for heaven’s sake shut up and go to sleep.”

PRIMEVAL FOREST

TDuncan’s surprise, it was already full daylight when he awoke. He decided that the wine must have been responsible, and even wondered if it had been drugged, for all his companions were still sleeping stertorously.

He rolled off the air mattress, and treading carefully over unconscious bodies, opened the flap of the tent. The glare drove him back for his dark glasses, for the sun was now shining from a blue, cloudless sky. As he walked to the portable shower, carrying towel and toothbrush, he scanned the circle of trees. In broad daylight, they seemed much less ominous; but with that infernal howl still echoing in his memory, nothing would have induced Duncan to venture there alone. For that matter, he was not quite sure how many companions he would need to give him any sense of security in the forest-but unless the jet returned for them, that was precisely where they would have to go. At one point he could see what looked like the beginning of a jungle trail, though from this distance it was impossible to tell whether it was made by men or animals. Nothing else was visible; the trees were so high, and so thick, that there could have been a range of mountains a few kilometers away, completely hidden from view.

Duncan ran into Boss on the way back from his toilet. The fearless leader looked as if he could use some extra sleep, but otherwise still seemed in full charge of the situation.

“Did you put something in that wine?” Duncan asked, after they had exchanged greetings. “Usually I dream-but last night..

Boss grinned. “Don’t expect me to reveal all Enigma’s little secrets. But in this case, we’ve nothing to hide. You can thank the natural, open-air life for your good night’s sleep-though the wine probably helped. Now let’s wake up the others.”

This took some time, but eventually all the troops were on parade, though in a slightly disheveled condition, with not a few stiff yawning mightily.

Groans of protest greeted Boss’s first order.

“We’re going for a little safari before breakfast. Coffee will be along in a minute, but that’s all you’re having now. Your appetites will be all the better when we get back.”

“And when will that be?” cried half a dozen voices simultaneously.

“It depends how fast you march. Bob-you’ll need better footwear than those sandals. Miss Leesorry, but in the jungle it’s advisable to wear something above the waist. And even more advisable below it, Miss Perry. Right, everybody-back here in five minutes, then we start. No breakfast for stragglers.”

There were no stragglers, though it must have been more than ten minutes before Boss had everyone lined up in double file. Then he disappeared into his private tent, only to emerge again at once, heavily laden.

Instantly, the babble of conversation stopped. There were sudden gasps of indrawn breath, and Duncan found himself staring at Enigma’s latest surprise with a curious mixture of fascination and disgust.

The fascination was undoubtedly there, despite the conditioning of a lifetime. He was ashamed of it -yet, somehow, not as ashamed as he might have been. Duncan had never concealed his impulses from himself; now he recognized the almost irresistible urge to reach out and take one of those monstrous instruments in his hand, to feel its power and weight-and to use it for the only purpose for which it was designed.

It was the first time he had ever seen a gun, and Boss was carrying

two, as well as a pair of cartridge belts. He handed one gun and belt over to an assistant, who took up his position at the end of the file.

“O.K.,” said Boss, just as nonchalantly as if he were unaware of the impression he had created. “Let’s go!”

As he. walked toward the edge of the clearing, he threw the gun over his shoulder and buckled on the belt of ammunition. It was perfectly obvious that He knew how to handle his armament, but Duncan did not find this in the least reassuring. And judging by the glum silence, neither did anyone else.

The track through the jungle turned out to be surprisingly well kept; when someone commented on this, Boss called back over his shoulder: “We have an arrangement with the local tribes-they’re friendly -you’ll meet them later.”

“That’s a giveaway!” whispered Bill van Hyatt in Duncan’s ear. “The only primitive tribes left are in the Far East. I knew it was Borneo.”

They had now walked perhaps a kilometer through the closely packed trees and were already beginning to feel the effects of the day’s increasing heat. There was a chorus of relief when Boss abruptly called back: “We’re nearly there—close up!”

He stepped to the side of the trail, and let the file walk on past him.

Duncan was near the head of the line, and saw that they were approaching a mass of bare rocks which formed a small hillock. Now at last, he told himself, we’ll be able to get a good view of the land around us.

Those ahead of him were already scrambling up the rocks, eager to see what lay ahead. Suddenly, there were cries of astonishment, inarticulate shouts.

Millie van Hyatt, who had reached the top long before her husband, suddenly collapsed in hysterics. “Borneo!” she screamed. “He said Borneo!”

Duncan hurried to join her as swiftly as he could, in this unaccustomed gravity. A moment later, he reached the top of the little hill, and the vista to the south lay open before him.

Engima had certainly fulfilled its promise. Not more than five

kilometers away, gleaming in the morning 164 light, was the most famous structure in the world. And now that all its upstart rivals had long since been demolished, it was once again the tallest.

Even a visitor from Titan could have no difficulty in recognizing the

Empire State Building.

“Very clever,” said Bill van Hyatt in grudging admiration. “They must have flown us straight back over the same course, when they picked up the second load of passengers. But there are still some questions. That hideous noise last night-“

“Oh, eat your breakfast, Bill. Don’t always try to get ahead of the game.”

Boss, who was clearly relaxed now that his deception had been successfully carried off, called back from the end of the table: “Surely you’ve guessed that one, Bill?”

“Probably the sound track of an old Tarzan movie.”

Boss chuckled and glanced at his watch. All timepieces and communicators had been returned to their owners, and Duncan no longer felt so naked. He had never been able to stop himself looking at his absent watch, and he realized how cleverly Enigma had managed to disorient him in all four dimensions.

“In about five minutes, Bill, you’ll know better.”

“In that case, I’d appreciate it if you’d bring up the artillery again.”

“No use. The guns were real, but the bullets weren’t.”

“I see-just another part of the act. Tell me-have you ever used one of those things?”

V9

“Yes.

“On what? Anything big?”

“Fairly. 99

“Was it dangerous?”

One had -to admire Bill’s persistence, almost as much as his resilience.

It was obvious that Boss was getting tired of this line of questioning, but was too polite to shut it off.

“Quite dangerous.”

“Could it have killed you?”

“Easily,” said Boss, and now his voice had suddenly become bleak and impersonal. “You see, it was carrying a gun too.”

In the ensuing uncomfortable silence, Duncan came to several quick conclusions. Boss was speaking the cold truth; it was no concern of theirs; and they would never learn any more.

Conversation was just getting under way again after this derailment when there was another interruption.

“Hey!” somebody shouted. “Look over there!”

A man was walking out of the “jungle,” and he was not alone. Trotting beside him were two enormous animals, attached to leashes which seemed highly inadequate. They were undoubtedly dogs of some kind, though Duncan had not realized that any grew to such a size. There were, he knew, thousands of different breeds, but there seemed something strange about these; they did not fit any of the visual records he had ever seen.