception, and drew a long breath--awed by his thoughts.
Oteo was plucking at his sleeve and pointing. Across the street stood
Reoh's house. The Doctor knocked upon its partially open front door,
and, receiving no answer, they entered silently, with the dread sense of
impending evil hanging over them. The Doctor led the way into the old
man's study. At the threshold he stopped, shocked into immobility. Upon
the floor, with the knife still in it, lay Reoh's body. The Doctor made
a hasty examination, although the presence of the knife obviously made
it unnecessary.
A hurried search of the house convinced them that Aura and the Very
Young Man were not there. The two men, confused by this double disaster,
were at a loss to know what to do.
"They've got him," said the Big Business Man with conviction. "And the
girl too, probably. He must have come back just as they were killing
Reoh."
"There wasn't much time," the Doctor said. "He was back here in ten
minutes. But they've got him--you're right--or he would have been back
with us before this."
"They'll take him and the girl to Orlog. They won't hurt them because
they----" The Big Business Man stopped abruptly; his face went white.
"Good God, Frank, do you realize? They've got the drugs now!"
Targo had the drugs! The Big Business Man shuddered with fear at the
thought. Their situation would be desperate, indeed, if that were so.
The Doctor reasoned it out more calmly. "I hadn't thought of that," he
said slowly. "And it makes me think perhaps they have not captured Jack.
If they had the drugs they would lose no time in using them. They
haven't used them yet--that's evident."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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