Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, Issue 45 — page 48: what you’re looking at

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

SOME OTHER TIME His eyes narrowed on the stranger. “Yes, Doctor Carpenter. I could not bear to see you——” “Thanks.”’ Carpenter cut him off embarrassedly. “Thanks for that. I feel better than I have for years.” ““We have a skill in these matters. That is part of my proposition.” Carpenter fetched cut the whisky bottle and, with a dry chuckle, said: “All right, you needn’t teleport this out of my hands. [’m not going to. brain you with it.”’ He filled two glasses and handed one across with a lifted eyebrow. The stranger took it and sniffed ap- preciatively. “T feel that we might get along a little better now.’ The stranger’s flat voice held no discernible emotion; but Car- penter, with that magical ease in his chest, couldn’t have cared less. ““After you've fixed me up like this, I suppose I ought, in all reason, to listen to what you have to say. But first—am 47 I right in thinking that you’ve been behind all the queer things that have been happen- ing?” Mention of the un- predictable phenomena made Carpenter clutch his glass tighter and his nostrils flared. “And you’d better make it a good story, fellow. I didn’t like being pushed around like that. Even though you have done something to my chest, I don’t know but that I ought to turn you over to Security to work on.”’ “T thought we’d gone over all that, Doctor Carpenter. I’ve come a long way to do a job. It appears that the first approach has failed. We did not manage to prevent you from carrying on with your - work here before you had discovered us.” - “Discovered you? Who are you, anyway ?”’ “That is part of my story——”’ the stranger be- ' gan; but Carpenter sat up in his chair and violently. “Trying to stop me from carrying on? In _ heaven’s interrupted comiclooks.conn