2019114006-witten-LM-valid.txt

Damp also.	19.97276960129455
He looked around the room and then called out "Come here, quick"?	150.76867873362465
"What is it"?	3.2041059019629534
Barbara asked, standing in the doorway.	24.085015125241238
"I've solved the mystery of the little bag.	101.48385862227974
There it is h and there is what was in it.	35.594666649244964
But where do people go swimming in Paris?	102.19729670727592
That boat in the river, maybe".	52.76132614035585
"What boat"?	16.263981627363073
"There's a big boat anchored near the Place de la Concorde, with a swimming pool in it- didn't you notice it?	513.8271459254224
But if he has time to go swimming, he had time to be with us".	358.1606099869517
She looked at him in surprise.	33.74143391328018
"I know", he said, reading her mind.	211.64604849494518
"I don't know what I'm going to do with you".	42.299152323190945
"It's because we are in France", he said, "and know so few people.	193.22414550018127
So something like this matters more than it would at home.	83.79986682204422
Also, he was so nice when he was nice".	40.43519106297312
"All because I didn't feel like dancing".	81.58136596757235
"I don't think it was that, really".	328.0272859598738
"Then what was it"?	13.539959351620928
"I don't know.	2.83260721340474
I wish I did.	11.643765584153133
The tweed coat, maybe.	59.242139716564786
The thing about Eugene is that he's very proud".	83.55726793895205
And the thing about hurt feelings, the wet bathing suit pointed out, is that the person who has them is not quite the innocent party he believes himself to be.	849.6178485798308
For instance- what about all those people Harold Rhodes went toward unhesitatingly, as if this were the one moment they would ever have together, their one chance of knowing each other?	422.37124765131887
Fortunately, the embarrassing questions raised by objects do not need to be answered, or we would all have to go sleep in the open fields.	273.2883724142273
And in any case, answers may clarify but they do not change anything.	186.18615968148316
h he brought with him a mixture of myrrh and aloes, of about a hundred pounds' weight.	304.73128698020446
They took Jesus's body, then, and wrapped it in winding-clothes with the spices; that is how the Jews prepare a body for burial.	393.5237651037954
Listed as present at the Descent were Mary, Mary's sister, Mary Magdalene, John, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus.	599.4673266828871
Search as he might, he could find no place where the Bible spoke of a moment when Mary could have been alone with Jesus.	1564.1925073962445
Mostly the scene was crowded with mourners, such as the dramatic Dell'Arca Lamentation in Bologna, where the grief-stricken spectators had usurped Mary's last poignant moment.	1344.0191742981024
In his concept there could be no one else present.	52.31561258992004
His first desire was to create a mother and son alone in the universe.	282.5040053944106
When might Mary have had that moment to hold her child on her lap?	238.04730451709233
Perhaps after the soldiers had laid him on the ground, while Joseph of Arimathea was at Pontius Pilate's asking for Christ's body, Nicodemus was gathering his mixture of myrrh and aloes, and the others had gone home to mourn.	1125.1459864638703
Those who saw his finished Pieta would take the place of the biblical witnesses.	299.80802716365383
They would feel what Mary was undergoing.	70.67710673303874
There would be no halos, no angels.	42.487334775788426
These would be two human beings, whom God had chosen.	219.80799700458215
He felt close to Mary, having spent so long concentrating on the beginning of her journey.	174.5352071877915
Now she was intensely alive, anguished; her son was dead.	168.840210041273
Even though he would later be resurrected, he was at this moment dead indeed, the expression on his face reflecting what he had gone through on the cross.	602.9643366897304
In his sculpture therefore it would not be possible for him to project anything of what Jesus felt for his mother; only what Mary felt for her son.	235.87651535265084
Jesus' inert body would be passive, his eyes closed.	412.12521723565715
Mary would have to carry the human communication.	531.7363943809629
This seemed right to him.	18.47906700841939
It was a relief to shift in his mind to technical problems.	59.75996151573732
Since his Christ was to be life size, how was Mary to hold him on her lap without the relationship seeming ungainly?	428.22708964096597
His Mary would be slender of limb and delicate of proportion, yet she must hold this full-grown man as securely and convincingly as she would a child.	478.33409080843427
There was only one way to accomplish this by design, by drawing diagrams and sketches in which he probed the remotest corner of his mind for creative ideas to carry his concept.	1362.6522951319298
He started by making free sketches to loosen up his thinking so that images would appear on paper.	264.38557712410056
Visually, these approximated what he was feeling within himself.	159.44368338812623
At the same time he started walking the streets, peering at the people passing or shopping at the stalls, storing up fresh impressions of what they looked like, how they moved.	554.9505762824843
In particular he sought the gentle, sweet-faced nuns, with head coverings and veils coming to the middle of their foreheads, remembering their expressions until he reached home and set them down on paper.	1174.0156970754865
Discovering that draperies could be designed to serve structural purposes, he began a study of the anatomy of folds.	374.23359308025726
He improvised as he went along, completing a life-size clay figure, then bought yards of an inexpensive material from a draper, wet the lightweight cloth in a basin and covered it over with clay that Argiento brought from the bank of the Tiber, to the consistency of thick mud.	787.9874182373771
No fold could be accidental, each turn of the drapery had to serve organically, to cover the Madonna's slender legs and feet so that they would give substantive support to Christ's body, to intensify her inner turmoil.	1587.2738819652204
When the cloth dried and stiffened, he saw what adjustments had to be made.	141.53481778872367
"So that's sculpture", commented Argiento wryly, when he had sluiced down the floor for a week, "making mud pies".	1056.807167115785
Michelangelo grinned.	23.93642616240103
"See, Argiento, if you control the way these folds are bunched, like this, or made to flow, you can enrich the body attitudes.	321.245543831138
They can have as much tactile appeal as flesh and bone".	131.98091306322408
He went into the Jewish quarter, wanting to draw Hebraic faces so that he could reach a visual understanding of how Christ might have looked.	311.4627273312558
The Jewish section was in Trastevere, near the Tiber at the church of San Francesco a Ripa.	649.0235007334488
The colony had been small until the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 drove many Jews into Rome.	343.1633541012238
Here, for the most part, they were well treated, as a "reminder of the Old Testament heritage of Christianity"; many of their gifted members were prominent in the Vatican as physicians, musicians, bankers.	525.381092059005
The men did not object to his sketching them while they went about their work, but no one could be persuaded to come to his studio to pose.	6631.193594085615
He was told to ask for Rabbi Melzi at the synagogue on Saturday afternoon.	481.7444038961434
Michelangelo found the rabbi in the room of study, a gentle old man with a white beard and luminous grey eyes, robed in black gabardine with a skullcap on his head.	784.1265147010911
He was reading from the Talmud with a group of men from his congregation.	55.57798933629733
When Michelangelo explained why he had come, Rabbi Melzi replied gravely "The Bible forbids us to bow down to or to make graven images.	1574.7725147666913
That is why our creative people give their time to literature, not to painting or sculpture".	132.7958636301816
"But, Rabbi Melzi, you don't object to others creating works of art"?	725.3378716833577
"Not at all.	3.101319310159779
Each religion has its own tenets".	82.24107964625634
"I am carving a Pieta from white Carrara marble.	213.8798360977182
I wish to make Jesus an authentic Jew.	305.1622998723551
I cannot accomplish this if you will not help me".	74.8917708497064
The rabbi said thoughtfully, "I would not want my people to get in trouble with the Church".	2219.888766873829
"I am working for the Cardinal of San Dionigi.	88.79913972296055
I'm sure he would approve".	16.94068422198718
"What kind of models would you prefer"?	54.6425705047647
"Workmen.	16.05296361890169
In their mid-thirties.	20.56399044219122
Not bulky laborers, but sinewy men.	121.51888215305625
With intelligence.	10.897493304155793
And sensitivity".	10.166669148303205
Rabbi Melzi smiled at him with infinitely old but merry eyes.	462.5624553464047
"Leave me your address.	41.45358109649813
I will send you the best the quarter has to offer".	70.0789752898169
Michelangelo hurried to Sangallo's solitary bachelor room with his sketches, asked the architect to design a stand which would simulate the seated Madonna.	871.2300957763816
Sangallo studied the drawings and improvised a trestle couch.	359.38088340657634
Michelangelo bought some scrap lumber.	136.02931110646009
Together he and Argiento built the stand, covering it with blankets.	192.85276224057307
His first model arrived at dusk.	76.06447106893921
He hesitated for a moment when Michelangelo asked him to disrobe, so Michelangelo gave him a piece of toweling to wrap around his loins, led him to the kitchen to take off his clothes.	1155.3190366660174
He then draped him over the rough stand, explained that he was supposed to be recently dead, and was being held on his mother's lap.	675.9335418611954
The model quite plainly thought Michelangelo crazy; only the instructions from his rabbi kept him from bolting.	559.4035145236866
But at the end of the sitting, when Michelangelo showed him the quick, free drawings, with the mother roughed in, holding her son, the model grasped what Michelangelo was after, and promised to speak to his friends h. He worked for two hours a day with each model sent by the rabbi.	582.8792599194708
Mary presented quite a different problem.	215.3425860009834
Though this sculpture must take place thirty-three years after her moment of decision, he could not conceive of her as a woman in her mid-fifties, old, wrinkled, broken in body and face by labor or worry.	1066.819651779056
His image of the Virgin had always been that of a young woman, even as had his memory of his mother.	1051.5341633975584
Jacopo Galli introduced him into several Roman homes.	302.75416408125807
Here he sketched, sitting in their flowing gowns of linen and silk, young girls not yet twenty, some about to be married, some married a year or two.	800.9961903030817
Since the Santo Spirito hospital had taken only men, he had had no experience in the study of female anatomy; but he had sketched the women of Tuscany in their fields and homes.	1791.2321216713874
He was able to discern the body lines of the Roman women under their robes.	197.3972393615968
He spent concentrated weeks putting his two figures together a Mary who would be young and sensitive, yet strong enough to hold her son on her lap; and a Jesus who, though lean, was strong even in death h a look he remembered well from his experience in the dead room of Santo Spirito.	1164.679509539332
He drew toward the composite design from his meticulously accurate memory, without need to consult his sketches.	414.4805220896758
Soon he was ready to go into a three-dimensional figure in clay.	180.31569651402472
Here he would have free expression because the material could be moved to distort forms.	457.7508570164817
When he wanted to emphasize, or get greater intensity, he added or subtracted clay.	349.64155701250763
Next he turned to wax because there was a similarity of wax to marble in tactile quality and translucence.	896.0256349925431
He respected each of these approach techniques, and kept them in character his quill drawings had a scratchiness, suggesting skin texture; the clay he used plastically to suggest soft moving flesh, as in an abdomen, in a reclining torso; the wax he smoothed over to give the body surface an elastic pull.	2044.9510124340213
Yet he never allowed these models to become fixed in his mind; they remained rough starting points.	291.28780256831527
When carving he was charged with spontaneous energy; too careful or detailed studies in clay and wax would have glued him down to a mere enlarging of his model.	550.3658566141631
The true surge had to be inside the marble itself.	88.86554628850446
Drawing and models were his thinking.	45.99237264618012
Carving was action.	28.21810251118244
10.	3.2996329515303238
The arrangement with Argiento was working well, except that sometimes Michelangelo could not figure who was master and who apprentice.	350.39750171868656
Argiento had been trained so rigorously by the Jesuits that Michelangelo was unable to change his habits up before dawn to scrub the floors, whether they were dirty or not; water boiling on the fire for washing laundry every day, the pots scoured with river sand after each meal.	1909.9591594901863
"Argiento, this is senseless", he complained, not liking to work on the wet floors, particularly in cold weather.	263.0005539532514
"You're too clean.	15.836809470139759
Scrub the studio once a week.	48.04094246474564
That's enough".	10.850372039755463
"No", said Argiento stolidly.	43.12176172984452
"Every day.	6.289454381234775
Before dawn.	19.474012356169418
I was taught".	10.47810669780209
"And God help anyone who tries to unteach you"!	165.6010516481256
grumbled Michelangelo; yet he knew that he had nothing to grumble about, for Argiento made few demands on him.	1391.1208229726521
The boy was becoming acquainted with the contadini families that brought produce into Rome.	241.40938094356102
On Sundays he would walk miles into the campagna to visit with them, and in particular to see their horses.	129.4487558409236
The one thing he missed from his farm in the Po Valley was the animals; frequently he would take his leave of Michelangelo by announcing "Today I go see the horses".	491.04970136910924
It took a piece of bad luck to show Michelangelo that the boy was devoted to him.	128.0719626626487
He was crouched over his anvil in the courtyard getting his chisels into trim, when a splinter of steel flew into his eye and imbedded itself in his pupil.	623.9792152549775
He stumbled into the house, eyes burning like fire.	107.89379394148965
Argiento made him lie down on the bed, brought a pan of hot water, dipped some clean white linen cloth and applied it to extract the splinter.	4065.737176341063
Though the pain was considerable Michelangelo was not too concerned.	105.64819088675598
He assumed he could blink the splinter out.	78.03831821806912
But it would not come.	8.050658093210508
Argiento never left his side, keeping the water boiled, applying hot compresses throughout the night.	364.42620128035173
