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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30329 ***
+
+[Illustration: _When Black Eyes needed a nap--everybody slept!_]
+
+
+ BLACK EYES _and the_
+             DAILY GRIND
+
+        By MILTON LESSER
+
+
+ _The little house pet from Venus didn't
+ like New York, so New York had to change._
+
+
+He liked the flat cracking sound of the gun. He liked the way it slapped
+back against his shoulder when he fired. Somehow it did not seem a part
+of the dank, steaming Venusian jungle. Probably, he realized with a
+smile, it was the only old-fashioned recoil rifle on the entire planet.
+As if anyone else would want to use one of those old bone-cracking
+relics today! But they all failed to realize it made sport much more
+interesting.
+
+"I haven't seen anything for a while," his wife said. She had a young,
+pretty face and a strong young body. If you have money these days, you
+could really keep a thirty-five-year-old woman looking trim.
+
+Not on Venus, of course. Venus was an outpost, a frontier, a hot, wet,
+evil-smelling place that beckoned only the big-game hunter. He said,
+"That's true. Yesterday we could bag them one after the other, as fast
+as I could fire this contraption. Today, if there's anything bigger than
+a mouse, it's hiding in a hole somewhere. You know what I think, Lindy?"
+
+"What?"
+
+"I think there's a reason for it. A lot of the early Venusian hunters
+said there were days like this. An area filled with big lizards and cats
+and everything else the day before suddenly seems to clear out, for no
+reason. It doesn't make sense."
+
+"Why not? Why couldn't they all just decide to make tracks for someplace
+else on the same day?"
+
+He slapped at an insect that was buzzing around his right ear, then
+mopped his sweating brow with a handkerchief. His name was Judd Whitney,
+and people said he had a lot of money. Now he laughed, patting his
+wife's trim shoulder under the white tunic. "No, Lindy. It just doesn't
+work that way. Not on Earth and not on Venus, either. You think there's
+a pied-piper or something which calls all the animals away?"
+
+"Maybe. I don't know much about those things."
+
+"No. I don't think they went anyplace. They're just quiet. They didn't
+come out of their holes or hovels or down from the trees. But why?"
+
+"Well, let's forget it. Let's go back to camp. We can try again
+tomor--look! Look, there's something!"
+
+Judd followed her pointing finger with his eyes. Half-hidden by the
+creepers and vines clinging to an old tree-stump, something was watching
+them. It wasn't very big and it seemed in no hurry to get away.
+
+"What is it?" Lindy wanted to know.
+
+"Don't know. Never saw anything like it before. Venus is still an
+unknown frontier; the books only name a couple dozen of the biggest
+animals. But hell, Lindy, that's not _game_. I don't think it weighs
+five pounds."
+
+"It's cute, and it has a lovely skin."
+
+Judd couldn't argue with that. Squatting on its haunches, the creature
+was about twenty inches tall. It had a pointed snout and two thin, long
+ears. Its eyes were very big and very round and quite black. They looked
+something like the eyes of an Earthian tarsier, but the tarsier were
+bloody little beasts. The skin was short and stiff and was a kind of
+silvery white. Under the sheen, however, it seemed to glow. A diamond is
+colorless, Judd thought, but when you see it under light a whole rainbow
+of colors sparkle deep within it. This creature's skin was like that,
+Judd decided.
+
+"If we could get enough of them," Lindy was saying, "I'd have the most
+unusual coat! Do you think we could find enough, Judd?"
+
+"I doubt it. Never saw anything like it before, never heard of anything
+like it. You'd need fifty of 'em, anyway. Let's forget about it--too
+small to shoot, anyway."
+
+"No, Judd. I want it."
+
+"Well, I'm not going to stalk a five-pound--hey, wait a minute! I taught
+you how to use this rifle, so why don't you bag it?"
+
+Lindy grinned. "That's a fine idea. I was a little scared of some of
+those big lizards and cats and everything, but now I'm going to take you
+up on it. Here, give me your gun."
+
+Judd removed the leather thong from his shoulder and handed the weapon
+to her. She looked at it a little uncertainly, then took the clip of
+shells which Judd offered and slammed it into the chamber. The little
+creature sat unmoving.
+
+"Isn't it peculiar that it doesn't run away, Judd?"
+
+"Sure is. Nothing formidable about that animal, so unless it has a
+hidden poison somewhere, just about anything in this swamp could do it
+in. To survive it would have to be fast as hell and it would have to
+keep running all the time. Beats me, Lindy."
+
+"Well, I'm going to get myself one pelt toward that coat, anyway. Watch,
+Judd: is this the way?" She lifted the rifle to her shoulder and
+squinted down the sights toward the shining creature.
+
+"Yeah, that's the way. Only relax. Relax. Shoulder's so tense you're
+liable to dislocate it with the kick. There--that's better."
+
+Now Lindy's finger was wrapped around the trigger and she remembered
+Judd had told her to squeeze it, not to pull it. If you pulled the
+trigger you jerked the rifle and spoiled your aim. You had to squeeze it
+slowly....
+
+The animal seemed politely interested.
+
+Suddenly, a delicious languor stole over Lindy. It possessed her all at
+once and she had no idea where it came from. Her legs had been stiff and
+tired from the all-morning trek through the swamp, but now they felt
+fine. Her whole body was suffused in a warm, satisfied glow of
+well-being. And laziness. It was an utterly new sensation and she could
+even feel it tingling at the roots of her hair. She sighed and lowered
+the rifle.
+
+"I don't want to shoot it," she said.
+
+"You just told me you did."
+
+"I know, but I changed my mind. What's the matter, can't I change my
+mind?"
+
+"Of course you can change your mind. But I thought you wanted a coat of
+those things."
+
+"Yes, I suppose I do. But I don't want to shoot it, that's all."
+
+Judd snorted. "I think you have a streak of softness someplace in that
+pretty head of yours!"
+
+"Maybe. I don't know. But I'd still like the pelt. Funny, isn't it?"
+
+"Okay, okay! But don't ask to use the gun again." Judd snatched it from
+her hands. "If you don't want to shoot it, then I will. Maybe we can
+make you a pair of gloves or something from the pelt."
+
+And Judd pointed his ancient rifle at the little animal preparing to
+snap off a quick shot. It would be a cinch at this distance. Even Lindy
+wouldn't have missed, if she hadn't changed her mind.
+
+Judd yawned. He'd failed to realize he was so tired. Not an aching kind
+of tiredness, but the kind that makes you feel good all over. He yawned
+again and lowered the rifle. "Changed my mind," he said. "I don't want
+to shoot it, either. What say we head back for camp?"
+
+Lindy gripped his hand impulsively. "All right, Judd--but I had a
+brainstorm! I want it for a pet!"
+
+"A pet?"
+
+"Yes. I think it would be the cutest thing. Everyone would look and
+wonder and I'll adore it!"
+
+"We don't know anything about it. Maybe Earth would be too cold, or too
+dry, or maybe we don't have anything it can eat. There are liable to be
+a hundred different strains of bacteria that can kill it."
+
+"I said I want it for a pet. See? Look at it! We can call it Black
+Eyes."
+
+"Black Eyes--" Judd groaned.
+
+"Yes, Black Eyes. If you don't do this one thing for me, Judd--"
+
+"Okay--okay. But I'm not going to do anything. You want it, you take
+it."
+
+Lindy frowned, looked at him crossly, then sloshed across the swamp
+toward Black Eyes. The creature waited on its stump until she came quite
+close, and then, with a playful little bound, it hopped onto her
+shoulder, still squatting on its haunches. Lindy squealed excitedly and
+began to stroke its silvery fur.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A month later, they returned to Earth. Judd and Lindy and Black Eyes.
+The hunting trip had been a success--Judd's trophies were on their way
+home on a slow freighter, and he'd have some fine heads and skins for
+his study-room. Even Black Eyes had been no trouble at all. It ate
+scraps from their table, forever sitting on its haunches and staring at
+them with its big black eyes. Judd thought it would make one helluva
+lousy pet, but he didn't tell Lindy. Trouble was, it never did anything.
+It merely sat still, or occasionally it would bounce down to the floor
+and mince along on its hind-legs for a scrap of food. It never uttered a
+sound. It did not frolic and it did not gambol. Most of the time it
+could have been carved from stone. But Lindy was happy and Judd said
+nothing.
+
+They had a little trouble with the customs officials. This because
+nothing unknown could be brought to Earth without a thorough
+examination.
+
+At the customs office, a bespectacled official stared at Black Eyes,
+scratching his head. "Never seen one like that before."
+
+"Neither have I," Judd admitted.
+
+"Well, I'll look in the book." The man did, but there are no thorough
+tomes on Venusian fauna. "Not here."
+
+"I could have told you."
+
+"Well, we'll have to quarantine it and study it. That means you and your
+wife go into quarantine, too. It could have something that's catching."
+
+"Absurd!" Lindy cried.
+
+"Sorry, lady. I only work here."
+
+"You and your bright ideas," Judd told his wife acidly. "We may be
+quarantined a month until they satisfy themselves about Black Eyes."
+
+The customs official shrugged his bony shoulders, and Judd removed a
+twenty-credit note from his pocket and handed it to the man. "Will this
+change your mind?"
+
+"I should say not! You can't bribe me, Mr. Whitney! You can't--" The man
+yawned, stretched languidly, smiled. "No, sir, you can keep your money,
+Mr. Whitney. Guess we don't have to examine your pet after all. Mighty
+cute little feller. Well, have fun with it. Come on, move along now."
+And, as they were departing with Black Eyes, still not believing their
+ears: "Darn this weather! Makes a man so lazy...."
+
+It was after the affair at the customs office, that Black Eyes uttered
+its first sound. City life hasn't changed much in the last fifty years.
+Jet-cars still streak around the circumferential highways, their
+whistles blaring. Factories still belch smoke and steam, although the
+new atomic power plants have lessened that to a certain extent. Crowds
+still throng the streets, noisy, hurrying, ill-mannered. It's one of
+those things that can't be helped. A city has to live, and it has to
+make noise.
+
+But it seemed to frighten Lindy's new pet. It stared through the jet-car
+window on the way from the spaceport to the Whitneys' suburban home, its
+black eyes welling with tears.
+
+"Look!" Judd exclaimed. "Black Eyes can cry!"
+
+"A crying pet, Judd. I knew there would be something unusual about Black
+Eyes, I just knew it!"
+
+The tears in the big black eyes overflowed and tumbled out, rolling down
+Black Eyes' silvery cheeks. And then Black Eyes whimpered. It was only a
+brief whimper, but both Judd and Lindy heard it, and even the driver
+turned around for a moment and stared at the animal.
+
+The driver stopped the jet. He yawned and rested his head comfortably on
+the cushioned seat. He went quietly to sleep.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A man named Merrywinkle owned the Merrywinkle Shipping Service. That, in
+itself, was not unusual. But at precisely the moment that Black Eyes
+unleashed its mild whimper, Mr. Merrywinkle--uptown and five miles
+away--called an emergency conference of the board of directors and
+declared:
+
+"Gentlemen, we have all been working too hard, and I, for one, am going
+to take a vacation. I don't know when I'll be back, but it won't be
+before six months."
+
+"But C.M.," someone protested. "There's the Parker deal and the Gilette
+contract and a dozen other things. You're needed!"
+
+Mr. Merrywinkle shook his bald head. "What's more, you're all taking
+vacations, with pay. Six months, each of you. We're closing down
+Merrywinkle Shipping for half a year. Give the competition a break, eh?"
+
+"But C.M.! We're about ready to squeeze out Chambers Parcel Co.! They'll
+get back on their feet in six months."
+
+"Never mind. Notify all departments of the shut-down, effective
+immediately. Vacations for all."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Who shut off the assembly belt?" the foreman asked mildly. He was not a
+mild man and he usually stormed and ranted at the slightest provocation.
+This was at Clewson Jetcraft, and you couldn't produce a single
+jet-plane without the assembly belt, naturally.
+
+A plump little man said, "I did."
+
+"But why?" the foreman asked him, smiling blandly.
+
+"I don't know. I just did."
+
+The foreman was still smiling. "I don't blame you."
+
+Two days later, Clewson Jetcraft had to lay off all its help. They put
+ads in all the papers seeking new personnel but no one showed up.
+Clewson was forced to shut down.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The crack Boston to New York pneumo-tube commuter's special pulled to a
+bone-jarring stop immediately outside the New York station. Some angry
+commuters pried open the conductor's cab, and found the man snoozing
+quite contentedly. They awakened him, but he refused to drive the train
+any further. All the commuters had to leave the pneumo-train and edge
+their way along three miles of catwalk to the station. No one was very
+happy about it, but the feeling of well-being which came over them all
+nipped any possible protest in the bud.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Black Eyes whimpered again when Judd and Lindy reached home but after
+that it was quiet. It just sat on its haunches near the window and
+stared out at the city.
+
+The quiet city.
+
+Nothing moved in the streets. Nothing stirred. People remained at home
+watching local video or the new space-video from Mars. At first it was a
+good joke, and the newspapers could have had a field day with it, had
+the newspapers remained in circulation. After four days, however, they
+suspended publication. On the fifth day, there was a shortage of food in
+the city, great stores of it spoiling in the warehouses. Heat and light
+failed after a week, and the fire department ignored all alarms a day
+later.
+
+But everything did not stop. School teachers still taught their classes;
+clerks still sold whatever goods were left on local shelves. Librarians
+were still at their desks.
+
+Conservatives said it was a liberal plot to undermine capital and demand
+higher wages; liberals said big business could afford the temporary
+layoff and wanted to squeeze out the small businessman and labor unions.
+
+Scientists pondered and city officials made speeches over video.
+
+"Something," one of them observed, "has hit our city. Work that requires
+anything above a modicum of sound has become impossible; in regards to
+such work people have become lazy. No one can offer any valid
+suggestions concerning the malady. It merely exists. However, if a stop
+is not put to it--and soon--our fair city will disintegrate. Something
+is making us lazy, and that laziness can spell doom, being a compulsive
+lack of desire to create any noise or disturbance. If anyone believes he
+has the solution, he should contact the Department of Science at once.
+If you can't use the video-phone, come in person. But come! Every hour
+which passes adds to the city's woes."
+
+Nothing but scatter-brained ideas for a week, none of them worth
+consideration. Then the bespectacled customs official who had bypassed
+quarantine for Black Eyes, got in touch with the authorities. He had
+always been a conscientious man--except for that one lapse. Maybe the
+queer little beast had nothing to do with this crisis. But then again,
+the customs official had never before--or since--had that strange
+feeling of lassitude. Could there be some connection?
+
+A staff of experts on extra-terrestrial fauna was dispatched to the
+Whitney residence, although, indeed, the chairman of the Department of
+Science secretly considered the whole idea ridiculous.
+
+The staff of experts introduced themselves. Then, ignoring the protests
+of Lindy, went to work on Black Eyes. At first Judd thought the animal
+would object, but apparently it did not. While conditions all about them
+in the city worsened, the experts spent three days studying Black Eyes.
+
+They found nothing out of the ordinary.
+
+Black Eyes merely stared back at them, and but for an accident, they
+would have departed without a lead. On the third day, a huge mongrel dog
+which belonged to the Whitneys' next-door neighbors somehow slipped its
+leash. It was a fierce and ugly animal, and it was known to attack
+anything smaller than itself. It jumped the fence and landed in Judd
+Whitney's yard. A few loping bounds took it through an open window,
+ground level. Inside, it spied Black Eyes and made for the creature at
+once, howling furiously.
+
+Black Eyes didn't budge.
+
+And the mongrel changed its mind! The slavering tongue withdrew inside
+the chops, the howling stopped. The mongrel lay down on the floor and
+whined. Presently it lost all interest, got to its feet, and left as it
+had come.
+
+Other animals were brought to the Whitney home. Cats. Dogs. A lion from
+the city zoo, starved for two days and brought in a special mobile cage
+by its keeper. Black Eyes was thrust into the cage and the lion gave
+forth with a hideous yowling. Soon it stopped, rolled over, and slept.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The scientists correlated their reports, returned with them to the
+Whitney house. The leader, whose name was Jamison, said: "As closely as
+we can tell, Black Eyes is the culprit."
+
+"What?" Lindy demanded.
+
+"Yes, Mrs. Whitney. Your pet, Black Eyes."
+
+"Oh, I don't believe it!"
+
+But Judd said, "Go ahead, Dr. Jamison. I'm listening."
+
+"Well, how does an animal--any animal--protect itself?"
+
+"Why, in any number of ways. If it has claws or a strong jaw and long
+teeth, it can fight. If it is fleet of foot, it can run. If it is big
+and has a tough hide, most other animals can't hurt it anyway. Umm-mm,
+doesn't that about cover it?"
+
+"You left out protective coloration, defensive odors, and things like
+that. Actually, those are most important from our point of view, for
+Black Eyes' ability is a further ramification of that sort of thing.
+Your pet is not fast. It isn't strong. It can't change color and it has
+no offensive odor to chase off predatory enemies. It has no armor. In
+short, can you think of a more helpless creature to put down in those
+Venusian swamps?"
+
+After Judd had shaken his head, Dr. Jamison continued: "Very well, Black
+Eyes should not be able to survive on Venus--and yet, obviously the
+creature did. We can assume there are more of the breed, too. Anyway,
+Black Eyes survives. And I'll tell you why.
+
+"Black Eyes has a very uncommon ability to sense danger when it
+approaches. And sensing danger, Black Eyes can thwart it. Your creature
+sends out certain emanations--I won't pretend to know what they
+are--which stamp aggression out of any predatory creatures. Neither of
+you could fire upon it--right?"
+
+"Umm-mm, that's true," Judd said.
+
+Lindy nodded.
+
+"Well, that's one half of it. There's so much about life we don't
+understand. Black Eyes uses energy of an unknown intensity, and the
+result maintains Black Eyes' life. Now, although that is the case, your
+animal did not live a comfortable life in the Venusian swamp. Because no
+animal would attack it, it could not be harmed. Still, from what you
+tell me about that swamp ...
+
+"Anyhow, Black Eyes was glad to come away with you, and everything went
+well until you landed in New York. The noises, the clattering, the
+continual bustle of a great city--all this frightened the creature. It
+was being attacked--or, at least that's what it must have figured.
