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dresser, all jumbled together with hairpins and a few pink plastic curlers.
The dresser drawers were equally messy.
Pete got down on his knees and peered under the bed.
Does she read science fiction, too? asked Bob.
No, said Pete. Nothing here but dust and a pair of shoes.
Jupe turned to the small table next to the bed. He opened the drawer
there and saw more hand lotion and more curlers and a few snapshots.
Carefully, disturbing the other things as little as possible, Jupe picked up
the photographs.
There was a Polaroid picture of Elsie at the beach. There was another
of Elsie sitting on the front steps of a frame house. She was smiling and
holding a small ragmop of a dog on her lap. There was a larger photograph
of Elsie in a satin blouse and a paper hat. She was seated at a table with a
bull-necked, dark-haired man. Behind her were balloons and bunting, and a
girl with long, sandy hair danced with a slender, bearded young man.
Looks like a New Year s Eve party, said Bob.
65
A Message from Outer Space
Jupe nodded, replaced the pictures in the drawer, looked into Elsie s
crowded closet, then went on to Mary Sedlack s room.
The quarters occupied by the girl who served as veterinarian on the ranch
were prim and austere. There were few cosmetics. Clothes were hung pre-
cisely in the closet or folded neatly in drawers. The top of the bureau was
bare except for the china figure of a galloping horse. There were several
books on the care of animals in a bookcase under the window and there was
a box of tissues on the bedside table.
She s crazy about animals, and that s all, Pete declared.
At least it s all that she allows to show, said Jupiter.
They went on to Banales room, where they found lists and schedules for
planting and several books on cultivating and harvesting.
I don t think we re finding out much we didn t already know, said Pete.
He and Bob followed Jupe downstairs to the huge living room of the ranch
house. This contained shabby sofas and chairs and a collection of dog-eared
magazines. The pantry was filled with food. When they went outside and
looked under the house, they saw cobwebs and bare earth and beetles and
spiders.
Sometimes searches reveal nothing, said Jupiter. Very well. So much
for that. Now we had better find Mrs Barron. At least we can tell her that
the soldiers are imposters.
The boys went across the drive and up the back steps of the mansion.
Jupe rapped at the door. When no one answered, he turned the handle and
pulled the door open. Hello! he called. Mrs Barron?
He heard the scratchy, raspy noise of static coming from the dining room.
An instant after he called, it ceased.
Who s there? said a woman s voice.
Jupiter Jones, said Jupe. And Pete and Bob.
The Three Investigators went through the kitchen and into the dining
room. Mary Sedlack sat there with a portable radio and a tape recorder on
the table in front of her. You want to see Mrs Barron? she asked. She s
upstairs. Go through the hall and yell up the stairway. That ll get her.
Jupe nodded at the radio set. Are you getting anything? he asked.
Just static, said Mary. Mr Barron asked me to listen in and if anything
comes through that makes sense, to put it on tape.
She turned the volume up slightly, and the static blared again. Then
suddenly it faded away, to be replaced by a low humming noise.
Whoops! said Mary. Now what?
She touched the record switch on the tape machine and the spools of tape
began slowly to turn.
66
A Message from Outer Space
Charles Barron, said a voice a deep voice that was strangely musical.
Charles Emerson Barron. This is Astro-Voyager Z-12 attempting contact
with Charles and Ernestine Barron. Repeat! We are attempting contact
with Charles Barron! Please attend, Mr Barron!
Hey! cried Mary Sedlack. Hey, it s a message! Hey, you guys, get
Mr Barron! Quick!
67
14
Doomsday!
REPEAT, said the voice on the radio. This is Astro-Voyager Z-12 calling
Charles Emerson Barron and Ernestine Hornaday Barron. We are at present
in orbit three hundred miles beyond your atmosphere.
Charles Barron and his wife came into the dining room. Barron was
frowning, puzzled and also hopeful. He stared at the radio, and after a
moment the voice went on.
Infra-red scanners aboard our patrols have detected tremendous inner
stresses in your planet. Before many days there will be an earthquake, with
volcanic activity more violent than any we have witnessed before. The Earth
will tilt on its axis so that the area now covered by the polar icecaps will
move. The Antarctic continent will shift to the equator. The eternal ice will
melt so that the seas will rise, and those cities that have not already been
levelled by the Earth s upheaval will be inundated by water.
He s kidding! cried Mary Sedlack. Hey, Mrs Barron, he is kidding,
isn t he?
Mrs Barron didn t answer, and Mary looked at her in sudden fright. Hey,
come on! she said pleadingly. Tell me it s some kind of joke.
The Supreme Council of Omega has chosen to remove certain individuals
from the Earth before this devastation occurs, said the voice on the radio.
After the time of chaos has passed, these people can return to be the leaders
of a new civilization. Charles and Ernestine Barron are among those to be
taken. We attempted a rendezvous last night, but we failed. Tonight we will
try again to complete our mission. We will land at 2200 hours to take aboard
our own people who are on your planet at this moment. If they have the
courage, Charles Barron and his wife should be at the edge of the lake on
the Barron land at 2200 hours. They should have with them any belongings
they wish to save from destruction. That is all.
The voice stopped and there was silence for a second. Then the blare of
static came again from the radio.
Doomsday!
Barron reached past Mary Sedlack and snapped off the radio. Then he
pushed the stop switch on the tape recorder. He picked up the recorder and
went out of the room, and the boys heard him on the stairs.
Mrs Baron, can I talk with you for a second? said Jupe.
She shook her head. Her face was white. Not right now, she said. In
a little while. She went out and up the stairs.
Mary Sedlack sat staring at the radio. Did you hear what he said? she
whispered. He . . . he sounded so real!
She pushed back her chair abruptly and bolted away from the table and
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