Assignment's End

Alcorn's wild talent was miraculous ... he brought peace to everybody who came near him. Only one person was exempt-himself He was just emerging for the hundredth time during the week from the frightening hallucination that had come to plague him, when Kitty Murchinsom came into his office. "It's almost 15:00, Philip," she said. When she had entered, her face had taken on the placid look that everyone wore-unwittingly, but inevitably-the instant they came near Alcorn. Finding Kitty's cool blonde loveliness projected so abruptly against the bleak polar plain of his waking dream, he knew how much more she was than either fiancee or secretary alone. She was a beacon of reassurance in a sea of uncertainty. "Thanks, darling," he said, and looked at his watch. "I'd have woolgathered past my appointment and it's an important one." He stood up. Kitty came closer and put both hands on his shoulders.