I can’t say exactly what it was like. It was like walking in a tunnel, and in this tunnel, all over the roof and walls, wooden arms stuck out at you, like the thing at the carnival, the merry-go-round, the thing you snatch the brass rings from. There’s a brass ring on the end of each of these arms, and you can take anyone of them you want to.
Now imagine you make up your mind which rings you want, and the arms hold only those. Now picture yourself with a thousand hands to grab the rings off with. Now just suppose the tunnel is a zillion miles long, and you can go from one end of it to the other, grabbing rings, in just the time it takes you to blink once. Well, it was like that, only easier.
It was easier for me to do than it had been for Lone.
Straightening up, I got away from Stern. He looked sick and frightened.
‘It’s all right,’ I said.
‘What did you do to me?’
‘I needed some words. Come on, come on. Get professional.’
I had to admire him. He put his pipe in his pocket and gouged the tips of his fingers hard against his forehead and cheeks. Then he sat up and he was okay again.
‘I know,’ I said. ‘That’s how Miss Kew felt when Lone did it to her.’
‘What are you?’