+Result: it struck back the only way it knew how. Have you ever heard
+about sub-sonic sound-waves, Mr. Whitney, waves of sound so low that our
+ears cannot pick them up--waves of sound which can nevertheless stir our
+emotions? Such things exist, and, as a working hypothesis, I would say
+Black Eyes' strange powers rest along those lines. The whole city is
+idle because Black Eyes is afraid!"
+
+In his exploration of Mars, of Venus, of the Jovian moons, Judd Whitney
+had seen enough of extra-terrestrial life to know that virtually
+anything was possible, and Black Eyes would be no exception to that
+rule.
+
+"What do you propose to do?" Judd demanded.
+
+"Do? Why, we'll have to kill your creature, naturally. You can set a
+value on it and we will meet it, but Black Eyes must die."
+
+"No!" Lindy cried. "You can't be sure, you're only guessing, and it
+isn't fair!"
+
+"My dear woman, don't you realize this is a serious situation? The
+city's people will starve in time. No one can even bring food in because
+the trucks make too much noise! As an alternative, we could evacuate,
+but is your pet more valuable than the life of a great city?"
+
+"N-no...."
+
+"Then, please! Listen to reason!"
+
+"Kill it," Judd said. "Go ahead."
+
+Dr. Jamison withdrew from his pocket a small blasting pistol used by the
+Department of Domestic Animals for elimination of injured creatures. He
+advanced on Black Eyes, who sat on its haunches in the center of the
+room, surveying the scientist.
+
+Dr. Jamison put his blaster away. "I can't," he said. "I don't want to."
+
+Judd smiled. "I know it. No one--no _thing_--can kill Black Eyes. You
+said so yourself. It was a waste of time to try it. In that case--"
+
+"In that case," Dr. Jamison finished for him, "we're helpless. There
+isn't a man--or an animal--on Earth that will destroy this thing. Wait
+a minute--does it sleep, Mr. Whitney?"
+
+"I don't think so. At least, I never saw it sleep. And your team of
+scientists, did they report anything?"
+
+"No. As far as they could see, the creature never slept. We can't catch
+it unawares."
+
+"Could you anesthetize it?"
+
+"How? It can sense danger, and long before you could do that, it would
+stop you. It's only made one mistake, Mr. Whitney: it believes the
+noises of the city represent a danger. And that's only a negative
+mistake. Noise won't hurt Black Eyes, of course. It simply makes the
+animal unnecessarily cautious. But we cannot anesthetize it any more
+than we can kill it."
+
+"I could take it back to Venus."
+
+"Could you? Could you? I hadn't thought of that."
+
+Judd shook his head. "I can't."
+
+"What do you mean you can't?"
+
+"It won't let me. Somehow it can sense our thoughts when we think
+something it doesn't want. I can't take it to Venus! No man could,
+because it doesn't want to go."
+
+"My dear Mr. Whitney--do you mean to say you believe it can _think_?"
+
+"Uh-uh. Didn't say that. It can sense our thoughts, and that's something
+else again."
+
+Dr. Jamison threw his hands up over his head in a dramatic gesture.
+"It's hopeless," he said.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Things grew worse. New York crawled along to a standstill. People began
+to move from the city. In trickles, at first, but the trickles became
+torrents, as New York's ten million people began to depart for saner
+places. It might take months--it might even take years, but the exodus
+had begun. Nothing could stop it. Because of a harmless little beast
+with the eyes of a tarsier, the life of a great city was coming to an
+end.
+
+Word spread. Scientists all over the world studied reports on Black
+Eyes. No one had any ideas. Everyone was stumped. Black Eyes had no
+particular desire to go outside. Black Eyes merely remained in the
+Whitney house, contemplating nothing in particular, and stopping
+everything.
+
+Dr. Jamison, however, was a persistent man. Judd got a letter from him
+one day, and the following afternoon he kept his appointment with the
+scientist.
+
+"It's good to get out," Judd said, after a three hour walk to the
+Department of Science Building. "I can go crazy just staring at that
+thing."
+
+"I have it, Whitney."
+
+"You have what? Not the way to destroy Black Eyes? I don't believe it!"
+
+"It's true. Consider. Everyone in the world does not yet know of your
+pet, correct?"
+
+"I suppose there are a few people who don't--"
+
+"There are many. Among them, are the crew of a jet-bomber which has been
+on maneuvers in Egypt. We have arranged everything."
+
+"Yes? How?"
+
+"At noon tomorrow, the bomber will appear over your home with one of
+the ancient, high-explosive missiles. Your neighbors will be removed
+from the vicinity, and, precisely at twelve-o-three in the afternoon,
+the bomb will be dropped. Your home will be destroyed. Black Eyes will
+be destroyed with it."
+
+Judd looked uncomfortable. "I dunno," he said. "Sounds too easy."
+
+"Too easy? I doubt if the animal will ever sense what is going on--not
+when the crew of the bomber doesn't know, either. They'll consider it a
+mighty peculiar order, to destroy one harmless, rather large and rather
+elaborate suburban home. But they'll do it. See you tomorrow, Whitney,
+after this mess is behind us."
+
+"Yeah," Judd said. "Yeah." But somehow, the scientist had failed to
+instill any of his confidence in Judd.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With Lindy, he left home at eleven the following morning, after making a
+thorough list of all their properties which the City had promised to
+duplicate. Judd did not look at Black Eyes as he left, and the animal
+remained where it was, seated on its haunches under the dining room
+table, nibbling crumbs. Judd could almost feel the big round eyes boring
+a pair of twin holes in his back, and he dared not turn around to face
+them....
+
+They were a mile away at eleven forty-five, making their way through the
+nearly deserted streets. Judd stopped walking. He looked at Lindy. Lindy
+looked at him.
+
+"They're going to destroy it," he said.
+
+"I know."
+
+"Do you want them to?"
+
+"I--I--"
+
+Judd knew that something had to be done with Black Eyes. He didn't like
+the little beast, and, anyway, that had nothing to do with it. Black
+Eyes was a menace. And yet, something whispered in Judd's ear, _Don't
+let them, don't let them ..._ It wasn't Judd and it wasn't Judd's
+subconscious. It was Black Eyes, and he knew it. But he couldn't do a
+thing about it--
+
+"I'm going to stay right here and let them bomb the place," he said
+aloud. But as he spoke, he was running back the way he had come.
+
+Fifteen minutes.
+
+He sprinted part of the time, then rested, then sprinted again. He was
+somewhat on the beefy side and he could not run fast, but he made it.
+Just.
+
+He heard the jet streaking through the sky overhead, looked up once and
+saw it circling. Two blocks from his house he was met by a policeman.
+The entire area had been roped off, and the officer shook his head when
+Judd tried to get through.
+
+"But I live there!"
+
+"Can't help it, Mister. Orders is orders."
+
+Judd hit him. Judd didn't want to, but nevertheless, he grunted with
+satisfaction when he felt the blow to be a good one, catching the stocky
+officer on the point of his chin and tumbling him over backwards. Then
+Judd was ducking under the rope and running.
+
+He reached his house, plummeted in through the front door. He found
+Black Eyes under the kitchen table, squatting on its haunches. He
+scooped the animal up, ran outside. Then he was running again, and
+before he reached the barrier, something rocked him. A loud series of
+explosions ripped through his brain, and instinctively--Black Eyes'
+instincts, not his--he folded his arms over the animal, protecting it.
+Something shuddered and began to fall behind him, and debris scattered
+in all directions. Something struck Judd's head and he felt the ground
+slapping up crazily at his face--
+
+He was as good as new a few days later.
+
+And so was Black Eyes.
+
+"I have it," Judd said to his nurse.
+
+"You have what, sir?"
+
+"It's so simple, so ridiculously simple, maybe that's why no one ever
+thought of it. Get me Dr. Jamison!"
+
+Jamison came a few moments later, breathless. "Well?"
+
+"I have the solution."
+
+"You ... do?" Not much hope in the answer. Dr. Jamison was a tired,
+defeated man.
+
+"Sure. Black Eyes doesn't like the city. Fine. Take him out. I can't
+take him to Venus. He doesn't like Venus and he won't go. No one can
+take him anyplace he doesn't want to go, just as no one can hurt him in
+any way. But he doesn't like the city. It's too noisy. All right: have
+someone take him far from the city, far far away--where there's no noise
+at all. Someplace out in the sticks where it won't matter much if Black
+Eyes puts a stop to any disturbing noises."
+
+"Who will take him? You, Mr. Whitney?"
+
+Judd shook his head. "That's your job, not mine. I've given you the
+answer. Now use it."
+
+Lindy had arrived, and Lindy said: "Judd, you're right. That _is_ the
+answer. And you're wonderful--"
+
+No one volunteered to spend his life in exile with Black Eyes, but then
+Dr. Jamison pointed out that while no one knew the creature's life-span,
+it certainly couldn't be expected to match man's. Just a few years and
+the beast would die, and ... Dr. Jamison's arguments were so logical
+that he convinced himself. He took Black Eyes with him into the Canadian
+Northwoods, and there they live.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Judd was right--almost.
+
+This was the obvious answer which escaped everyone.
+
+But scientists continued their examinations of Black Eyes, and they
+discovered something. Black Eyes' fears had not been for herself alone.
+She is going to have babies. The estimate is for thirty-five little
+tarsier-eyed creatures. No doctor in the world will be able to do
+anything but deliver the litter.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+    This etext was produced from _If Worlds of Science Fiction_ March
+    1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+    copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
+    typographical errors have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30329 ***
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+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30329 ***</div>
+
+<div class="figr"><img src="images/001.png" width="368" height="500" alt="" title="" />
+<small><b><i>When Black Eyes needed a nap&mdash;everybody slept!</i></b></small></div>
+
+<h1><big>BLACK EYES <i>and the</i><br />
+<span class="sp1">DAILY GRIND</span></big></h1>
+
+<h2>By MILTON LESSER</h2>
+
+<div class="bk1"><p><i><big>The little house pet from Venus didn't like
+New York, so New York had to change.</big></i></p></div>
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">He liked</span> the flat cracking
+sound of the gun. He liked the
+way it slapped back against his
+shoulder when he fired. Somehow
+it did not seem a part of the dank,
+steaming Venusian jungle. Probably,
+he realized with a smile, it was
+the only old-fashioned recoil rifle
+on the entire planet. As if anyone
+else would want to use one of those
+old bone-cracking relics today! But
+they all failed to realize it made
+sport much more interesting.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't seen anything for a
+while," his wife said. She had a
+young, pretty face and a strong
+young body. If you have money
+these days, you could really keep a
+thirty-five-year-old woman looking
+trim.</p>
+
+<p>Not on Venus, of course. Venus
+was an outpost, a frontier, a hot,
+wet, evil-smelling place that beckoned
+only the big-game hunter. He
+said, "That's true. Yesterday we
+could bag them one after the other,
+as fast as I could fire this contraption.
+Today, if there's anything bigger
+than a mouse, it's hiding in a
+hole somewhere. You know what I
+think, Lindy?"</p>
+
+<p>"What?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think there's a reason for it.
+A lot of the early Venusian hunters
+said there were days like this. An
+area filled with big lizards and cats
+and everything else the day before
+suddenly seems to clear out, for no
+reason. It doesn't make sense."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? Why couldn't they all
+just decide to make tracks for someplace
+else on the same day?"</p>
+
+<p>He slapped at an insect that was
+buzzing around his right ear, then
+mopped his sweating brow with a
+handkerchief. His name was Judd
+Whitney, and people said he had a
+lot of money. Now he laughed, patting
+his wife's trim shoulder under
+the white tunic. "No, Lindy. It just
+doesn't work that way. Not on
+Earth and not on Venus, either.
+You think there's a pied-piper or
+something which calls all the animals
+away?"</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe. I don't know much
+about those things."</p>
+
+<p>"No. I don't think they went anyplace.
+They're just quiet. They
+didn't come out of their holes or
+hovels or down from the trees. But
+why?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, let's forget it. Let's go
+back to camp. We can try again
+tomor&mdash;look! Look, there's something!"</p>
+
+<p>Judd followed her pointing finger
+with his eyes. Half-hidden by
+the creepers and vines clinging to
+an old tree-stump, something was
+watching them. It wasn't very big
+and it seemed in no hurry to get
+away.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" Lindy wanted to
+know.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't know. Never saw anything
+like it before. Venus is still
+an unknown frontier; the books
+only name a couple dozen of the
+biggest animals. But hell, Lindy,
+that's not <i>game</i>. I don't think it
+weighs five pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"It's cute, and it has a lovely
+skin."</p>
+
+<p>Judd couldn't argue with that.
+Squatting on its haunches, the creature
+was about twenty inches tall.
+It had a pointed snout and two
+thin, long ears. Its eyes were very
+big and very round and quite black.
+They looked something like the eyes
+of an Earthian tarsier, but the tarsier
+were bloody little beasts. The
+skin was short and stiff and was a
+kind of silvery white. Under the
+sheen, however, it seemed to glow.
+A diamond is colorless, Judd
+thought, but when you see it under
+light a whole rainbow of colors
+sparkle deep within it. This creature's
+skin was like that, Judd decided.</p>
+
+<p>"If we could get enough of
+them," Lindy was saying, "I'd have
+the most unusual coat! Do you
+think we could find enough, Judd?"</p>
+
+<p>"I doubt it. Never saw anything
+like it before, never heard of anything
+like it. You'd need fifty of
+'em, anyway. Let's forget about it&mdash;too
+small to shoot, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Judd. I want it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm not going to stalk a
+five-pound&mdash;hey, wait a minute! I
+taught you how to use this rifle, so
+why don't you bag it?"</p>
+
+<p>Lindy grinned. "That's a fine
+idea. I was a little scared of some of
+those big lizards and cats and everything,
+but now I'm going to take
+you up on it. Here, give me your
+gun."</p>
+
+<p>Judd removed the leather thong
+from his shoulder and handed the
+weapon to her. She looked at it a
+little uncertainly, then took the clip
+of shells which Judd offered and
+slammed it into the chamber. The
+little creature sat unmoving.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it peculiar that it doesn't
+run away, Judd?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sure is. Nothing formidable
+about that animal, so unless it has
+a hidden poison somewhere, just
+about anything in this swamp could
+do it in. To survive it would have to
+be fast as hell and it would have
+to keep running all the time. Beats
+me, Lindy."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm going to get myself
+one pelt toward that coat, anyway.
+Watch, Judd: is this the way?" She
+lifted the rifle to her shoulder and
+squinted down the sights toward
+the shining creature.</p>
+
+<p>"Yeah, that's the way. Only relax.
+Relax. Shoulder's so tense
+you're liable to dislocate it with the
+kick. There&mdash;that's better."</p>
+
+<p>Now Lindy's finger was wrapped
+around the trigger and she remembered
+Judd had told her to squeeze
+it, not to pull it. If you pulled the
+trigger you jerked the rifle and
+spoiled your aim. You had to
+squeeze it slowly....</p>
+
+<p>The animal seemed politely interested.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, a delicious languor
+stole over Lindy. It possessed her
+all at once and she had no idea
+where it came from. Her legs had
+been stiff and tired from the all-morning
+trek through the swamp,
+but now they felt fine. Her whole
+body was suffused in a warm, satisfied
+glow of well-being. And laziness.
+It was an utterly new sensation
+and she could even feel it
+tingling at the roots of her
+hair. She sighed and lowered the
+rifle.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want to shoot it," she
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"You just told me you did."</p>
+
+<p>"I know, but I changed my mind.
+What's the matter, can't I change
+my mind?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you can change your
+mind. But I thought you wanted a
+coat of those things."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I suppose I do. But I don't
+want to shoot it, that's all."</p>
+
+<p>Judd snorted. "I think you have
+a streak of softness someplace in
+that pretty head of yours!"</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe. I don't know. But I'd
+still like the pelt. Funny, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Okay, okay! But don't ask to
+use the gun again." Judd snatched
+it from her hands. "If you don't
+want to shoot it, then I will. Maybe
+we can make you a pair of gloves
+or something from the pelt."</p>
+
+<p>And Judd pointed his ancient
+rifle at the little animal preparing
+to snap off a quick shot.
+It would be a cinch at this distance.
+Even Lindy wouldn't have missed,
+if she hadn't changed her mind.</p>
+
+<p>Judd yawned. He'd failed to
+realize he was so tired. Not an aching
+kind of tiredness, but the kind
+that makes you feel good all over.
+He yawned again and lowered the
+rifle. "Changed my mind," he said.
+"I don't want to shoot it, either.
+What say we head back for camp?"</p>
+
+<p>Lindy gripped his hand impulsively.
+"All right, Judd&mdash;but I had
+a brainstorm! I want it for a pet!"</p>
+
+<p>"A pet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I think it would be the
+cutest thing. Everyone would look
+and wonder and I'll adore it!"</p>
+
+<p>"We don't know anything about
+it. Maybe Earth would be too cold,
+or too dry, or maybe we don't have
+anything it can eat. There are liable
+to be a hundred different strains of
+bacteria that can kill it."</p>
+
+<p>"I said I want it for a pet. See?
+Look at it! We can call it Black
+Eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"Black Eyes&mdash;" Judd groaned.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Black Eyes. If you don't do
+this one thing for me, Judd&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Okay&mdash;okay. But I'm not going
+to do anything. You want it, you
+take it."</p>
+
+<p>Lindy frowned, looked at him
+crossly, then sloshed across the
+swamp toward Black Eyes. The
+creature waited on its stump until
+she came quite close, and then, with
+a playful little bound, it hopped
+onto her shoulder, still squatting on
+its haunches. Lindy squealed excitedly
+and began to stroke its silvery
+fur.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">A&nbsp;month later</span>, they returned
+to Earth. Judd and Lindy and
+Black Eyes. The hunting trip had
+been a success&mdash;Judd's trophies
+were on their way home on a slow
+freighter, and he'd have some fine
+heads and skins for his study-room.
+Even Black Eyes had been no trouble
+at all. It ate scraps from their
+table, forever sitting on its haunches
+and staring at them with its big
+black eyes. Judd thought it would
+make one helluva lousy pet, but he
+didn't tell Lindy. Trouble was, it
+never did anything. It merely sat
+still, or occasionally it would
+bounce down to the floor and mince
+along on its hind-legs for a scrap
+of food. It never uttered a sound. It
+did not frolic and it did not gambol.
