"Grumman?" said trader. "From t    t ;

        Sam sino, an old acquaintand a texan like Lee Scoresby, sat in tel and tossed back a s glass of bitingly cold vodka. e of pickled fisoo tell him more.

        "o a trap t fool Yakovlev laid," trader    on, "and cut o tead of using regular medies, ed on using tuff t aint a true moss. Anyely r    instrus to aking star sigo get ts rigongue, and boy, ongue like barbed oug everytartar, by initiation?"

        "You dont say," said Lee Scoresby, tipping more vodka into Sams glass. er, crouc    along her back.

        Lee    afternoon, boro Nova Zembla by tcoation. tic drifters stopped to exc or leave messages for one anot several days t, ing for a tract or a passenger or a fair    now.

        And    c ural for people to gatalk. it passed came more ime of year, too; part e regular formations of stone on t long c of t and torn t....

        And tio roll in frest imaginable lig forms could be vaguely seen, and mysterious voices heard.

        Altoget ime to work, wel was full.

        "Did you say Grumman?" said tting just along ters rig, ;artar all rig tribe. I saartar name; Ill t in a minute."

        "ell,    t," said Lee Scoresby. "Let me buy you a drink, my friend. Im looking for ribe    ;

        "tars. At t of t s called— a river t es do tage."

        "A; said Lee. "I remember it no. And Grumman ?"

        "; said ter. "I tribe reized ed    drilling. It goes on for t;

        "A ats for team ;t bunc t it . If t d make even more sense. But you kno mans curiosity    go. ell    ts, and ts of rap of Yakovlevs; leg laid open, and ing ts of t bloodmoss, taking emperature, ces on every damn trange man. tced    urned ;

        "Is t so?" said Lee, ty of Serafina Pekkala.

        " ," said ter. "A cake it. If you dont, its your o if bad to you. Its like o make a c do is c;

        " ; said Lee. "If    ;rong," said Sam sino. "Maybe faito anot; Lee guessed. "I    s of some magic object, I dont kno mig could proteyone ory?"

        "Yes, I ," said ter. "        was.

        tried to make ell, but Grumman killed ;

        "; said Sam sino, "t    eyes on, and I didnt kno;

        "S; said tening in. "Youre talking about Stan Grumman? ;

        " o ; said Lee Scoresby.

        "O mixed up in t-land. Last I ," said ter. "Killed ;

        "I ; said Lee Scoresby.

        "No, youre bot; said t;and I kno who was

        t on Sakhere was an avalanche.

        Grumman    sa ;

        " I t uand," said Lee Scoresby,    ttle around, "is ing for rock oil, maybe? Or    somet measurements, Sam.     be?"

        "tarligerest    t;

        "I kno; said ter. "Up tain tory belonging to te Academy. to tell you. I kno;

        " dyou    to kno; said Sam sino.

        "; said Lee Scoresby.

        tion isfying t it stopped ty at oion turo topi everyones lips: tastropaking place around them, whio one could see.

        "t; said ter, "t up into t ne;

        "t; said Lee.

        "As soon as t into it," ter told tly.

        " first    in my kayak and looking nort by c ead of t    straigains, rees, and fields of , forever into tell you, friends, t oiling fifty years to see, a sig. I    calm sea    a back t;

        "Aint never seen a fog like t; grumbled Sam sino. "Re its set in for a mont youre out of luck if you    money from Stanislaus Grumma;

        "A artar name!" said ter. "I just remembered    sounded like Jopari."

        "Jopari? ts no kind of name Ive ever ; said Lee. "Mig my money, maybe I    c. Ill go ask at tory, see if to."

        tory ao th, and Lee Scoresby hired a dog sledge and driver.

        It    easy to find someone o risk t Lee artar from to take er a lengt of haggling.

        t rely on a pass, or    impossible. ed by otic fox daemon for o of ting the way.

        Lee, ic field urbed as everything else.

        topped to bre;t;

        ", t ;

        "Many tion. My people remember. All long time ago, many tion."

        " do t it?"

        "Sky fall open, and spirits move bet , ts close up ter a    che

        sky is ts."

        "s going to ;

        "Same t only after big trouble, big    ;

        t tell rag sloions and    outcrops of dim rock, dark til the old man said:

        "Observatory up too crooked for sledge. You    go back, I    ;

        "Yea to go back    a spell. Ill be t;

        Lee Scoresby set off, er tucked into t of , and after iff climb found a clump of buildings suddenly above    been placed t    t o a momentary lifting of ter a mi closed in again.    dome of tory, a smaller one a little ration buildings and domestic quarters. No lig permaly so as not to spoil telescopes.

        A fees after alking to a group of astronomers eager to learn ed as astronomers in a fog. old t everyt topic     Stanislaus Grumman tronomers    or in o talk.

        "Grumman? Yes, Ill tell you somet ; said tor. "e of ;

        "Surely not," said y. " ;

        "No, I t language e, any;

        said tor.

        "But I agree, ainly a member of t—"

        "No, no, youre ; said someone else. " t not as a geologist. I alk ."

        tting, five of table in t served as tion room, and more or less everytes, ole unity o or, if only because roduced a . t to speak, and terrupted:

        " do you mean, a paleo-arc? Arcs already study    anot of it?"

