Ewing closed his eyes. "I'm not well. Heart. Most unreliable. Doctor
tells me I may ... may die ... at any time."
"I see."
"But, before I die," the old man said, leaning forward again, "I must
share my secret." He seemed to have difficulty in finding the words he
sought. "It's ... it's so extraordinary, Mr. Barrett, that I've been
afraid to divulge it." He gave a sad shake of his head. "People today
are so unwilling to accept the unusual."
Joey writhed inwardly. This was worse than he had thought. He would make
Nugent pay. "Mr. Nugent said something about your photographing another
dimension," he prompted.
The old man pushed himself to his feet. "It was accidental. I've dabbled
in amateur photography for years." He limped over to his camera. "Not
only took pictures--developed my own." He paused and looked very
directly at Joey. "About six years ago, I began experimenting with a new
developer."
Ewing's eyes were disturbing. Joey looked away. "You had used commercial
developers before?"
"Yes." Ewing gripped the camera. "I wanted a developer that would give a
more sharply defined image. I tried fifty different formulae--never
quite achieving what I had in mind."