+Most of the time it could have
+been carved from stone. But Lindy
+was happy and Judd said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>They had a little trouble with the
+customs officials. This because nothing
+unknown could be brought to
+Earth without a thorough examination.</p>
+
+<p>At the customs office, a bespectacled
+official stared at Black
+Eyes, scratching his head. "Never
+seen one like that before."</p>
+
+<p>"Neither have I," Judd admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll look in the book." The
+man did, but there are no thorough
+tomes on Venusian fauna. "Not
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"I could have told you."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we'll have to quarantine
+it and study it. That means you
+and your wife go into quarantine,
+too. It could have something that's
+catching."</p>
+
+<p>"Absurd!" Lindy cried.</p>
+
+<p>"Sorry, lady. I only work here."</p>
+
+<p>"You and your bright ideas,"
+Judd told his wife acidly. "We may
+be quarantined a month until they
+satisfy themselves about Black
+Eyes."</p>
+
+<p>The customs official shrugged his
+bony shoulders, and Judd removed
+a twenty-credit note from his pocket
+and handed it to the man. "Will
+this change your mind?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should say not! You can't
+bribe me, Mr. Whitney! You
+can't&mdash;" The man yawned,
+stretched languidly, smiled. "No, sir,
+you can keep your money, Mr.
+Whitney. Guess we don't have to
+examine your pet after all. Mighty
+cute little feller. Well, have fun
+with it. Come on, move along now."
+And, as they were departing with
+Black Eyes, still not believing their
+ears: "Darn this weather! Makes a
+man so lazy...."</p>
+
+<p>It was after the affair at the
+customs office, that Black Eyes uttered
+its first sound. City life hasn't
+changed much in the last fifty years.
+Jet-cars still streak around the circumferential
+highways, their whistles
+blaring. Factories still belch
+smoke and steam, although the new
+atomic power plants have lessened
+that to a certain extent. Crowds
+still throng the streets, noisy, hurrying,
+ill-mannered. It's one of those
+things that can't be helped. A city
+has to live, and it has to make noise.</p>
+
+<p>But it seemed to frighten Lindy's
+new pet. It stared through the jet-car
+window on the way from the
+spaceport to the Whitneys' suburban
+home, its black eyes welling
+with tears.</p>
+
+<p>"Look!" Judd exclaimed. "Black
+Eyes can cry!"</p>
+
+<p>"A crying pet, Judd. I knew
+there would be something unusual
+about Black Eyes, I just knew it!"</p>
+
+<p>The tears in the big black eyes
+overflowed and tumbled out, rolling
+down Black Eyes' silvery cheeks.
+And then Black Eyes whimpered. It
+was only a brief whimper, but both
+Judd and Lindy heard it, and even
+the driver turned around for a moment
+and stared at the animal.</p>
+
+<p>The driver stopped the jet. He
+yawned and rested his head comfortably
+on the cushioned seat. He
+went quietly to sleep.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">A&nbsp;man named</span> Merrywinkle
+owned the Merrywinkle Shipping
+Service. That, in itself, was not unusual.
+But at precisely the moment
+that Black Eyes unleashed its mild
+whimper, Mr. Merrywinkle&mdash;uptown
+and five miles away&mdash;called
+an emergency conference of the
+board of directors and declared:</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen, we have all been
+working too hard, and I, for one,
+am going to take a vacation. I don't
+know when I'll be back, but it
+won't be before six months."</p>
+
+<p>"But C.M.," someone protested.
+"There's the Parker deal and the
+Gilette contract and a dozen other
+things. You're needed!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Merrywinkle shook his bald
+head. "What's more, you're all taking
+vacations, with pay. Six
+months, each of you. We're closing
+down Merrywinkle Shipping for
+half a year. Give the competition a
+break, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"But C.M.! We're about ready
+to squeeze out Chambers Parcel
+Co.! They'll get back on their feet
+in six months."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind. Notify all departments
+of the shut-down, effective
+immediately. Vacations for all."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">"Who shut</span> off the assembly
+belt?" the foreman asked mildly.
+He was not a mild man and he
+usually stormed and ranted at the
+slightest provocation. This was at
+Clewson Jetcraft, and you couldn't
+produce a single jet-plane without
+the assembly belt, naturally.</p>
+
+<p>A plump little man said, "I did."</p>
+
+<p>"But why?" the foreman asked
+him, smiling blandly.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. I just did."</p>
+
+<p>The foreman was still smiling. "I
+don't blame you."</p>
+
+<p>Two days later, Clewson Jetcraft
+had to lay off all its help.
+They put ads in all the papers seeking
+new personnel but no one
+showed up. Clewson was forced to
+shut down.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The crack</span> Boston to New
+York pneumo-tube commuter's
+special pulled to a bone-jarring
+stop immediately outside the New
+York station. Some angry commuters
+pried open the conductor's
+cab, and found the man snoozing
+quite contentedly. They awakened
+him, but he refused to drive the
+train any further. All the commuters
+had to leave the pneumo-train
+and edge their way along
+three miles of catwalk to the station.
+No one was very happy about
+it, but the feeling of well-being
+which came over them all nipped
+any possible protest in the bud.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Black Eyes</span> whimpered again
+when Judd and Lindy reached
+home but after that it was quiet. It
+just sat on its haunches near the
+window and stared out at the city.</p>
+
+<p>The quiet city.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing moved in the streets.
+Nothing stirred. People remained
+at home watching local video or
+the new space-video from Mars. At
+first it was a good joke, and the
+newspapers could have had a field
+day with it, had the newspapers remained
+in circulation. After four
+days, however, they suspended publication.
+On the fifth day, there was
+a shortage of food in the city, great
+stores of it spoiling in the warehouses.
+Heat and light failed after
+a week, and the fire department ignored
+all alarms a day later.</p>
+
+<p>But everything did not stop.
+School teachers still taught their
+classes; clerks still sold whatever
+goods were left on local shelves.
+Librarians were still at their desks.</p>
+
+<p>Conservatives said it was a
+liberal plot to undermine capital
+and demand higher wages; liberals
+said big business could afford the
+temporary layoff and wanted to
+squeeze out the small businessman
+and labor unions.</p>
+
+<p>Scientists pondered and city officials
+made speeches over video.</p>
+
+<p>"Something," one of them observed,
+"has hit our city. Work that
+requires anything above a modicum
+of sound has become impossible; in
+regards to such work people have
+become lazy. No one can offer any
+valid suggestions concerning the
+malady. It merely exists. However,
+if a stop is not put to it&mdash;and soon&mdash;our
+fair city will disintegrate.
+Something is making us lazy, and
+that laziness can spell doom, being
+a compulsive lack of desire to create
+any noise or disturbance. If anyone
+believes he has the solution, he
+should contact the Department of
+Science at once. If you can't use
+the video-phone, come in person.
+But come! Every hour which passes
+adds to the city's woes."</p>
+
+<p>Nothing but scatter-brained ideas
+for a week, none of them worth
+consideration. Then the bespectacled
+customs official who had bypassed
+quarantine for Black Eyes,
+got in touch with the authorities.
+He had always been a conscientious
+man&mdash;except for that one lapse.
+Maybe the queer little beast had
+nothing to do with this crisis. But
+then again, the customs official
+had never before&mdash;or since&mdash;had
+that strange feeling of lassitude.
+Could there be some connection?</p>
+
+<p>A staff of experts on extra-terrestrial
+fauna was dispatched to the
+Whitney residence, although, indeed,
+the chairman of the Department
+of Science secretly considered
+the whole idea ridiculous.</p>
+
+<p>The staff of experts introduced
+themselves. Then, ignoring the
+protests of Lindy, went to work on
+Black Eyes. At first Judd thought
+the animal would object, but apparently
+it did not. While conditions
+all about them in the city
+worsened, the experts spent three
+days studying Black Eyes.</p>
+
+<p>They found nothing out of the
+ordinary.</p>
+
+<p>Black Eyes merely stared back at
+them, and but for an accident, they
+would have departed without a
+lead. On the third day, a huge
+mongrel dog which belonged to
+the Whitneys' next-door neighbors
+somehow slipped its leash. It was a
+fierce and ugly animal, and it was
+known to attack anything smaller
+than itself. It jumped the fence and
+landed in Judd Whitney's yard. A
+few loping bounds took it through
+an open window, ground level. Inside,
+it spied Black Eyes and made
+for the creature at once, howling
+furiously.</p>
+
+<p>Black Eyes didn't budge.</p>
+
+<p>And the mongrel changed its
+mind! The slavering tongue withdrew
+inside the chops, the howling
+stopped. The mongrel lay down on
+the floor and whined. Presently it
+lost all interest, got to its feet, and
+left as it had come.</p>
+
+<p>Other animals were brought to
+the Whitney home. Cats. Dogs. A
+lion from the city zoo, starved for
+two days and brought in a special
+mobile cage by its keeper. Black
+Eyes was thrust into the cage and
+the lion gave forth with a hideous
+yowling. Soon it stopped, rolled
+over, and slept.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The scientists</span> correlated
+their reports, returned with them
+to the Whitney house. The leader,
+whose name was Jamison, said:
+"As closely as we can tell, Black
+Eyes is the culprit."</p>
+
+<p>"What?" Lindy demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mrs. Whitney. Your pet,
+Black Eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't believe it!"</p>
+
+<p>But Judd said, "Go ahead, Dr.
+Jamison. I'm listening."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, how does an animal&mdash;any
+animal&mdash;protect itself?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, in any number of ways. If
+it has claws or a strong jaw and
+long teeth, it can fight. If it is fleet
+of foot, it can run. If it is big and
+has a tough hide, most other animals
+can't hurt it anyway. Umm-mm,
+doesn't that about cover it?"</p>
+
+<p>"You left out protective coloration,
+defensive odors, and things
+like that. Actually, those are most
+important from our point of view,
+for Black Eyes' ability is a further
+ramification of that sort of thing.
+Your pet is not fast. It isn't strong.
+It can't change color and it has no
+offensive odor to chase off predatory
+enemies. It has no armor. In
+short, can you think of a more helpless
+creature to put down in those
+Venusian swamps?"</p>
+
+<p>After Judd had shaken his head,
+Dr. Jamison continued: "Very
+well, Black Eyes should not be able
+to survive on Venus&mdash;and yet, obviously
+the creature did. We can
+assume there are more of the breed,
+too. Anyway, Black Eyes survives.
+And I'll tell you why.</p>
+
+<p>"Black Eyes has a very uncommon
+ability to sense danger when
+it approaches. And sensing danger,
+Black Eyes can thwart it. Your
+creature sends out certain emanations&mdash;I
+won't pretend to know
+what they are&mdash;which stamp aggression
+out of any predatory creatures.
+Neither of you could fire
+upon it&mdash;right?"</p>
+
+<p>"Umm-mm, that's true," Judd
+said.</p>
+
+<p>Lindy nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that's one half of it.
+There's so much about life we don't
+understand. Black Eyes uses energy
+of an unknown intensity, and the
+result maintains Black Eyes' life.
+Now, although that is the case,
+your animal did not live a comfortable
+life in the Venusian
+swamp. Because no animal would
+attack it, it could not be harmed.
+Still, from what you tell me about
+that swamp ...</p>
+
+<p>"Anyhow, Black Eyes was glad
+to come away with you, and everything
+went well until you landed in
+New York. The noises, the clattering,
+the continual bustle of a great
+city&mdash;all this frightened the creature.
+It was being attacked&mdash;or, at
+least that's what it must have figured.
+Result: it struck back the
+only way it knew how. Have you
+ever heard about sub-sonic sound-waves,
+Mr. Whitney, waves of
+sound so low that our ears cannot
+pick them up&mdash;waves of sound
+which can nevertheless stir our
+emotions? Such things exist, and, as
+a working hypothesis, I would say
+Black Eyes' strange powers rest
+along those lines. The whole city
+is idle because Black Eyes is
+afraid!"</p>
+
+<p>In his exploration of Mars, of
+Venus, of the Jovian moons, Judd
+Whitney had seen enough of extra-terrestrial
+life to know that virtually
+anything was possible, and Black
+Eyes would be no exception to that
+rule.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you propose to do?"
+Judd demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Do? Why, we'll have to kill your
+creature, naturally. You can set a
+value on it and we will meet it, but
+Black Eyes must die."</p>
+
+<p>"No!" Lindy cried. "You can't
+be sure, you're only guessing, and
+it isn't fair!"</p>
+
+<p>"My dear woman, don't you
+realize this is a serious situation?
+The city's people will starve in
+time. No one can even bring food
+in because the trucks make too
+much noise! As an alternative, we
+could evacuate, but is your pet
+more valuable than the life of a
+great city?"</p>
+
+<p>"N-no...."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, please! Listen to reason!"</p>
+
+<p>"Kill it," Judd said. "Go ahead."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison withdrew from his
+pocket a small blasting pistol used
+by the Department of Domestic
+Animals for elimination of injured
+creatures. He advanced on Black
+Eyes, who sat on its haunches in the
+center of the room, surveying the
+scientist.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison put his blaster away.
+"I can't," he said. "I don't want
+to."</p>
+
+<p>Judd smiled. "I know it. No one&mdash;no
+<i>thing</i>&mdash;can kill Black Eyes.
+You said so yourself. It was a waste
+of time to try it. In that case&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"In that case," Dr. Jamison finished
+for him, "we're helpless.
+There isn't a man&mdash;or an animal&mdash;on
+Earth that will destroy this
+thing. Wait a minute&mdash;does it sleep,
+Mr. Whitney?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so. At least, I
+never saw it sleep. And your team
+of scientists, did they report anything?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. As far as they could see, the
+creature never slept. We can't catch
+it unawares."</p>
+
+<p>"Could you anesthetize it?"</p>
+
+<p>"How? It can sense danger, and
+long before you could do that, it
+would stop you. It's only made one
+mistake, Mr. Whitney: it believes
+the noises of the city represent a
+danger. And that's only a negative
+mistake. Noise won't hurt Black
+Eyes, of course. It simply makes the
+animal unnecessarily cautious. But
+we cannot anesthetize it any more
+than we can kill it."</p>
+
+<p>"I could take it back to Venus."</p>
+
+<p>"Could you? Could you? I
+hadn't thought of that."</p>
+
+<p>Judd shook his head. "I can't."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean you can't?"</p>
+
+<p>"It won't let me. Somehow it can
+sense our thoughts when we think
+something it doesn't want. I can't
+take it to Venus! No man could, because
+it doesn't want to go."</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Mr. Whitney&mdash;do you
+mean to say you believe it can
+<i>think</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"Uh-uh. Didn't say that. It can
+sense our thoughts, and that's
+something else again."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison threw his hands up
+over his head in a dramatic gesture.
+"It's hopeless," he said.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Things grew</span> worse. New
+York crawled along to a standstill.
+People began to move from
+the city. In trickles, at first, but the
+trickles became torrents, as New
+York's ten million people began to
+depart for saner places. It might
+take months&mdash;it might even take
+years, but the exodus had begun.
+Nothing could stop it. Because of a
+harmless little beast with the eyes
+of a tarsier, the life of a great city
+was coming to an end.</p>
+
+<p>Word spread. Scientists all over
+the world studied reports on Black
+Eyes. No one had any ideas. Everyone
+was stumped. Black Eyes had
+no particular desire to go outside.
+Black Eyes merely remained in the
+Whitney house, contemplating
+nothing in particular, and stopping
+everything.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison, however, was a persistent
+man. Judd got a letter from
+him one day, and the following
+afternoon he kept his appointment
+with the scientist.</p>
+
+<p>"It's good to get out," Judd said,
+after a three hour walk to the Department
+of Science Building. "I
+can go crazy just staring at that
+thing."</p>
+
+<p>"I have it, Whitney."</p>
+
+<p>"You have what? Not the way to
+destroy Black Eyes? I don't believe
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's true. Consider. Everyone in
+the world does not yet know of your
+pet, correct?"</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose there are a few people
+who don't&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"There are many. Among them,
+are the crew of a jet-bomber which
+has been on maneuvers in Egypt.
+We have arranged everything."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes? How?"</p>
+
+<p>"At noon tomorrow, the bomber
+will appear over your home with
+one of the ancient, high-explosive
+missiles. Your neighbors will be removed
+from the vicinity, and, precisely
+at twelve-o-three in the afternoon,
+the bomb will be dropped.
+Your home will be destroyed. Black
+Eyes will be destroyed with it."</p>
+
+<p>Judd looked uncomfortable. "I
+dunno," he said. "Sounds too easy."</p>
+
+<p>"Too easy? I doubt if the animal
+will ever sense what is going on&mdash;not
+when the crew of the bomber
+doesn't know, either. They'll consider
+it a mighty peculiar order, to
+destroy one harmless, rather large
+and rather elaborate suburban
+home. But they'll do it. See you tomorrow,
+Whitney, after this mess is
+behind us."</p>
+
+<p>"Yeah," Judd said. "Yeah." But
+somehow, the scientist had failed to
+instill any of his confidence in
+Judd.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">With Lindy</span>, he left home at
+eleven the following morning,
+after making a thorough list of all
+their properties which the City had
+promised to duplicate. Judd did
+not look at Black Eyes as he left,
+and the animal remained where it
+was, seated on its haunches under
+the dining room table, nibbling
+crumbs. Judd could almost feel the
+big round eyes boring a pair of twin
+holes in his back, and he dared not
+turn around to face them....</p>
+
+<p>They were a mile away at
+eleven forty-five, making their way
+through the nearly deserted streets.
+Judd stopped walking. He looked
+at Lindy. Lindy looked at him.</p>
+
+<p>"They're going to destroy it," he
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"I know."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you want them to?"</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Judd knew that something had
+to be done with Black Eyes. He
+didn't like the little beast, and, anyway,
+that had nothing to do with it.
