"Come with me. I want to show you. It's all hollow. There's nothing behind these walls—"
"Why doesn't somebody come along?" the fat man moaned.
"The masonry is only a quarter-inch thick," Brett said. "Come on; I'll show you."
"I don't like it," said the fat man. His face was pale and moist. "You're mad. What's wrong? It's so quiet ..."
"We've got to try to save him. The Gel took him down into this pit—"
"Let me go," the man whined. "I'm afraid. Can't you just let me lead my life in peace?"
"Don't you understand? The Gel took a man. They may be after you next."
"There's no one after me! I'm a business man ... a respectable citizen. I mind my own business, give to charity, go to church. All I want is to be left alone!"
Brett dropped his hands from the fat man's arms, stood looking at him: the blotched face, pale now, the damp forehead, the quivering jowls. The fat man stooped for his hat, slapped it against his leg, clamped it on his head.