"Well, then," Dowland said, "I think there is a race of beings who
aren't quite in our time and space. They have YM and use it, and don't
want anyone else to use it. They can tell when it's activated here, and
use their own YM to interfere with it. Then another experiment suddenly
turns into a failure.
* * * * *
"But they don't know yet who's using it. When the Trelawneys turned on
their machine, these beings spotted the YM stress pattern back there in
time. They went to that point and reinforced the time-blending effect
with their own YM. The Trelawneys hadn't intended a complete contact
with that first test. The aliens almost succeeded in blending the two
periods completely in the area near the laboratory."
"For what purpose?" Camhorn asked.
"I think they're very anxious to get us located."
"With unfriendly intentions?"
"The ones we ran into didn't behave in a friendly manner. May I ask a
question, sir?"
"Of course," Camhorn said.
"When the Trelawneys' machine was examined, was the supply of YM
adequately shielded?"
"Quite adequately," Camhorn said.
"But when I opened the door, the laboratory was hot. And Miguel
Trelawney died of radiation burns...."
Camhorn nodded. "Those are facts that give your theory some substance,
lieutenant. No question about it. And there is the additional fact that
after you shut off the YM flow in the laboratory, nearly ten minutes
passed before the apparent contact between two time periods was broken.
Your report indicates that the phenomena you described actually became
more pronounced immediately after the shutoff."
"Yes, sir."
"As if the aliens might have been making every effort to retain contact
with our time?"
"Yes, sir," Dowland said. "That was my impression."
"It's quite plausible. Now, the indications are that Paul Trelawney
actually spent considerable time--perhaps twelve to fourteen hours, at
any rate--in that other period. He gave no hint of what he experienced
during those hours?"
"No, sir, except to say that it was night when he appeared there. He
may have told Miss Trelawney more."
"Apparently, he didn't," Camhorn said. "Before you and he went into
the laboratory, he warned her to watch for the approach of a creature
which answers the description of the gigantic things you encountered
twice. But that was all. Now, here again you've given us your objective
observations. What can you add to them--on a perhaps more speculative
basis?"
"Well, sir," Dowland said, "my opinions on that are, as a matter of
fact, highly speculative. But I think that Paul Trelawney was captured
by the aliens as soon as he appeared in the other time period, and was
able to escape from them a number of hours later. Two of the aliens who
were attempting to recapture him eventually followed him out on Lion
Mesa through another opening the YM stresses had produced between the
time periods, not too far away from the first."
Camhorn's stout companion said thoughtfully, "You believe the birdlike
creature you saw arrived by the same route?"
"Yes, sir," Dowland said, turning to him. "I think that was simply an
accident. It may have been some kind of wild animal that blundered
into the contact area and found itself here without knowing what had
occurred."
"And you feel," the other man went on, "that you yourself were passing
near that contact point in the night at the time you seemed to be
smelling a swamp?"
Dowland nodded. "Yes, sir, I do. Those smells might have been an
illusion, but they seemed to be very distinct. And, of course, there
are no swamps on the mesa itself."
* * * * *
Camhorn said, "We'll assume it was no illusion. It seems to fit into
the general picture. But, lieutenant, on what are you basing your
opinion that Paul Trelawney was a captive of these beings for some
time?"
"There were several things, sir," Dowland said. "One of them is that
when Miss Trelawney regained consciousness in the hospital she didn't
remember having made an attempt to get away from me."