+Black Eyes was a menace. And yet,
+something whispered in Judd's ear,
+<i>Don't let them, don't let them ...</i>
+It wasn't Judd and it wasn't Judd's
+subconscious. It was Black Eyes,
+and he knew it. But he couldn't do
+a thing about it&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to stay right here and
+let them bomb the place," he said
+aloud. But as he spoke, he was running
+back the way he had come.</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen minutes.</p>
+
+<p>He sprinted part of the time,
+then rested, then sprinted again. He
+was somewhat on the beefy side and
+he could not run fast, but he made
+it. Just.</p>
+
+<p>He heard the jet streaking
+through the sky overhead, looked
+up once and saw it circling. Two
+blocks from his house he was met
+by a policeman. The entire area
+had been roped off, and the officer
+shook his head when Judd tried to
+get through.</p>
+
+<p>"But I live there!"</p>
+
+<p>"Can't help it, Mister. Orders is
+orders."</p>
+
+<p>Judd hit him. Judd didn't want
+to, but nevertheless, he grunted
+with satisfaction when he felt the
+blow to be a good one, catching the
+stocky officer on the point of his
+chin and tumbling him over backwards.
+Then Judd was ducking under
+the rope and running.</p>
+
+<p>He reached his house, plummeted
+in through the front door.
+He found Black Eyes under the
+kitchen table, squatting on its
+haunches. He scooped the animal
+up, ran outside. Then he was running
+again, and before he reached
+the barrier, something rocked him.
+A loud series of explosions ripped
+through his brain, and instinctively&mdash;Black
+Eyes' instincts, not his&mdash;he
+folded his arms over the animal,
+protecting it. Something shuddered
+and began to fall behind him, and
+debris scattered in all directions.
+Something struck Judd's head and
+he felt the ground slapping up
+crazily at his face&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>He was as good as new a few
+days later.</p>
+
+<p>And so was Black Eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I have it," Judd said to his
+nurse.</p>
+
+<p>"You have what, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's so simple, so ridiculously
+simple, maybe that's why no one
+ever thought of it. Get me Dr.
+Jamison!"</p>
+
+<p>Jamison came a few moments
+later, breathless. "Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have the solution."</p>
+
+<p>"You ... do?" Not much hope
+in the answer. Dr. Jamison was a
+tired, defeated man.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure. Black Eyes doesn't like the
+city. Fine. Take him out. I can't
+take him to Venus. He doesn't like
+Venus and he won't go. No one
+can take him anyplace he doesn't
+want to go, just as no one can hurt
+him in any way. But he doesn't like
+the city. It's too noisy. All right:
+have someone take him far from
+the city, far far away&mdash;where
+there's no noise at all. Someplace
+out in the sticks where it won't
+matter much if Black Eyes puts a
+stop to any disturbing noises."</p>
+
+<p>"Who will take him? You, Mr.
+Whitney?"</p>
+
+<p>Judd shook his head. "That's
+your job, not mine. I've given you
+the answer. Now use it."</p>
+
+<p>Lindy had arrived, and Lindy
+said: "Judd, you're right. That <i>is</i>
+the answer. And you're wonderful&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>No one volunteered to spend his
+life in exile with Black Eyes, but
+then Dr. Jamison pointed out that
+while no one knew the creature's
+life-span, it certainly couldn't be
+expected to match man's. Just a
+few years and the beast would die,
+and ... Dr. Jamison's arguments
+were so logical that he convinced
+himself. He took Black Eyes with
+him into the Canadian Northwoods,
+and there they live.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Judd</span> was right&mdash;almost.</p>
+
+<p>This was the obvious answer
+which escaped everyone.</p>
+
+<p>But scientists continued their
+examinations of Black Eyes, and
+they discovered something. Black
+Eyes' fears had not been for herself
+alone. She is going to have babies.
+The estimate is for thirty-five little
+tarsier-eyed creatures. No doctor in
+the world will be able to do anything
+but deliver the litter.</p>
+
+<p class="bk1">THE END</p>
+
+<div class="trn"><div class="figt"><a href="images/002-2.jpg"><img src="images/002-1.jpg" width="133" height="200" alt="" title="" /></a></div>
+
+<p><big><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></big></p>
+
+<p>This etext was produced from <i>If Worlds of Science Fiction</i> March 1952.
+Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
+typographical errors have been corrected without note.</p></div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30329 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+Project Gutenberg's Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Black Eyes and the Daily Grind
+
+Author: Milton Lesser
+
+Release Date: October 25, 2009 [EBook #30329]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK EYES AND THE DAILY GRIND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _When Black Eyes needed a nap--everybody slept!_]
+
+
+ BLACK EYES _and the_
+             DAILY GRIND
+
+        By MILTON LESSER
+
+
+ _The little house pet from Venus didn't
+ like New York, so New York had to change._
+
+
+He liked the flat cracking sound of the gun. He liked the way it slapped
+back against his shoulder when he fired. Somehow it did not seem a part
+of the dank, steaming Venusian jungle. Probably, he realized with a
+smile, it was the only old-fashioned recoil rifle on the entire planet.
+As if anyone else would want to use one of those old bone-cracking
+relics today! But they all failed to realize it made sport much more
+interesting.
+
+"I haven't seen anything for a while," his wife said. She had a young,
+pretty face and a strong young body. If you have money these days, you
+could really keep a thirty-five-year-old woman looking trim.
+
+Not on Venus, of course. Venus was an outpost, a frontier, a hot, wet,
+evil-smelling place that beckoned only the big-game hunter. He said,
+"That's true. Yesterday we could bag them one after the other, as fast
+as I could fire this contraption. Today, if there's anything bigger than
+a mouse, it's hiding in a hole somewhere. You know what I think, Lindy?"
+
+"What?"
+
+"I think there's a reason for it. A lot of the early Venusian hunters
+said there were days like this. An area filled with big lizards and cats
+and everything else the day before suddenly seems to clear out, for no
+reason. It doesn't make sense."
+
+"Why not? Why couldn't they all just decide to make tracks for someplace
+else on the same day?"
+
+He slapped at an insect that was buzzing around his right ear, then
+mopped his sweating brow with a handkerchief. His name was Judd Whitney,
+and people said he had a lot of money. Now he laughed, patting his
+wife's trim shoulder under the white tunic. "No, Lindy. It just doesn't
+work that way. Not on Earth and not on Venus, either. You think there's
+a pied-piper or something which calls all the animals away?"
+
+"Maybe. I don't know much about those things."
+
+"No. I don't think they went anyplace. They're just quiet. They didn't
+come out of their holes or hovels or down from the trees. But why?"
+
+"Well, let's forget it. Let's go back to camp. We can try again
+tomor--look! Look, there's something!"
+
+Judd followed her pointing finger with his eyes. Half-hidden by the
+creepers and vines clinging to an old tree-stump, something was watching
+them. It wasn't very big and it seemed in no hurry to get away.
+
+"What is it?" Lindy wanted to know.
+
+"Don't know. Never saw anything like it before. Venus is still an
+unknown frontier; the books only name a couple dozen of the biggest
+animals. But hell, Lindy, that's not _game_. I don't think it weighs
+five pounds."
+
+"It's cute, and it has a lovely skin."
+
+Judd couldn't argue with that. Squatting on its haunches, the creature
+was about twenty inches tall. It had a pointed snout and two thin, long
+ears. Its eyes were very big and very round and quite black. They looked
+something like the eyes of an Earthian tarsier, but the tarsier were
+bloody little beasts. The skin was short and stiff and was a kind of
+silvery white. Under the sheen, however, it seemed to glow. A diamond is
+colorless, Judd thought, but when you see it under light a whole rainbow
+of colors sparkle deep within it. This creature's skin was like that,
+Judd decided.
+
+"If we could get enough of them," Lindy was saying, "I'd have the most
+unusual coat! Do you think we could find enough, Judd?"
+
+"I doubt it. Never saw anything like it before, never heard of anything
+like it. You'd need fifty of 'em, anyway. Let's forget about it--too
+small to shoot, anyway."
+
+"No, Judd. I want it."
+
+"Well, I'm not going to stalk a five-pound--hey, wait a minute! I taught
+you how to use this rifle, so why don't you bag it?"
+
+Lindy grinned. "That's a fine idea. I was a little scared of some of
+those big lizards and cats and everything, but now I'm going to take you
+up on it. Here, give me your gun."
+
+Judd removed the leather thong from his shoulder and handed the weapon
+to her. She looked at it a little uncertainly, then took the clip of
+shells which Judd offered and slammed it into the chamber. The little
+creature sat unmoving.
+
+"Isn't it peculiar that it doesn't run away, Judd?"
+
+"Sure is. Nothing formidable about that animal, so unless it has a
+hidden poison somewhere, just about anything in this swamp could do it
+in. To survive it would have to be fast as hell and it would have to
+keep running all the time. Beats me, Lindy."
+
+"Well, I'm going to get myself one pelt toward that coat, anyway. Watch,
+Judd: is this the way?" She lifted the rifle to her shoulder and
+squinted down the sights toward the shining creature.
+
+"Yeah, that's the way. Only relax. Relax. Shoulder's so tense you're
+liable to dislocate it with the kick. There--that's better."
+
+Now Lindy's finger was wrapped around the trigger and she remembered
+Judd had told her to squeeze it, not to pull it. If you pulled the
+trigger you jerked the rifle and spoiled your aim. You had to squeeze it
+slowly....
+
+The animal seemed politely interested.
+
+Suddenly, a delicious languor stole over Lindy. It possessed her all at
+once and she had no idea where it came from. Her legs had been stiff and
+tired from the all-morning trek through the swamp, but now they felt
+fine. Her whole body was suffused in a warm, satisfied glow of
+well-being. And laziness. It was an utterly new sensation and she could
+even feel it tingling at the roots of her hair. She sighed and lowered
+the rifle.
+
+"I don't want to shoot it," she said.
+
+"You just told me you did."
+
+"I know, but I changed my mind. What's the matter, can't I change my
+mind?"
+
+"Of course you can change your mind. But I thought you wanted a coat of
+those things."
+
+"Yes, I suppose I do. But I don't want to shoot it, that's all."
+
+Judd snorted. "I think you have a streak of softness someplace in that
+pretty head of yours!"
+
+"Maybe. I don't know. But I'd still like the pelt. Funny, isn't it?"
+
+"Okay, okay! But don't ask to use the gun again." Judd snatched it from
+her hands. "If you don't want to shoot it, then I will. Maybe we can
+make you a pair of gloves or something from the pelt."
+
+And Judd pointed his ancient rifle at the little animal preparing to
+snap off a quick shot. It would be a cinch at this distance. Even Lindy
+wouldn't have missed, if she hadn't changed her mind.
+
+Judd yawned. He'd failed to realize he was so tired. Not an aching kind
+of tiredness, but the kind that makes you feel good all over. He yawned
+again and lowered the rifle. "Changed my mind," he said. "I don't want
+to shoot it, either. What say we head back for camp?"
+
+Lindy gripped his hand impulsively. "All right, Judd--but I had a
+brainstorm! I want it for a pet!"
+
+"A pet?"
+
+"Yes. I think it would be the cutest thing. Everyone would look and
+wonder and I'll adore it!"
+
+"We don't know anything about it. Maybe Earth would be too cold, or too
+dry, or maybe we don't have anything it can eat. There are liable to be
+a hundred different strains of bacteria that can kill it."
+
+"I said I want it for a pet. See? Look at it! We can call it Black
+Eyes."
+
+"Black Eyes--" Judd groaned.
+
+"Yes, Black Eyes. If you don't do this one thing for me, Judd--"
+
+"Okay--okay. But I'm not going to do anything. You want it, you take
+it."
+
+Lindy frowned, looked at him crossly, then sloshed across the swamp
+toward Black Eyes. The creature waited on its stump until she came quite
+close, and then, with a playful little bound, it hopped onto her
+shoulder, still squatting on its haunches. Lindy squealed excitedly and
+began to stroke its silvery fur.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A month later, they returned to Earth. Judd and Lindy and Black Eyes.
+The hunting trip had been a success--Judd's trophies were on their way
+home on a slow freighter, and he'd have some fine heads and skins for
+his study-room. Even Black Eyes had been no trouble at all. It ate
+scraps from their table, forever sitting on its haunches and staring at
+them with its big black eyes. Judd thought it would make one helluva
+lousy pet, but he didn't tell Lindy. Trouble was, it never did anything.
+It merely sat still, or occasionally it would bounce down to the floor
+and mince along on its hind-legs for a scrap of food. It never uttered a
+sound. It did not frolic and it did not gambol. Most of the time it
+could have been carved from stone. But Lindy was happy and Judd said
+nothing.
+
+They had a little trouble with the customs officials. This because
+nothing unknown could be brought to Earth without a thorough
+examination.
+
+At the customs office, a bespectacled official stared at Black Eyes,
+scratching his head. "Never seen one like that before."
+
+"Neither have I," Judd admitted.
+
+"Well, I'll look in the book." The man did, but there are no thorough
+tomes on Venusian fauna. "Not here."
+
+"I could have told you."
+
+"Well, we'll have to quarantine it and study it. That means you and your
+wife go into quarantine, too. It could have something that's catching."
+
+"Absurd!" Lindy cried.
+
+"Sorry, lady. I only work here."
+
+"You and your bright ideas," Judd told his wife acidly. "We may be
+quarantined a month until they satisfy themselves about Black Eyes."
+
+The customs official shrugged his bony shoulders, and Judd removed a
+twenty-credit note from his pocket and handed it to the man. "Will this
+change your mind?"
+
+"I should say not! You can't bribe me, Mr. Whitney! You can't--" The man
+yawned, stretched languidly, smiled. "No, sir, you can keep your money,
+Mr. Whitney. Guess we don't have to examine your pet after all. Mighty
+cute little feller. Well, have fun with it. Come on, move along now."
+And, as they were departing with Black Eyes, still not believing their
+ears: "Darn this weather! Makes a man so lazy...."
+
+It was after the affair at the customs office, that Black Eyes uttered
+its first sound. City life hasn't changed much in the last fifty years.
+Jet-cars still streak around the circumferential highways, their
+whistles blaring. Factories still belch smoke and steam, although the
+new atomic power plants have lessened that to a certain extent. Crowds
+still throng the streets, noisy, hurrying, ill-mannered. It's one of
+those things that can't be helped. A city has to live, and it has to
+make noise.
+
+But it seemed to frighten Lindy's new pet. It stared through the jet-car
+window on the way from the spaceport to the Whitneys' suburban home, its
+black eyes welling with tears.
+
+"Look!" Judd exclaimed. "Black Eyes can cry!"
+
+"A crying pet, Judd. I knew there would be something unusual about Black
+Eyes, I just knew it!"
+
+The tears in the big black eyes overflowed and tumbled out, rolling down
+Black Eyes' silvery cheeks. And then Black Eyes whimpered. It was only a
+brief whimper, but both Judd and Lindy heard it, and even the driver
+turned around for a moment and stared at the animal.
+
+The driver stopped the jet. He yawned and rested his head comfortably on
+the cushioned seat. He went quietly to sleep.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A man named Merrywinkle owned the Merrywinkle Shipping Service. That, in
+itself, was not unusual. But at precisely the moment that Black Eyes
+unleashed its mild whimper, Mr. Merrywinkle--uptown and five miles
+away--called an emergency conference of the board of directors and
+declared:
+
+"Gentlemen, we have all been working too hard, and I, for one, am going
+to take a vacation. I don't know when I'll be back, but it won't be
+before six months."
+
+"But C.M.," someone protested. "There's the Parker deal and the Gilette
+contract and a dozen other things. You're needed!"
+
+Mr. Merrywinkle shook his bald head. "What's more, you're all taking
+vacations, with pay. Six months, each of you. We're closing down
+Merrywinkle Shipping for half a year. Give the competition a break, eh?"
+
+"But C.M.! We're about ready to squeeze out Chambers Parcel Co.! They'll
+get back on their feet in six months."
+
+"Never mind. Notify all departments of the shut-down, effective
+immediately. Vacations for all."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Who shut off the assembly belt?" the foreman asked mildly. He was not a
+mild man and he usually stormed and ranted at the slightest provocation.
+This was at Clewson Jetcraft, and you couldn't produce a single
+jet-plane without the assembly belt, naturally.
+
+A plump little man said, "I did."
+
+"But why?" the foreman asked him, smiling blandly.
+
+"I don't know. I just did."
+
+The foreman was still smiling. "I don't blame you."
+
+Two days later, Clewson Jetcraft had to lay off all its help. They put
+ads in all the papers seeking new personnel but no one showed up.
+Clewson was forced to shut down.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The crack Boston to New York pneumo-tube commuter's special pulled to a
+bone-jarring stop immediately outside the New York station. Some angry
+commuters pried open the conductor's cab, and found the man snoozing
+quite contentedly. They awakened him, but he refused to drive the train
+any further. All the commuters had to leave the pneumo-train and edge
+their way along three miles of catwalk to the station. No one was very
+happy about it, but the feeling of well-being which came over them all
+nipped any possible protest in the bud.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Black Eyes whimpered again when Judd and Lindy reached home but after
+that it was quiet. It just sat on its haunches near the window and
+stared out at the city.
+
+The quiet city.
+
+Nothing moved in the streets. Nothing stirred. People remained at home
+watching local video or the new space-video from Mars. At first it was a
+good joke, and the newspapers could have had a field day with it, had
+the newspapers remained in circulation. After four days, however, they
+suspended publication. On the fifth day, there was a shortage of food in
+the city, great stores of it spoiling in the warehouses. Heat and light
+failed after a week, and the fire department ignored all alarms a day
+later.
+
+But everything did not stop. School teachers still taught their classes;
+clerks still sold whatever goods were left on local shelves. Librarians
+were still at their desks.
+
+Conservatives said it was a liberal plot to undermine capital and demand
+higher wages; liberals said big business could afford the temporary
+layoff and wanted to squeeze out the small businessman and labor unions.
+
+Scientists pondered and city officials made speeches over video.
+
+"Something," one of them observed, "has hit our city. Work that requires
+anything above a modicum of sound has become impossible; in regards to
+such work people have become lazy. No one can offer any valid
+suggestions concerning the malady. It merely exists. However, if a stop
+is not put to it--and soon--our fair city will disintegrate. Something
+is making us lazy, and that laziness can spell doom, being a compulsive
+lack of desire to create any noise or disturbance. If anyone believes he
+has the solution, he should contact the Department of Science at once.
