"Something's very wrong, honey."
"But, Ted--"
"This house is worth at least a hundred thousand dollars. Maybe more.
And they want to trade _this_--" he looked around him--"for a
seven-thousand-dollar trailer?"
"Ted, they're foreigners. And if they're so foolish they don't know the
value of this place, then why should--"
"I don't like it," he said. Again he looked around the room, recalled
the fantastic equipment of the house. "But maybe you're right."
He stared out at the city lights. They had a lacelike quality: tall
buildings linked by lines of flickering incandescence. Something like a
Roman candle shot skyward in the distance.
"Okay!" he said. "If they want to trade, let's go push the deal ..."
Abruptly, the house shuddered. The city lights blinked out. A humming
sound filled the air.