Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 65 — page 142: what you’re looking at

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

THE CREEP suits for you. There won’t be anybody coming. Not any- body.” Max was feeling the con- fidence of his drinks. He said: “It’s a big city. They couldn’t have killed every- body. One night’s bombing couldn’t do that.” “I wasn’t talking about the bombs. Take a look at the Creepmeter. What was it reading when Harry broke it? Go ahead, look. I can’t jump three of you.” The Creepmeter lay on the counter. Harry turned it round with the letter-opener until the dial was right way up for him to read. His eye- brows converged and he nudged Max with an elbow. “It doesn’t prove anything,” said Max slowly, more asking than saying. “The pointer may have been shifted when the case broke; and even if the reading is correct, we’ve sealed up the walls again.” Sam smiled wickedly. “Where do you suppose the air you’re breathing is coming from? You can’t tell how many little, unprotected cracks you've left. Resign yourself to 141 the facts, Max. You’re dying, in spite of your aluminium- thread coat. We’re all dying.” Max touched hiscoat. ““How did you-———?”’ Sam didn’t let him finish. ““Why else would you give Gibb your disc to carry? That must have been awkward for you, Max. You wore an aluminium suit to protect you from the radiation and you couldn’t carry a disc because the suit would shield it. So you had to get somebody else to carry it for you. After all, it wouldn’t have done for Grossen’s lieutenant to have been seen wearing a disc openly in his lapel. That wouldn’t have looked so good after I had been telling every- body, on Grossen’s behalf, that the radiation was still at a safe level.” He took aflattened cigarette from his pocket. While he lit the tobacco, he kept a- quizzical look fixed on the trio behind the bar. With his first cloudy exhalation he threw a pebble into the pool of conversation and waited for the ripples to spread. He said: “Aluminium comicloooks.conm