In aching silence, Horning looped and twisted the wire.
"You know what happens now, don't you?" The murderer from another world leered up at him, rocking with laughter, and this time there was no mistaking the madness in the deep-set eyes. "You're going to anchor that wire to the water pipe, and put the noose around your scrawny neck, and jump off the desk! After that"—he laughed again—"I'll take your wife and go back to my own plane. When they find you here, with my Myrtle and my gun, they'll say you murdered her and hanged yourself!"
"They wont believe it!" Horning blurted. He groped desperately. "They—they'll know from the gun. There's no other like it on this plane—"
"—So, they'll say it's a new development by the renowned scientist, Doctor Raymond X. Horning—" Abruptly, the man who was Horning's counterpart broke off. His mirth vanished, replaced by cold, gun-backed menace. "You're stalling! Anchor that wire!"
A knot of black fear drew tight in Horning's midriff. Numbly, he fumbled with wire and pipe.
"Anchor it!"
Horning sucked in air.
"Hurry up!"
Horning let the wire drop.
The coil hit the edge of the desk, hung for a moment, and then rolled off onto the floor.