e．Saysit’surgent.”TurningtoDimitri,hesaid,"You’reinluck．Youlivealittlewhilelonger!Ifyoudon’tgiveRomibae，I’lltearyouapartlimbbylimb!"Thewoofthemhurriedout．

    Mr．KaffeecalledinallhistrustedlieutenantsandorderedastrictwatchtobekeptoverDimitri,ahomelesspersonirict.Theyweretoreportonhiseverymoveanda．WhenAllenandStevenrealizedthatthepersontheyhadkidnappedaenupwastheoneMr．Kaffeewaheyhurriedbacktothewarehouse，butthebirdhadflownthecoop．However，that’sgettingaheadofourstory．Wehadbettergobaitri，lyingoyfloorofthewarehouse,batteredandbruised,coveredalloverwithperspirationanddust．

    "AmItodielikethis?"heaskedhimself．Hefearedhitself，buttheuaintyoftheexistehesoundofGod．Towardstheendoflife,onewasinedtobelieveiewhocouldproveit?GraduallyfearovercamehimontheapproachofDeath．

    "Ah!Iftheendoflifeisoructibleextinguishment,I’dratherbeaninanimatemannequin.”Suddenlyheheardthedeafeningsoundofrenginesandsawfromthewindoaceshuttleshootupintothedarkeningskywithitsremnantscarletcloudsamidatrailofspectacurfireandsmoke.

    "Lifeahisanaturandinescapablecyclethatwouldgoonforever．Alllivingmenmustdie．So,too,mustthisearth,whosedestruisbeingacceleratedbyhumancallousness．Yetthenewgeiontioseekperfe…andmodernizeourcivilization．Ifmanigratetootherpswithitury,itmightmearuofthehumanrace．IdonotfearDeathitself,becauseitisanaturandirreversiblephenomenon．Onegeionissucceededbyailltheendoftime．Inthefaceofsuchreality,Ionlyaskthatafterthedeathofmyfleshbody,Icouldgobaydreams..."Despitegreatpain,Dimitriwasgettingtiredanddrowsyanddriftingtowardsamercifulsemi-sciousness．

    10

    Faintsoundsofwoodenpranksbeingremovedwasheard，ahystepsapproachedthestilndmotionlessformontheground．Dimitriopenedhiseyeswhesomeonepushinghimahefigureofatall，bckbruteofaman，hardasnails．HereizedhimatonceasJamaz，Mrs．Silkise’smaintenan．Dimitriheardhislowtrabassvoiceexg．

    "ThankGodyouarestillive.”

    "You’reJamaz，aren’tyou?RichardandYokowenttothehospitaltogetyou.Howeyou’rehere?”

    "Oh,youknowRichardChao?"Jamazexcimedindelight．"Ikbehavingmoneyproblemswhenhedidn’tetogetme,soIgavethemtheslipwheok．ThiswasmyhangoutbeforeIwenttoworkforMrs.Silkise,soIcamebackhereagain.”

    "It’stimeIexpinedeverything．Iwastheghostthatscaredyouintofallingfromthedder.Ihopeyou’llfiveme.”

    "Really?I’vebeenthinkingitmustbeaweirdhumanbeingbecauseIdon’tbelieveinghosts．Butit’smyfaulttoo．Ishouldn’thaveplottedagainstpoorMrs．Silkise，mymistress．"Justthen,blindingheadlightsfloodedthedarkroomandDimitriandJamazstiffenedinapprehension,afraidthatthekidnapperswerebackagain.Thescreegofbrakes,thesmmingofcardoors,apahejovialvoiceofRichardcalling

    "Areyouthere，Jamaz?"settheirheartsatrest．RichardandYokocameintotheroomandsawJamaz．Richardranup,gaveJamazadigintheribandexcimed，

    "Hey,youson-of-a-gun，wheothehospitandfoundyougone，IknewIwouldfindyouhere!"Yokobentdowntoexamihedarkformtiedupandlyingonthegroundandexcimedinastonishment，

    "Why,it’sDimitri!Howdidyougethere?"

