"Do not move, Jim Landor. Do not say anything, just listen. This is Kaarji, I am here close by you."
Kaarji! Jim had almost forgotten about Kaarji. Then he took the warning and tried not even to think, he just listened, in a detached manner.
"We are in a room off the corridor. That Dim-Ing thing is only a few hundred feet away. I hope it has not contacted your mind again, for I have something important to tell you. It is a good thing you followed me here so closely, for the Dim-Ing withdrew its concentration from me and centered it on you. Thus I was able to slip past this place, and I explored a little. Jim Landor, below these corridors I have discovered a huge room full of machinery. I cannot understand it all, for I have not a scientific mind; but I thought if we could escape from here, and I could take you to this place—"
Slowly, Jim allowed his mind to relax. He felt no more of the probing mental fingers in his brain.
"It's all right, Kaarji, we can speak freely now. I suppose that's where Bhruulo caught you, in that secret room?"
"Yes. It seems to be his living quarters as well."
"I think I know what that machinery is, Kaarji. It's vital to the existence of M'Tonak. If only we can get back there—"
Jim rose to his feet and looked about the room. It was small and empty, the walls were of marble. He walked over to the single door leading to the corridor. He tried it, and to his surprise it opened easily!
But he staggered back as from a violent physical blow, as the radiations from the Dim-Ing lashed against him.