Astounding British Edition, Vol. 9, No. 10 — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

- Where the infection had ee | clamped them into position on the child’s _. body. The first two pieces of metal went on the broken arm, around the spot its source. Yanvro watched the meters, changed the switches. The second two pieces of mag- netized metal—Father Mark’s Remedy — went on the child’s head, one down at the base of the skull, the other on her forehead. Always they used two pieces of metal, like the two poles of a magnet. Did these pieces of metal set up a mag- netic flux in the child’s body and did this flux in turn change the course and intensity of the infection? The meters changed. Yanvro watched, Pienster acted. As they watched and moved and worked, they spoke rapidly to each other. Harmon hardly realized they were speaking in a tongue he did not ow. The language they used was unimpor- tant, its meaning was universal. The sounds in the tent were the soft weeping of a woman, the harsh, mumbled _prayers of the father, the voice of a child moaning that she was in a land that was full of fear and would somebody take her by the hand and lead her home? The quick, alert voices of the two men were overtones against the hum of the panel. Outside voices shouted in argument. Har- mon did not hear them, His eyes were on the child and now and again he glanced at Yanvro. Yanvro seemed to have stopped breath- _ ing. On the panel, a meter reading was changing, changing, changing. Harmon did not know whether it was going in the right direction or the wrong direction. He did not know which was the right way for the meter to go. Yanvro knew but Yanvro was holding his breath. Pienster was holding his breath too, now, his eyes glued on the meters. The tent was silent. Again the panel hummed. Another pair of pieces of metal came from it. Pienster tied them into place, on both sides of the chest, as if he was trying to strengthen the beating of a tiny heart seis working beyond the: limits of its loa There was no sound anywhere. The meter shifted, began a slow re- tracing of its course. ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION — i EAP Shes Sees ee > Then there was sound. A small voice said, “Mommy?” The word was said plaintively, a single chirp of sound, like the voice of a young bird in the nest. . The mother moved to gather the child in her arms. Yanvro held up his hand. The mother stopped moving. “Mommy? Mommy?” The voice came again, stronger now. “All right,” Yanvro said. The mother lifted the child. “Yes, dear. Yes, darling.” “Mommy, where am I? daddy? Where is Bowser?” “Daddy is right here, honey. We left Bowser at home.” “Mommy, who are these two funny- looking men?” “Friends, darling.” “They're nice men, Mommy.” There was delight and happiness in the voice. Then the voice changed. “Mommy, I’m hungry.” “Yes, dear, I know. You will have something to eat very soon.” Harmon wiped the sweat from his fore- head and breathed again. He did not need to see Yanvro nodding happily to himself to know that the miracle had been accomplished. “Mommy, Mommy, I’m hungry.” The mother looked at Harmon. Har- mon said softly, “Take her home and feed her. And give Bowser something too, so he will also feel good in his stomach.” Where is In front of the panel, Yanvro nodded ~ happily again as if including Bowser was the one final thing that was needed to make this child well again. Carrying the child, the parents left the tent. Harmon, clearing his throat, looked at Yanvro. “There’s something I want to ask you.” “What about your hay fever, sir?” “Gone. It’s gone. It went away.” For a moment, Harmon marveled about that. Then his old self asserted itself. “What I want to know is . . . hey—” From the entrance to the tent, Pienster, looking out, spoke, “Se floton throm!” COMMIELOOKS Oo)