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He listened Not a sound No birds No cars Only his heart beating Beat and pause and beat again His face ached with strain The wind blew gently, oh so gently, flapping his coat

"Sh," he whispered "Listen"

He swayed in a slow circle, turning his head from one silent house to another

She'll phone ht It must be a woman Why? Only a woman would call and call A man wouldn't A ht of it It must be a woman It has to be, by God!

Listen

Far away, under the stars, a phone rang

He ran He stopped to listen The ringing, soft He ran a few more steps Louder He raced down an alley Louder still! He passed six houses, six more Much louder! He chose a house and its door was locked

The phone rang inside

"Damn you!" He jerked the doorknob

The phone screamed

He heaved a porch chair through a parlor , leaped in after it

Before he even touched the phone, it was silent

He stalked through the house then and broke mirrors, tore down drapes, and kicked in the kitchen stove

Finally, exhausted, he picked up the thin directory which listed every phone on Mars Fifty thousand names

He started with number one