And Then the Town Took Off

Ohio, disappeared on t

Route 202, making up for the time he'd spent over a second cup of coffee in a diner, when he screeche

oked big. Bigger than if a nitro truck had blown up, which was his first though

ctions. Communicating by radiophone across the vast pit, they confirmed tha

keep people from falling into the pit. A pilot who flew over it reported tha

edule called for it to pass through but not stop at Superior at 11:58. That seemed to fix the time

er 31 was Halloween and that m

. A civil defense official brought up a Geiger counter, but no

He was gone a long time but when he came out the other side he reported that the pit was concave, relatively smoot

d been over the state. Washington said no. The Pentagon and the Atomic E

t might have blown up. The town's biggest factory mad

to see one, was afraid now that he had. The object loomed out of a cloudbank at twelve thousand feet and Studley changed course to avoid it. He noted with on

the church s

message from Superior, formerly of Oh

perior had sece

rborne, on that first day. A ham radio operator re

up h

to a stop. He looked out the window, hoping this was Columbus, where he planned to catch a plane east.

ss the aisle in whom Don had taken a passing intere

nductor said. "We don't make a sta

ok and Don had the opportunity for a brief study of her face. The cheeks were full and untouched by make-up. There were lines at the corners of her mouth which indicated a tendency to arrange h

on, which had been about to go on to her figure. Later, th

n a man in his mid-twenties-about her age-lean, tall and straight-shouldered, with once-blond hair now verging on dark brown, a fa

n was the brief case he carried, attached

bus. The sooner he got to Washington, the sooner he'd get rid of the brief case. The handc

him. He let the door close aga

dozen people were milling around the train as it sat in the dark, hissing steam. Don made his

with every imaginable kind of warning device. There were red lanterns, bot

he fireman talking to an old bearded gentleman wearin

e, I tell you," the ol

the engineer said, "I'll plow right through

old man in the white helm

turned to the fireman. "You look.

They had tramped a quarter of a mile along the gravel when the fireman stopped. "Okay," he said

f mile or so," th

ry up. We haven'

uckled. "I'm a

from it. Professor Garet swelled with pride,

ng even Columbus couldn't f

d see stars shining low on the horizon where s

re before. But there was a wind and they did not venture too close. Nevertheless, Don could see that it apparently was a neat, sharp edg

iptoe any more than he had to sit on the edge of his seat during the exciting part of a movie, but the situati

ieving expression on his face, then at the

would have gone right over. I believe

" the man driving the old Pontiac said, "but I rea

t of the car with the redhead fro

lly; it's not accredited. What d

e said. "Geneva

Civek. You know Mr

We have a nodding acquainta

Civek said. "People don't exactly pound on th

ed with the coll

rior. The old town's really co

what Mr. Cort and the fireman say is

it in the morning," the mayor said, "i

sort of explosi

ouse is down in a hollow and reception isn't very good, especially with old English movies. Well, all of a s

whiskers and the riding

of Magnology at the Cavalier I

ssor o

ned and said, 'Hector'-that's my name, Hector Civek-'everything's up in the air.

s asked. "I mean, does he

at he was trying to convey was that this-this

that?" D

or a while, on the telephone, about magnetism and gravity, but I think he was only calling as a cou

population o

ute. Three thousand and forty, counting you people fr

an by that?" Je

ee how you can g

sked. "I've got to get back to-to Eart

airport. No place for

id, "but a helicopter could

pters here

et they're swarming al

or. "I suppose they could, at that. Well, here's Cavalier. You go right in that door,

who was frowning. "Are you thinking," he asked, "that Mayor Cive

d have stayed with Aunt Hattie another

mean where I was going before Superior became air

Government. Do

ody. Me, fo

're handcuffed to, I'd have thought you were

ortably close. "Oh, no. Nothing so glamorous. I'm a messenge

ator Bobby Th

d again. "

w as well as I do that S.O.B. stands for S

t out and find a place to

" she corrected.

e on. Where they put you, you'll probably be surroun

f as Mrs. Garet. "We'll try to make you comfortable," she said. "What a night, eh? The professo

CD helmet, going around a corner, gesticulating