knowing all about things on the Secret List?’
Sally considered it time to break in.
‘Well, we shall know what to do next time we have a meteor, shan’t we? Suppose we all go and have a look at it? It’s in the outhouse now, looking quite unsecret.’
She led the way round to the yard, still talking to stave off a row between the Inspector and her father.
‘It only went a surprisingly short way down, so the men were soon able to get it out. And it turned out to be not nearly as hot as we’d expected, either, so they could handle it quite easily.’
‘You’d not say “quite easily” if you’d heard the language they used about the weight of it,’ observed her father.
‘It’s in here,’ Sally said, leading the party of four into a musty, single-storey shed.
The meteor was not an impressive sight. It lay in the middle of the bare board floor; just a rugged, pitted, metallic-looking sphere something over two feet in diameter.
‘The only kind of weapon that it suggests to me is a cannon-ball,’ said Mr Fontain.
‘It’s the principle,’ retorted the Inspector. ‘We have standing
orders that any mysterious falling object is to remain untouched until it has been examined by a War Office expert. We have already informed them, and it must not be moved again until their man has had a look at it.’
Graham, who had hitherto taken no part, stepped forward and put his hand on it.
‘Almost cold now,’ he reported. ‘What’s it made of?’ he added curiously.
Mr Fontain shrugged.
‘I imagine it’s just an ordinary chunk of meteoric iron. The only odd thing about it to me is that it didn’t come down with more of a bump. If it were any kind of secret weapon, it would certainly be an exceedingly dull one.’
‘All the same, I shall have to give orders that it is not to be moved until the W.O. man has seen it,’ said the Inspector.
They started to move back into the yard, but on the threshold he paused.
‘What’s that sizzling sound?’ he inquired.
‘Sizzling?’ repeated Sally.
‘Kind of hissing noise. Listen!’
They stood still, the Inspector with his head a little on one side. Undeniably there was a faint, persistent sound on a note just within the range of audibility. It was difficult to place. By common impulse they turned back to regard the ball uneasily. Graham hesitated, and then stepped inside again. He leaned over the ball, his right ear turned down to it.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It is.’
Then his eyes closed, and he swayed. Sally ran forward and caught him as he sagged. The others helped her to drag him out. In the fresh air he revived almost immediately.
‘That’s funny. What happened?’ he asked.
‘You’re sure the sound is coming from that thing?’ asked the Inspector.
‘Oh, yes. Not a doubt about it.’
‘You didn’t smell anything queer?’
Graham
raised his eyebrows: ‘Oh, gas, you mean. No, I don’t think so.’
‘H’m,’ said the Inspector. He turned a mildly triumphant eye on the older man. ‘Is it usual for meteors to sizzle?’ he inquired.
‘Er – I really don’t know. I shouldn’t think so,’ Mr Fontain admitted.
‘I see. Well, in the circumstances I suggest that we all withdraw – preferably to a well-shielded spot on the other side of the house, just in case – while we wait for the expert,’ announced the Inspector.
Extract from Onns’s Journal:
I am bewildered. I have just woken. But has it happened – or have we failed to start? I cannot tell. Was it an hour, a day, a year, or a century ago that we entered the Globe? No, it cannot have been an hour ago; I am sure of that by the tiredness of my limbs, and the way my body aches. We were warned about that:
‘You will know nothing,’ they said, ‘nothing until it is all over. Then you will feel physically weary because your bodies will have been subjected to great strains. That should pass quite soon, but we shall give you some capsules of concentrated food and stimulants to
Sally considered it time to break in.
‘Well, we shall know what to do next time we have a meteor, shan’t we? Suppose we all go and have a look at it? It’s in the outhouse now, looking quite unsecret.’
She led the way round to the yard, still talking to stave off a row between the Inspector and her father.
‘It only went a surprisingly short way down, so the men were soon able to get it out. And it turned out to be not nearly as hot as we’d expected, either, so they could handle it quite easily.’
‘You’d not say “quite easily” if you’d heard the language they used about the weight of it,’ observed her father.
‘It’s in here,’ Sally said, leading the party of four into a musty, single-storey shed.
The meteor was not an impressive sight. It lay in the middle of the bare board floor; just a rugged, pitted, metallic-looking sphere something over two feet in diameter.
‘The only kind of weapon that it suggests to me is a cannon-ball,’ said Mr Fontain.
‘It’s the principle,’ retorted the Inspector. ‘We have standing
orders that any mysterious falling object is to remain untouched until it has been examined by a War Office expert. We have already informed them, and it must not be moved again until their man has had a look at it.’
Graham, who had hitherto taken no part, stepped forward and put his hand on it.
‘Almost cold now,’ he reported. ‘What’s it made of?’ he added curiously.
Mr Fontain shrugged.
‘I imagine it’s just an ordinary chunk of meteoric iron. The only odd thing about it to me is that it didn’t come down with more of a bump. If it were any kind of secret weapon, it would certainly be an exceedingly dull one.’
‘All the same, I shall have to give orders that it is not to be moved until the W.O. man has seen it,’ said the Inspector.
They started to move back into the yard, but on the threshold he paused.
‘What’s that sizzling sound?’ he inquired.
‘Sizzling?’ repeated Sally.
‘Kind of hissing noise. Listen!’
They stood still, the Inspector with his head a little on one side. Undeniably there was a faint, persistent sound on a note just within the range of audibility. It was difficult to place. By common impulse they turned back to regard the ball uneasily. Graham hesitated, and then stepped inside again. He leaned over the ball, his right ear turned down to it.
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘It is.’
Then his eyes closed, and he swayed. Sally ran forward and caught him as he sagged. The others helped her to drag him out. In the fresh air he revived almost immediately.
‘That’s funny. What happened?’ he asked.
‘You’re sure the sound is coming from that thing?’ asked the Inspector.
‘Oh, yes. Not a doubt about it.’
‘You didn’t smell anything queer?’
Graham
raised his eyebrows: ‘Oh, gas, you mean. No, I don’t think so.’
‘H’m,’ said the Inspector. He turned a mildly triumphant eye on the older man. ‘Is it usual for meteors to sizzle?’ he inquired.
‘Er – I really don’t know. I shouldn’t think so,’ Mr Fontain admitted.
‘I see. Well, in the circumstances I suggest that we all withdraw – preferably to a well-shielded spot on the other side of the house, just in case – while we wait for the expert,’ announced the Inspector.
Extract from Onns’s Journal:
I am bewildered. I have just woken. But has it happened – or have we failed to start? I cannot tell. Was it an hour, a day, a year, or a century ago that we entered the Globe? No, it cannot have been an hour ago; I am sure of that by the tiredness of my limbs, and the way my body aches. We were warned about that:
‘You will know nothing,’ they said, ‘nothing until it is all over. Then you will feel physically weary because your bodies will have been subjected to great strains. That should pass quite soon, but we shall give you some capsules of concentrated food and stimulants to
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