By the second day Michelangelo began to worry; and by the second night he was in a state of panic he could see nothing out of the afflicted eye.	1672.7080168588438
At dawn Argiento went to Jacopo Galli.	290.80105402626754
Galli arrived with his family surgeon, Maestro Lippi.	358.8244318950613
The surgeon carried a cage of live pigeons.	148.86502183400756
He told Argiento to take a bird out of the cage, cut a large vein under its wing, let the blood gush into Michelangelo's injured eye.	576.8712714292656
The surgeon came back at dusk, cut the vein of a second pigeon, again washed out the eye.	257.46896435274675
Beth was very still and her breath came in small jerking gasps.	356.9284362609026
The thin legs twitched convulsively once, then Kate felt the little body stiffening in her arms and heard one strangled sound.	735.2648393566343
The scant flesh grew cool beneath her frantic hands.	289.5023137060121
The child was gone.	11.371086732929998
When Juanita awoke, Kate was still rocking the dead child, still crooning in disbelief, "No, no, oh, no!"	494.46958156559305
They put Kate to bed and wired Jonathan and sent for the young Presbyterian minister.	297.588855096466
He sat beside Kate's bed with the others throughout the morning, talking, talking of God's will, while Kate lay staring angrily at him.	780.964795736247
When he told her God had called the child to Him, she rejected his words rebelliously.	215.14784778655266
Few of the neighbors came, but Mrs Tussle came, called by tragedy.	153.7270411105704
"It always comes in threes", she sighed heavily.	117.22889137867888
"Trouble never comes but in threes".	82.39495838801913
They held the funeral the next morning from the crossroads church and buried the little box in the quiet family plot.	268.8949498034595
Kate moved through all the preparations and services in a state of bewilderment.	162.25696876933895
She would not accept the death of such a little child.	51.80533195824657
"God called her to Him", the minister had said.	67.77925090950619
God would not do that, Kate thought stubbornly.	133.65248709638655
Jonathan's letter came, as she knew it would, and he had accepted their child's death as another judgment from God against both Kate and himself.	539.8432815583328
In blind panic of grief she accepted Jonathan's dictum, and believed in her desperation that she had been cursed by God.	438.72367261763344
She held Jonathan's letter, his words burning like a brand, and knew suddenly that the bonds between them were severed.	360.35305733010705
She had nothing left but her duty to his land and his son.	239.27311157008535
Joel came and sat mutely with her, sharing her pain and anguish, averting his eyes from the ice packs on her bosom.	756.1838791552376
Juanita and Mrs Tussle kept Kate in bed a week until her milk dried.	556.6169351188202
When she returned to life in the big house she felt shriveled of all emotion save dedication to duty.	1116.9749927962405
She disciplined herself daily to do what must be done.	347.1571778752472
She had even steeled herself to keep Juanita upstairs in the nurse's room off the empty nursery, although the girl tried to insist on moving back to the quarters to spare Kate remembrance of the baby's death.	940.0323036180936
Juanita drooped about the place, wearing a haunted, brooding look, which Kate attributed to the baby's death, until the day a letter came for her addressed to "Miss Juanita Fitzroy", bearing a Grafton postmark.	1612.0594261111626
Seeing the slanting hand, Kate knew uneasily that it was from the Yankee colonel.	318.6339193710541
The Federal forces had taken Parkersburg and Grafton from the Rebels and were moving to take all the mountains.	192.5064653279175
Kate tried to contain her curiosity and foreboding at what the letter portended, at what involvement existed for Juanita.	666.6445660481271
Uncle Randolph and Joel had replanted the bottom lands with difficulty, for more of the slaves, including Annie, had sneaked off when the soldiers broke camp.	876.457868905025
Joel worked like a field hand in the afternoons after school.	313.2779966656884
He had been at lessons in the schoolhouse since they returned from Harpers Ferry.	368.5881025228046
Kate felt she had deserted the boy in her own loss.	182.04234488512247
She loved him and missed his company.	62.3340746260475
Uncle Randolph had been riding out every evening on some secret business of his own.	258.52738519443824
What it was Kate could not fathom.	90.57322321640251
He claimed to be visiting the waterfront saloon at the crossroads to play cards and drink with his cronies, but Kate had not smelled brandy on him since Mrs Lattimer's funeral.	781.4617755582505
Joel knew what he was about, however.	62.030570872832655
"You're gonna get caught", she heard Joel say to Uncle Randolph by the pump one morning.	357.30380324563464
"Not this old fox", chuckled Uncle Randolph.	193.72843126015718
"Everybody knows I'm just a harmless, deaf old man who takes to drink.	242.21843387893324
I aim to keep a little whisky still back in the ridge for my pleasure".	192.83321264720877
"Whisky still, my foot", said Joel.	139.99245472857015
"You're back there riding with the guerrillas, the Moccasin Rangers".	138.1511626754752
"Hush", said Uncle Randolph, smiling, "or I'll give you another black eye".	246.55324433443974
He patted the eye Joel had had blackened in a fight over being Rebel at the crossroads some days back.	423.4073277049185
Kate had no idea what they were talking of, although she had seen the blue lights and strange fires burning and winking on the ridges at night, had heard horsemen on the River Road and hill trails through the nights till dawn.	1237.8753340057383
Stranger, Uncle Randolph began riding home nights with a jug strapped to his saddle, drunkenly singing "Old Dan Tucker" at the top of his voice.	875.4329588288062
Hearing his voice ring raucously up from the road, Kate would await him anxiously and watch perplexed as he walked into the house, cold sober.	1197.0477112431067
What he was about became clear to her with the circulation of another broadside proclamation by General McClellan, threatening reprisals against Rebel guerrillas.	683.2712634817458
She was taken up in worry for the reckless old man.	246.03120709794257
Kate drew more and more on her affection for Joel through the hot days of summer work.	294.09064096270595
She had taken him out of the schoolhouse and closed the school for the summer, after she saw Miss Snow crack Joel across the face with a ruler for letting a snake loose in the schoolroom.	2941.6883157008556
Kate had walked past the school on her morning chores and had seen the whole incident, had seen Joel's burning humiliation before Miss Snow's cold, bespectacled wrath.	975.9614055961821
He had the hardest pains of growing before him now, as he approached twelve.	116.23416569062492
These would be his hardest years, she knew, and he missed his father desperately.	688.3738207163938
She tried to find some way to draw him out, to help him.	2392.061668689943
Whenever she found time, she went blackberry picking with him, and they would come home together, mouths purple, arms and faces scratched, tired enough to forget grief for another day.	927.7356247547032
He tended the new colts Beau had sired.	192.3303851008427
He helped Kate and Juanita enlarge the flower garden in the side yard, where they sometimes sat in the still evenings watching the last fat bees working against the summer's purple dusk.	1463.278481279363
No one went much to the crossroads now except Uncle Randolph.	171.75234985590023
They stayed in their own world on the bluff, waiting for letters and the peddler, bringing the news.	279.98450225389485
Jonathan wrote grimly of the destruction of Harpers Ferry before they abandoned it; of their first engagement at Falling Waters after Old Jack's First Brigade had destroyed all the rolling stock of the BO Railroad.	1367.659685733568
The men were restive, he wrote, ready to take the battle to the enemy as Jackson wished.	130.0517761806568
The peddler came bawling his wares and told them of the convention in Wheeling, Which had formed a new state government by declaring the government at Richmond in the east illegal because they were traitors.	774.2227042707676
Dangling his gaudy trinkets before them, he told of the Rebel losses in the mountains, at Cheat and Rich mountains both, and the Federal march on Beverly.	25930.37343994377
"Cleaned all them Rebs out'n the hills, they did!	242.9173555523697
They won't never git over inter loyal western Virginia, them traitors!	654.8854752969854
The Federals is making everybody take the oath of loyalty around these parts too", he crowed.	361.496128952341
After he had gone, Kate asked Uncle Randolph proudly, "Would you take their oath"?	462.6443002431654
And the old man had given a sly and wicked laugh and said, "Hell, yes!	284.87641204867975
I think I've taken it about fifty times already"!	157.8818608863506
winking at Joel's look of shock.	104.80797652771868
Her mother wrote Kate of her grief at the death of Kate's baby and at Jonathan's decision to go with the South "And, dear Kate", she wrote, "poor Dr Breckenridge's son Robert is now organizing a militia company to go South, to his good father's sorrow.	1259.3051911155796
Maj Anderson of Fort Sumter is home and recruiting volunteers for the US Army.	612.9554796363688
In spite of the fact that the state legislature voted us neutral, John Hunt Morgan is openly flying the Confederate flag over his woolen factory"!	863.0121573700309
Rumor of a big battle spread like a grassfire up the valley.	190.804724858387
Accounts were garbled at the telegraph office when they sent old George down to Parkersburg for the news.	401.8562140964156
"All dey know down dere is it were at Manassas Junction and it were a big fight", the old man told them.	519.8599927380042
In the next few days they had cause to rejoice.	52.611490747170556
It had been a big battle, and the Confederate forces had won.	180.57748723500822
Jonathan and Ben were not on the lists of the dead or on that of the missing.	191.5204724140758
Kate and Mrs Tussle waited for letters anxiously.	278.0316639611099
Joel went to the crest of a hill behind the house and lit an enormous victory bonfire to celebrate.	594.2725124805662
When Kate hurried in alarm to tell him to put it out, she saw other dots of flames among the western Virginia hills from the few scattered fires of the faithful.	1481.1499697857694
They all prayed now that the North would realize that peace must come, for Virginia had defended her land victoriously.	610.781969637502
The week after Manassas the sound of horses in the yard brought Kate up in shock from an afternoon's rest when she saw the Federal soldiers from her upstairs window.	1162.5508551822602
They had already lost most of their corn, she thought.	75.92743758946379
Were they to be insulted again because of the South's great victory?	411.1463380925413
She remembered McClellan's last proclamation as she hurried fearfully down the stairs.	1119.0274873210979
At the landing she saw Juanita, her face flushed pink with excitement, run down the hall from the kitchen to the front door.	3224.9072725963365
Juanita stopped just inside the open door, her hand to her mouth.	173.17916246321866
As Kate came swiftly down the stairs to the hall she saw Colonel Marsh framed in the doorway, his face set in the same vulnerable look Juanita wore.	1254.796459649305
Kate greeted him gravely, uneasy with misgivings at his visit.	288.7004308234401
"What brings you here again, Colonel Marsh"?	184.47525838527946
she asked, taking him and Juanita into the parlor where the shutters were closed against the afternoon sun.	620.1169131259104
"I stopped to say goodbye, Mrs Lattimer, and to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your baby.	447.347252730299
I wish our doctor could have saved her".	68.89679804275262
"It was a terrible loss to me", said Kate quietly, feeling the pain twist again at the mention, knowing now that Juanita must have written to him at Grafton.	590.8733796685551
"Where will you go now that you're leaving Parkersburg"?	334.9850965021932
she asked him, seeing Juanita's eyes grow bleak.	169.89917669742812
"As you know, General McClellan has been occupying Beverly.	76.51516838677156
He has notified me that he has orders to go to Washington to take over the Army of the Potomac.	293.31882074478386
I am to go to Washington to serve with him".	97.19722279560845
"When are you to leave"?	29.972641205195302
Kate asked, watching them both now anxiously.	174.02847089708337
Their eyes betrayed too much of their emotions, she thought sadly.	490.80523261781883
"Tomorrow.	16.05296361890169
Would you permit Juanita to walk about the grounds with me for a short spell, Mrs Lattimer"?	1683.1294199892184
"Stay here in the parlor where it's cool", she said, trying to be calm.	1512.6340127943504
It would be better for Joel and Uncle Randolph and Mrs Tussle not to see them.	283.4035583448918
Kate went back and reminded the kitchen women of the supper preparations.	244.19187148543315
Then she took iced lemonade to Marsh's young aide where he sat in the cool of the big trees around the flower garden.	1287.7053114493865
When Marsh called to his aide and the pair rode off down the River Road where the gentians burned blue, Juanita was shaken and trying not to cry.	719.7085718329248
She sought Kate out upstairs, her lips trembling.	237.68994811526167
"He wants me to go with him tomorrow", she told Kate.	297.89095538227923
"What do you want to do"?	961.1700011138453
Kate asked, uneasy at the gravity of the girl's dilemma.	166.4628437755277
"I could go with him.	89.9927816113101
He knows me as your niece, which, of course, I am.	894.739245089458
But I am a slave!	116.16540532709024
You own me.	14.189905048749548
It's your decision", said Juanita, holding her face very still, trying to contain the bitterness of her voice as she enunciated her words too distinctly.	606.7067028046803
"No, the decision is yours.	26.856834656363112
I have held your papers of manumission since I married Mr Lattimer".	244.25506741471864
The red glow from the cove had died out of the sky.	493.40543299645327
The two in the bed knew each other as old people know the partners with whom they have shared the same bed for many years, and they needed to say no more.	924.2373911712564
The things left unsaid they both felt deeply, and with a sigh they fell back on the well-stuffed pillows.	521.944379534182
Anita put out the remaining candles with a long snuffer, and in the smell of scented candlewick, the comforting awareness of each other's bodies, the retained pattern of dancers and guests remembered, their minds grew numb and then empty of images.	859.8226191754219
They slept- Mynheer with a marvelously high-pitched snoring, the damn seahorse ivory teeth watching him from a bedside table.	935.3038779716064
In the ballroom below, the dark had given way to moonlight coming in through the bank of French windows.	208.6110401308256
It was a delayed moon, but now the sky had cleared of scudding black and the stars sugared the silver-gray sky.	342.46233021490553
