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"We mean you no harm"

"But I ers I don't like Martians I never seen one before It ain't natural All these years you guys hide, and all of a sudden you pick on me Leave me alone"

"We come for an important reason," said the blue mask

"If it's about this land, it'sstand with my own hands"

"In a way it is about the land"

"Look here," said Sam "I'm from New York City Where I come from there's ten million others just like ot no cities, you wander around in the hills, no leaders, no laws, and now you coive way to the new That's the law of give and take I got a gun here After you left this ot it out and loaded it"

"We Martians are telepathic," said the cold blue mask "We are in contact with one of your towns across the dead sea Have you listened on your radio?"

"My radio's busted"

"Then you don't know There's big news It concerns Earth--"

A silver hand gestured A bronze tube appeared in it

"Let me show you this"

"A gun," cried Sam Parkhill

An instant later he had yanked his own gun from his hip holster and fired into the mist, the robe, the blue mask

The mask sustained itself aup its stakes and dropping soft fold on fold, the silks rustled, the mask descended, the silver claws tinkled on the stone path The mask lay on a small huddle of silent white bones and material

Sa