"I would be a naive fool to believe you."
"_It will be too late to save Throon unless we act very quickly. I have
told you why I am here. There is nothing more I can do to convince you
but be the first to show trust. When I switch on the lights it will be
within your power to kill me._"
* * * * *
The Varn was gambling its life in a game in which he would be gambling
the Plan and his race. It was a game he would end at the first sound of
movement from the astrogator unit across the room....
"_I have been here beside you all the time._"
A furry paw brushed his face, claws flicked gently but grimly reminding
along his throat.
He whirled and fired. He was too late--the Varn had already leaped
silently away and the beam found only the bare floor. Then the lights
came on, glaringly bright after the darkness, and he saw the Varn.
It was standing by the control board, its huge yellow eyes watching him.
He brought the blaster into line with it, his finger on the firing stud.
It waited, not moving or shrinking from what was coming. The translucent
golden eyes looked at him and beyond him, as though they saw something
not in the room. He wondered if it was in contact with its own kind on
Johnny's World and was telling them it had made the gamble for high
stakes, and had lost.
It was not afraid--not asking for mercy....
The killing of it was suddenly an act without savor. It was something he
would do in the immediate future but first he would let it live long
enough to save Throon.