In the end he chose the Center as his goal, reasoning that if the
prisoner were to be interviewed by the leaders of the aliens, he would
be taken to those rulers, they would not go to him. From a concealed
place across from the open square on which the building fronted, the
pilot studied it carefully. It towered several stories above the
surrounding structures, to some of which it was tied by the ways above
the streets. To use one of those bridges as a means of entering the
headquarters would be entirely too conspicuous.
As far as the pilot was able to judge, there was only one entrance on
the ground level, the wide front door with the imposing
picture-covered gates. Had he had free use of the flitter he might
have tried to swing down from the hovering machine after dark. But he
was sure that Captain Hobart would not welcome the suggestion.
Underground? There had been those ways in that other city, a city
which, though built on a much smaller scale, was not too different in
general outline from this one. The idea was worth investigation.
The doorway, which had afforded him a shelter from which to spy out
the land, yielded to his push, and he went through three large rooms
on the ground floor, paying no attention to the strange groups of
furnishings, but seeking something else, which he had luck to find in
the last room, a ramp leading down.
Pages:
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233