    "Notimetoexpinnow．Untiemea’sgetoutofhereasquicklyaspossiblebeforetheye

e．Saysit’surgent.”TurningtoDimitri,hesaid,"You’reinluck．Youlivealittlewhilelonger!Ifyoudon’tgiveRomibae，I’lltearyouapartlimbbylimb!"Thewoofthemhurriedout．

    Mr．KaffeecalledinallhistrustedlieutenantsandorderedastrictwatchtobekeptoverDimitri,ahomelesspersonirict.Theyweretoreportonhiseverymoveanda．WhenAllenandStevenrealizedthatthepersontheyhadkidnappedaenupwastheoneMr．Kaffeewaheyhurriedbacktothewarehouse，butthebirdhadflownthecoop．However，that’sgettingaheadofourstory．Wehadbettergobaitri，lyingoyfloorofthewarehouse,batteredandbruised,coveredalloverwithperspirationanddust．

    "AmItodielikethis?"heaskedhimself．Hefearedhitself，buttheuaintyoftheexistehesoundofGod．Towardstheendoflife,onewasinedtobelieveiewhocouldproveit?GraduallyfearovercamehimontheapproachofDeath．

    "Ah!Iftheendoflifeisoructibleextinguishment,I’dratherbeaninanimatemannequin.”Suddenlyheheardthedeafeningsoundofrenginesandsawfromthewindoaceshuttleshootupintothedarkeningskywithitsremnantscarletcloudsamidatrailofspectacurfireandsmoke.

    "Lifeahisanaturandinescapablecyclethatwouldgoonforever．Alllivingmenmustdie．So,too,mustthisearth,whosedestruisbeingacceleratedbyhumancallousness．Yetthenewgeiontioseekperfe…andmodernizeourcivilization．Ifmanigratetootherpswithitury,itmightmearuofthehumanrace．IdonotfearDeathitself,becauseitisanaturandirreversiblephenomenon．Onegeionissucceededbyailltheendoftime．Inthefaceofsuchreality,Ionlyaskthatafterthedeathofmyfleshbody,Icouldgobaydreams..."Despitegreatpain,Dimitriwasgettingtiredanddrowsyanddriftingtowardsamercifulsemi-sciousness．

    10

    Faintsoundsofwoodenpranksbeingremovedwasheard，ahystepsapproachedthestilndmotionlessformontheground．Dimitriopenedhiseyeswhesomeonepushinghimahefigureofatall，bckbruteofaman，hardasnails．HereizedhimatonceasJamaz，Mrs．Silkise’smaintenan．Dimitriheardhislowtrabassvoiceexg．

    "ThankGodyouarestillive.”

    "You’reJamaz，aren’tyou?RichardandYokowenttothehospitaltogetyou.Howeyou’rehere?”

    "Oh,youknowRichardChao?"Jamazexcimedindelight．"Ikbehavingmoneyproblemswhenhedidn’tetogetme,soIgavethemtheslipwheok．ThiswasmyhangoutbeforeIwenttoworkforMrs.Silkise,soIcamebackhereagain.”

    "It’stimeIexpinedeverything．Iwastheghostthatscaredyouintofallingfromthedder.Ihopeyou’llfiveme.”

    "Really?I’vebeenthinkingitmustbeaweirdhumanbeingbecauseIdon’tbelieveinghosts．Butit’smyfaulttoo．Ishouldn’thaveplottedagainstpoorMrs．Silkise，mymistress．"Justthen,blindingheadlightsfloodedthedarkroomandDimitriandJamazstiffenedinapprehension,afraidthatthekidnapperswerebackagain.Thescreegofbrakes,thesmmingofcardoors,apahejovialvoiceofRichardcalling

    "Areyouthere，Jamaz?"settheirheartsatrest．RichardandYokocameintotheroomandsawJamaz．Richardranup,gaveJamazadigintheribandexcimed，

    "Hey,youson-of-a-gun，wheothehospitandfoundyougone，IknewIwouldfindyouhere!"Yokobentdowntoexamihedarkformtiedupandlyingonthegroundandexcimedinastonishment，

    "Why,it’sDimitri!Howdidyougethere?"

    "Notimetoexpinnow．Untiemea’sgetoutofhereasquicklyaspossiblebeforetheye