Атлант расправил плечи

           "MissTaggart!"hecried."Oh,thankGod,MissTaggart,you’rehere!We’vebeencallingforyouallover!"

           Shedidnotanswer;shelookedathiminquiringly.

           "MissTaggart,haveyouheard?"

           "What?"

           "Thenyouhaven’t!OhGod,MissTaggart,it’s...Ican’tbelieveit,Istillcan’tbelieveit,but...OhGod,whatarewegoingtodo?

           The...theTaggartBridgeisgone!"

           Shestaredathim,unabletomove.

           "It’sgone!Blownup!Blownup,apparently,inonesecond!Nobodyknowsforcertainwhathappened—butitlookslike...theythinkthatsomethingwentwrongatProjectXand...itlookslikethosesoundrays,MissTaggart!Wecan’tgetthroughtoanypointwithinaradiusofahundredmiles!It’snotpossible,itcan’tbepossible,butitlooksasifeverythinginthatcirclehasbeenwipedout!...Wecan’tgetanyanswers!Nobodycangetananswer—thenewspapers,theradiostations,thepolice!We’restillchecking,butthestoriesthatarecomingfromtherimofthatcircleare—"Heshuddered."Onlyonethingiscertain:thebridgeisgone!MissTaggart!Wedon’tknowwhattodo!"

           Sheleapedtoherdeskandseizedthetelephonereceiver.Herhandstoppedinmid-air.Then,slowly,twistedly,withthegreatestefforteverdemandedofher,shebegantomoveherarmdowntoplacethereceiverback.