+If you can't use the video-phone, come in person. But come! Every hour
+which passes adds to the city's woes."
+
+Nothing but scatter-brained ideas for a week, none of them worth
+consideration. Then the bespectacled customs official who had bypassed
+quarantine for Black Eyes, got in touch with the authorities. He had
+always been a conscientious man--except for that one lapse. Maybe the
+queer little beast had nothing to do with this crisis. But then again,
+the customs official had never before--or since--had that strange
+feeling of lassitude. Could there be some connection?
+
+A staff of experts on extra-terrestrial fauna was dispatched to the
+Whitney residence, although, indeed, the chairman of the Department of
+Science secretly considered the whole idea ridiculous.
+
+The staff of experts introduced themselves. Then, ignoring the protests
+of Lindy, went to work on Black Eyes. At first Judd thought the animal
+would object, but apparently it did not. While conditions all about them
+in the city worsened, the experts spent three days studying Black Eyes.
+
+They found nothing out of the ordinary.
+
+Black Eyes merely stared back at them, and but for an accident, they
+would have departed without a lead. On the third day, a huge mongrel dog
+which belonged to the Whitneys' next-door neighbors somehow slipped its
+leash. It was a fierce and ugly animal, and it was known to attack
+anything smaller than itself. It jumped the fence and landed in Judd
+Whitney's yard. A few loping bounds took it through an open window,
+ground level. Inside, it spied Black Eyes and made for the creature at
+once, howling furiously.
+
+Black Eyes didn't budge.
+
+And the mongrel changed its mind! The slavering tongue withdrew inside
+the chops, the howling stopped. The mongrel lay down on the floor and
+whined. Presently it lost all interest, got to its feet, and left as it
+had come.
+
+Other animals were brought to the Whitney home. Cats. Dogs. A lion from
+the city zoo, starved for two days and brought in a special mobile cage
+by its keeper. Black Eyes was thrust into the cage and the lion gave
+forth with a hideous yowling. Soon it stopped, rolled over, and slept.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The scientists correlated their reports, returned with them to the
+Whitney house. The leader, whose name was Jamison, said: "As closely as
+we can tell, Black Eyes is the culprit."
+
+"What?" Lindy demanded.
+
+"Yes, Mrs. Whitney. Your pet, Black Eyes."
+
+"Oh, I don't believe it!"
+
+But Judd said, "Go ahead, Dr. Jamison. I'm listening."
+
+"Well, how does an animal--any animal--protect itself?"
+
+"Why, in any number of ways. If it has claws or a strong jaw and long
+teeth, it can fight. If it is fleet of foot, it can run. If it is big
+and has a tough hide, most other animals can't hurt it anyway. Umm-mm,
+doesn't that about cover it?"
+
+"You left out protective coloration, defensive odors, and things like
+that. Actually, those are most important from our point of view, for
+Black Eyes' ability is a further ramification of that sort of thing.
+Your pet is not fast. It isn't strong. It can't change color and it has
+no offensive odor to chase off predatory enemies. It has no armor. In
+short, can you think of a more helpless creature to put down in those
+Venusian swamps?"
+
+After Judd had shaken his head, Dr. Jamison continued: "Very well, Black
+Eyes should not be able to survive on Venus--and yet, obviously the
+creature did. We can assume there are more of the breed, too. Anyway,
+Black Eyes survives. And I'll tell you why.
+
+"Black Eyes has a very uncommon ability to sense danger when it
+approaches. And sensing danger, Black Eyes can thwart it. Your creature
+sends out certain emanations--I won't pretend to know what they
+are--which stamp aggression out of any predatory creatures. Neither of
+you could fire upon it--right?"
+
+"Umm-mm, that's true," Judd said.
+
+Lindy nodded.
+
+"Well, that's one half of it. There's so much about life we don't
+understand. Black Eyes uses energy of an unknown intensity, and the
+result maintains Black Eyes' life. Now, although that is the case, your
+animal did not live a comfortable life in the Venusian swamp. Because no
+animal would attack it, it could not be harmed. Still, from what you
+tell me about that swamp ...
+
+"Anyhow, Black Eyes was glad to come away with you, and everything went
+well until you landed in New York. The noises, the clattering, the
+continual bustle of a great city--all this frightened the creature. It
+was being attacked--or, at least that's what it must have figured.
+Result: it struck back the only way it knew how. Have you ever heard
+about sub-sonic sound-waves, Mr. Whitney, waves of sound so low that our
+ears cannot pick them up--waves of sound which can nevertheless stir our
+emotions? Such things exist, and, as a working hypothesis, I would say
+Black Eyes' strange powers rest along those lines. The whole city is
+idle because Black Eyes is afraid!"
+
+In his exploration of Mars, of Venus, of the Jovian moons, Judd Whitney
+had seen enough of extra-terrestrial life to know that virtually
+anything was possible, and Black Eyes would be no exception to that
+rule.
+
+"What do you propose to do?" Judd demanded.
+
+"Do? Why, we'll have to kill your creature, naturally. You can set a
+value on it and we will meet it, but Black Eyes must die."
+
+"No!" Lindy cried. "You can't be sure, you're only guessing, and it
+isn't fair!"
+
+"My dear woman, don't you realize this is a serious situation? The
+city's people will starve in time. No one can even bring food in because
+the trucks make too much noise! As an alternative, we could evacuate,
+but is your pet more valuable than the life of a great city?"
+
+"N-no...."
+
+"Then, please! Listen to reason!"
+
+"Kill it," Judd said. "Go ahead."
+
+Dr. Jamison withdrew from his pocket a small blasting pistol used by the
+Department of Domestic Animals for elimination of injured creatures. He
+advanced on Black Eyes, who sat on its haunches in the center of the
+room, surveying the scientist.
+
+Dr. Jamison put his blaster away. "I can't," he said. "I don't want to."
+
+Judd smiled. "I know it. No one--no _thing_--can kill Black Eyes. You
+said so yourself. It was a waste of time to try it. In that case--"
+
+"In that case," Dr. Jamison finished for him, "we're helpless. There
+isn't a man--or an animal--on Earth that will destroy this thing. Wait
+a minute--does it sleep, Mr. Whitney?"
+
+"I don't think so. At least, I never saw it sleep. And your team of
+scientists, did they report anything?"
+
+"No. As far as they could see, the creature never slept. We can't catch
+it unawares."
+
+"Could you anesthetize it?"
+
+"How? It can sense danger, and long before you could do that, it would
+stop you. It's only made one mistake, Mr. Whitney: it believes the
+noises of the city represent a danger. And that's only a negative
+mistake. Noise won't hurt Black Eyes, of course. It simply makes the
+animal unnecessarily cautious. But we cannot anesthetize it any more
+than we can kill it."
+
+"I could take it back to Venus."
+
+"Could you? Could you? I hadn't thought of that."
+
+Judd shook his head. "I can't."
+
+"What do you mean you can't?"
+
+"It won't let me. Somehow it can sense our thoughts when we think
+something it doesn't want. I can't take it to Venus! No man could,
+because it doesn't want to go."
+
+"My dear Mr. Whitney--do you mean to say you believe it can _think_?"
+
+"Uh-uh. Didn't say that. It can sense our thoughts, and that's something
+else again."
+
+Dr. Jamison threw his hands up over his head in a dramatic gesture.
+"It's hopeless," he said.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Things grew worse. New York crawled along to a standstill. People began
+to move from the city. In trickles, at first, but the trickles became
+torrents, as New York's ten million people began to depart for saner
+places. It might take months--it might even take years, but the exodus
+had begun. Nothing could stop it. Because of a harmless little beast
+with the eyes of a tarsier, the life of a great city was coming to an
+end.
+
+Word spread. Scientists all over the world studied reports on Black
+Eyes. No one had any ideas. Everyone was stumped. Black Eyes had no
+particular desire to go outside. Black Eyes merely remained in the
+Whitney house, contemplating nothing in particular, and stopping
+everything.
+
+Dr. Jamison, however, was a persistent man. Judd got a letter from him
+one day, and the following afternoon he kept his appointment with the
+scientist.
+
+"It's good to get out," Judd said, after a three hour walk to the
+Department of Science Building. "I can go crazy just staring at that
+thing."
+
+"I have it, Whitney."
+
+"You have what? Not the way to destroy Black Eyes? I don't believe it!"
+
+"It's true. Consider. Everyone in the world does not yet know of your
+pet, correct?"
+
+"I suppose there are a few people who don't--"
+
+"There are many. Among them, are the crew of a jet-bomber which has been
+on maneuvers in Egypt. We have arranged everything."
+
+"Yes? How?"
+
+"At noon tomorrow, the bomber will appear over your home with one of
+the ancient, high-explosive missiles. Your neighbors will be removed
+from the vicinity, and, precisely at twelve-o-three in the afternoon,
+the bomb will be dropped. Your home will be destroyed. Black Eyes will
+be destroyed with it."
+
+Judd looked uncomfortable. "I dunno," he said. "Sounds too easy."
+
+"Too easy? I doubt if the animal will ever sense what is going on--not
+when the crew of the bomber doesn't know, either. They'll consider it a
+mighty peculiar order, to destroy one harmless, rather large and rather
+elaborate suburban home. But they'll do it. See you tomorrow, Whitney,
+after this mess is behind us."
+
+"Yeah," Judd said. "Yeah." But somehow, the scientist had failed to
+instill any of his confidence in Judd.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With Lindy, he left home at eleven the following morning, after making a
+thorough list of all their properties which the City had promised to
+duplicate. Judd did not look at Black Eyes as he left, and the animal
+remained where it was, seated on its haunches under the dining room
+table, nibbling crumbs. Judd could almost feel the big round eyes boring
+a pair of twin holes in his back, and he dared not turn around to face
+them....
+
+They were a mile away at eleven forty-five, making their way through the
+nearly deserted streets. Judd stopped walking. He looked at Lindy. Lindy
+looked at him.
+
+"They're going to destroy it," he said.
+
+"I know."
+
+"Do you want them to?"
+
+"I--I--"
+
+Judd knew that something had to be done with Black Eyes. He didn't like
+the little beast, and, anyway, that had nothing to do with it. Black
+Eyes was a menace. And yet, something whispered in Judd's ear, _Don't
+let them, don't let them ..._ It wasn't Judd and it wasn't Judd's
+subconscious. It was Black Eyes, and he knew it. But he couldn't do a
+thing about it--
+
+"I'm going to stay right here and let them bomb the place," he said
+aloud. But as he spoke, he was running back the way he had come.
+
+Fifteen minutes.
+
+He sprinted part of the time, then rested, then sprinted again. He was
+somewhat on the beefy side and he could not run fast, but he made it.
+Just.
+
+He heard the jet streaking through the sky overhead, looked up once and
+saw it circling. Two blocks from his house he was met by a policeman.
+The entire area had been roped off, and the officer shook his head when
+Judd tried to get through.
+
+"But I live there!"
+
+"Can't help it, Mister. Orders is orders."
+
+Judd hit him. Judd didn't want to, but nevertheless, he grunted with
+satisfaction when he felt the blow to be a good one, catching the stocky
+officer on the point of his chin and tumbling him over backwards. Then
+Judd was ducking under the rope and running.
+
+He reached his house, plummeted in through the front door. He found
+Black Eyes under the kitchen table, squatting on its haunches. He
+scooped the animal up, ran outside. Then he was running again, and
+before he reached the barrier, something rocked him. A loud series of
+explosions ripped through his brain, and instinctively--Black Eyes'
+instincts, not his--he folded his arms over the animal, protecting it.
+Something shuddered and began to fall behind him, and debris scattered
+in all directions. Something struck Judd's head and he felt the ground
+slapping up crazily at his face--
+
+He was as good as new a few days later.
+
+And so was Black Eyes.
+
+"I have it," Judd said to his nurse.
+
+"You have what, sir?"
+
+"It's so simple, so ridiculously simple, maybe that's why no one ever
+thought of it. Get me Dr. Jamison!"
+
+Jamison came a few moments later, breathless. "Well?"
+
+"I have the solution."
+
+"You ... do?" Not much hope in the answer. Dr. Jamison was a tired,
+defeated man.
+
+"Sure. Black Eyes doesn't like the city. Fine. Take him out. I can't
+take him to Venus. He doesn't like Venus and he won't go. No one can
+take him anyplace he doesn't want to go, just as no one can hurt him in
+any way. But he doesn't like the city. It's too noisy. All right: have
+someone take him far from the city, far far away--where there's no noise
+at all. Someplace out in the sticks where it won't matter much if Black
+Eyes puts a stop to any disturbing noises."
+
+"Who will take him? You, Mr. Whitney?"
+
+Judd shook his head. "That's your job, not mine. I've given you the
+answer. Now use it."
+
+Lindy had arrived, and Lindy said: "Judd, you're right. That _is_ the
+answer. And you're wonderful--"
+
+No one volunteered to spend his life in exile with Black Eyes, but then
+Dr. Jamison pointed out that while no one knew the creature's life-span,
+it certainly couldn't be expected to match man's. Just a few years and
+the beast would die, and ... Dr. Jamison's arguments were so logical
+that he convinced himself. He took Black Eyes with him into the Canadian
+Northwoods, and there they live.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Judd was right--almost.
+
+This was the obvious answer which escaped everyone.
+
+But scientists continued their examinations of Black Eyes, and they
+discovered something. Black Eyes' fears had not been for herself alone.
+She is going to have babies. The estimate is for thirty-five little
+tarsier-eyed creatures. No doctor in the world will be able to do
+anything but deliver the litter.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+    This etext was produced from _If Worlds of Science Fiction_ March
+    1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+    copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
+    typographical errors have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
+
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
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+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Black Eyes and the Daily Grind
+
+Author: Milton Lesser
+
+Release Date: October 25, 2009 [EBook #30329]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK EYES AND THE DAILY GRIND ***
+
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+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
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+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="figr"><img src="images/001.png" width="368" height="500" alt="" title="" />
+<small><b><i>When Black Eyes needed a nap&mdash;everybody slept!</i></b></small></div>
+
+<h1><big>BLACK EYES <i>and the</i><br />
+<span class="sp1">DAILY GRIND</span></big></h1>
+
+<h2>By MILTON LESSER</h2>
+
+<div class="bk1"><p><i><big>The little house pet from Venus didn't like
+New York, so New York had to change.</big></i></p></div>
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">He liked</span> the flat cracking
+sound of the gun. He liked the
+way it slapped back against his
+shoulder when he fired. Somehow
+it did not seem a part of the dank,
+steaming Venusian jungle. Probably,
+he realized with a smile, it was
+the only old-fashioned recoil rifle
+on the entire planet. As if anyone
+else would want to use one of those
+old bone-cracking relics today! But
+they all failed to realize it made
+sport much more interesting.</p>
+
+<p>"I haven't seen anything for a
+while," his wife said. She had a
+young, pretty face and a strong
+young body. If you have money
+these days, you could really keep a
+thirty-five-year-old woman looking
+trim.</p>
+
+<p>Not on Venus, of course. Venus
+was an outpost, a frontier, a hot,
+wet, evil-smelling place that beckoned
+only the big-game hunter. He
+said, "That's true. Yesterday we
+could bag them one after the other,
+as fast as I could fire this contraption.
+Today, if there's anything bigger
+than a mouse, it's hiding in a
+hole somewhere. You know what I
+think, Lindy?"</p>
+
+<p>"What?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think there's a reason for it.
+A lot of the early Venusian hunters
+said there were days like this. An
+area filled with big lizards and cats
+and everything else the day before
+suddenly seems to clear out, for no
+reason. It doesn't make sense."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not? Why couldn't they all
+just decide to make tracks for someplace
+else on the same day?"</p>
+
+<p>He slapped at an insect that was
+buzzing around his right ear, then
+mopped his sweating brow with a
+handkerchief. His name was Judd
+Whitney, and people said he had a
+lot of money. Now he laughed, patting
+his wife's trim shoulder under
+the white tunic. "No, Lindy. It just
+doesn't work that way. Not on
+Earth and not on Venus, either.
+You think there's a pied-piper or
+something which calls all the animals
+away?"</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe. I don't know much
+about those things."</p>
+
+<p>"No. I don't think they went anyplace.
+They're just quiet. They
+didn't come out of their holes or
+hovels or down from the trees. But
+why?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, let's forget it. Let's go
+back to camp. We can try again
+tomor&mdash;look! Look, there's something!"</p>
+
+<p>Judd followed her pointing finger
+with his eyes. Half-hidden by
+the creepers and vines clinging to
+an old tree-stump, something was
+watching them. It wasn't very big
+and it seemed in no hurry to get
+away.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" Lindy wanted to
+know.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't know. Never saw anything
+like it before. Venus is still
+an unknown frontier; the books
+only name a couple dozen of the
+biggest animals. But hell, Lindy,
+that's not <i>game</i>. I don't think it
+weighs five pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"It's cute, and it has a lovely
+skin."</p>
+
+<p>Judd couldn't argue with that.
+Squatting on its haunches, the creature
+was about twenty inches tall.
+It had a pointed snout and two
+thin, long ears. Its eyes were very
+big and very round and quite black.
+They looked something like the eyes
+of an Earthian tarsier, but the tarsier
+were bloody little beasts. The
+skin was short and stiff and was a
+kind of silvery white. Under the
+sheen, however, it seemed to glow.
+A diamond is colorless, Judd
+thought, but when you see it under
+light a whole rainbow of colors
+sparkle deep within it. This creature's
+skin was like that, Judd decided.</p>
+
+<p>"If we could get enough of
+them," Lindy was saying, "I'd have
+the most unusual coat! Do you
+think we could find enough, Judd?"</p>
+
+<p>"I doubt it. Never saw anything
+like it before, never heard of anything
+like it. You'd need fifty of
+'em, anyway. Let's forget about it&mdash;too
+small to shoot, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Judd. I want it."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm not going to stalk a
+five-pound&mdash;hey, wait a minute! I
+taught you how to use this rifle, so
+why don't you bag it?"</p>
+
+<p>Lindy grinned. "That's a fine
+idea. I was a little scared of some of
+those big lizards and cats and everything,
+but now I'm going to take
+you up on it. Here, give me your
+gun."</p>
+
+<p>Judd removed the leather thong
+from his shoulder and handed the
+weapon to her. She looked at it a
+little uncertainly, then took the clip
+of shells which Judd offered and
+slammed it into the chamber. The
+little creature sat unmoving.</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't it peculiar that it doesn't
+run away, Judd?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sure is. Nothing formidable
+about that animal, so unless it has
+a hidden poison somewhere, just
+about anything in this swamp could
+do it in. To survive it would have to
+be fast as hell and it would have
+to keep running all the time. Beats
+me, Lindy."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'm going to get myself
+one pelt toward that coat, anyway.
