Wales found he was lying on damp grass, one hand resting on a concrete walk. He saw trees and a big house with a crenellated wooden tower, against the stars.
"Martha," he muttered. "So you were here. But there's someone else—someone slugged me—"
Her voice came uncertainly. "That was me, Jay. I—I might have killed you—"
He didn't understand at all. But, as his brain began to clear a little, he became aware of a pounding headache.
He sat up. Martha had her arm around his shoulders, but she seemed more to cling to him than to support him. She was sobbing again.
"How could I know?" she was saying. "I didn't even know you were on Earth. When your car came, when you came up the walk in the dark, I knew it wasn't Lee. Not tall enough. I thought it was one of them. I didn't dare shoot, so I used the gun to hit you—"
He gripped her arm. "Martha, where is Lee?"
"Jay, I don't know. I've been waiting for him here, hoping he'd come. I've been nearly crazy, by myself. And afraid—"
Wales perceived that she was near hysteria. And her fear communicated to him.
He got unsteadily to his feet. "We'd better go inside. Where we can talk, and have a light, without anyone seeing it."