_course_ I'm dead certain he's a Zivver! As good a marksman as he is, he couldn't hit a simple stationary target in the manna orchard. And you know as well as I do that Zivvers are confused by excessive heat."
Wheel: "It _does_ seem incriminating."
Adviser: "And what about Aubrey? We sent him out to cover over that silent sound the monster left on the wall outside. That was two periods ago and he's been missing ever since. Who was the last one to hear him?"
Wheel, coughing hoarsely: "Byron says that when he ran back into the world, Fenton was still out there with Aubrey."
Adviser, sneezing: "There you are! And if you need any more proof that Fenton's a Zivver who has conspired with the monsters, you have one of our basic beliefs to go by."
Wheel: "The one that says any Survivor who consorts with Cobalt or Strontium will become deathly sick."
They stepped deliberately toward the grotto entrance.
Wheel, with a sniffle: "What'll we do with him?"
Adviser: "The Pit'll hold him for the moment." Another sneeze.
"Being a Zivver, he'll be worth something as a hostage, no doubt."
When they drew the curtain aside Jared heard several armed Protectors taking their posts outside the grotto.
Wheel Anseim came and stood beside Jared, edging Della aside.
"Has he made any wakeful noises yet?"
"He's not a Zivver!" she pleaded. "Let him alone!"
Jared heard that her face was turned directly toward the Wheel. And again he caught the fleeting impression of her hand brushing hair away from her forehead--away from her eyes, actually.
And now he remembered that just before she had handed him the tubular object the monsters had left behind, she had brought it up before her and held it on a level with her face.
It was her _eyes_ that she was zivving with!
Anselm seized his arm and shook him roughly. "All right--up off that ledge! We can hear you're awake!"
Feebly, Jared struggled to his feet. Lorenz seized his other arm, but he shook off the grip.
"Protectors!" the Adviser shouted anxiously.
And the guards hurried in.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Although he hadn't thought it possible, the Upper Level Punishment Pit was worse than the one in Jared's own world. It occurred to him that it would be hard to imagine a more terrible penalty for wrongdoing. As a detention facility, it was escapeproof. The ledge on which he lay was fully two body lengths below the surface. And it was much narrower than his shoulders, so that an arm and leg had to dangle over the abyss.
Lowered there by rope, he lay motionless for hundreds of heartbeats--until his limbs had become numb. Then, cautiously, he had dropped one of his clickstones into the hole. It had fallen--fallen--fallen.
And many breaths later, after he had given up hope of listening to the impact, there was the faintest _kerplunk_ he had ever heard.
From remote distances came the sounds of late period activity--children at play after their Familiarization session, manna shells scraping slabs during mealtime, and a staccato frequency of coughs.
Eventually, the echo caster was turned off for the sleep period and, still later, Della came.
On a cord she lowered a shell filled with food. Then she lay with her head overhanging the mouth of the Pit.
"I almost convinced Uncle Noris you couldn't be a Zivver," she whispered disappointedly, "until that epidemic got him excited all over again."
"That sneezing and coughing?"
The steady flow of her voice wavered as she nodded her head.
"They ought to be taking mold, like we did. But Lorenz's telling them it won't work against Radiation sickness."
She fell silent and he let the manna shell clatter against the wall of the Pit. Intercepting the sharp echoes, he quickly put together a composite of the girl's features. And even more than before, he liked what he heard.
The general configuration was soft and confident. Her hair, slicked back from her forehead, had a pleasant sound and gave her face a sleek, delicate tonal balance. Somehow
Wheel: "It _does_ seem incriminating."
Adviser: "And what about Aubrey? We sent him out to cover over that silent sound the monster left on the wall outside. That was two periods ago and he's been missing ever since. Who was the last one to hear him?"
Wheel, coughing hoarsely: "Byron says that when he ran back into the world, Fenton was still out there with Aubrey."
Adviser, sneezing: "There you are! And if you need any more proof that Fenton's a Zivver who has conspired with the monsters, you have one of our basic beliefs to go by."
Wheel: "The one that says any Survivor who consorts with Cobalt or Strontium will become deathly sick."
They stepped deliberately toward the grotto entrance.
Wheel, with a sniffle: "What'll we do with him?"
Adviser: "The Pit'll hold him for the moment." Another sneeze.
"Being a Zivver, he'll be worth something as a hostage, no doubt."
When they drew the curtain aside Jared heard several armed Protectors taking their posts outside the grotto.
Wheel Anseim came and stood beside Jared, edging Della aside.
"Has he made any wakeful noises yet?"
"He's not a Zivver!" she pleaded. "Let him alone!"
Jared heard that her face was turned directly toward the Wheel. And again he caught the fleeting impression of her hand brushing hair away from her forehead--away from her eyes, actually.
And now he remembered that just before she had handed him the tubular object the monsters had left behind, she had brought it up before her and held it on a level with her face.
It was her _eyes_ that she was zivving with!
Anselm seized his arm and shook him roughly. "All right--up off that ledge! We can hear you're awake!"
Feebly, Jared struggled to his feet. Lorenz seized his other arm, but he shook off the grip.
"Protectors!" the Adviser shouted anxiously.
And the guards hurried in.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Although he hadn't thought it possible, the Upper Level Punishment Pit was worse than the one in Jared's own world. It occurred to him that it would be hard to imagine a more terrible penalty for wrongdoing. As a detention facility, it was escapeproof. The ledge on which he lay was fully two body lengths below the surface. And it was much narrower than his shoulders, so that an arm and leg had to dangle over the abyss.
Lowered there by rope, he lay motionless for hundreds of heartbeats--until his limbs had become numb. Then, cautiously, he had dropped one of his clickstones into the hole. It had fallen--fallen--fallen.
And many breaths later, after he had given up hope of listening to the impact, there was the faintest _kerplunk_ he had ever heard.
From remote distances came the sounds of late period activity--children at play after their Familiarization session, manna shells scraping slabs during mealtime, and a staccato frequency of coughs.
Eventually, the echo caster was turned off for the sleep period and, still later, Della came.
On a cord she lowered a shell filled with food. Then she lay with her head overhanging the mouth of the Pit.
"I almost convinced Uncle Noris you couldn't be a Zivver," she whispered disappointedly, "until that epidemic got him excited all over again."
"That sneezing and coughing?"
The steady flow of her voice wavered as she nodded her head.
"They ought to be taking mold, like we did. But Lorenz's telling them it won't work against Radiation sickness."
She fell silent and he let the manna shell clatter against the wall of the Pit. Intercepting the sharp echoes, he quickly put together a composite of the girl's features. And even more than before, he liked what he heard.
The general configuration was soft and confident. Her hair, slicked back from her forehead, had a pleasant sound and gave her face a sleek, delicate tonal balance. Somehow
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