Martha Schuyler, old, slow, careful of foot, came down the great staircase, dressed in her best lace-drawn black silk, her jeweled shoe buckles held forward.	994.0694676021822
"Well, I'm here at last", she said, addressing the old portraits on the walls.	145.1788217678295
"I don't hear the music.	12.205709494979846
I am getting deaf, I must admit it".	40.315055333042736
She came to the ballroom and stood on the two carpeted steps that led down to it.	540.0627494160467
"Where is everyone?	19.427476697632603
I say, where is everyone?	146.89401028022593
Peter, you lummox, you've forgot to order the musicians".	138.61710871667285
She stood there, a large old woman, smiling at the things she would say to him in the morning, this big foolish baby of a son.	817.5296912814642
There were times now, like this, when she lost control of the time count and moved freely back and forth into three generations.	346.1471825183407
Was it a birthday ball?	37.90890540987718
When Peter had reached his majority at eighteen?	112.51969574602926
Or was it her own first ball as mistress of this big house, a Van Rensselaer bride from way upstate near Albany, from Rensselaerwyck.	564.1047319582995
And this handsome booby, staring and sweating, was he her bridegroom?	247.7689635680877
Martha picked up the hem of her gown and with eyes closed she slowly began to dance a stately minuet around the ballroom.	601.6715767812257
David Cortlandt was tired beyond almost the limits of his flesh.	218.23403820967448
He had ridden hard from Boston, and he was not used to horseback.	356.172506972187
Now, driving the horse and sulky borrowed from Mynheer Schuyler, he felt as if every bone was topped by burning oil and that every muscle was ready to dissolve into jelly and leave his big body helpless and unable to move.	906.6179942123559
The road leading south along the river was shaded with old trees, and in the moonlight the silvery landscape was like a setting for trolls and wood gods rather than the Hudson River Valley of his boyhood memories.	850.7585085749769
He slapped the reins on the back of the powerful gray horse and held on as the sulky's wheels hit a pothole and came out with a jolt and went on.	638.7733343566537
He would cross to Manhattan, to Harlem Heights, before morning.	113.98626747003075
There a certain farmhouse was a station for the Sons of Liberty.	104.70091639664923
He would send on by trusted messenger the dispatches with their electrifying news.	259.4794494876545
And he would sleep, sleep, and never think of roads and horses' sore haunches, of colonial wars.	272.5154966917533
Strange how everything here fitted back into his life, even if he had been away so long.	689.467656109233
Mynheer, Sir Francis, the valley society, the very smell of the river on his right purling along to the bay past fish weirs and rocks, and ahead the sleepy ribbon of moon-drenched road.	1144.0718523108055
A mist was walking on the water, white as cotton, but with a blending and merging grace.	161.4939501180778
Ahead there was a stirring of sudden movement at a crossroads.	151.7810811187328
David reached for the pair of pistols in the saddlebags at his feet.	131.68578469682873
He pulled out one of them and cocked it.	312.11485712485467
A strange wood creature came floating up from a patch of berry bushes.	462.40208677788684
It was a grotesque hen, five or six feet tall.	70.37607948606534
It had the features of a man bewhiskered by clumps of loose feathers.	147.5709097814662
It ran, this apocalyptic beast, on two thin legs, and its wings- were they feathered arms?- flapped as it ran.	379.20196785080225
Its groin was bloody.	54.745763900037474
Black strips of skin hung from it.	84.51123340259299
The horse shied at the dreadful thing and flared its nostrils.	232.23289613776973
David took a firm hand with it.	52.44077785427319
The creature in feathers looked around and David saw the mad eyes, glazed with an insane fear.	379.98854835225353
The ungainly bird thing ran away, and to David its croaking sounded like the crowing of a tormented rooster.	1293.323280586706
Then it was gone.	11.649533501805807
He drove on, wary and shaken.	60.003162108996754
The Sons were out tonight.	38.33297803553689
CHAPTER 10 New York lay bleaching in the summer sun, and the morning fish hawk, flying in the heated air, saw below him the long triangular wedge of Manhattan Island.	1741.595404953849
It was thickly settled by fifteen thousand citizens and laid out into pig-infested streets, mostly around the Battery, going bravely north to Wall Street, but giving up and becoming fields and farms in the region of Harlem Heights.	1281.0845747479184
From there it looked across at Westchester County and the Hudson River where the manor houses, estates, and big farms of the original non-Indian landowners began.	558.313637667484
On the east side of the island of Manhattan the indifferent hawk knew the East River that connected New York Bay with Long Island Sound.	636.4130278962494
On the western tip of Long Island protruded Brooklyn Heights.	230.54557406230106
It commanded a view over Manhattan and the harbor.	84.5188152138791
A fringe of housing and gardens bearded the top of the heights, and behind it were sandy roads leading past farms and hayfields.	462.19626928598944
Husbandry was bounded by snake-rail fences, and there were grazing cattle.	312.11137151009507
On the shores north and south, the fishers and mooncursers- smugglers- lived along the churning Great South Bay and the narrow barrier of sand, Fire Island.	1740.7482465688215
The morning hawk, hungry for any eatable, killable, digestible item, kept his eyes on the ring of anchored ships that lay off the shores in the bay, sheltered by the Jersey inlets.	1191.368951284407
They often threw tidbits overboard.	99.01988864627933
The larger ships were near Paulus Hook, already being called, by a few, Jersey City.	1214.788030236013
These were the ships of His Majesty's Navy, herding the hulks of the East Indies merchants and the yachts and ketches of the loyalists.	465.5297074193211
The news of battle on Breed's Hill had already seeped through, and New York itself was now left in the hands of the local Provincial Congress.	1816.9000565643819
The fish hawk, his wings not moving, circled and glided lower.	229.31495425342297
The gilt sterns of the men-of-war becoming clearer to him, the sides of the wooden sea walls alternately painted yellow and black, the bronze cannon at the ports.	652.384082264967
The captain's gig of HMS Mercury was being rowed to HMS Neptune.	586.7558590961038
On shore "the freed slaves to despotism"- the town dwellers- watched the ships and waited.	344.9615579471011
The chevaux de frise, those sharp stakes and barriers around the fort at the Battery, pointed to a conflict between the town and sea power rolling in glassy swells as the tide came in.	1284.8302740656595
Across the bay the Palisades were heavy in green timber; their rock paths led down to the Hudson.	354.3806473260076
Below in the open bay facing Manhattan was Staten Island, gritty with clam shells and mud flats behind which nested farms, cattle barns, and berry thickets.	1893.082992807201
Along Wappinger Creek in Dutchess County, past the white church at Fishkill, past Verplanck's Point on the east bank of the Hudson, to the white salt-crusted roads of the Long Island Rockaways there was a watching and an activity of preparing for something explosive to happen.	2446.695047293537
Today, tomorrow, six months, even perhaps a year h The fish hawk flew on and was lost from sight.	283.9883434421661
The British ships rolled at anchor, sent out picket boats and waited for orders from London.	315.65678762978496
Waited for more ships, more lobster-backed infantry, and asked what was to be done with a war of rebellion?	2087.1553302362468
David Cortlandt, having slept away a day and a night, came awake in a plank farmhouse on the Harlem River near Spuyten Duyvil.	661.2200397060648
He looked out through windowpanes turned a faint violet by sun and weather, looked out at King's Bridge toward Westchester.	538.9519611007169
The road seemed animated with a few more wagons than usual; a carriage raising up the choking June dust, and beyond, in a meadow, a local militia company drilling with muskets, Kentuck' rifles, every kind of horse pistol, old sword, or cutlass.	1348.2005538084375
The wraith-like events of the last few days flooded David's mind and he rubbed his unshaved chin and felt again the ache in his kidneys caused by his saddle odyssey from Boston.	615.2620520161754
Pensive, introspective, he ached.	114.3928306188154
He had sent the dispatches downtown to the proper people and had slept.	125.40164093130846
Now there was more to do.	83.77795937887291
Orders not written down had to be transmitted to the local provincial government.	167.66859857706072
He scratched his mosquito-plagued neck.	134.3500452830867
From the saddlebags, hung on a Hitchcock chair, David took out a good English razor, a present from John Hunter.	709.1148748099407
He found tepid water in a pitcher and a last bit of soap, and he lathered his face and stood stropping the razor on his broad leather belt, its buckle held firm by a knob of the bedpost h. He hoped he was free of self-deception.	985.8993087484668
Here he was, suddenly caught up in the delirium of a war, in the spite and calumny of Whigs and Tories.	200.39708578271814
There would be great need soon for his skill as surgeon, but somehow he had not planned to use his knowledge merely for war.	229.1480255048865
David Cortlandt had certain psychic intuitions that this rebellion was not wholly what it appeared on the surface.	775.6337770294954
He knew that many were using it for their own ends.	92.89623064688678
But it did not matter.	52.358061713749116
He stropped the razor slowly; what mattered was that a new concept of Americans was being born.	282.9019801462207
That some men did not want it he could understand.	181.04933432158307
The moral aridity of merchants made them loyal usually to their ledgers.	257.31851948525315
Yet some, like Morris Manderscheid, would bankrupt themselves for the new ideas.	414.4181086157597
Unique circumstances would test us all, he decided.	909.5682570968493
Injury and ingratitude would occur.	76.81874111775709
No doubt John Hancock would do well now; war was a smugglers' heaven.	236.81333853131753
And what of that poor tarred and feathered wretch he had seen on the road driving down from Schuyler's?	933.4531044302983
Things like that would increase rather than be done away with.	136.53503499798651
One had to believe in final events or one was stranded in the abyss of nothing.	100.28533834530941
He saw with John Hunter now that the perfectability of man was a dream.	114.37811361816186
Life was a short play of tenebrous shadows.	132.81143349915735
David began to shave with great sweeping strokes.	180.4097095447424
Time plays an essential part in our mortality, and suddenly for no reason he could imagine or admit the image of Peg laughing filled his mind- so desirable, so lusty, so full of nuances of pleasure and joy.	718.8435261037611
He drove sensual patterns off, carefully shaving his long upper lip.	397.68085253949863
It is harder, he muttered, to meditate on man or woman than on God.	132.4323965528037
David finished shaving, washed his face clean of lather, and combed and retied his hair.	508.7970635981288
He was proud that he had never worn a wig.	80.45941799288302
More and more of the colonials were wearing their own hair and not using powder.	1905.39179742341
He felt cheerful again, refreshed; presentable in his wide-cut brown suit, the well-made riding boots.	590.8720640326912
It is so easy to falsify sentiment h. In the meadow below, militia officers shouted at their men and on King's Bridge two boys sat fishing.	560.1501921058239
The future would happen; he did not have to hurry it by thinking too much.	107.63414167187852
A man could be tossed outside the dimension of time by a stray bullet these days.	770.961751721264
He began to pack the saddlebags.	46.020998911854726
And all this too shall pass away it came to him out of some dim corner of memory from a church service when he was a boy- yes, in a white church with a thin spur steeple in the patriarchal Hudson Valley, where a feeling of plenitude was normal in those English-Dutch manors with their well-fed squires.	955.8299419173223
Burly leathered men and wrinkled women in drab black rags carried on in a primitive way, almost unchanged from feudal times.	658.1641908021866
Peasants puzzled Andrei.	120.45273626617485
He wondered how they could go on in poverty, superstition, ignorance, with a complete lack of desire to make either their land or their lives flourish.	339.92594871647947
Andrei remembered a Bathyran meeting long ago.	164.17111031216686
Tolek Alterman had returned from the colonies in Palestine and, before the national leadership, exalted the miracles of drying up swamps and irrigating the desert.	1391.6441464677187
A fund-raising drive to buy tractors and machinery was launched.	230.89318010994913
Andrei remembered that his own reaction had been one of indifference.	115.65678088036331
Had he found the meaning too late?	54.993373206805
It aggravated him.	17.97098826977303
The land of the Lublin Uplands was rich, but no one seemed to care.	102.48574539832323
In the unfertile land in Palestine humans broke their backs pushing will power to the brink.	438.7637118412246
He had sat beside Alexander Brandel at the rostrum of a congress of Zionists.	330.88362489226375
All of them were there in this loosely knit association of diversified ideologies, and each berated the other and beat his breast for his own approaches.	654.4221306005763
When Alexander Brandel rose to speak, the hall became silent.	189.33786184228646
"I do not care if your beliefs take you along a path of religion or a path of labor or a path of activism.	263.880010959297
We are here because all our paths travel a blind course through a thick forest, seeking human dignity.	261.97068377020634
Beyond the forest all our paths merge into a single great highway which ends in the barren, eroded hills of Judea.	990.1388776364872
This is our singular goal.	23.202715272426474
How we travel through the forest is for each man's conscience.	127.26394143405939
Where we end our journey is always the same.	682.3429564239881
We all seek the same thing through different ways- an end to this long night of two thousand years of darkness and unspeakable abuses which will continue to plague us until the Star of David flies over Zion".	723.6134311528549
This was how Alexander Brandel expressed pure Zionism.	225.90174192078572
It had sounded good to Andrei, but he did not believe it.	50.95223197821438
In his heart he had no desire to go to Palestine.	154.3650780720525
He loathed the idea of drying up swamps or the chills of malaria or of leaving his natural birthright.	456.9071312860272
Before he went into battle Andrei had told Alex, "I only want to be a Pole.	231.89795576805076
Warsaw is my city, not Tel Aviv".	193.15569142267205
