- 5 -
63 As soon as Christian entered the Bull Hotel in Reading, Fox came running to meet him.
64 Christian smiled, pressed his friend's hand and said: "Well, what is it this time? A fall of frogs? Lights in the sky? Or some servant girl who set fire to a house by simply thinking of it?"
65 "Murder," Fox replied quietly and led Christian into the bar. They took two glasses of beer and sat down at a table.
66 "I think," said Christian, "you have some theory which explains the murders."
He lit his cigar and prepared to listen.
67 "That's right, Chris," said Fox "I've been to the police, but - it was no good, of course. They did not take me seriously."
68 The captain smiled a little; many times in the past, he had laughed at his friend's theories, but in the end it usually turned out that the doctor was right.
69 "Well, what have you discovered?"
70 "I think I know something," said Fox "Each time one of these murders takes place, the Burkholder Fair is nearby. Every time - I checked carefully. The Fair is here now."
71 "So that's why we meet in Reading," said Christian.
Fox nodded.
72 "I went to the Fair and saw a show called the Brains... three dwarfs with huge heads who answer questions. There is something strange about them, besides their appearance They know a lot."
He paused.
73 "You know me, Chris. It's not easy to fool me. Well, I shot questions at the Brains - questions on physics, history, literature, mathematics, anything that came into my head that I could answer myself. They knew all the answers."
74 "So?" said Christian.
75 "I want you to see them for yourself. I didn't like them - and neither did the public. They are evil. I feel it. I want to know who they are, where they came from and how they got their great knowledge."
76 "It won't be hard to find out," said Christian.
77 "Maybe harder than you think," said Fox. "Professor Leach was a friend of mine. He was number one. He did research work in hydroponics.
78 "I was interested in other victims. Gruller, the second victim, was an astronomer. He had just made some new discovery about the stars and was ready to publish - the secret died with him.
79 "The third was Robert James, a chemist. He studied the effect of radiation on insect life. The fourth man was Bond, a psychologist. He worked out a new theory of brain structure. The latest, of course, is Margaret Greenways."
"Potatoes," said Christian.
Fox leaned forward.
80 "Don't you see, Christian? All the murdered people were scientists... and all were working on something new!"
Christian looked at Fox.
81 "Have you any ideas about the weapon?"
82 "Only that it is something new - some great discharge of energy with much heat: that's why the necks are cauterized."
83 "The murderers must be very sure of themselves," said Fox. "You will see it when you meet the Brains. I think they are the murderers."
84 But why a fair? At the fair so many people see and know them."
85 "What can be a better way of travelling about the country?" said Fox. "Remember, they are physically different from the rest of us, and it is easy to notice them. The Fair makes a sort of cover for them."
86 "But why must they kill scientists?" said Christian. "Maybe they are a group of people who are against any form of progress."
Fox shook his head.
87 "It's a big thing, Chris - we're only at the beginning. There'll be more murders. Where did they get their weapon? Modern science does not know such an energy gun..."
88 "So," smiled the captain, "they landed in a flying saucer! You and your theories."
Fox thought.
89 "I imagine an interplanetary organization. They know what is happening on the earth. They see the success of our science and they don't want us to get into space. They want to stop us."
90 He became more excited.
91 "Think of our progress. In twenty years we'll be ready to cross space - and who knows what we may find out there? Maybe they don't want us to leave the earth"
92 "So they kill a young woman who grows potatoes," said Christian.
93 "You don't understand. Margaret Greenways discovered something new. Something new - that's what they are trying to stop. Stop all progress - and you keep man on this planet forever!"
94 Christian looked at his friend with open admiration. It was not everyone who could create such a theory from so few facts.
95 "Well, Christian," said Fox looking at the captain, "you are the man of action. What shall we do about it?"
96 "Investigate the Burkholder Fair," said Christian. "In the morning I'll go to the Fair and see if I can get a job there."
- 6 -
97 Gilbert Thurston worked late in his house on the outskirts of Reading. He was sitting at his desk. On the desk there were pages of manuscript and many notebooks.
98 He was alone, except for his cat. His housekeeper had gone to stay with her relatives and would not be back until morning.
99 Thurston was pleased with his progress. The work of years was nearly over.
He felt tired, but not sleepy. He looked again at the title of his work:
A SOCIAL REVOLUTION
100 He was sure that the publication of his theories would bring great changes. It was an idea of which he was proud.
101 A sound was heard. The cat raised her head, looking at the window.
102 "It's nothing," said Thurston. "Go back to sleep."
103 He crossed the room to the little table and took a sandwich. When his paper was published, it would cause a sensation. He was certain of that.
104 The sound came again, this time from the back of the house. Thurston decided to pay no attention. He drank his milk and looked at the manuscript again.
105 The cat rose, arched her back and hissed. She was looking at the door.
106 Thurston took a poker from the fireplace and opened the door.
107 "Stay where you are," he said loudly. "I can see you."
108 The figure was in shadow, but Thurston noticed the gleam of metal. He raised the poker and said:
"Throw it down!"
109 The figure moved forward. The strange weapon pointed at him...
110 There was a brilliant flash of light in his face, one terrible moment of great heat, then nothing...
111 The murderer stepped past the headless body of Gilbert Thurston and went to the study. There he destroyed the manuscript.
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112 Next morning Christian came to the Burkholder Fair with a bag over his shoulder. He was wearing a pair of trousers and a dark blue jersey. He looked like an ordinary sailor looking for work. He was walking about the place, looking around with interest. He saw men feeding animals, workers cleaning the territory, some children playing and a man shaving in the open.
Someone shouted at him:
113 "You there! Are you looking for a job?"
114 A tall man with a long moustache, well-dressed, came up to him. Christian understood that he was Burkholder.
115 "Yes, sir," he said. "I have missed my ship. I could work for a few weeks."
116 Burkholder looked at the captain attentively and saw a strong man with a blond beard and clear blue eyes.
117 "All right," he said. "You will do everything that is needed."
"Yes, sir."
118 "Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet."
"Miller!" shouted Burkholder.
119 A very big man came up to them.
"What is your name?" Burkholder asked the captain.
"Christian, sir."
120 Burkholder turned to Miller.
121 "Christian will live in your trailer. Show him where it is and take him to the kitchen. Then go back to work."
122 Burkholder went away. The big man led the captain to a small trailer. Inside there were two beds.
123 "Leave your bag," said Miller, "and I'll show where to eat."
124 "Have you been working long here?" asked Christian.
125 "I started yesterday."
126 So the big man could not tell him much, Christian thought. Well, at least he was here: now he must see what he could discover.
127 He did not see the Brains until evening. In the evening they came from a large trailer. They were all dressed in grey. They moved without paying attention to the people around. They had small bodies and very big heads. They were short: not more than four feet in height. They looked very unpleasant.
128 Looking at the Brains, he decided: "Fox must be right, after all."
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129 At around 10 o'clock the show was over, and the public left the Fair. Christian went to the kitchen, took his supper and sat on one of the benches.
130 Soon two small girls came in. One of them sat down beside Christian and began to talk.
131 "You are new, aren't you?"
132 "Started today, miss." Only now Christian realized that she was not a child, but a very small grown-up woman.
133 "I'm Jo," she said, laughing. "You need not feel awkward. We are different only outside; inside we are just like anybody else"
134 She had soft dark hair and wore a pink dress.