Bryan detected a sudden eagerness in the winged shapes that hovered beyond. And with the eagerness came the child-like piping. "Take him, Leeta! He has courage. This time you may succeed." An answering thought; soft, holding a delicate note. "Patience...." Then Bryan saw the crystal globe being lifted still higher--toward his face. Behind it the girl's large exotic eyes seemed very intent. Within the globe the pulsing of the pale rose core quickened. Bryan felt something draw at him. A strange force--like insistent hands. Hands immaterial and yet tangible, that reached into him ... and pulled. It was not a physical sensation. Nor was it purely mental. It was something that went beyond even this--something that gripped at the very foundation of being. Bryan felt himself being drawn. And he did not understand. There was a purpose here and a means he could not grasp. He resisted. In a moment the force left him. The globe lowered. Over it the girl peered at him, startled, perplexed. And from the background came a piping despair. "Failed.... It has failed...." "He has a strength I have not met before." An echo of that other despair lay in the silver chiming. And an overtone of awe. "He cannot be taken--and that is strange. He has qualities I cannot quite explain. But his will is great--great enough, I think, to penetrate the veil unaided." "He cannot be taken...." The piping again, sorrowfully resigned. Bryan was aware of the girl's eyes on him. The wistfulness in them seemed to have grown. And from some deep recess within him rose a sudden queer aching. "Farewell...." Farewell? Protest surged in him. He struggled to make a detaining gesture--but it was futile. She turned away. * * * * * The hovering winged shapes followed her. Moving swiftly and lightly, she went toward the pavilion, before which the statuesque man stood beside the prone figure of the unconscious girl. She lifted the globe to the man ... its inner pulsing quickened. A radiance grew in it, as though some energy were being absorbed. The pulsing was very rapid now--triumphant. Then the girl turned, hurrying back to the giant bird, which was waiting nearby. Behind her, even as she turned, the man swayed--fell. He fell loosely, emptily, his eyes open. The girl leaped to the bird's back. In another moment it sprang into the air, huge wings beating. Higher it lifted, and higher. The mosquito-men followed. All soared beyond Bryan's range of vision, and the beating of wings faded ... died. Slowly the paralysis left Bryan. He flexed his limbs stiffly. His muscles ached, as though from cramp. He went over to the sprawled figures of the man and the girl, then. The man had the same terrible unresponsive limpness as the man Bryan had seen at the hospital. He was beyond any aid Bryan could give.