And now Andrei sat on a train on the way to Lublin and wondered if he was not being punished for his lack of belief.	246.8925493079367
Warsaw!	25.12752600633867
He saw the smug eyes of the Home Army chief, Roman, and all the Romans and the faces of the peasants who held only hatred for him.	666.1294921720141
They had let this black hole of death in Warsaw's heart exist without a cry of protest.	272.53029656746554
Once there had been big glittering rooms where Ulanys bowed and kissed the ladies' hands as they flirted from behind their fans.	848.7091182236379
Warsaw!	25.12752600633867
Warsaw!	25.12752600633867
"Miss Rak.	25.625265771933346
I am a Jew".	5.0184059609431175
Day by day, week by week, month by month, the betrayal gnawed at Andrei's heart.	584.3498715091242
He ground his teeth together.	34.79941203071291
I hate Warsaw, he said to himself.	38.82932300384665
I hate Poland and all the goddamned mothers' sons of them.	116.75107039751943
All of Poland is a coffin.	42.858755917690715
The terrible vision of the ghetto streets flooded his mind.	215.7936796535543
What matters now?	12.47740548520196
What is beyond this fog?	39.33816915188482
Only Palestine, and I will never live to see Palestine because I did not believe.	656.4809887825188
By late afternoon the train inched into the marshaling yards in the railhead at Lublin, which was filled with lines of cars poised to pour the tools of war to the Russian front.	601.4519784467557
At a siding, another train which was a familiar sight these days.	122.84000107539062
Deportees.	16.05296361890169
Jews.	7.351060151598254
Andrei's skilled eye sized them up.	129.78624241198966
They were not Poles.	15.213561608547595
He guessed by their appearance that they were Rumanians.	126.94529945107506
He walked toward the center of the city to keep his rendezvous with Styka.	273.9380173537812
Of all the places in Poland, Andrei hated Lublin the most.	109.11525814904046
The Bathyrans were all gone.	38.59002102965171
Few of the native Jews who had lived in Lublin were still in the ghetto.	715.39343593195
From the moment of the occupation Lublin became a focal point.	104.42946625843933
He and Ana watched it carefully.	67.61431523092676
Lublin generally was the forerunner of what would happen elsewhere.	165.14628851327984
Early in 1939, Odilo Globocnik, the Gauleiter of Vienna, established SS headquarters for all of Poland.	327.7070706097041
The Bathyrans ran a check on Globocnik and had only to conclude that he was in a tug of war with Hans Frank and the civilian administrators.	1186.0104485990378
Globocnik built the Death's-Head Corps.	188.21495441229214
Lublin was the seed of action for the "final solution" of the Jewish problem.	243.4256484746746
As the messages from Himmler, Heydrich, and Eichmann came in through Alfred Funk, Lublin's fountainhead spouted.	673.2279391165833
A bevy of interlacing lagers, work camps, concentration camps erupted in the area.	298.15082859166387
Sixty thousand Jewish prisoners of war disappeared into Lublin's web.	487.02048044581784
Plans went in and out of Lublin, indicating German confusion.	123.28585648704498
A tale of a massive reservation in the Uplands to hold several million Jews h A tale of a plan to ship all Jews to the island of Madagascar h Stories of the depravity of the guards at Globocnik's camps struck a chord of terror at the mere mention of their names.	1319.024459387048
Lipowa 7, Sobibor, Chelmno, Poltawa, Belzec, Krzywy-Rog, Budzyn, Krasnik.	907.0805666407014
Ice baths, electric shocks, lashings, wild dogs, testicle crushers.	620.6351361507405
The Death's-Head Corps took in Ukrainian and Baltic Auxiliaries, and the Einsatzkommandos waded knee-deep in blood and turned into drunken, dope-ridden maniacs.	1269.3028666634495
Lublin was their heart.	29.220683651856042
In the spring of 1942 Operation Reinhard began in Lublin.	127.21135758321688
The ghetto, a miniature of Warsaw's, was emptied into the camp in the Majdan-Tartarski suburb called Majdanek.	503.6819694744314
As the camp emptied, it was refilled by a draining of the camps and towns around Lublin, then by deportees from outside Poland.	443.1316827631763
In and in and in they poured through the gates of Majdanek, but they never left, and Majdanek was not growing any larger.	427.04179634162017
What was happening in Majdanek?	56.551330694560235
Was Operation Reinhard the same pattern for the daily trains now leaving the Umschlagplatz in Warsaw?	668.0873832877254
Was there another Majdanek in the Warsaw area, as they suspected?	254.16909700283765
Andrei stopped at Litowski Place and looked around quickly at the boundary of civil buildings.	467.15463654475593
His watch told him he was still early.	164.53742412102034
Down the boulevard he could see a portion of the ghetto wall.	589.5335725616635
He found an empty bench, opened a newspaper, and stretched his legs before him.	164.4121879950346
Krakow Boulevard was filled with black Nazi uniforms and the dirty brownish ones of their Auxiliaries.	784.8004145189849
"Captain Androfski"!	53.524733610994524
Andrei glanced up over the top of the paper and looked into the mustached, homely face of Sergeant Styka.	1264.0559654809174
Styka sat beside him and pumped his hand excitedly.	288.08943087860706
"I have been waiting across the street at the post office since dawn.	81.30845584497824
I thought you might get in on a morning train".	63.280240700428855
"It's good to see you again, Styka".	602.3152049830502
Styka studied his captain.	69.75829637045892
He almost broke into tears.	33.476887928314106
To him, Andrei Androfski had always been the living symbol of a Polish officer.	541.058433238617
His captain was thin and haggard and his beautiful boots were worn and shabby.	364.86367231440255
"Remember to call me Jan", Andrei said.	116.51879801205902
Styka nodded and sniffed and blew his nose vociferously.	460.3982137190799
"When that woman found me and told me that you needed me I was never so happy since before the war".	293.40537673474546
"I'm lucky that you were still living in Lublin".	81.12167786730625
Styka grumbled about fate.	107.08633044796483
"For a time I thought of trying to reach the Free Polish Forces, but one thing led to another.	158.59780477814525
I got a girl in trouble and we had to get married.	3336.1632019084036
Not a bad girl.	21.127474116308164
So we have three children and responsibilities.	32.22457478995772
I work at the granary.	793.6516006063343
Nothing like the old days in the army, but I get by.	241.87355522536927
Who complains?	31.422880012451934
Many times I tried to reach you, but I never knew how.	2869.701498798108
I came to Warsaw twice, but there was that damned ghetto wall h" "I understand".	180.74124371951723
Styka blew his nose again.	122.39820240387883
"Were you able to make the arrangements"?	435.5750147138943
Andrei asked.	23.567840164135237
"There is a man named Grabski who is the foreman in charge of the bricklayers at Majdanek.	548.8035375055209
I did exactly as instructed.	40.882716848987606
I told him you are on orders from the Home Army to get inside Majdanek so you can make a report to the government in exile in London".	695.885091737981
"His answer"?	7.11692804838906
"Ten thousand zlotys".	26.85677395130939
"Can he be trusted"?	44.81759656640756
"He is aware he will not live for twenty-four hours if he betrays you".	70.23913095358925
"Good man, Styka".	41.12131888726815
"Captain h Jan h must you go inside Majdanek?	361.7058455400778
The stories h Everyone really knows what is happening there".	148.3251164365955
"Not everyone, Styka".	44.02542550831148
"What good will it really do"?	43.982806920845874
"I don't know.	2.83260721340474
Perhaps h perhaps h there is a shred of conscience left in the human race.	504.9487870744885
Perhaps if they know the story there will be a massive cry of indignation".	160.6432923905288
"Do you really believe that, Jan"?	53.45987188418569
"I have to believe it".	12.33893671366939
Styka shook his head slowly.	102.50426689328131
"I am only a simple soldier.	81.69841514415874
I cannot think things out too well.	38.133090463512886
Until I was transferred into the Seventh Ulanys I was like every other Pole in my feeling about Jews.	356.9188588922289
I hated you when I first came in.	100.47072780631021
But h my captain might have been a Jew, but he wasn't a Jew.	147.480265957571
What I mean is, he was a Pole and the greatest soldier in the Ulanys.	98.0520494965527
Hell, sir.	22.34713925367039
The men of our company had a dozen fights defending your name.	343.40779060978684
You never knew about it, but by God, we taught them respect for Captain Androfski".	725.5536745002183
Andrei smiled.	32.37463165059431
"Since the war I have seen the way the Germans have behaved and I think, Holy Mother, we have behaved like this for hundreds of years.	1285.1975559889395
Why"?	4.148168432818894
"How can you tell an insane man to reason or a blind man to see"?	144.01102290859177
"But we are neither blind nor insane.	73.37307743618926
The men of your company would not allow your name dishonored.	129.93266187490562
Why do we let the Germans do this"?	33.27955619335722
"I have sat many hours with this, Styka.	78.96898686587755
All I ever wanted was to be a free man in my own country.	143.54046469685878
I've lost faith, Styka.	41.607452546822586
I used to love this country and believe that someday we'd win our battle for equality.	232.0685103335986
But now I think I hate it very much".	55.10815590898221
"And do you really think that the world outside Poland will care any more than we do"?	2089.0051644366977
The question frightened Andrei.	44.58927133579984
"Please don't go inside Majdanek".	135.86118191798064
"I'm still a soldier in a very small way, Styka".	310.10072399467066
It was an answer that Styka understood.	46.26265862722053
Grabski's shanty was beyond the bridge over the River Bystrzyca near the rail center.	415.77672469048827
Grabski sat in a sweat-saturated undershirt, cursing the excessive heat which clamped an uneasy stillness before sundown.	1138.4385934752513
He was a square brick of a man with a moon-round face and sunken Polish features.	156.33091723092403
Flies swarmed around the bowl of lentils in which he mopped thick black bread.	545.5389840201262
Half of it dripped down his chin.	72.04270300119538
He washed it down with beer and produced a deep-seated belch.	134.2905964102671
"Well"?	7.483069253650329
Andrei demanded.	29.46582071851244
Grabski looked at the pair of them.	56.53408829425385
He grunted a sort of "yes" answer.	72.09766619708351
"My cousin works at the Labor Bureau.	95.77894715820098
He can make you work papers.	34.564327018468646
It will take a few days.	18.565338215220564
I will get you inside the guard camp as a member of my crew.	116.56820761376211
I don't know if I can get you into the inner camp.	36.08605515151159
Maybe yes, maybe no, but you can observe everything from the roof of a barrack we are building".	232.4771298523482
Grabski slurped his way to the bottom of the soup bowl.	246.51259122508722
"Can't understand why the hell anyone wants to go inside that son-of-a-bitch place".	294.64564629733627
"Orders from the Home Army".	47.12338538741979
"Why?	4.148168432818894
Nothing there but Jews".	27.82280523136372
Andrei shrugged.	37.765961659256064
"We get strange orders".	28.566299444342878
"Well- what about the money"?	29.403454269039383
Andrei peeled off five one-thousand-zloty notes.	332.29978260018896
Grabski had never seen so much money.	108.65473948158045
His broad flat fingers, petrified into massive sausages by years of bricklaying, snatched the bills clumsily.	572.0919363488364
"This ain't enough".	20.985418654311037
"You get the rest when I'm safely out of Majdanek".	187.7004051265531
"I ain't taking no goddamned chances for no Jew business".	255.19720021975567
Andrei and Styka were silent.	96.44159811119471
She was getting real dramatic.	29.78474307461924
I'd have been more impressed if I hadn't remembered that she'd played Hedda Gabler in her highschool dramatics course.	626.3125584084779
I didn't want her back on that broken record.	196.71897371521928
"Nothing's free in the whole goddam world", was all I could think of to say.	152.87969945562418
When I'd delivered myself of that gem there was nothing to do but order up another drink.	652.778373849889
"I am", she said.	36.636874008193715
I'd forgotten all about Thelma and the Kentucky Derby and how it was Thelma's fifty dollars I was spending.	325.2741247886468
It was just me and Eileen getting drunk together like we used to in the old days, and me staring at her across the table crazy to get my hands on her partly because I wanted to wring her neck because she was so ornery but mostly because she was so wonderful to touch.	893.6460106079337
Drunk or sober she was the most attractive woman in the world for me.	1295.8470825768104
I was crazy about her all over again.	40.48222059708171
It was the call of the wild all right.	25.14204530600781
That evening turned out to be hell like all the others.	153.57864172557763
We moved down Broadway from ginmill to ginmill.	188.00533486553246
It was the same old routine.	60.28088161721504
Eileen got to dancing, just a little tiny dancing step to a hummed tune that you could hardly notice, and trying to pick up strange men, but each time I was ready to say to hell with it and walk out she'd pull herself together and talk so understandingly in that sweet husky voice about the good times and the happiness we'd had together and there I was back on the hook.	1822.1966254503777
I did have the decency to call up Thelma and tell her I'd met old friends and would be home late.	321.8842045844311
"I could scratch her eyes out", Eileen cried and stamped her foot when I came back from the phone booth.	2178.128123665944
"You know I don't like my men to have other women.	76.5881110289049
I hate it.	8.388900326720153
I hate it".	8.388900326720153
She got so drunk I had to take her home.	178.33373703590416
It was a walk up on Hudson Street.	39.56637270220142
She just about made me carry her upstairs and then she clung to me and wouldn't let me go.	640.8148068872508
There was a man's jacket on the chair and a straw hat on the table.	526.1886052025602
The place smelt of some kind of hair lotion these pimplike characters use.	875.4446013237975
"What about Ballestre"?	39.553473205856605
I had to shake her to make her listen.	168.2747716973936
"Precious.	13.993136306842539
What about him"?	13.954291682301195
Suddenly she was very mysterious and dramatic.	60.89249693438528
"Precious and I allow each other absolute freedom.	127.0572806168975
We are above being jealous.	40.05318369350636
He's used to me bringing home strange men.	103.66020651444488
I'll just tell him you're my husband.	353.6924182737941
He can't object to that".	19.421014609999258
"Well I object.	18.136546720479664
If he pokes his nose in here I'll slug him".	153.21792232551823
"That really would be funny".	37.2758838166905
She began to laugh.	31.678939956214524
She was still laughing when I grabbed her and started rolling her on the bed.	688.7483632576276
After all I'm made of flesh and blood.	63.32149635778076
I'm not a plaster saint.	22.060284784677044
