Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 53 — page 35: what you’re looking at

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

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION Maybe she could be... persuaded to change her mind.” Tiger stood quite still for a moment until he had digested my words. Then I heard him moving about, searching through: drawers and tool racks, and there was the clink of metal muffled by cloth. “It’s very careless of the guards to leave their dis- mantled guns lying on that table by the door. I suppose they were having them cleaned.” Tiger only grunted to show he had heard me. After a while I said: ‘‘Well, I suppose I’d better take you back to your cell.” Picking up the modified ’corder I led Tiger out and told the shop attendant that I had borrowed some tools for my personal use and would return them tomorrow. Then I took Tiger directly to his cell, which he shared with Mattis, and locked the door before the guard got the notion to search him. At five minutes to one, 34 when most of the court could resonably be expected to retire, I went to the apartments of the Dianotrix and requested an immediate audience. The officer on duty as aide-de-camp raised his brows quizzically. Just for that I sent him on an errand that would take him out of the Palace and would keep him away for at least an hour. “Hello, Alisoun,’ I said when the Dianotrix came out to greet me, “I hope I’m not keeping you from your sleep.”’ First she frowned at my easy use of her name, but then she grinned pleasantly. “You aren’t keeping me. I’ve still got a stack of reports to go through.” She indicated a pile of records on a table. “Drink ?” “If you please.”’ While she was filling the glasses I set up my pocket *corder behind the stack of records and placed on it my own record with the dubbinsg I had taken that afternoon. It conmicloooks.conn