"A fair chance," he said. "We've got them spread nicely across the horns of a dilemma. If they do grab me, it will prove that there's an enemy alien at work. If they don't grab me, I'll solve their secret—"
As the crystal flashed, he vanished....
The crystal flashed pearly-white. Again it paralyzed the orthicon and crackled in the loudspeaker. It blinded Dave momentarily, but he shouted, "I'm still here!"
He heard a cry from the far end of the sound system. It faded rapidly.
As his eyesight returned, Dave looked around curiously. The laboratory was still around him, but it had the same semi-ghostly appearance that Claverly and Phelps had had. Of the images of the two physicists Dave could see nothing. They had been there, faintly visible, when he had gone in. Now they were gone. Dave looked at the workbench. He passed a hand through it. He stamped on the floor and found that he was stamping through the floor; he was actually standing on a semi-smooth surface a few inches below it.
"Damn!" he swore. He looked around. The concrete walls of the building were heavy and thick; he could not see clearly through them. He walked forward, hands outstretched, and saw his hands enter the wall. He walked through the wall, and felt a slight resistance, as though he were walking through water. He burst through the far side and the released pressure pitched him headlong.