Waking up was horrible.	64.78229627036514
Never in my life have I felt so remorseful about anything I've done as I did about spending that night with my own wife.	423.87145816717543
We both had hangovers.	39.169099295472535
Eileen declared she couldn't lift her head from the pillow.	231.70021444892333
She lay under the covers making jabbing motions with her forefinger telling me where to look for the coffeepot.	565.9284761086162
I was stumbling in my undershirt trying to find my way around her damn kitchenette when I smelt that sickish sweet hairtonic smell.	1090.4417514203162
There was somebody else in the apartment.	313.8530215495655
I stiffened.	16.357495987432692
Honest I could feel the hair stand up on the back of my neck like a dog's that is going to get into a fight.	1356.7347111692538
I turned around with the percolator in my hand.	220.39264212337264
My eyes were so bleary I could barely see him but there he was, a little smooth olivefaced guy in a new spring overcoat and a taffycolored fedora.	3527.608030635357
Brown eyes, eyebrow mustache.	93.75115669416873
Oval face without an expression in the world.	185.9320182675921
We didn't have time to speak before Eileen's voice was screeching at us from the bed.	233.71102396375255
"Joseph Maria Ballestre meet Francis Xavier Bowman.	629.6875086416416
Exboyfriend meet exhusband".	93.20137828855104
She gave the nastiest laugh I ever heard.	82.85524803635133
"And don't either of you forget that I'm not any man's property.	92.27008456595875
If you want to fight, go down on the sidewalk".	83.24252911027085
She was enjoying the situation.	16.606644412022668
Imagine that.	6.243434558423223
Eileen was a psychologist all right.	45.606039404763045
Instead of wanting to sock the poor bastard I found myself having a fellowfeeling for him.	256.97762206396857
Maybe he felt the same way.	21.508130194411624
I never felt such a lowdown hound in my life.	93.65607299699697
First thing I knew he was in the kitchenette cooking up the breakfast and I was handing Eileen her coffeecup and she was lying there handsome as a queen among her courtiers.	1151.7768701898653
I couldn't face Thelma after that night.	61.63323585787991
I didn't even have the nerve to call her on the telephone.	161.50606548352883
I wrote her that I'd met up with Eileen and that old bonds had proved too strong and asked her to send my clothes down by express.	1244.7811010882851
Of course I had to give her Eileen's address, but she never came near us.	585.6315493017303
All she did was write me a pleasant little note about how it was beautiful while it lasted but that now life had parted our ways and it was goodbye forever.	599.0795011187142
She never said a word about the fifty dollars.	107.01298232704637
She added a postscript begging me to be careful about drinking.	360.16798867083077
I must know that that was my greatest weakness underlined three times.	314.4375515983482
Afterwards I learned that Eileen had called Thelma on the telephone and made a big scene about Thelma trying to take her husband away.	1844.7029981667206
That finished me with Thelma.	45.991430485098554
Trust Eileen to squeeze all the drama out of a situation.	156.38907048699946
And there I was shacked up with Eileen in that filthy fourth floor attic on Hudson Street.	760.1495767686436
I use the phrase advisedly because there was something positively indecent about our relationship.	856.5022575078445
I felt it and it ate on me all the time, but I didn't know how right I was till later.	330.3856459071347
What I did know was that Precious was always around.	79.74866669028938
He slept in the hall bedroom at the head of the stairs.	303.66210866295484
"Who do you think pays the rent?	124.94062515051542
You wouldn't have me throw the poor boy out on the street", Eileen said when I needled her about it.	456.2602705661746
I said sure that was what I wanted her to do but she paid no attention.	78.05233559214662
Eileen had a wonderful way of not listening to things she didn't want to hear.	187.45768027884156
Still I didn't think she was twotiming me with Precious right then.	255.45338692765316
To be on the safe side I never let Eileen get out of my sight day or night.	231.481482457852
Precious had me worried.	54.13459793208415
I couldn't make out what his racket was.	39.57217550502967
I'd thought him a pimp or procurer but he didn't seem to be.	88.85156324130632
He was smooth and civil spoken but it seemed to me there was something tough under his selfeffacing manner.	220.3351465523454
Still he let Eileen treat him like a valet.	218.01656007167327
Whenever the place was cleaned or a meal served it was Precious who did the work.	176.4955365210385
I never could find out what his business was.	132.40058278894182
He always seemed to have money in his pocket.	178.46007693534256
The phone had been disconnected but telegrams came for him and notes by special messenger.	291.19329677566986
Now and then he would disappear for several days.	47.19348293809892
"Connections" was all he would say with that smooth hurt smile when I put leading questions.	333.05558760305064
"Oh he's just an international spy", Eileen would shout with her screechy laugh.	619.6256142747867
Poor devil he can't have been too happy either.	159.47022900331598
He got no relief from drink because, though sometimes Precious would buy himself a drink if he went out with us in the evening, he'd leave it on the table untouched.	838.4189738453105
When I was in liquor I rode him pretty hard I guess.	317.8537356879772
Occasionally if I pushed him too far he'd give me a look out of narrowed eyes and the hard cruel bony skull would show through that smooth face of his.	1492.1758590286229
"Some day", I told Eileen, "that guy will kill us both".	699.370737217244
She just wouldn't listen.	41.06530237024516
Getting drunk every night was the only way I could handle the situation.	116.23844026750749
Eileen seemed to feel the same way.	497.5410743008413
We still had that much in common.	131.11844012949393
The trouble was drinking cost money.	30.850038291404278
The way Eileen and I were hitting it up, we needed ten or fifteen dollars an evening.	484.44063682567725
Eileen must have wheedled a little out of Precious.	159.62061693565593
I raised some kale by hocking the good clothes I had left over from my respectable uptown life, but when that was gone I didn't have a cent.	763.8368586194473
I don't know what we would have done if Pat O'Dwyer hadn't come to town.	719.8288221224605
Pat O'Dwyer looked like a heavier Jim.	277.6728982727042
He had the same bullet head of curly reddish hair but he didn't have Jim's pokerfaced humor or his brains or his charm.	678.8079341045404
He was a big thick beefy violent man.	51.69335124013444
Now Pat may have been a lecher and a plugugly, but he was a good churchgoing Catholic and he loved his little sister.	257.030121792609
Those O'Dwyers had that Irish clannishness that made them stick together in spite of politics and everything.	438.96540306036127
Pat took Eileen and me out to dinner at a swell steak house and told us with tears in his eyes how happy he was we had come together again.	623.5784832387085
"Whom God hath joined" etcetera.	176.34664737579536
The O'Dwyers were real religious people except for Kate.	191.39341428857594
Now it would be up to me to keep the little girl out of mischief.	952.4544011654621
Pat had been worried as hell ever since she'd lost her job on that fashion magazine.	478.92531978226873
It had gone big with the Hollywood girls when he told them his sister was an editor of Art and Apparel.	326.5229739265548
How about me trying to help her get her job back?	147.56034237720382
All evening Eileen had been as demure as a little girl getting ready for her first communion.	399.14988634014503
It just about blew us both out of the water when Eileen suddenly came out with what she came out with.	534.2411311966576
"But brother I can't take a job right now", she said with her eyes on her ice cream, "I'm going to have a baby, Francis Xavier's baby, my own husband's baby".	394.1195181453849
My first thought was how had it happened so soon, but I counted back on my fingers and sure enough we'd been living together six weeks.	797.5780893635796
Pat meanwhile was bubbling over with sentiment.	183.29084566928125
Greatest thing that ever happened.	66.82244703603266
Now Eileen really would have to settle down to love honor and obey, and she'd have to quit drinking.	920.5219491567892
He'd come East for the christening, by God he would.	151.93610084334756
When we separated that evening Pat pushed a hundred dollar bill into Eileen's hand to help towards a layette.	628.9829032396759
Before he left town Pat saw to it that I was fixed up with a job.	196.89818808801695
Pat had contacts all over the labor movement.	108.44061891291646
A friend of Pat's named Frank Sposato had just muscled into the Portwatchers' Union.	418.1541203156618
The portwatchers were retired longshoremen and small time seafarers off towboats and barges who acted as watchmen on the wharves.	934.3547031695948
Most of them were elderly men.	16.591980346449144
It was responsible and sometimes dangerous work because the thieving is awful in the port of New York.	156.1907168500154
They weren't as well paid as they should have been.	663.6099503218618
One reason the portwatchers let Sposato take them over was to get the protection of his musclemen.	644.4145762663817
Sposato needed a front, some labor stiff with a clean record to act as business agent of the Redhook local.	451.7102224220237
There I was a retired wobbly and structural iron worker who'd never gouged a cent off a fellow worker in my thirty years in the movement.	1379.6527712110224
For once radicalism was a recommendation.	44.36595826086567
Sposato couldn't wait to get me hired.	169.33928897379246
With my gray hair and my weatherbeaten countenance I certainly looked the honest working stiff.	568.8822217994256
The things a man will do for a woman.	107.47571213353922
There was one fact which Rector could not overlook, one truth which he could not deny.	559.715953407402
As long as there were two human beings working together on the same project, there would be competition and you could no more escape it than you could expect to escape the grave.	460.98405387569454
No matter how devoted a man was, no matter how fully he gave his life to the Lord, he could never extinguish that one spark of pride that gave him definition as an individual.	1952.938453097622
All of the jobs in the mission might be equal in the eyes of the Lord, but they were certainly not equal in the eyes of the Lord's servants.	232.76930679448927
It was only natural that Fletcher would strive for a position in which he could make the decisions.	1421.151190965164
Even Rector himself was prey to this spirit of competition and he knew it, not for a more exalted office in the hierarchy of the church- his ambitions for the bishopry had died very early in his career- but for the one clear victory he had talked about to the colonel.	1715.9335573282688
He was not sure how much of this desire was due to his devotion to the church and how much was his own ego, demanding to be satisfied, for the two were intertwined and could not be separated.	2021.0846862340359
He wanted desperately to see Kayabashi defeated, the Communists in the village rooted out, the mission standing triumphant, for in the triumph of the Lord he himself would be triumphant, too.	461.6053582559835
But perhaps this was a part of the eternal plan, that man's ambition when linked with God would be a driving, indefatigable force for good in the world.	1186.030984494967
He sighed.	10.81350458646783
How foolish it was to try to fathom the truth in an area where only faith would suffice.	387.9650259989248
He would have to work without questioning the motives which made him work and content himself with the thought that the eventual victory, however it was brought about, would be sweet indeed.	937.6248637115098
His first move was to send Hino to the village to spend a few days.	201.00758462281783
His arm had been giving him some trouble and Rector was not enough of a medical expert to determine whether it had healed improperly or whether Hino was simply rebelling against the tedious work in the print shop, using the stiffness in his arm as an excuse.	1231.3088102080346
In any event Rector sent him to the local hospital to have it checked, telling him to keep his ears open while he was in the village to see if he could find out what Kayabashi was planning.	2808.7277708780457
Hino was elated at the prospect.	104.00595795130484
He was allowed to spend his nights at an inn near the hospital and he was given some extra money to go to the pachinko parlor- an excellent place to make contact with the enemy.	1025.0775387954948
He left with all the joyous spirit of a child going on a holiday, nodding attentively as Rector gave him his final instructions.	736.048768957764
He was to get involved in no arguments; he was to try to make no converts; he was simply to listen and report back what he heard.	302.7874217050393
It was a ridiculous situation and Rector knew it, for Hino, frankly partisan, openly gregarious, would make a poor espionage agent.	425.4498897276068
If he wanted to know anything, he would end up asking about it point-blank, but in this guileless manner he would probably receive more truthful answers than if he tried to get them by indirection.	2423.66209997051
In all of his experience in the mission field Rector had never seen a convert quite like Hino.	970.5210210744707
From the moment that Hino had first walked into the mission to ask for a job, any job- his qualifications neatly written on a piece of paper in a precise hand- he had been ready to become a Christian.	1902.8887402804428
He had already been studying the Bible; he knew the fundamentals, and after studying with Fletcher for a time he approached Rector, announced that he wanted to be baptized and that was that.	458.78904034629136
Rector had never been able to find out much about Hino's past.	462.22618969417834
Hino talked very little about himself except for the infrequent times when he used a personal illustration in connection with another subject.	493.7333290189208
Putting the pieces of this mosaic together, Rector had the vague outlines of a biography.	266.4141366833089
Hino was the fourth son of an elderly farmer who lived on the coast, in Chiba, and divided his life between the land and the sea, supplementing the marginal livelihood on his small rented farm with seasonal employment on a fishing boat.	957.4384665029098
Without exception Hino's brothers turned to either one or both of their father's occupations, but Hino showed a talent for neither and instead spent most of his time on the beach where he repaired nets and proved immensely popular as a storyteller.	1816.0622776571001
He had gone into the Japanese navy, had been trained as an officer, had participated in one or two battles- he never went into detail regarding his military experience- and at the age of twenty-five, quite as a bolt out of the blue, he had walked into the mission as if he belonged here and had become a Christian.	821.3586384943745