+Watch, Judd: is this the way?" She
+lifted the rifle to her shoulder and
+squinted down the sights toward
+the shining creature.</p>
+
+<p>"Yeah, that's the way. Only relax.
+Relax. Shoulder's so tense
+you're liable to dislocate it with the
+kick. There&mdash;that's better."</p>
+
+<p>Now Lindy's finger was wrapped
+around the trigger and she remembered
+Judd had told her to squeeze
+it, not to pull it. If you pulled the
+trigger you jerked the rifle and
+spoiled your aim. You had to
+squeeze it slowly....</p>
+
+<p>The animal seemed politely interested.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, a delicious languor
+stole over Lindy. It possessed her
+all at once and she had no idea
+where it came from. Her legs had
+been stiff and tired from the all-morning
+trek through the swamp,
+but now they felt fine. Her whole
+body was suffused in a warm, satisfied
+glow of well-being. And laziness.
+It was an utterly new sensation
+and she could even feel it
+tingling at the roots of her
+hair. She sighed and lowered the
+rifle.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want to shoot it," she
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"You just told me you did."</p>
+
+<p>"I know, but I changed my mind.
+What's the matter, can't I change
+my mind?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course you can change your
+mind. But I thought you wanted a
+coat of those things."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I suppose I do. But I don't
+want to shoot it, that's all."</p>
+
+<p>Judd snorted. "I think you have
+a streak of softness someplace in
+that pretty head of yours!"</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe. I don't know. But I'd
+still like the pelt. Funny, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Okay, okay! But don't ask to
+use the gun again." Judd snatched
+it from her hands. "If you don't
+want to shoot it, then I will. Maybe
+we can make you a pair of gloves
+or something from the pelt."</p>
+
+<p>And Judd pointed his ancient
+rifle at the little animal preparing
+to snap off a quick shot.
+It would be a cinch at this distance.
+Even Lindy wouldn't have missed,
+if she hadn't changed her mind.</p>
+
+<p>Judd yawned. He'd failed to
+realize he was so tired. Not an aching
+kind of tiredness, but the kind
+that makes you feel good all over.
+He yawned again and lowered the
+rifle. "Changed my mind," he said.
+"I don't want to shoot it, either.
+What say we head back for camp?"</p>
+
+<p>Lindy gripped his hand impulsively.
+"All right, Judd&mdash;but I had
+a brainstorm! I want it for a pet!"</p>
+
+<p>"A pet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I think it would be the
+cutest thing. Everyone would look
+and wonder and I'll adore it!"</p>
+
+<p>"We don't know anything about
+it. Maybe Earth would be too cold,
+or too dry, or maybe we don't have
+anything it can eat. There are liable
+to be a hundred different strains of
+bacteria that can kill it."</p>
+
+<p>"I said I want it for a pet. See?
+Look at it! We can call it Black
+Eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"Black Eyes&mdash;" Judd groaned.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Black Eyes. If you don't do
+this one thing for me, Judd&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Okay&mdash;okay. But I'm not going
+to do anything. You want it, you
+take it."</p>
+
+<p>Lindy frowned, looked at him
+crossly, then sloshed across the
+swamp toward Black Eyes. The
+creature waited on its stump until
+she came quite close, and then, with
+a playful little bound, it hopped
+onto her shoulder, still squatting on
+its haunches. Lindy squealed excitedly
+and began to stroke its silvery
+fur.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">A&nbsp;month later</span>, they returned
+to Earth. Judd and Lindy and
+Black Eyes. The hunting trip had
+been a success&mdash;Judd's trophies
+were on their way home on a slow
+freighter, and he'd have some fine
+heads and skins for his study-room.
+Even Black Eyes had been no trouble
+at all. It ate scraps from their
+table, forever sitting on its haunches
+and staring at them with its big
+black eyes. Judd thought it would
+make one helluva lousy pet, but he
+didn't tell Lindy. Trouble was, it
+never did anything. It merely sat
+still, or occasionally it would
+bounce down to the floor and mince
+along on its hind-legs for a scrap
+of food. It never uttered a sound. It
+did not frolic and it did not gambol.
+Most of the time it could have
+been carved from stone. But Lindy
+was happy and Judd said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>They had a little trouble with the
+customs officials. This because nothing
+unknown could be brought to
+Earth without a thorough examination.</p>
+
+<p>At the customs office, a bespectacled
+official stared at Black
+Eyes, scratching his head. "Never
+seen one like that before."</p>
+
+<p>"Neither have I," Judd admitted.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll look in the book." The
+man did, but there are no thorough
+tomes on Venusian fauna. "Not
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"I could have told you."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, we'll have to quarantine
+it and study it. That means you
+and your wife go into quarantine,
+too. It could have something that's
+catching."</p>
+
+<p>"Absurd!" Lindy cried.</p>
+
+<p>"Sorry, lady. I only work here."</p>
+
+<p>"You and your bright ideas,"
+Judd told his wife acidly. "We may
+be quarantined a month until they
+satisfy themselves about Black
+Eyes."</p>
+
+<p>The customs official shrugged his
+bony shoulders, and Judd removed
+a twenty-credit note from his pocket
+and handed it to the man. "Will
+this change your mind?"</p>
+
+<p>"I should say not! You can't
+bribe me, Mr. Whitney! You
+can't&mdash;" The man yawned,
+stretched languidly, smiled. "No, sir,
+you can keep your money, Mr.
+Whitney. Guess we don't have to
+examine your pet after all. Mighty
+cute little feller. Well, have fun
+with it. Come on, move along now."
+And, as they were departing with
+Black Eyes, still not believing their
+ears: "Darn this weather! Makes a
+man so lazy...."</p>
+
+<p>It was after the affair at the
+customs office, that Black Eyes uttered
+its first sound. City life hasn't
+changed much in the last fifty years.
+Jet-cars still streak around the circumferential
+highways, their whistles
+blaring. Factories still belch
+smoke and steam, although the new
+atomic power plants have lessened
+that to a certain extent. Crowds
+still throng the streets, noisy, hurrying,
+ill-mannered. It's one of those
+things that can't be helped. A city
+has to live, and it has to make noise.</p>
+
+<p>But it seemed to frighten Lindy's
+new pet. It stared through the jet-car
+window on the way from the
+spaceport to the Whitneys' suburban
+home, its black eyes welling
+with tears.</p>
+
+<p>"Look!" Judd exclaimed. "Black
+Eyes can cry!"</p>
+
+<p>"A crying pet, Judd. I knew
+there would be something unusual
+about Black Eyes, I just knew it!"</p>
+
+<p>The tears in the big black eyes
+overflowed and tumbled out, rolling
+down Black Eyes' silvery cheeks.
+And then Black Eyes whimpered. It
+was only a brief whimper, but both
+Judd and Lindy heard it, and even
+the driver turned around for a moment
+and stared at the animal.</p>
+
+<p>The driver stopped the jet. He
+yawned and rested his head comfortably
+on the cushioned seat. He
+went quietly to sleep.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">A&nbsp;man named</span> Merrywinkle
+owned the Merrywinkle Shipping
+Service. That, in itself, was not unusual.
+But at precisely the moment
+that Black Eyes unleashed its mild
+whimper, Mr. Merrywinkle&mdash;uptown
+and five miles away&mdash;called
+an emergency conference of the
+board of directors and declared:</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen, we have all been
+working too hard, and I, for one,
+am going to take a vacation. I don't
+know when I'll be back, but it
+won't be before six months."</p>
+
+<p>"But C.M.," someone protested.
+"There's the Parker deal and the
+Gilette contract and a dozen other
+things. You're needed!"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Merrywinkle shook his bald
+head. "What's more, you're all taking
+vacations, with pay. Six
+months, each of you. We're closing
+down Merrywinkle Shipping for
+half a year. Give the competition a
+break, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"But C.M.! We're about ready
+to squeeze out Chambers Parcel
+Co.! They'll get back on their feet
+in six months."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind. Notify all departments
+of the shut-down, effective
+immediately. Vacations for all."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">"Who shut</span> off the assembly
+belt?" the foreman asked mildly.
+He was not a mild man and he
+usually stormed and ranted at the
+slightest provocation. This was at
+Clewson Jetcraft, and you couldn't
+produce a single jet-plane without
+the assembly belt, naturally.</p>
+
+<p>A plump little man said, "I did."</p>
+
+<p>"But why?" the foreman asked
+him, smiling blandly.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. I just did."</p>
+
+<p>The foreman was still smiling. "I
+don't blame you."</p>
+
+<p>Two days later, Clewson Jetcraft
+had to lay off all its help.
+They put ads in all the papers seeking
+new personnel but no one
+showed up. Clewson was forced to
+shut down.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The crack</span> Boston to New
+York pneumo-tube commuter's
+special pulled to a bone-jarring
+stop immediately outside the New
+York station. Some angry commuters
+pried open the conductor's
+cab, and found the man snoozing
+quite contentedly. They awakened
+him, but he refused to drive the
+train any further. All the commuters
+had to leave the pneumo-train
+and edge their way along
+three miles of catwalk to the station.
+No one was very happy about
+it, but the feeling of well-being
+which came over them all nipped
+any possible protest in the bud.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Black Eyes</span> whimpered again
+when Judd and Lindy reached
+home but after that it was quiet. It
+just sat on its haunches near the
+window and stared out at the city.</p>
+
+<p>The quiet city.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing moved in the streets.
+Nothing stirred. People remained
+at home watching local video or
+the new space-video from Mars. At
+first it was a good joke, and the
+newspapers could have had a field
+day with it, had the newspapers remained
+in circulation. After four
+days, however, they suspended publication.
+On the fifth day, there was
+a shortage of food in the city, great
+stores of it spoiling in the warehouses.
+Heat and light failed after
+a week, and the fire department ignored
+all alarms a day later.</p>
+
+<p>But everything did not stop.
+School teachers still taught their
+classes; clerks still sold whatever
+goods were left on local shelves.
+Librarians were still at their desks.</p>
+
+<p>Conservatives said it was a
+liberal plot to undermine capital
+and demand higher wages; liberals
+said big business could afford the
+temporary layoff and wanted to
+squeeze out the small businessman
+and labor unions.</p>
+
+<p>Scientists pondered and city officials
+made speeches over video.</p>
+
+<p>"Something," one of them observed,
+"has hit our city. Work that
+requires anything above a modicum
+of sound has become impossible; in
+regards to such work people have
+become lazy. No one can offer any
+valid suggestions concerning the
+malady. It merely exists. However,
+if a stop is not put to it&mdash;and soon&mdash;our
+fair city will disintegrate.
+Something is making us lazy, and
+that laziness can spell doom, being
+a compulsive lack of desire to create
+any noise or disturbance. If anyone
+believes he has the solution, he
+should contact the Department of
+Science at once. If you can't use
+the video-phone, come in person.
+But come! Every hour which passes
+adds to the city's woes."</p>
+
+<p>Nothing but scatter-brained ideas
+for a week, none of them worth
+consideration. Then the bespectacled
+customs official who had bypassed
+quarantine for Black Eyes,
+got in touch with the authorities.
+He had always been a conscientious
+man&mdash;except for that one lapse.
+Maybe the queer little beast had
+nothing to do with this crisis. But
+then again, the customs official
+had never before&mdash;or since&mdash;had
+that strange feeling of lassitude.
+Could there be some connection?</p>
+
+<p>A staff of experts on extra-terrestrial
+fauna was dispatched to the
+Whitney residence, although, indeed,
+the chairman of the Department
+of Science secretly considered
+the whole idea ridiculous.</p>
+
+<p>The staff of experts introduced
+themselves. Then, ignoring the
+protests of Lindy, went to work on
+Black Eyes. At first Judd thought
+the animal would object, but apparently
+it did not. While conditions
+all about them in the city
+worsened, the experts spent three
+days studying Black Eyes.</p>
+
+<p>They found nothing out of the
+ordinary.</p>
+
+<p>Black Eyes merely stared back at
+them, and but for an accident, they
+would have departed without a
+lead. On the third day, a huge
+mongrel dog which belonged to
+the Whitneys' next-door neighbors
+somehow slipped its leash. It was a
+fierce and ugly animal, and it was
+known to attack anything smaller
+than itself. It jumped the fence and
+landed in Judd Whitney's yard. A
+few loping bounds took it through
+an open window, ground level. Inside,
+it spied Black Eyes and made
+for the creature at once, howling
+furiously.</p>
+
+<p>Black Eyes didn't budge.</p>
+
+<p>And the mongrel changed its
+mind! The slavering tongue withdrew
+inside the chops, the howling
+stopped. The mongrel lay down on
+the floor and whined. Presently it
+lost all interest, got to its feet, and
+left as it had come.</p>
+
+<p>Other animals were brought to
+the Whitney home. Cats. Dogs. A
+lion from the city zoo, starved for
+two days and brought in a special
+mobile cage by its keeper. Black
+Eyes was thrust into the cage and
+the lion gave forth with a hideous
+yowling. Soon it stopped, rolled
+over, and slept.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The scientists</span> correlated
+their reports, returned with them
+to the Whitney house. The leader,
+whose name was Jamison, said:
+"As closely as we can tell, Black
+Eyes is the culprit."</p>
+
+<p>"What?" Lindy demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Mrs. Whitney. Your pet,
+Black Eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't believe it!"</p>
+
+<p>But Judd said, "Go ahead, Dr.
+Jamison. I'm listening."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, how does an animal&mdash;any
+animal&mdash;protect itself?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, in any number of ways. If
+it has claws or a strong jaw and
+long teeth, it can fight. If it is fleet
+of foot, it can run. If it is big and
+has a tough hide, most other animals
+can't hurt it anyway. Umm-mm,
+doesn't that about cover it?"</p>
+
+<p>"You left out protective coloration,
+defensive odors, and things
+like that. Actually, those are most
+important from our point of view,
+for Black Eyes' ability is a further
+ramification of that sort of thing.
+Your pet is not fast. It isn't strong.
+It can't change color and it has no
+offensive odor to chase off predatory
+enemies. It has no armor. In
+short, can you think of a more helpless
+creature to put down in those
+Venusian swamps?"</p>
+
+<p>After Judd had shaken his head,
+Dr. Jamison continued: "Very
+well, Black Eyes should not be able
+to survive on Venus&mdash;and yet, obviously
+the creature did. We can
+assume there are more of the breed,
+too. Anyway, Black Eyes survives.
+And I'll tell you why.</p>
+
+<p>"Black Eyes has a very uncommon
+ability to sense danger when
+it approaches. And sensing danger,
+Black Eyes can thwart it. Your
+creature sends out certain emanations&mdash;I
+won't pretend to know
+what they are&mdash;which stamp aggression
+out of any predatory creatures.
+Neither of you could fire
+upon it&mdash;right?"</p>
+
+<p>"Umm-mm, that's true," Judd
+said.</p>
+
+<p>Lindy nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that's one half of it.
+There's so much about life we don't
+understand. Black Eyes uses energy
+of an unknown intensity, and the
+result maintains Black Eyes' life.
+Now, although that is the case,
+your animal did not live a comfortable
+life in the Venusian
+swamp. Because no animal would
+attack it, it could not be harmed.
+Still, from what you tell me about
+that swamp ...</p>
+
+<p>"Anyhow, Black Eyes was glad
+to come away with you, and everything
+went well until you landed in
+New York. The noises, the clattering,
+the continual bustle of a great
+city&mdash;all this frightened the creature.
+It was being attacked&mdash;or, at
+least that's what it must have figured.
+Result: it struck back the
+only way it knew how. Have you
+ever heard about sub-sonic sound-waves,
+Mr. Whitney, waves of
+sound so low that our ears cannot
+pick them up&mdash;waves of sound
+which can nevertheless stir our
+emotions? Such things exist, and, as
+a working hypothesis, I would say
+Black Eyes' strange powers rest
+along those lines. The whole city
+is idle because Black Eyes is
+afraid!"</p>
+
+<p>In his exploration of Mars, of
+Venus, of the Jovian moons, Judd
+Whitney had seen enough of extra-terrestrial
+life to know that virtually
+anything was possible, and Black
+Eyes would be no exception to that
+rule.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you propose to do?"
+Judd demanded.</p>
+
+<p>"Do? Why, we'll have to kill your
+creature, naturally. You can set a
+value on it and we will meet it, but
+Black Eyes must die."</p>
+
+<p>"No!" Lindy cried. "You can't
+be sure, you're only guessing, and
+it isn't fair!"</p>
+
+<p>"My dear woman, don't you
+realize this is a serious situation?
+The city's people will starve in
+time. No one can even bring food
+in because the trucks make too
+much noise! As an alternative, we
+could evacuate, but is your pet
+more valuable than the life of a
+great city?"</p>
+
+<p>"N-no...."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, please! Listen to reason!"</p>
+
+<p>"Kill it," Judd said. "Go ahead."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison withdrew from his
+pocket a small blasting pistol used
+by the Department of Domestic
+Animals for elimination of injured
+creatures. He advanced on Black
+Eyes, who sat on its haunches in the
+center of the room, surveying the
+scientist.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison put his blaster away.
+"I can't," he said. "I don't want
+to."</p>
+
+<p>Judd smiled. "I know it. No one&mdash;no
+<i>thing</i>&mdash;can kill Black Eyes.
+You said so yourself. It was a waste
+of time to try it. In that case&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"In that case," Dr. Jamison finished
+for him, "we're helpless.
