"But I have everything ready there. The contact is ready for tomorrow
night. Your world will control Earth."
"But if it be tonight?"
Again Molo was silent. My breath stopped. On our mirror I saw the
stranger's hood part just a little. There seemed to be no face; just
the blur of something brownish.
"But if it be tonight?" the voice insisted.
"I will go," Molo said abruptly, "but your coming here was dangerous.
Suppose we cannot get out undetected? You know I will never go to
where all our instruments are set up and have some damnable spy follow
me. Is all going well on Venus and Mars?"
"Yes. My master feels so. He seems to get messages. The contacts will
be made simultaneously." A gruesome chuckle. "The capture of these
three worlds. We shall have all three enchained at once. Helpless."
The lid of the black box seemed again about to rise when there came a
sharp cry from Meka. "This room is not insulated!"
Our eavesdropping was discovered. Beside me, I heard Halsey give a low
curse. On our mirror we saw sudden action. The ten-foot, cloaked
figure laboriously lifted the black box, and swung with it toward the
outer wall of the room. I saw now clearly with what a dragging, heavy
tread that giant shape moved, as though it weighed, here on Earth, far
more than the normal weight to which it was accustomed.
"Over there!" Molo gasped. "The escape-port; this room has one. Meka,
go with him. I will join you. You know where."
Foley cried, "Colonel, I may be able to stop them!"
But Halsey saw on our image that Molo was staying. "Wait. Let them go.
If we have the Martian here, that's better."
I saw the room's escape-port swing open as Meka and the hooded shape
carrying the box moved for it. The moonlit darkness of the outer
catwalk enveloped the disappearing figures.
Molo was left alone. He closed the port swiftly. His detector now was
in his hand, but Halsey anticipated him by a second or two. Our
listener went dead; our mirror darkened. Doubtless Molo was never sure
whether he had been spied on or not.
Halsey was on his feet. "Foley, get out into the main room. Stay with
him."
But there was no need to follow Molo. He had sent his visitor and
sister out by the escape-port, which was usual enough; now he was back
in the main room as though nothing of importance had happened, with an
appearance of intoxication about him. He wavered jovially across the
room, threading his way through the gay diners, and reached the table
where his party still sat carousing.
Again Halsey shut us off.
"He's got a base somewhere in the city; you heard what they said about
it. We've got to trick him into going there, unsuspecting."
Halsey seized the audiphone. "Your chance, Venza. It's the only way.
Foley, keep away from that Martian. Shut off all contacts. I'll meet
you out there in a moment. I'm sending a girl; she'll go after him."
"Now?" Venza asked.
"Yes. It's the only way. Perhaps you can get him drinking. Venza, use
all the wiles you possess now."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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