Rector was often curious; often tempted to ask questions but he never did.	293.2087610070828
If and when Hino decided to tell him about his experiences, he would do so unasked.	217.61290455178553
Rector had no doubt that Hino would come back from the village bursting with information, ready to impart it with his customary gusto, liberally embellished with his active imagnation.	1096.2273963245323
When the telephone rang on the day after Hino went down to the village, Rector had a hunch it would be Hino with some morsel of information too important to wait until his return, for there were few telephones in the village and the phone in Rector's office rarely rang unless it was important.	2022.809923107825
He was surprised to find Kayabashi's secretary on the other end of the line.	43.29203263050225
He was even more startled when he heard what Kayabashi wanted.	147.48322636153796
The oyabun was entertaining a group of dignitaries, the secretary said, businessmen from Tokyo for the most part, and Kayabashi wished to show them the mission.	428.8331729510057
They had never seen one before and had expressed a curiosity about it.	375.3101783831626
"Oh"?	4.7474168562983445
Rector said.	18.573845183833658
"I guess it will be all right.	20.923174513189515
When would the oyabun like to bring his guests up here"?	444.29088420922614
"This afternoon", the secretary said.	23.402979949528014
"At three o'clock if it will be of convenience to you at that time".	249.81188035191659
"All right", Rector said.	28.356126443458034
"I will be expecting them".	17.974626687115972
He was about to hang up the phone, but a note of hesitancy in the secretary's voice left the conversation open.	627.00380143575
He had something more to say.	17.033609364133678
"I beg to inquire if the back is now safe for travelers", he said.	136.56020363361236
Rector laughed despite himself.	84.829013523176
"Unless the oyabun has been working on it", he said, then checked himself and added "You can tell Kayabashi-san that the back road is in very good condition and will be quite safe for his party to use".	601.1595671679045
"Arigato gosaimasu".	55.56803692523301
The secretary sighed with relief and then the telephone clicked in Rector's hand.	226.3907155773497
Rector had no idea why Kayabashi wanted to visit the mission.	260.8249104625784
For the oyabun to make such a trip was either a sign of great weakness or an indication of equally great confidence, and from all the available information it was probably the latter.	721.7072489254263
Kayabashi must feel fairly certain of his victory in order to make a visit like this, a trip which could be so easily misinterpreted by the people in the village.	2144.9727252402918
At the same time, it was unlikely that any businessmen would spend a day in a Christian mission out of mere curiosity.	1434.9412473080117
No, Kayabashi was bringing his associates here for a specific purpose and Rector would not be able to fathom it until they arrived.	527.2063779248848
When he had given the call a few moments thought, he went into the kitchen to ask Mrs Yamata to prepare tea and sushi for the visitors, using the formal English china and the silver tea service which had been donated to the mission, then he went outside to inspect the grounds.	3493.2675552133082
Fujimoto had a pile of cuttings near one side of the lawn.	183.81587129125845
Rector asked him to move it for the time being; he wanted the mission compound to be effortlessly spotless.	567.319619718133
A good initial impression would be important now.	63.51802074991453
He went into the print shop, where Fletcher had just finished cleaning the press.	128.26725791380383
"How many pamphlets do we have in stock"?	357.5613651254353
Rector said.	18.573845183833658
"I should say about a hundred thousand", Fletcher said.	204.3536985785078
"Why"?	4.148168432818894
"I would like to enact a little tableau this afternoon", Rector said, He explained about the visit and the effect he wished to create, the picture of a very busy mission.	446.86870362254876
He did not wish to deceive Kayabashi exactly, just to display the mission activities in a graphic and impressive manner.	274.1010924534348
Fletcher nodded as he listened to the instructions and said he would arrange the things Rector requested.	805.7888407351787
Rector's next stop was at the schoolroom, where Mavis was monitoring a test.	317.1306612696995
He beckoned to her from the door and she slipped quietly outside.	422.19572561882416
He told her of the visitors and then of his plans.	102.79643538850117
"How many children do you have present today"?	42.17568983853632
he said.	39.76416012412371
She looked back toward the schoolroom.	52.884152612292766
"Fifteen", she said.	12.692928564608437
"No, only fourteen.	21.668880433055502
The little Ito girl had to go home.	173.45593303330642
She has a pretty bad cold".	27.583869503401317
"I would like them to appear very busy today, not busy exactly, but joyous, exuberant, full of life.	182.51156348143212
I want to create the impression of a compound full of children.	57.57097381716665
Do you think you can manage it"?	63.198400701057366
Mavis smiled.	32.37463165059431
"I'll try".	26.127218859286973
As Rector was walking back toward the residential hall, Johnson came out of the basement and bounded up to him.	536.6992180365305
The altercation in the coffee house had done little to dampen his spirits, but he was still a little wary around Rector for they had not yet discussed the incident.	1265.455359235135
"I think I've fixed the pump so we won't have to worry about it for a long time", he said.	186.2763693568462
"I've adjusted the gauge so that the pump cuts out before the water gets too low".	159.26867595748115
"Fine", Rector said.	42.68127992649808
He looked out over the expanse of the compound.	38.86371930059022
It was going to take a lot of activity to fill it.	513.8551771648223
"Have you ever operated a transit"?	62.56036487070095
he said.	39.76416012412371
"No, sir", Johnson said.	37.10330574519954
"You are about to become a first-class surveyor", Rector said.	76.61861409056104
"When Konishi gets back with the jeep, I want you to round up two or three Japanese boys.	224.74428662595207
Konishi can help you.	35.74232509161169
You'll find an old transit in the basement.	34.90415478987975
The glass is out of it, but that won't matter.	291.09065863999217
It looks pretty efficient and that's the important thing".	85.92059986899937
He went on to explain what he had in mind.	293.87713863421476
Johnson nodded.	23.182947743161893
He said he could do it.	577.7832439971061
Rector was warming to his over-all strategy by the time he got back to the residential hall.	161.21226074701656
It was rather a childish game, all in all, but everybody seemed to be getting into the spirit of the thing and he could not remember when he had enjoyed planning anything quite so much.	1396.6611991739685
He was not sure what effect it would have, but that was really beside the point when you got right down to it.	73.80961301537153
He was not going to lose the mission by default, and whatever reason Kayabashi had for bringing his little sight-seeing group to the mission, he was going to be in for a surprise.	2260.5803143778257
He found Elizabeth in the parlor and asked her to make sure everything was in order in the residential hall, and then to take charge of the office while the party was here.	873.0030994848812
When everything had been done, Rector went back to his desk to occupy himself with his monthly report until three o'clock.	767.8666246982019
At two thirty he sent Fujimoto to the top of the wall at the northeast corner of the mission to keep an eye on the ridge road and give a signal when he first glimpsed the approach of Kayabashi's party.	1171.6535318665958
Then Rector, attired in his best blue serge suit, sat in a chair out on the lawn, in the shade of a tree, smoking a cigarette and waiting.	382.25527587116005
The air was cooler here, and the lacy pattern of the trees threw a dappled shadow on the grass, an effect which he found pleasant.	493.49778934210303
She concluded by asking him to name another hour should this one be inconvenient.	459.0931076867491
The fish took the bait.	40.70819530795579
He replied that he could not imagine what importance there might be in thus meeting with a stranger, but- joy of joys, he would be at home at the hour mentioned.	1037.860644382702
But when she called he had thought better of the matter and decided not to involve himself in a new entanglement.	355.9372303766712
She was told by the manservant who opened the door that his lordship was engaged on work from which he had left strict orders he was not to be disturbed.	319.97630225045293
Claire was bitterly disappointed but determined not to let the rebuff daunt her purpose.	820.4466121311663
She wrote again and now, abandoning for the moment the theme of love, she asked for help in the matter of her career.	1706.2567670288142
She could act and she could write.	42.16646018274605
His lordship was concerned in the management of Drury Lane but, if there were no opportunities there, would he read and criticize her novel?	1986.1078432040217
At last he consented to meet her, and following that brief interview Claire wrote him a yet more remarkable proposal Have you any objection to the following plan?	2211.586472438392
On Thursday evening we may go out of town together by some stage or mail about the distance of ten or twelve miles.	230.20283741692003
There we shall be free and unknown; we can return the following morning h She concluded by asking for a brief interview- "to settle with you where"- and she threw in a tribute to his "gentle manners" and "the wild originality of your countenance".	854.9533222534071
She opened his reply with trembling fingers h he agreed!	210.74989180742784
And he would see her that evening.	29.059833451049794
Victory at last!	37.587338490269175
At their meeting he told her not to bother about "where"- he would attend to that.	131.53128872872736
There was one of the new forte-pianos in the room and, as Claire rose to go, he asked her to sing him one song before she left.	373.3757337457335
She sang him Scott's charming ballad "Rosabelle", which was the vogue of the moment.	714.7926902753471
She had never sung better.	29.659739441590432
"Your voice is delightful", he approved with a warm smile.	101.53343685695769
"Tomorrow will be a new experience- I have never before made love to a nightingale h. There have been cooing doves, chattering magpies, thieving jackdaws, a proud peacock, a silly goose, and a harpy eagle- whom I was silly enough to mate with and who is now busy tearing at my vitals".	1729.149707912408
And so they went, he choosing of all places an inn near Medmenham Abbey, scene a generation ago of the obscene orgies of the Hellfire Club.	579.7329017056885
He regaled Claire with an account of the mock mass performed by the cassocked bloods, which he had had at firsthand from old Bud Dodington, one of the leaders of the so-called "Order".	385.2006049016444
Each wore the monkish scourge at his waist but this, it seems, was not employed for self-flagellation h. Naked girls danced in the chancel of the Abbey, the youngest and seemingly the most innocent being chosen to read a sermon filled with veiled depravities.	1308.2114296632158
The jaded amorist conjured up pictures of the blasphemous rites with relish.	392.63722820059587
Alas, all that belonged to the age of "Devil Dashwood" and "Wicked Wilkes", abbot and beadsman of the Order!	893.5599594961177
The casual seduction of a seventeen-year-old bluestocking seemed tame by comparison.	236.6757781734945
They passed close by the turn to Bishopsgate.	67.46686093076475
A scant half mile away Shelley and Mary were doubtless sitting on their diminutive terrace, the air about them scented with stock, and listening to the nightingale who had nested in the big lime tree at the foot of the garden.	1412.0812886958768
Charming and peaceful- but what were charm and peace compared to high adventure?	363.4537190253733
Alone with the fabulous Byron!	108.90735652138167
How many women had longed for the privilege that was hers.	266.5046497008111
How was she to behave, Claire wondered.	109.54622522802775
To be passive, to be girlishly shy was palpably absurd.	195.26169517270026
She was the pursuer as clearly as was Venus in Shakespeare's poem.	122.98574487744956
And while her Adonis did not suffer from inexperience, satiety might well be an equal handicap.	850.8988282975538
No, she would not pretend modesty, but neither must she be crudely bold.	687.0679614480808
Mystery- that was the thing.	28.67234689682863
In the bedroom she would insist on darkness.	65.99518752984292
With his club foot he might well be grateful.	81.99723006255542
At the inn, which was situated close to a broad weir, Byron was greeted by the landlord with obsequious deference and addressed as "milord".	955.1749392369018
The place was evidently a familiar haunt and Claire wondered what other illicit loves had been celebrated in the comfortable rooms to which they were shown.	498.84132669583704
The fire in the sitting room was lighted.	32.9917179051479
"What about the bedroom"?	27.86965972586965
Byron inquired.	23.18334423141542
"Seems to me last time I was here the grate bellowed out smoke as it might have been preparing us for hell".	883.0138860293711
"We found some owls had built a nest in the chimney, milord, but I promise you you'll never have trouble of that sort again".	576.7531298770259
So, not only had he been here before, but it seemed he might well come again.	242.66554307563243
Claire felt suddenly small and cheap, heroine of a trivial episode in the voluminous history of Don Juan.	598.8627843854171
A cold supper was ordered and a bottle of port.	111.9145498503686
When Napoleon's ship had borne him to Elba, French wines had started to cross the Channel, the first shipments in a dozen war-ridden years, but the supplies had not yet reached rural hostelries where the sweet wines of the Spanish peninsula still ruled.	1727.3395870832192
As they waited for supper they sat by the fire, glasses in hand, while Byron philosophized as much for his own entertainment as hers.	903.5189275942956
"Sex is overpriced", he said.	34.39629687221912
"The great Greek tragedies are concerned with man against Fate, not man against man for the prize of a woman's body.	277.0201278972091
So don't see yourself as a heroine or fancy this little adventure is an event of major importance".	275.4320070841264
"The gods seemed to think sex pretty important", she rebutted.	196.78067921516336
"Mars and Venus, Bacchus and Ariadne, Jupiter and Io, Byron and the nymph of the owl's nest.	561.9159637670946
That would be Minerva, I suppose.	40.56784966137032
Wasn't the owl her symbol"?	104.19818607678555
Byron laughed.	22.88191291629336
"So you know something of the classics, do you"?	108.69496192407077
"Tell me about Minerva, how she behaved, what she did to please you".	261.89517939590644
"I'll tell you nothing.	51.44666164105336