+There isn't a man&mdash;or an animal&mdash;on
+Earth that will destroy this
+thing. Wait a minute&mdash;does it sleep,
+Mr. Whitney?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so. At least, I
+never saw it sleep. And your team
+of scientists, did they report anything?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. As far as they could see, the
+creature never slept. We can't catch
+it unawares."</p>
+
+<p>"Could you anesthetize it?"</p>
+
+<p>"How? It can sense danger, and
+long before you could do that, it
+would stop you. It's only made one
+mistake, Mr. Whitney: it believes
+the noises of the city represent a
+danger. And that's only a negative
+mistake. Noise won't hurt Black
+Eyes, of course. It simply makes the
+animal unnecessarily cautious. But
+we cannot anesthetize it any more
+than we can kill it."</p>
+
+<p>"I could take it back to Venus."</p>
+
+<p>"Could you? Could you? I
+hadn't thought of that."</p>
+
+<p>Judd shook his head. "I can't."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean you can't?"</p>
+
+<p>"It won't let me. Somehow it can
+sense our thoughts when we think
+something it doesn't want. I can't
+take it to Venus! No man could, because
+it doesn't want to go."</p>
+
+<p>"My dear Mr. Whitney&mdash;do you
+mean to say you believe it can
+<i>think</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"Uh-uh. Didn't say that. It can
+sense our thoughts, and that's
+something else again."</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison threw his hands up
+over his head in a dramatic gesture.
+"It's hopeless," he said.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Things grew</span> worse. New
+York crawled along to a standstill.
+People began to move from
+the city. In trickles, at first, but the
+trickles became torrents, as New
+York's ten million people began to
+depart for saner places. It might
+take months&mdash;it might even take
+years, but the exodus had begun.
+Nothing could stop it. Because of a
+harmless little beast with the eyes
+of a tarsier, the life of a great city
+was coming to an end.</p>
+
+<p>Word spread. Scientists all over
+the world studied reports on Black
+Eyes. No one had any ideas. Everyone
+was stumped. Black Eyes had
+no particular desire to go outside.
+Black Eyes merely remained in the
+Whitney house, contemplating
+nothing in particular, and stopping
+everything.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Jamison, however, was a persistent
+man. Judd got a letter from
+him one day, and the following
+afternoon he kept his appointment
+with the scientist.</p>
+
+<p>"It's good to get out," Judd said,
+after a three hour walk to the Department
+of Science Building. "I
+can go crazy just staring at that
+thing."</p>
+
+<p>"I have it, Whitney."</p>
+
+<p>"You have what? Not the way to
+destroy Black Eyes? I don't believe
+it!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's true. Consider. Everyone in
+the world does not yet know of your
+pet, correct?"</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose there are a few people
+who don't&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"There are many. Among them,
+are the crew of a jet-bomber which
+has been on maneuvers in Egypt.
+We have arranged everything."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes? How?"</p>
+
+<p>"At noon tomorrow, the bomber
+will appear over your home with
+one of the ancient, high-explosive
+missiles. Your neighbors will be removed
+from the vicinity, and, precisely
+at twelve-o-three in the afternoon,
+the bomb will be dropped.
+Your home will be destroyed. Black
+Eyes will be destroyed with it."</p>
+
+<p>Judd looked uncomfortable. "I
+dunno," he said. "Sounds too easy."</p>
+
+<p>"Too easy? I doubt if the animal
+will ever sense what is going on&mdash;not
+when the crew of the bomber
+doesn't know, either. They'll consider
+it a mighty peculiar order, to
+destroy one harmless, rather large
+and rather elaborate suburban
+home. But they'll do it. See you tomorrow,
+Whitney, after this mess is
+behind us."</p>
+
+<p>"Yeah," Judd said. "Yeah." But
+somehow, the scientist had failed to
+instill any of his confidence in
+Judd.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">With Lindy</span>, he left home at
+eleven the following morning,
+after making a thorough list of all
+their properties which the City had
+promised to duplicate. Judd did
+not look at Black Eyes as he left,
+and the animal remained where it
+was, seated on its haunches under
+the dining room table, nibbling
+crumbs. Judd could almost feel the
+big round eyes boring a pair of twin
+holes in his back, and he dared not
+turn around to face them....</p>
+
+<p>They were a mile away at
+eleven forty-five, making their way
+through the nearly deserted streets.
+Judd stopped walking. He looked
+at Lindy. Lindy looked at him.</p>
+
+<p>"They're going to destroy it," he
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"I know."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you want them to?"</p>
+
+<p>"I&mdash;I&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Judd knew that something had
+to be done with Black Eyes. He
+didn't like the little beast, and, anyway,
+that had nothing to do with it.
+Black Eyes was a menace. And yet,
+something whispered in Judd's ear,
+<i>Don't let them, don't let them ...</i>
+It wasn't Judd and it wasn't Judd's
+subconscious. It was Black Eyes,
+and he knew it. But he couldn't do
+a thing about it&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to stay right here and
+let them bomb the place," he said
+aloud. But as he spoke, he was running
+back the way he had come.</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen minutes.</p>
+
+<p>He sprinted part of the time,
+then rested, then sprinted again. He
+was somewhat on the beefy side and
+he could not run fast, but he made
+it. Just.</p>
+
+<p>He heard the jet streaking
+through the sky overhead, looked
+up once and saw it circling. Two
+blocks from his house he was met
+by a policeman. The entire area
+had been roped off, and the officer
+shook his head when Judd tried to
+get through.</p>
+
+<p>"But I live there!"</p>
+
+<p>"Can't help it, Mister. Orders is
+orders."</p>
+
+<p>Judd hit him. Judd didn't want
+to, but nevertheless, he grunted
+with satisfaction when he felt the
+blow to be a good one, catching the
+stocky officer on the point of his
+chin and tumbling him over backwards.
+Then Judd was ducking under
+the rope and running.</p>
+
+<p>He reached his house, plummeted
+in through the front door.
+He found Black Eyes under the
+kitchen table, squatting on its
+haunches. He scooped the animal
+up, ran outside. Then he was running
+again, and before he reached
+the barrier, something rocked him.
+A loud series of explosions ripped
+through his brain, and instinctively&mdash;Black
+Eyes' instincts, not his&mdash;he
+folded his arms over the animal,
+protecting it. Something shuddered
+and began to fall behind him, and
+debris scattered in all directions.
+Something struck Judd's head and
+he felt the ground slapping up
+crazily at his face&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>He was as good as new a few
+days later.</p>
+
+<p>And so was Black Eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"I have it," Judd said to his
+nurse.</p>
+
+<p>"You have what, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"It's so simple, so ridiculously
+simple, maybe that's why no one
+ever thought of it. Get me Dr.
+Jamison!"</p>
+
+<p>Jamison came a few moments
+later, breathless. "Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have the solution."</p>
+
+<p>"You ... do?" Not much hope
+in the answer. Dr. Jamison was a
+tired, defeated man.</p>
+
+<p>"Sure. Black Eyes doesn't like the
+city. Fine. Take him out. I can't
+take him to Venus. He doesn't like
+Venus and he won't go. No one
+can take him anyplace he doesn't
+want to go, just as no one can hurt
+him in any way. But he doesn't like
+the city. It's too noisy. All right:
+have someone take him far from
+the city, far far away&mdash;where
+there's no noise at all. Someplace
+out in the sticks where it won't
+matter much if Black Eyes puts a
+stop to any disturbing noises."</p>
+
+<p>"Who will take him? You, Mr.
+Whitney?"</p>
+
+<p>Judd shook his head. "That's
+your job, not mine. I've given you
+the answer. Now use it."</p>
+
+<p>Lindy had arrived, and Lindy
+said: "Judd, you're right. That <i>is</i>
+the answer. And you're wonderful&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>No one volunteered to spend his
+life in exile with Black Eyes, but
+then Dr. Jamison pointed out that
+while no one knew the creature's
+life-span, it certainly couldn't be
+expected to match man's. Just a
+few years and the beast would die,
+and ... Dr. Jamison's arguments
+were so logical that he convinced
+himself. He took Black Eyes with
+him into the Canadian Northwoods,
+and there they live.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Judd</span> was right&mdash;almost.</p>
+
+<p>This was the obvious answer
+which escaped everyone.</p>
+
+<p>But scientists continued their
+examinations of Black Eyes, and
+they discovered something. Black
+Eyes' fears had not been for herself
+alone. She is going to have babies.
+The estimate is for thirty-five little
+tarsier-eyed creatures. No doctor in
+the world will be able to do anything
+but deliver the litter.</p>
+
+<p class="bk1">THE END</p>
+
+<div class="trn"><div class="figt"><a href="images/002-2.jpg"><img src="images/002-1.jpg" width="133" height="200" alt="" title="" /></a></div>
+
+<p><big><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></big></p>
+
+<p>This etext was produced from <i>If Worlds of Science Fiction</i> March 1952.
+Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
+typographical errors have been corrected without note.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
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+Project Gutenberg's Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Black Eyes and the Daily Grind
+
+Author: Milton Lesser
+
+Release Date: October 25, 2009 [EBook #30329]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK EYES AND THE DAILY GRIND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _When Black Eyes needed a nap--everybody slept!_]
+
+
+ BLACK EYES _and the_
+             DAILY GRIND
+
+        By MILTON LESSER
+
+
+ _The little house pet from Venus didn't
+ like New York, so New York had to change._
+
+
+He liked the flat cracking sound of the gun. He liked the way it slapped
+back against his shoulder when he fired. Somehow it did not seem a part
+of the dank, steaming Venusian jungle. Probably, he realized with a
+smile, it was the only old-fashioned recoil rifle on the entire planet.
+As if anyone else would want to use one of those old bone-cracking
+relics today! But they all failed to realize it made sport much more
+interesting.
+
+"I haven't seen anything for a while," his wife said. She had a young,
+pretty face and a strong young body. If you have money these days, you
+could really keep a thirty-five-year-old woman looking trim.
+
+Not on Venus, of course. Venus was an outpost, a frontier, a hot, wet,
+evil-smelling place that beckoned only the big-game hunter. He said,
+"That's true. Yesterday we could bag them one after the other, as fast
+as I could fire this contraption. Today, if there's anything bigger than
+a mouse, it's hiding in a hole somewhere. You know what I think, Lindy?"
+
+"What?"
+
+"I think there's a reason for it. A lot of the early Venusian hunters
+said there were days like this. An area filled with big lizards and cats
+and everything else the day before suddenly seems to clear out, for no
+reason. It doesn't make sense."
+
+"Why not? Why couldn't they all just decide to make tracks for someplace
+else on the same day?"
+
+He slapped at an insect that was buzzing around his right ear, then
+mopped his sweating brow with a handkerchief. His name was Judd Whitney,
+and people said he had a lot of money. Now he laughed, patting his
+wife's trim shoulder under the white tunic. "No, Lindy. It just doesn't
+work that way. Not on Earth and not on Venus, either. You think there's
+a pied-piper or something which calls all the animals away?"
+
+"Maybe. I don't know much about those things."
+
+"No. I don't think they went anyplace. They're just quiet. They didn't
+come out of their holes or hovels or down from the trees. But why?"
+
+"Well, let's forget it. Let's go back to camp. We can try again
+tomor--look! Look, there's something!"
+
+Judd followed her pointing finger with his eyes. Half-hidden by the
+creepers and vines clinging to an old tree-stump, something was watching
+them. It wasn't very big and it seemed in no hurry to get away.
+
+"What is it?" Lindy wanted to know.
+
+"Don't know. Never saw anything like it before. Venus is still an
+unknown frontier; the books only name a couple dozen of the biggest
+animals. But hell, Lindy, that's not _game_. I don't think it weighs
+five pounds."
+
+"It's cute, and it has a lovely skin."
+
+Judd couldn't argue with that. Squatting on its haunches, the creature
+was about twenty inches tall. It had a pointed snout and two thin, long
+ears. Its eyes were very big and very round and quite black. They looked
+something like the eyes of an Earthian tarsier, but the tarsier were
+bloody little beasts. The skin was short and stiff and was a kind of
+silvery white. Under the sheen, however, it seemed to glow. A diamond is
+colorless, Judd thought, but when you see it under light a whole rainbow
+of colors sparkle deep within it. This creature's skin was like that,
+Judd decided.
+
+"If we could get enough of them," Lindy was saying, "I'd have the most
+unusual coat! Do you think we could find enough, Judd?"
+
+"I doubt it. Never saw anything like it before, never heard of anything
+like it. You'd need fifty of 'em, anyway. Let's forget about it--too
+small to shoot, anyway."
+
+"No, Judd. I want it."
+
+"Well, I'm not going to stalk a five-pound--hey, wait a minute! I taught
+you how to use this rifle, so why don't you bag it?"
+
+Lindy grinned. "That's a fine idea. I was a little scared of some of
+those big lizards and cats and everything, but now I'm going to take you
+up on it. Here, give me your gun."
+
+Judd removed the leather thong from his shoulder and handed the weapon
+to her. She looked at it a little uncertainly, then took the clip of
+shells which Judd offered and slammed it into the chamber. The little
+creature sat unmoving.
+
+"Isn't it peculiar that it doesn't run away, Judd?"
+
+"Sure is. Nothing formidable about that animal, so unless it has a
+hidden poison somewhere, just about anything in this swamp could do it
+in. To survive it would have to be fast as hell and it would have to
+keep running all the time. Beats me, Lindy."
+
+"Well, I'm going to get myself one pelt toward that coat, anyway. Watch,
+Judd: is this the way?" She lifted the rifle to her shoulder and
+squinted down the sights toward the shining creature.
+
+"Yeah, that's the way. Only relax. Relax. Shoulder's so tense you're
+liable to dislocate it with the kick. There--that's better."
+
+Now Lindy's finger was wrapped around the trigger and she remembered
+Judd had told her to squeeze it, not to pull it. If you pulled the
+trigger you jerked the rifle and spoiled your aim. You had to squeeze it
+slowly....
+
+The animal seemed politely interested.
+
+Suddenly, a delicious languor stole over Lindy. It possessed her all at
+once and she had no idea where it came from. Her legs had been stiff and
+tired from the all-morning trek through the swamp, but now they felt
+fine. Her whole body was suffused in a warm, satisfied glow of
+well-being. And laziness. It was an utterly new sensation and she could
+even feel it tingling at the roots of her hair. She sighed and lowered
+the rifle.
+
+"I don't want to shoot it," she said.
+
+"You just told me you did."
+
+"I know, but I changed my mind. What's the matter, can't I change my
+mind?"
+
+"Of course you can change your mind. But I thought you wanted a coat of
+those things."
+
+"Yes, I suppose I do. But I don't want to shoot it, that's all."
+
+Judd snorted. "I think you have a streak of softness someplace in that
+pretty head of yours!"
+
+"Maybe. I don't know. But I'd still like the pelt. Funny, isn't it?"
+
+"Okay, okay! But don't ask to use the gun again." Judd snatched it from
+her hands. "If you don't want to shoot it, then I will. Maybe we can
+make you a pair of gloves or something from the pelt."
+
+And Judd pointed his ancient rifle at the little animal preparing to
+snap off a quick shot. It would be a cinch at this distance. Even Lindy
+wouldn't have missed, if she hadn't changed her mind.
+
+Judd yawned. He'd failed to realize he was so tired. Not an aching kind
+of tiredness, but the kind that makes you feel good all over. He yawned
+again and lowered the rifle. "Changed my mind," he said. "I don't want
+to shoot it, either. What say we head back for camp?"
+
+Lindy gripped his hand impulsively. "All right, Judd--but I had a
+brainstorm! I want it for a pet!"
+
+"A pet?"
+
+"Yes. I think it would be the cutest thing. Everyone would look and
+wonder and I'll adore it!"
+
+"We don't know anything about it. Maybe Earth would be too cold, or too
+dry, or maybe we don't have anything it can eat. There are liable to be
+a hundred different strains of bacteria that can kill it."
+
+"I said I want it for a pet. See? Look at it! We can call it Black
+Eyes."
+
+"Black Eyes--" Judd groaned.
+
+"Yes, Black Eyes. If you don't do this one thing for me, Judd--"
+
+"Okay--okay. But I'm not going to do anything. You want it, you take
+it."
+
+Lindy frowned, looked at him crossly, then sloshed across the swamp
+toward Black Eyes. The creature waited on its stump until she came quite
+close, and then, with a playful little bound, it hopped onto her
+shoulder, still squatting on its haunches. Lindy squealed excitedly and
+began to stroke its silvery fur.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A month later, they returned to Earth. Judd and Lindy and Black Eyes.
+The hunting trip had been a success--Judd's trophies were on their way
+home on a slow freighter, and he'd have some fine heads and skins for
+his study-room. Even Black Eyes had been no trouble at all. It ate
+scraps from their table, forever sitting on its haunches and staring at
+them with its big black eyes. Judd thought it would make one helluva
+lousy pet, but he didn't tell Lindy. Trouble was, it never did anything.
+It merely sat still, or occasionally it would bounce down to the floor
+and mince along on its hind-legs for a scrap of food. It never uttered a
+sound. It did not frolic and it did not gambol. Most of the time it
+could have been carved from stone. But Lindy was happy and Judd said
+nothing.
+
+They had a little trouble with the customs officials. This because
+nothing unknown could be brought to Earth without a thorough
+examination.
+
+At the customs office, a bespectacled official stared at Black Eyes,
+scratching his head. "Never seen one like that before."
+
+"Neither have I," Judd admitted.
+
+"Well, I'll look in the book." The man did, but there are no thorough
+tomes on Venusian fauna. "Not here."
+
+"I could have told you."
+
+"Well, we'll have to quarantine it and study it. That means you and your
+wife go into quarantine, too. It could have something that's catching."
+
+"Absurd!" Lindy cried.
+
+"Sorry, lady. I only work here."
+
+"You and your bright ideas," Judd told his wife acidly. "We may be
+quarantined a month until they satisfy themselves about Black Eyes."
+
+The customs official shrugged his bony shoulders, and Judd removed a
+twenty-credit note from his pocket and handed it to the man. "Will this
+change your mind?"
+
+"I should say not! You can't bribe me, Mr. Whitney! You can't--" The man
+yawned, stretched languidly, smiled. "No, sir, you can keep your money,
+Mr. Whitney. Guess we don't have to examine your pet after all. Mighty
+cute little feller. Well, have fun with it. Come on, move along now."
+And, as they were departing with Black Eyes, still not believing their
+ears: "Darn this weather! Makes a man so lazy...."
