"Yes," I said.
"Did you do it?"
"No. Did you?"
"Most certainly not," he said indignantly. We stood for a few seconds, just looking at each other. I think we—everybody—knew, right there and then, that it was no hoax. What with the stars disappearing, I mean.
A pretty girl in a fur coat walked up to me. She was young; she looked scared, and very defiant.
"Did you hear it?" she asked us.
"Yes," I said, and the man nodded.
"Is it possible that she was operating on a loudspeaker?" the girl asked.
"She?" we both said.
"That woman's voice," the girl said, looking a little exasperated. "A young woman—she said, 'Judgment of the inhabitants—'"