I don't ask you who 'tis you're being unfaithful to, husband or lover.	472.06343656645674
Frankly, I don't care".	30.97634938724737
For a moment she thought of answering with the truth but she knew there were men who shied away from virginity, who demanded some degree of education in body as well as mind.	582.3713018388647
"Very well", she said, "I'll not catechize you.	431.48362181258614
What matter the others so long as I have my place in history".	1381.3194531082763
She was striking the right note.	29.354369913719427
No man ever had a better opinion of himself and indeed, with one so favored, flattery could hardly seem overdone.	365.99804654024996
Brains and beauty, high position in both the social and intellectual worlds, athlete, fabled lover- if ever the world was any man's oyster it was his.	461.1619952640706
The light supper over, Claire went to him and, slipping an arm about his shoulder, sat on his knee.	262.31658469628644
He drew her close and, hand on cheek, turned her face to his.	128.2211466528264
Her lips, moist and parted, spoke his name.	124.39002508231995
"Byron"!	18.82005799378986
His hand went to her shoulder and pushed aside the knotted scarf that surmounted the striped poplin gown; then, to better purpose, he took hold of the knot and with dextrous fingers, untied it.	876.0827076764715
The bodice beneath was buttoned and, withdrawing his lips from hers, he set her upright on his knee and started to undo it, unhurriedly as if she were a child.	1212.2999754304649
But, kindled by his kiss, his caressing hand, her desire was aflame.	248.3898818746013
She sprang up and went swiftly to the bedroom.	97.54187896573104
Lord Byron poured himself another glass of wine and held it up to the candle flame admiring the rich color.	489.6765379446671
He drank slowly with due appreciation.	84.07658113681936
It was an excellent vintage.	12.12509324669716
He rose and went to the bedroom.	280.9325175495995
Pausing in the doorway he said "The form of the human female, unlike her mind and her spirit, is the most challenging loveliness in all nature".	790.2901628711728
When Claire returned to Bishopsgate she longed to tell them she had become Byron's mistress.	555.7527001056222
By odd coincidence, on the evening of her return Shelley chose to read Parisina, which was the latest of the titled poet's successes.	828.9179650620756
As he declaimed the sonorous measures, it was as much as Claire could do to restrain herself from bursting out with her dramatic tidings.	1301.0630071838189
"Although it is not the best of which he is capable", said Shelley as he closed the book, "it is still poetry of a high order".	698.8445316152662
"If he would only leave the East", said Mary.	55.975864418814595
"I am tired of sultans and scimitars".	72.54698162330266
"The hero of his next poem is Napoleon Bonaparte", said Claire, with slightly overdone carelessness.	458.7558858191907
"How do you know that"?	39.31182539182849
demanded Mary.	19.30315343642193
"I was told it on good authority", Claire answered darkly.	128.68957740272376
"I mustn't tell, I mustn't tell", she repeated to herself.	179.96581334808445
"I promised him I wouldn't".	40.45625626489346
CHAPTER 9 WINTER CAME, and with it Mary's baby- a boy as she had wished.	328.6129930491953
William, he was called, in honor of the man who was at once Shelley's pensioner and his most bitter detractor.	289.6755816228683
With a pardonable irony Shelley wrote to the father who had publicly disowned his daughter "Fanny and Mrs Godwin will probably be glad to hear that Mary has safely recovered from a very favorable confinement, and that her child is well".	985.3394412657527
At the same time another child- this one of Shelley's brain- was given to the world Alastor, a poem of pervading beauty in which the reader may gaze into the still depths of a fine mind's musings.	552.5113399944512
Alastor was published only to be savagely attacked, contemptuously ignored.	292.95727768198407
Shelley sent a copy to Southey, a former friend, and another to Godwin.	238.0283026508711
Neither acknowledged the gift.	33.986878525730425
Only Mary's praise sustained him in his disappointment.	151.57314939543414
She understood completely.	21.078226149035505
Not a thought nor a cadence was missed in her summary of appreciation.	154.100593548768
"You have made the labor worth while", he said to her, smiling.	613.0691363863457
"And in the future, since I write for a public of one, I can save the poor publishers from wasting their money".	272.90746118431
"A public of one", Mary echoed reprovingly.	106.81706848258466
"how can you say such a thing?	65.9469841785776
There will be thousands who will thrill to the loveliness of Alastor.	113.7585031799393
There are some even now.	12.119430752402971
What about that dear, clever Mr Thynne?	161.38284498582271
I am sure he is in raptures".	27.412174657164453
"Poor Mr Thynne, he always has to be trotted out for my encouragement".	248.7020293577773
"There are other Mr Thynnes.	24.914403113757285
Not everyone is bewitched by Byron's caliphs and harem beauties".	502.3913598881241
Mary's supercritical attitude toward Byron had nothing to do with his moral disrepute.	287.51436304822937
She was resentful of his easy success as compared with Shelley's failure.	169.89360302545828
The same month that Alastor was published, Murray sold twenty thousand copies of The Siege of Corinth, a slovenly bit of Byronism that even Shelley's generosity rebelled at.	996.1834379085777
The lordly poet was at low-water mark.	71.95331993101208
The careless writing was in keeping with his mood of savage discontent.	176.3965549469918
On all sides doors were being slammed in his face.	96.69910934584223
The previous scandals, gaily diverting as they were, had only served to increase his popularity.	398.00729348449255
Now, under the impact of his wife's disclosures, he was brought suddenly to the realization that there was a limit to tolerance, however brilliant, however far-famed the offender might be.	471.47797855678505
He tried defiance and openly flaunted his devotion to his half sister, but he soon saw, as did she, that this course if persisted in would involve them in a common ruin.	674.6451836237637
For the moment there was no woman in his life, and it was this vacuum that had given Claire her opportunity.	1725.3637171077503
But the liaison successfully started in the last days of autumn was now languishing.	198.29762799609676
Byron, since the separation from his wife had been living in a smallish house in Piccadilly Terrace.	500.5950335528937
He refused to bring Claire to it even as an occasional visitor, claiming that his every move was watched by spies of the Milbankes.	373.0645301844823
Beckworth handed the pass to the colonel.	105.20072056884528
He had thought that the suggestion of taking it himself would tip the colonel in the direction of serving his own order, but the slip of paper was folded and absently thrust into the colonel's belt.	425.47599610075264
Despite his yearning, the colonel would not go down to see the men come through the lines.	133.35722715912036
He would remain in the tent, waiting impatiently, occupied by some trivial task.	976.8933179803499
-Beckworth.	27.74580426095886
-Sir?	22.18278362481506
-Fetch me the copies of everything B and C companies have requisitioned in the last six months.	309.23146456567986
-The last six months, sir?	60.13004548154178
-You heard me.	34.77674919124126
There's a lot of waste going on here.	28.105813660902687
It's got to stop.	24.08424881887945
I want to take a look.	46.326933944670984
This is no damned holiday, Beckworth.	66.49243461501155
Get busy.	17.925341131263675
-Yes, sir.	28.621642537289524
Beckworth left the tent.	37.50972822636894
Below he could see the bright torches lighting the riverbank.	427.4677244165983
He glanced back.	18.29696764721464
The colonel crouched tensely on one of the folding chairs, methodically tearing at his thumbnail.	414.77236991583715
9 THE BOMBPROOF was a low-ceilinged structure of heavy timbers covered with earth.	405.2940570252521
It stood some fifty paces from the edge of the bank.	448.8340938425226
From the outside, it seemed no more than a low drumlin, a lump on the dark earth.	914.0473210209653
A crude ladder ran down to a wooden floor.	134.89226995986152
Two slits enabled observers to watch across the river.	160.68497330374
The place smelled strongly of rank, fertile earth, rotting wood and urine.	420.7759352036484
The plank floor was slimed beneath Watson's boots.	358.4105451568272
At least the Union officer had been decent enough to provide a candle.	95.49043728982896
There was no place to sit, but Watson walked slowly from the ladder to the window slits and back, stooping slightly to avoid striking his head on the heavy beams.	930.8623847512519
In the corner was the soldier with the white flag.	54.644884491689716
He stood stiffly erect, clutching the staff, his body half hidden by the limp cloth.	327.91820980324735
Watson hardly looked at him.	211.43421602591678
The man had come floundering aboard the flat-bottomed barge at the last instant, brandishing the flag of truce.	317.5020608308503
Someone had hauled him over the side, and he had remained silent while they crossed.	5251.044389295457
An officer with a squad of men had been waiting on the bank.	298.8482108398798
The men in the boats had started yelling happily at first sight of the officer, two of them calling him Billy.	2780.7803519289027
When the boat had touched, the weaker ones and the two wounded men had been lifted out and carried away by the soldiers.	231.19091864923288
Watson had presented his pouch and been led to the bombproof.	586.6484585827764
The officer had told him that both lists must be checked.	274.7476403545358
Watson had given his name and asked for a safe-conduct pass.	425.5061682155056
The officer, surprised, said he would have to see.	175.35734384667595
Watson had nodded absently and muttered that he would check the lists himself later.	304.04633921114316
He had peered through the darkness at the rampart.	87.88091519766981
The men he would take back across the river stood there, but he turned away from them.	955.2844765659371
He wanted no part of the emotions of the exchange, no memory of the joy and gratitude that other men felt.	1064.31493197911
He had hoped to be alone in the bombproof, but the soldier had followed him.	478.13648737336723
Though Watson carefully ignored the man, he could not deny his presence.	1191.453776452414
Perhaps it would be better to speak to him, since silence could not exorcise his form.	235.74706750731957
Watson glanced briefly at him, seeing only a body rigidly erect behind the languid banner.	557.0386248471068
-We won't be too long.	46.02027357570413
If my pass is approved, I may be a half hour.	540.0936237739949
The soldier answered in a curious, muffled voice, his lips barely moving.	620.9509470511241
Watson turned away and did not see the man's knees buckle and his body sag.	698.269153932406
-Yes, sir.	28.621642537289524
He had acknowledged the man.	14.052194790970171
It was easier to think now, Watson decided.	56.95281404986675
The stiff figure in the corner no longer blocked his thoughts.	288.57554842003526
He paced slowly, stooping, staring at the damp, slippery floor.	234.64733176111528
He tried to order the words of the three Union officers, seeking to create some coherent portrait of the dead boy.	542.5438407533499
But he groped blindly.	42.508320814851984
His lack of success steadily eroded his interest.	116.83128596476662
He stopped pacing, leaned against the dank, timbered wall and let his mind drift.	318.4496912246586
A feeling of futility, an enervation of mind greater than any fatigue he had ever known, seeped through him.	331.7413831411031
What in the name of God was he doing, crouched in a timbered pit on the wrong bank of the river?	938.4694180350444
Why had he crossed the dark water, to bring back a group of reclaimed soldiers or to skulk in a foul-smelling hole?	380.8266128420106
He grew annoyed and at the same time surprised at that emotion.	64.05027558530495
He was conscious of a growing sense of absurdity.	50.7871323654341
Hillman had written it all out, hadn't he?	94.92621043032642
Wasn't the report official enough?	73.56478280813901
What did he hope to accomplish here?	39.735568225394175
Hillman had ordered him not to leave the far bank.	134.49071843743002
Prompted by a guilty urge, he had disobeyed the order of a man he respected.	193.6608950843112
For what?	5.606966107656263
To tell John something he would find out for himself.	66.95443870954524
The figure in the corner belched loudly, a deep, liquid eruption.	940.2079231247195
Watson snorted and then laughed aloud.	173.0396969815361
Exactly!	18.820169421464946
The soldier's voice was muffled again, stricken with chagrin.	236.06208633311664
He clutched the staff, and his dark eyes blinked apologetically.	1679.1031792323204
-'Scuse me, sir.	53.03023087358512
-Let's get out of here.	46.15153581762156
Watson ran up the ladder and stood for a second sucking in the cool air that smelled of mud and river weeds.	477.8644558770989
To his left, the two skiffs dented their sharp bows into the soft bank.	1841.9663182822326
The flat-bottomed boat swung slowly to the pull of the current.	206.9957665034536
A soldier held the end of a frayed rope.	92.14290969324419
Three Union guards appeared, carrying their rifles at ready.	199.97210252637777
Watson stared at them curiously.	91.1168713955495
They were stocky men, well fed and clean-shaven, with neat uniforms and sturdy boots.	389.99456967100497
Behind them shambled a long column of weak, tattered men.	203.3832429489546
The thin gray figures raised a hoarse, cawing cry like the call of a bird flock.	452.58682971668316
They moved toward the skiffs with shocking eagerness, elbowing and shoving.	370.98270404114237
Four men were knocked down, but did not attempt to rise.	217.75713015124
They crept down the muddy slope toward the waiting boats.	196.0096702285546
The Union soldiers grounded arms and settled into healthy, indifferent postures to watch the feeble boarding of the skiffs.	651.3014453492873
The crawling men tried to rise and fell again.	100.0100695084318
No one moved to them.	13.196256432745102
Watson watched two of them flounder into the shallow water and listened to their voices beg shrilly.	573.9222505467169
In a confused, soaked and stumbling shift of bodies and lifting arms, the two men were dragged into the same skiff.	1070.4218695299905
The third crawling man forced himself erect.	114.06192663166696
He swayed like a drunkard, his arms milling in slow circles.	210.8951880208648
He paced forward unsteadily, leaning too far back, his head tilted oddly.	493.7238764451694
His steps were short and stiff, and, with his head thrown back, his progress was a supercilious strut.	408.77369447067184
He appeared to be peering haughtily down his nose at the crowded and unclean vessel that would carry him to freedom.	356.16225186702644
He stalked into the water and fell heavily over the side of the flat-bottomed barge, his weight nearly swamping the craft.	951.5563193489228
Watson looked for the fourth man.	137.93966576586487
