“Boss—” said Larry.

“Get out of that door, close it behind you, and—”

“Boss! Mike’s church has burned down!”

They made a disorderly rout for Larry’s room, Jubal a half length behind Larry at the turn, Anne with eleven pounds up closing rapidly despite her handicap. Dorcas trailed the field through being late out the starting gate; the racket wakened her.

“—midnight last night. What you are now viewing is what was the main entrance of the cult’s temple, as it appeared immediately after the explosion. This is your Neighborly Newsman for New World Networks with your midmorning roundup. Stay switched to this pitch for dirt that’s alert. And now a moment for your local sponsor—” The scene of destruction shimmered out and med-close shot of a lovely young housewife replaced, with dolly-in.

“Damn! Larry, unplug that contraption and wheel it into the study. Anne—no, Dorcas. Phone Ben.”

Anne protested, “You know the Temple never had a telephone . . . ever. How can she?”

“Then have somebody chase over and—no, of course not; the Temple wouldn’t have anybody—uh, call the chief of police there. No, the district attorney. The last you heard Mike was still in jail?”

“That’s right.”

“I hope he still is—and all the others, too.”

“So do I. Dorcas, take Abby. I’ll do it.”

But as they returned to the study the phone was signalling an incoming call and demanding hush & scramble. Jubal cursed and set the combo, intending to blast whoever it was off the frequency.

But it was Ben Caxton. “Hi, Jubal.”

“Ben! What the hell is the situation?”

“I see you’ve had some of the news. That’s why I called, to put your mind at rest. Everything is under control. No sweat.”

“What about the fire? Anybody hurt?”

“No damage at all. Mike says to tell you—”

“No damage? I just saw a shot of it; it looked like a total—”

“Oh, that—” Ben shrugged it off. “Look, Jubal, please listen and let me talk. I’ve got other things and other calls after this one. You aren’t the only person who needs to be reassured. But Mike said to call you first.”

“Uh . . . very well, sir. I shall keep silent.”

“Nobody hurt, nobody even scorched. Oh, a couple of million dollars in property damage, most of it uninsured. Nichevo. The place was already choked with experiences; Mike planned to abandon it soon in any case. Yes, it was fireproof—but anything will burn with enough gasoline and dynamite.”

“Incendiary job, huh?”

“Please, Jubal. They had arrested eight of us—all they could catch of the Ninth Circle, John Doe warrants, mostly. Mike had all of us bailed out in a couple of hours, except himself. He’s still in the hoosegow—”

“I’ll be right there!”

“Take it easy. Mike says for you to come if you want to, but there is absolutely no need for it. His words. And I agree. It would just be a pleasure trip. The fire was set last night while the Temple was empty, everything canceled because of the arrests—empty, that is, except for the Nest. All of us in town, except Mike, were gathered in the Innermost Temple, holding a special Sharing-Water in his honor, when the explosion and fire were set off. So we adjourned to an emergency Nest.”

“From the looks of it, you were lucky to get out at all.”

“We were completely cut off, Jubal. We’re all dead—”

“What?”

“We’re all listed as dead or missing so far as the authorities know. You see, nobody left the building after that holocaust started . . . by any known exit.”

“Uh . . . a ‘priest’s hole’ arrangement?”

“Jubal, Mike has very special methods for dealing with such things—and I’m not going to discuss them over the phone, even scrambled.”

“You said he was in jail?”

“So I did. He still is.”

“But—”

“That’s enough. If you do come here, don’t go to the Temple. It’s kaput. Our organization is busted up. We’re through in this town. You could say that they’ve licked us, I suppose. I’m not going to tell you where we are . . . and I’m not calling from there, anyhow. If you must come—and I see no point in it; there’s nothing you can do—just come as you ordinarily would . . . and we’ll find you.”

“But—”

“That’s all. Good-by. Anne, Dorcas, Larry—and you, too, Jubal, and the baby. Share water. Thou art God.” The screen went blank.