"It's a high-frequency ultra-violet ray," I told him. "It's projected
across a hall or door. If anyone crosses it, an alarm rings. But in the
section where we are keeping Holdreth Khain, they were all supposed
to be shut off because you Damakoi are so sensitive to radiation."
I turned to Ned again. "It looks as though there's not much else we
can do except take Jedon Onomondo into the Grand Capitol to identify
Holdreth Khain. We've got to see whether he's our killer or not."
"All right," Ned agreed. He turned to the Damakoi. "You'll have to come
with me. We can't allow you down there without a complete examination."
The Damakoi went along complacently, while I went down below, into the
lower level of the Capitol to see what had happened to Holdreth Khain.
* * * * *
He was lying on a couch in one of the big reception rooms, his eyes
closed, and breathing heavily. His leg was bandaged, but I knew that
underneath it, the skin was a mass of blisters that looked like a bad
case of sunburn.
There was a doctor standing nearby, but he looked rather helpless.
"What's the matter, Doctor?" I asked.
He frowned. "The trouble is that I don't know very much about the alien
body chemistry of the Damakoi. I'm as helpless as anyone else. He's in
pretty bad shape--I think."