+
+It was after the affair at the customs office, that Black Eyes uttered
+its first sound. City life hasn't changed much in the last fifty years.
+Jet-cars still streak around the circumferential highways, their
+whistles blaring. Factories still belch smoke and steam, although the
+new atomic power plants have lessened that to a certain extent. Crowds
+still throng the streets, noisy, hurrying, ill-mannered. It's one of
+those things that can't be helped. A city has to live, and it has to
+make noise.
+
+But it seemed to frighten Lindy's new pet. It stared through the jet-car
+window on the way from the spaceport to the Whitneys' suburban home, its
+black eyes welling with tears.
+
+"Look!" Judd exclaimed. "Black Eyes can cry!"
+
+"A crying pet, Judd. I knew there would be something unusual about Black
+Eyes, I just knew it!"
+
+The tears in the big black eyes overflowed and tumbled out, rolling down
+Black Eyes' silvery cheeks. And then Black Eyes whimpered. It was only a
+brief whimper, but both Judd and Lindy heard it, and even the driver
+turned around for a moment and stared at the animal.
+
+The driver stopped the jet. He yawned and rested his head comfortably on
+the cushioned seat. He went quietly to sleep.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A man named Merrywinkle owned the Merrywinkle Shipping Service. That, in
+itself, was not unusual. But at precisely the moment that Black Eyes
+unleashed its mild whimper, Mr. Merrywinkle--uptown and five miles
+away--called an emergency conference of the board of directors and
+declared:
+
+"Gentlemen, we have all been working too hard, and I, for one, am going
+to take a vacation. I don't know when I'll be back, but it won't be
+before six months."
+
+"But C.M.," someone protested. "There's the Parker deal and the Gilette
+contract and a dozen other things. You're needed!"
+
+Mr. Merrywinkle shook his bald head. "What's more, you're all taking
+vacations, with pay. Six months, each of you. We're closing down
+Merrywinkle Shipping for half a year. Give the competition a break, eh?"
+
+"But C.M.! We're about ready to squeeze out Chambers Parcel Co.! They'll
+get back on their feet in six months."
+
+"Never mind. Notify all departments of the shut-down, effective
+immediately. Vacations for all."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Who shut off the assembly belt?" the foreman asked mildly. He was not a
+mild man and he usually stormed and ranted at the slightest provocation.
+This was at Clewson Jetcraft, and you couldn't produce a single
+jet-plane without the assembly belt, naturally.
+
+A plump little man said, "I did."
+
+"But why?" the foreman asked him, smiling blandly.
+
+"I don't know. I just did."
+
+The foreman was still smiling. "I don't blame you."
+
+Two days later, Clewson Jetcraft had to lay off all its help. They put
+ads in all the papers seeking new personnel but no one showed up.
+Clewson was forced to shut down.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The crack Boston to New York pneumo-tube commuter's special pulled to a
+bone-jarring stop immediately outside the New York station. Some angry
+commuters pried open the conductor's cab, and found the man snoozing
+quite contentedly. They awakened him, but he refused to drive the train
+any further. All the commuters had to leave the pneumo-train and edge
+their way along three miles of catwalk to the station. No one was very
+happy about it, but the feeling of well-being which came over them all
+nipped any possible protest in the bud.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Black Eyes whimpered again when Judd and Lindy reached home but after
+that it was quiet. It just sat on its haunches near the window and
+stared out at the city.
+
+The quiet city.
+
+Nothing moved in the streets. Nothing stirred. People remained at home
+watching local video or the new space-video from Mars. At first it was a
+good joke, and the newspapers could have had a field day with it, had
+the newspapers remained in circulation. After four days, however, they
+suspended publication. On the fifth day, there was a shortage of food in
+the city, great stores of it spoiling in the warehouses. Heat and light
+failed after a week, and the fire department ignored all alarms a day
+later.
+
+But everything did not stop. School teachers still taught their classes;
+clerks still sold whatever goods were left on local shelves. Librarians
+were still at their desks.
+
+Conservatives said it was a liberal plot to undermine capital and demand
+higher wages; liberals said big business could afford the temporary
+layoff and wanted to squeeze out the small businessman and labor unions.
+
+Scientists pondered and city officials made speeches over video.
+
+"Something," one of them observed, "has hit our city. Work that requires
+anything above a modicum of sound has become impossible; in regards to
+such work people have become lazy. No one can offer any valid
+suggestions concerning the malady. It merely exists. However, if a stop
+is not put to it--and soon--our fair city will disintegrate. Something
+is making us lazy, and that laziness can spell doom, being a compulsive
+lack of desire to create any noise or disturbance. If anyone believes he
+has the solution, he should contact the Department of Science at once.
+If you can't use the video-phone, come in person. But come! Every hour
+which passes adds to the city's woes."
+
+Nothing but scatter-brained ideas for a week, none of them worth
+consideration. Then the bespectacled customs official who had bypassed
+quarantine for Black Eyes, got in touch with the authorities. He had
+always been a conscientious man--except for that one lapse. Maybe the
+queer little beast had nothing to do with this crisis. But then again,
+the customs official had never before--or since--had that strange
+feeling of lassitude. Could there be some connection?
+
+A staff of experts on extra-terrestrial fauna was dispatched to the
+Whitney residence, although, indeed, the chairman of the Department of
+Science secretly considered the whole idea ridiculous.
+
+The staff of experts introduced themselves. Then, ignoring the protests
+of Lindy, went to work on Black Eyes. At first Judd thought the animal
+would object, but apparently it did not. While conditions all about them
+in the city worsened, the experts spent three days studying Black Eyes.
+
+They found nothing out of the ordinary.
+
+Black Eyes merely stared back at them, and but for an accident, they
+would have departed without a lead. On the third day, a huge mongrel dog
+which belonged to the Whitneys' next-door neighbors somehow slipped its
+leash. It was a fierce and ugly animal, and it was known to attack
+anything smaller than itself. It jumped the fence and landed in Judd
+Whitney's yard. A few loping bounds took it through an open window,
+ground level. Inside, it spied Black Eyes and made for the creature at
+once, howling furiously.
+
+Black Eyes didn't budge.
+
+And the mongrel changed its mind! The slavering tongue withdrew inside
+the chops, the howling stopped. The mongrel lay down on the floor and
+whined. Presently it lost all interest, got to its feet, and left as it
+had come.
+
+Other animals were brought to the Whitney home. Cats. Dogs. A lion from
+the city zoo, starved for two days and brought in a special mobile cage
+by its keeper. Black Eyes was thrust into the cage and the lion gave
+forth with a hideous yowling. Soon it stopped, rolled over, and slept.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The scientists correlated their reports, returned with them to the
+Whitney house. The leader, whose name was Jamison, said: "As closely as
+we can tell, Black Eyes is the culprit."
+
+"What?" Lindy demanded.
+
+"Yes, Mrs. Whitney. Your pet, Black Eyes."
+
+"Oh, I don't believe it!"
+
+But Judd said, "Go ahead, Dr. Jamison. I'm listening."
+
+"Well, how does an animal--any animal--protect itself?"
+
+"Why, in any number of ways. If it has claws or a strong jaw and long
+teeth, it can fight. If it is fleet of foot, it can run. If it is big
+and has a tough hide, most other animals can't hurt it anyway. Umm-mm,
+doesn't that about cover it?"
+
+"You left out protective coloration, defensive odors, and things like
+that. Actually, those are most important from our point of view, for
+Black Eyes' ability is a further ramification of that sort of thing.
+Your pet is not fast. It isn't strong. It can't change color and it has
+no offensive odor to chase off predatory enemies. It has no armor. In
+short, can you think of a more helpless creature to put down in those
+Venusian swamps?"
+
+After Judd had shaken his head, Dr. Jamison continued: "Very well, Black
+Eyes should not be able to survive on Venus--and yet, obviously the
+creature did. We can assume there are more of the breed, too. Anyway,
+Black Eyes survives. And I'll tell you why.
+
+"Black Eyes has a very uncommon ability to sense danger when it
+approaches. And sensing danger, Black Eyes can thwart it. Your creature
+sends out certain emanations--I won't pretend to know what they
+are--which stamp aggression out of any predatory creatures. Neither of
+you could fire upon it--right?"
+
+"Umm-mm, that's true," Judd said.
+
+Lindy nodded.
+
+"Well, that's one half of it. There's so much about life we don't
+understand. Black Eyes uses energy of an unknown intensity, and the
+result maintains Black Eyes' life. Now, although that is the case, your
+animal did not live a comfortable life in the Venusian swamp. Because no
+animal would attack it, it could not be harmed. Still, from what you
+tell me about that swamp ...
+
+"Anyhow, Black Eyes was glad to come away with you, and everything went
+well until you landed in New York. The noises, the clattering, the
+continual bustle of a great city--all this frightened the creature. It
+was being attacked--or, at least that's what it must have figured.
+Result: it struck back the only way it knew how. Have you ever heard
+about sub-sonic sound-waves, Mr. Whitney, waves of sound so low that our
+ears cannot pick them up--waves of sound which can nevertheless stir our
+emotions? Such things exist, and, as a working hypothesis, I would say
+Black Eyes' strange powers rest along those lines. The whole city is
+idle because Black Eyes is afraid!"
+
+In his exploration of Mars, of Venus, of the Jovian moons, Judd Whitney
+had seen enough of extra-terrestrial life to know that virtually
+anything was possible, and Black Eyes would be no exception to that
+rule.
+
+"What do you propose to do?" Judd demanded.
+
+"Do? Why, we'll have to kill your creature, naturally. You can set a
+value on it and we will meet it, but Black Eyes must die."
+
+"No!" Lindy cried. "You can't be sure, you're only guessing, and it
+isn't fair!"
+
+"My dear woman, don't you realize this is a serious situation? The
+city's people will starve in time. No one can even bring food in because
+the trucks make too much noise! As an alternative, we could evacuate,
+but is your pet more valuable than the life of a great city?"
+
+"N-no...."
+
+"Then, please! Listen to reason!"
+
+"Kill it," Judd said. "Go ahead."
+
+Dr. Jamison withdrew from his pocket a small blasting pistol used by the
+Department of Domestic Animals for elimination of injured creatures. He
+advanced on Black Eyes, who sat on its haunches in the center of the
+room, surveying the scientist.
+
+Dr. Jamison put his blaster away. "I can't," he said. "I don't want to."
+
+Judd smiled. "I know it. No one--no _thing_--can kill Black Eyes. You
+said so yourself. It was a waste of time to try it. In that case--"
+
+"In that case," Dr. Jamison finished for him, "we're helpless. There
+isn't a man--or an animal--on Earth that will destroy this thing. Wait
+a minute--does it sleep, Mr. Whitney?"
+
+"I don't think so. At least, I never saw it sleep. And your team of
+scientists, did they report anything?"
+
+"No. As far as they could see, the creature never slept. We can't catch
+it unawares."
+
+"Could you anesthetize it?"
+
+"How? It can sense danger, and long before you could do that, it would
+stop you. It's only made one mistake, Mr. Whitney: it believes the
+noises of the city represent a danger. And that's only a negative
+mistake. Noise won't hurt Black Eyes, of course. It simply makes the
+animal unnecessarily cautious. But we cannot anesthetize it any more
+than we can kill it."
+
+"I could take it back to Venus."
+
+"Could you? Could you? I hadn't thought of that."
+
+Judd shook his head. "I can't."
+
+"What do you mean you can't?"
+
+"It won't let me. Somehow it can sense our thoughts when we think
+something it doesn't want. I can't take it to Venus! No man could,
+because it doesn't want to go."
+
+"My dear Mr. Whitney--do you mean to say you believe it can _think_?"
+
+"Uh-uh. Didn't say that. It can sense our thoughts, and that's something
+else again."
+
+Dr. Jamison threw his hands up over his head in a dramatic gesture.
+"It's hopeless," he said.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Things grew worse. New York crawled along to a standstill. People began
+to move from the city. In trickles, at first, but the trickles became
+torrents, as New York's ten million people began to depart for saner
+places. It might take months--it might even take years, but the exodus
+had begun. Nothing could stop it. Because of a harmless little beast
+with the eyes of a tarsier, the life of a great city was coming to an
+end.
+
+Word spread. Scientists all over the world studied reports on Black
+Eyes. No one had any ideas. Everyone was stumped. Black Eyes had no
+particular desire to go outside. Black Eyes merely remained in the
+Whitney house, contemplating nothing in particular, and stopping
+everything.
+
+Dr. Jamison, however, was a persistent man. Judd got a letter from him
+one day, and the following afternoon he kept his appointment with the
+scientist.
+
+"It's good to get out," Judd said, after a three hour walk to the
+Department of Science Building. "I can go crazy just staring at that
+thing."
+
+"I have it, Whitney."
+
+"You have what? Not the way to destroy Black Eyes? I don't believe it!"
+
+"It's true. Consider. Everyone in the world does not yet know of your
+pet, correct?"
+
+"I suppose there are a few people who don't--"
+
+"There are many. Among them, are the crew of a jet-bomber which has been
+on maneuvers in Egypt. We have arranged everything."
+
+"Yes? How?"
+
+"At noon tomorrow, the bomber will appear over your home with one of
+the ancient, high-explosive missiles. Your neighbors will be removed
+from the vicinity, and, precisely at twelve-o-three in the afternoon,
+the bomb will be dropped. Your home will be destroyed. Black Eyes will
+be destroyed with it."
+
+Judd looked uncomfortable. "I dunno," he said. "Sounds too easy."
+
+"Too easy? I doubt if the animal will ever sense what is going on--not
+when the crew of the bomber doesn't know, either. They'll consider it a
+mighty peculiar order, to destroy one harmless, rather large and rather
+elaborate suburban home. But they'll do it. See you tomorrow, Whitney,
+after this mess is behind us."
+
+"Yeah," Judd said. "Yeah." But somehow, the scientist had failed to
+instill any of his confidence in Judd.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+With Lindy, he left home at eleven the following morning, after making a
+thorough list of all their properties which the City had promised to
+duplicate. Judd did not look at Black Eyes as he left, and the animal
+remained where it was, seated on its haunches under the dining room
+table, nibbling crumbs. Judd could almost feel the big round eyes boring
+a pair of twin holes in his back, and he dared not turn around to face
+them....
+
+They were a mile away at eleven forty-five, making their way through the
+nearly deserted streets. Judd stopped walking. He looked at Lindy. Lindy
+looked at him.
+
+"They're going to destroy it," he said.
+
+"I know."
+
+"Do you want them to?"
+
+"I--I--"
+
+Judd knew that something had to be done with Black Eyes. He didn't like
+the little beast, and, anyway, that had nothing to do with it. Black
+Eyes was a menace. And yet, something whispered in Judd's ear, _Don't
+let them, don't let them ..._ It wasn't Judd and it wasn't Judd's
+subconscious. It was Black Eyes, and he knew it. But he couldn't do a
+thing about it--
+
+"I'm going to stay right here and let them bomb the place," he said
+aloud. But as he spoke, he was running back the way he had come.
+
+Fifteen minutes.
+
+He sprinted part of the time, then rested, then sprinted again. He was
+somewhat on the beefy side and he could not run fast, but he made it.
+Just.
+
+He heard the jet streaking through the sky overhead, looked up once and
+saw it circling. Two blocks from his house he was met by a policeman.
+The entire area had been roped off, and the officer shook his head when
+Judd tried to get through.
+
+"But I live there!"
+
+"Can't help it, Mister. Orders is orders."
+
+Judd hit him. Judd didn't want to, but nevertheless, he grunted with
+satisfaction when he felt the blow to be a good one, catching the stocky
+officer on the point of his chin and tumbling him over backwards. Then
+Judd was ducking under the rope and running.
+
+He reached his house, plummeted in through the front door. He found
+Black Eyes under the kitchen table, squatting on its haunches. He
+scooped the animal up, ran outside. Then he was running again, and
+before he reached the barrier, something rocked him. A loud series of
+explosions ripped through his brain, and instinctively--Black Eyes'
+instincts, not his--he folded his arms over the animal, protecting it.
+Something shuddered and began to fall behind him, and debris scattered
+in all directions. Something struck Judd's head and he felt the ground
+slapping up crazily at his face--
+
+He was as good as new a few days later.
+
+And so was Black Eyes.
+
+"I have it," Judd said to his nurse.
+
+"You have what, sir?"
+
+"It's so simple, so ridiculously simple, maybe that's why no one ever
+thought of it. Get me Dr. Jamison!"
+
+Jamison came a few moments later, breathless. "Well?"
+
+"I have the solution."
+
+"You ... do?" Not much hope in the answer. Dr. Jamison was a tired,
+defeated man.
+
+"Sure. Black Eyes doesn't like the city. Fine. Take him out. I can't
+take him to Venus. He doesn't like Venus and he won't go. No one can
+take him anyplace he doesn't want to go, just as no one can hurt him in
+any way. But he doesn't like the city. It's too noisy. All right: have
+someone take him far from the city, far far away--where there's no noise
+at all. Someplace out in the sticks where it won't matter much if Black
+Eyes puts a stop to any disturbing noises."
+
+"Who will take him? You, Mr. Whitney?"
+
+Judd shook his head. "That's your job, not mine. I've given you the
+answer. Now use it."
+
+Lindy had arrived, and Lindy said: "Judd, you're right. That _is_ the
+answer. And you're wonderful--"
+
+No one volunteered to spend his life in exile with Black Eyes, but then
+Dr. Jamison pointed out that while no one knew the creature's life-span,
+it certainly couldn't be expected to match man's. Just a few years and
+the beast would die, and ... Dr. Jamison's arguments were so logical
+that he convinced himself. He took Black Eyes with him into the Canadian
+Northwoods, and there they live.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Judd was right--almost.
+
+This was the obvious answer which escaped everyone.
+
+But scientists continued their examinations of Black Eyes, and they
+discovered something. Black Eyes' fears had not been for herself alone.
+She is going to have babies. The estimate is for thirty-five little
+tarsier-eyed creatures. No doctor in the world will be able to do
+anything but deliver the litter.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+    This etext was produced from _If Worlds of Science Fiction_ March
+    1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
+    copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and
+    typographical errors have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Black Eyes and the Daily Grind, by Milton Lesser
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACK EYES AND THE DAILY GRIND ***
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