Read "Children of the Lens" by E.E. Smith online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
When Kimball Kinnison received his son's call he was in Ultra Prime, the Patrol's stupendous Klovian base, about to enter his ship. He stopped for a moment; practically in mid-stride. While nothing was to be read in his expression or in his eyes, the lieutenant to whom he had been talking had been an interested, if completely uninformed, witness to many such Lensed conferences, and knew that they were usually important. He was, therefore, not surprised when the Lensman turned around and headed for an exit.
"Put her back, please. I won't be going out for a while, after all," Kinnison explained, briefly. "Don't know exactly how long."