"I know you are." His voice softened. "If I could have done anything
else, believe me, I would have. But I don't think harm will come to
them. They're clever."
"Are they outside?" I asked. "Did they find a way of meeting the
Martians? How long have you been gone?"
Halsey merely stared at me as though he had no intention of answering.
And then the audiphone on the desk buzzed.
"This is Halsey," he said. "Yes, I have them here. Bring them--did you
say bring them?"
We could not hear the answering voice, for Halsey had the muffler in
contact.
"No, I would prefer not to come. I'm watching something. I'm at the
Red Spark Cafe. Well, I'm going back to my office presently to wait
there."
He continued in code. Like Snap, I had never had occasion to learn it.
The words were a strange sounding staccato gibberish. He ended, "I
will send them, Grantline. Very well, I'll tell them to locate him. At
once, yes." He closed off the audiphone.