        "udy    back muc, ts all. ions from ty, ty t; the Pole replied.

        "Nonsense!" said tor. "Utter nonseions ty t;

        "U; said t;ts t. Acc to Grumman, tic field cically at various times in t, and tually moved, too, so t temperate areas became ice-bound."

        "; said one of tes.

        "O    ions o ograms of

        unusual roations."

        " all?" said tor.

        "Im only rep, Im not defending ; said the Pole.

        "lemen?" Lee Scoresby asked.

        "ell, let me see," said tor. "It     time."

        ", ions in tic pole," said t;But    of no or seen any of ; talked on for a ing reminisces and    suggestions as to     to breo ly: "C t;

        ttle. Lee    urally taciturn, but prompted by er,    break in tion to see t    e eyes. ell, t are; but er y and suspi in t thing of.

        And t. Suddenly ablis, so o include on its staff a representative of terium, to act as a sor and suppress tical discoveries.

        So, realizing tell me, gentlemen —do you o knoo tion of Dust?"

        And instantly a silence fell in tuffy little room, and everyotention focused on t ly. Lee kne er able,    along    on a co face.

        Finally tled on t;I beg your pardon.    somets forbidden to kno;

        t;ion of t, Mr. Scoresby?"

        "From a passenger I fle; Lee said easily. "t it    from t io seemed like t o. I took it to be some kind of celestial t it puzzled me, because as an aeronaut I knoty uff.    is it, any;

        "As you say, a celestial p; said t;It ical significe."

        Presently Lee decided it ime to leave;     to keep Umaq ing.    troo tory a off dorack, feeling o the ground.

        And es do past    er. It he Skraelings owl daemon.

        But er seened ime, and t missed.

        er could figoo, and soug t be close by, and reac .

        "Be; er said, and he whipped around, diving, as an arrow hissed over his shoulder.

        oing, as t to    later ting movement tling to fold her wings.

        Lee Scoresby cocked ol and    to the mans head.

        &qu; ; did you try t for? t you see rouble noo t;

        "Its too late," said the Skraeling.

        "too late for ;

        too late to stop. I    a messenger bird. terium o kno Grumman—"

        " about ;

        "t t ot firms . And t ot. You are an enemy of ts sions s gna t...."

        t ing sounds and raising and dropping fully.    e eyes ain in t to die.

        "Rey bullet must    an artery," ;Let go my sleeve and Ill make a tour."

        "No!" said t;I am glad to die! I syrs palm! You    deprive me of t!"

        "t to. Just tell me t;

        But o plete ion, because tle sing in tacked by assassins. s daemon was borne upward by cyr.

        ts in ture: aatic straining toe.

        er clicked ongue.

        "S; sake ;

        " t t;

        "No, ; s;Not by our c by    take every advantage ime. Go on, take to a."

        Lee saook to t teep drop into rocky darkness, and    fell for a long time before . Lee ed killing, alto do it times before.

        "No sense in t," said er. " give us a c s to kill.

        Damn it, Lee, ed to die. t;

        "I guess youre rig;    tol away.

        At t of to move.

        "tell me, Umaq," Lee said as t off back to tation, "you ever ;

        "O; said t;Everybody kno;

        "Did you knoar name?"

        "Not tartar. You mean Jopari? Not tartar."

        " o ;

        "You ask me t, I o say I dont knorut;

        "I see. So w;

        "You better ask ribe. Better go to Yenisei, ask t;

        "ribe ... you mean tiated ;

        "Yes. You better ask t dead, maybe ;

        ";

        "In spirit oo muc;

        And .

        But o tation, Lee    at oo t could give o the Yenisei.

        Meanvian queen, Ruta Skadi, fles, tated by flood or landslide. It ain t trange range sts in t unkno attacked t and o be driven off o rest on, ts range.

        Still, some of ts s t made a tasty meal, and tage of er. It migo live in, but for tral forms t drifted like mist over ted near streams and loer. In some lig all, just visible as a drifting quality in t, a rransparency turning before a mirror. tcrusted t once.

        "Are t; said Ruta Skadi as totionless at tract of forest.

        "Alive or dead, t; Serafina replied. "I    feel t from     to go closer t;

        ters seemed to be eart t, luckily for tcer t day, t ters could do.

        It    a river crossing,    over a loone bridge beside a stand of trees. te afternoon sun slanted across tense green out of ty gold out of t ric tcravelers making for t, some in s, t    t to fly down and look more closely when she heard a cry of alarm.

        It came from ting at trees, and as tcream of tral forms p across to flo toheir prey.

        ttered. Serafina urn tail at ond gallop a staying to    as ion.

        "Fly locers," Serafina told ;But dont interfere till I and."

        t ttle band tained cs, some     t see ters, and ters    ied in tead for ts. One old ed on a cart

        tle ca Skadi o    t toer t approaco save her own life.

        t, and noo and fro in frigood and g togeters attacked ts. t ransparent s moved busily,    made Ruta Skadi sick to ce befell every adult in ty apart from two wheir horses.

        Fasated and stunned, Serafina Pekkala fleried to ford to get a a Specter    up o tood -deep in ter, arrested and helpless.
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