Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 65 — page 128: what you’re looking at

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

THE CREEP thought of the risk he was taking in talking out of school. Then he said: “Pretty badly, Sam. He needs you.” “‘How much?” “‘He didn’t say.” Sam had seen the careful way Max had taken his hand slowly out of his coat pocket. He reached his own fingers into the slit and pulled out a slip of paper. He read the figures and his eyes widened. “That much!” He turned to show Harry the cheque, but the barman was talking to the girl. He spoke to Max instead. ““You wouldn’t have been going to Keep this to yourself, would you?” Binder flushed. “Take it,’ said Sam. “‘Go on, take it. You can keep it or give it back to Grossen. I don’t care. By tomorrow it'll be worthless.” Max folded the cheque, put it back in his pocket. “I told him money wouldn’t buy you. Not now, anyway.” He changed tactics. ‘‘Look, Sam, come back and do one more broadcast. Just one more and I'll see to it 127 personally that you get com- plete freedom of the air afterwards. Just one more broadcast our way and you can have your soapbox back.”’ Sam considered the offer. He said: “I’ve lied to order long enough, Max. For you and Grossen I’ve twisted the news to suit your purposes so that you could juggle the world markets. And be- cause [| was Sam Garnet, because I was good at my job, the little people listening have been kept in ignorance about the true state of the world situation.” He shook his head. “‘No more for me, thanks. This morning I must have got religion or something. What- ever the reason was, I scrapped the doctored script and gave out the news as it really is. I told the people that there will be war within twenty-four hours. I also told them that the spheres which have been circling Earth for ten days were not defensive rocket- craft of ‘sensationally new design’—one of your phrases, Max? Instead, I told the people that nobody knew what the hell the spheres comicloooks.com