He had reached the three passive guards; he crept in an incertain manner, patting the ground before him.	300.9075962186261
The guards did not look at him.	32.36717419990766
The figure on the earth halted, seemingly bewildered.	111.64141221990313
He sank back on his thin haunches like a weary hound.	304.37657419278764
Then he began to crawl again.	18.1987719824833
Watson watched the creeping figure.	67.85656443129687
He felt a spectator interest.	24.316758497690028
Would the man make it or not?	22.43076094669773
If only there was a clock for him to crawl against.	78.61449126915372
If he failed to reach the riverbank in five minutes, say, then the skiffs would pull away and leave him groping in the mud.	2546.535763407142
Say three minutes to make it sporting.	82.56991768328841
Still the guards did not move, but stood inert, aloof from the slow-scrambling man.	1253.7902891858723
The figure halted, and Watson gasped.	77.6335135282874
The man began to creep in the wrong direction, deceived by a slight rise in the ground!	369.84416917178413
He turned slowly and began to crawl back up the bank toward the rampart.	200.08866347991759
Watson raced for him, his boots slamming the soft earth.	536.3799387324256
The guards came to life with astonishing menace.	93.1732187239279
They spun and flung their rifles up.	91.77037384451441
Watson gesticulated wildly.	60.496381499381776
One man dropped to his knee for better aim.	79.82735821707264
-Let me help him, for the love of God!	216.69766163126698
The guards lowered their rifles and their rifles and peered at Watson with sullen, puzzled faces.	413.6922267217336
Watson pounded to the crawling man and stopped, panting heavily.	206.9079795140897
He reached down and closed his fingers on the man's upper arm.	129.98747873690198
Beneath his clutch, a flat strip of muscle surged on the bone.	176.72316210710403
Watson bent awkwardly and lifted the man to his feet.	107.510730832542
Watson stared into a cadaverous face.	104.2669683759516
Two clotted balls the color of mucus rolled between fiery lids.	551.3340221078997
Light sticks of fingers, the tips gummy with dark earth, patted at Watson's throat.	533.9961218739596
The man's voice was a sweet, patient whisper.	82.94527502286154
-Henry said that he'd take my arm and get me right there.	241.31160347609966
But you ain't Henry.	35.893839863148244
-No.	11.643188764386514
-It don't matter.	31.157158197402282
Is it far?	10.604195811497606
How far could it be, Watson thought bleakly, how far can a blind man crawl?	788.9985411727775
Another body length or all the rest of his nighted life?	100.05973828314649
-Not far.	22.670030030810302
-You talk deep.	42.19224516649404
Not like us fellas.	52.52960410423119
It raises the voice, bein in camp.	68.87460377705823
You Secesh?	27.050350194815493
-Yes.	14.834293985798526
Come on, now.	15.537393162297846
Can you walk?	19.21918507596478
-Why, course I can.	31.9835933904524
I can walk real good.	28.809949237473152
Watson stumbled down the bank.	48.004172576703446
The man leaned his frail body against Watson's shoulder.	198.3830486705765
He was no heavier than a child.	24.253160368586755
Watson paused for breath.	42.669243165623385
The man wheezed weakly, his fetid breath beating softly against Watson's neck.	659.7304544224385
His sweet whisper came after great effort.	108.14189992020032
-Oh, Christ h. I wish you was Henry h. He promised to take me.	215.75544275233747
-Hush.	27.74580426095886
We're almost there.	12.092867135784019
Watson supported the man to the edge of the bank and passed the frail figure over the bow of the nearest skiff.	1269.1954611300841
The man swayed on a thwart, turning his ruined eyes from side to side.	197.00053606098672
Watson turned away, sickened for the first time in many months.	81.81438170991167
He heard the patient voice calling.	42.75863236876917
-Henry?	21.290340394486684
Where are you, Henry?	29.989918073609907
-Make him lie down!	91.52759604856526
Watson snatched a deep breath.	83.8966849015164
He had not meant to shout.	30.282603250098436
He stood with his back to the skiff.	38.061269596151575
The men mewed and scratched, begging to be taken away.	124.26641068838035
Watson spoke bewilderedly to the dark night flecked with pine-knot torches.	642.2489926204229
-Goddamn you!	42.90859258962707
What do you do to them?	15.10431137797439
Intelligence jabbed at him accusingly.	124.83695367705974
He was angry, sickened.	32.984608446839026
He had not felt that during the afternoon.	232.48775918362378
No, nor later.	17.112734472467118
All his emotions had been inward, self-conscious.	411.50056047658757
In war, on a night like this, it was only the outward emotions that mattered, what could be flung out into the darkness to damage others.	366.3546438190032
Yes.	3.418800859412557
That was it.	6.71219659072059
He was sure of it.	38.64291862067145
John's type of man allowed this sort of thing to happen.	75.07508272187955
What a fool he had been to think of his brother!	271.1712654058568
So Charles was dead.	20.806893822948446
What did it matter?	16.45546216079027
His name had been crossed off a list.	55.980618680122184
Already his cool body lay in the ground.	612.0074205369367
What words had any meaning?	51.12974789179651
What had he thought of, to go to John, grovel and beg understanding?	603.5561859936872
To confess with a canvas chair as a prie-dieu, gouging at his heart until a rough and stupid hand bade him rise and go?	823.1742374468301
Men were slaughtered every day, tumbled into eternity like so many torn parcels flung down a portable chute.	974.4899611943189
What made him think John had a right to witness his brother's humiliation?	262.63103998119175
What right had John to any special consideration?	86.14686305708561
Was John better, more deserving?	103.0609503926776
To hell with John.	24.17742021270831
Let him chafe with impatience to see Charles, rip open the note with trembling hands and read the formal report in Hillman's beautiful, schoolmaster's hand.	671.7587227340106
John would curse.	28.6185172693821
He believed that brave boys didn't cry.	82.98960022406632
Watson spat on the ground.	35.79772220904956
He was grimly satisfied.	24.611196373140206
He had stupidly thought himself compelled to ease his brother's pain.	208.31625695201342
Now he knew perfectly that he had but longed to increase his own suffering.	110.59275069854732
I WOULD not want to be one of those writers who begin each morning by exclaiming, "O Gogol, O Chekhov, O Thackeray and Dickens, what would you have made of a bomb shelter ornamented with four plaster-of-Paris ducks, a birdbath, and three composition gnomes with long beards and red mobcaps"?	2635.792004373976
As I say, I wouldn't want to begin a day like this, but I often wonder what the dead would have done.	1214.1409619548253
But the shelter is as much a part of my landscape as the beech and horse-chestnut trees that grow on the ridge.	582.9835532083335
I can see it from this window where I write.	148.09273848836116
It was built by the Pasterns, and stands on the acre of ground that adjoins our property.	159.36109881615832
It bulks under a veil of thin, new grass, like some embarrassing fact of physicalness, and I think Mrs Pastern set out the statuary to soften its meaning.	512.5612189197874
It would have been like her.	30.102350854183303
She was a pale woman.	19.966620900895084
Sitting on her terrace, sitting in her parlor, sitting anywhere, she ground an axe of self-esteem.	510.8778442322481
Offer her a cup of tea and she would say, "Why, these cups look just like a set I gave to the Salvation Army last year".	406.77161057551643
Show her the new swimming pool and she would say, slapping her ankle, "I suppose this must be where you breed your gigantic mosquitoes".	609.3973769434347
Hand her a chair and she would say, "Why, it's a nice imitation of those Queen Anne chairs I inherited from Grandmother Delancy".	1539.8046824068529
These trumps were more touching than they were anything else, and seemed to imply that the nights were long, her children ungrateful, and her marriage bewilderingly threadbare.	1033.3895049427554
Twenty years ago, she would have been known as a golf widow, and the sum of her manner was perhaps one of bereavement.	712.8856630988189
She usually wore weeds, and a stranger watching her board a train might have guessed that Mr Pastern was dead, but Mr Pastern was far from dead.	934.0760142501074
He was marching up and down the locker room of the Grassy Brae Golf Club shouting, "Bomb Cuba!	607.918076643014
Bomb Berlin!	44.574876522129586
Let's throw a little nuclear hardware at them and show them who's boss".	313.1882480685621
He was brigadier of the club's locker-room light infantry, and at one time or another declared war on Russia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and China.	366.3121545642423
It all began on an autumn afternoon- and who, after all these centuries, can describe the fineness of an autumn day?	513.0917080762146
One might pretend never to have seen one before, or, to more purpose, that there would never be another like it.	1032.4333276864706
The clear and searching sweep of sun on the lawns was like a climax of the year's lights.	412.30931948970874
Leaves were burning somewhere and the smoke smelled, for all its ammoniac acidity, of beginnings.	415.21208651966896
The boundless blue air was stretched over the zenith like the skin of a drum.	263.9057635930043
Leaving her house one late afternoon, Mrs Pastern stopped to admire the October light.	364.39823914731824
It was the day to canvass for infectious hepatitis.	696.9595393350565
Mrs Pastern had been given sixteen names, a bundle of literature, and a printed book of receipts.	516.1740037214264
It was her work to go among her neighbors and collect their checks.	105.95706287350232
Her house stood on a rise of ground, and before she got into her car she looked at the houses below.	193.2123791550005
Charity as she knew it was complex and reciprocal, and almost every roof she saw signified charity.	518.876283051234
Mrs Balcolm worked for the brain.	54.56535100022957
Mrs Ten Eyke did mental health.	155.40184427594238
Mrs Trenchard worked for the blind.	207.84708324263823
Mrs Horowitz was in charge of diseases of the nose and throat.	93.07240387715112
Mrs Trempler was tuberculosis, Mrs Surcliffe was Mothers' March of Dimes, Mrs Craven was cancer, and Mrs Gilkson did the kidney.	830.7944261457732
Mrs Hewlitt led the birthcontrol league, Mrs Ryerson was arthritis, and way in the distance could be seen the slate roof of Ethel Littleton's house, a roof that signified gout.	1353.531706332695
Mrs Pastern undertook the work of going from house to house with the thoughtless resignation of an honest and traditional laborer.	401.98871583116863
It was her destiny; it was her life.	28.92541187732634
Her mother had done it before her, and even her old grandmother, who had collected money for smallpox and unwed mothers.	930.5575703646423
Mrs Pastern had telephoned most of her neighbors in advance, and most of them were ready for her.	126.82896278379269
She experienced none of the suspense of some poor stranger selling encyclopedias.	311.6959808027364
Here and there she stayed to visit and drink a glass of sherry.	169.48736179125046
The contributions were ahead of what she had got the previous year, and while the money, of course, was not hers, it excited her to stuff her kit with big checks.	619.7437529708296
She stopped at the Surcliffes' after dusk, and had a Scotch-and-soda.	463.01773384529656
She stayed too late, and when she left, it was dark and time to go home and cook supper for her husband.	1142.16285892121
"I got a hundred and sixty dollars for the hepatitis fund", she said excitedly when he walked in.	941.3703392941547
"I did everybody on my list but the Blevins and the Flannagans.	150.2273953669287
I want to get my kit in tomorrow morning- would you mind doing them while I cook the dinner"?	1147.3967082651964
"But I don't know the Flannagans", Charlie Pastern said.	794.1434697949737
"Nobody does, but they gave me ten last year".	267.76740496505744
He was tired, he had his business worries, and the sight of his wife arranging pork chops in the broiler only seemed like an extension of a boring day.	418.04613292559833
He was happy enough to take the convertible and race up the hill to the Blevins', thinking that they might give him a drink.	1601.305103873377
But the Blevins were away; their maid gave him an envelope with a check in it and shut the door.	472.3659434229877
Turning in at the Flannagans' driveway, he tried to remember if he had ever met them.	297.9065411852303
The name encouraged him, because he always felt that he could handle the Irish.	106.68822644765413
There was a glass pane in the front door, and through this he could see into a hallway where a plump woman with red hair was arranging flowers.	841.1183653200711
"Infectious hepatitis", he shouted heartily.	205.19730592040696
She took a good look at herself in the mirror before she turned and, walking with very small steps, started toward the door.	216.07958729917112
"Oh, please come in", she said.	27.805857144145815
The girlish voice was nearly a whisper.	80.49527513522592
She was not a girl, he could see.	630.6898404218722
Her hair was dyed, and her bloom was fading, and she must have been crowding forty, but she seemed to be one of those women who cling to the manners and graces of a pretty child of eight.	2629.330216939301
"Your wife just called", she said, separating one word from another, exactly like a child.	176.10272653114282
"And I am not sure that I have any cash- any money, that is- but if you will wait just a minute I will write you out a check if I can find my checkbook.	1272.5980724682001
Won't you step into the living room, where it's cozier"?	1130.3441642791884
A fire had just been lighted, he saw, and things had been set out for drinks, and, like any stray, his response to these comforts was instantaneous.	1310.7872505251569
Where was Mr Flannagan, he wondered.	72.17444778448795
Travelling home on a late train?	123.54567923528569
Changing his clothes upstairs?	128.75889329720752
Taking a shower?	28.417391174074307
At the end of the room there was a desk heaped with papers, and she began to riffle these, making sighs and and noises of girlish exasperation.	432.9521686819395
"I am terribly sorry to keep you waiting", she said, "but won't you make yourself a little drink while you wait?	750.8215377534217
Everything's on the table".	157.74114427222167
"What train does Mr Flannagan come out on"?	147.43887346311013
"Mr Flannagan is away", she said.	137.88512268822015
Her voice dropped.	24.74812859785324
"Mr Flannagan has been away for six weeks h".	126.34894937828646
"I'll have a drink, then, if you'll have one with me".	1130.2432724745697
"If you will promise to make it weak".	45.186555868956866
"Sit down", he said, "and enjoy your drink and look for your checkbook later.	692.708827844606
The only way to find things is to relax".	23.284018896340317
All in all, they had six drinks.	258.218823141522
She described herself and her circumstances unhesitatingly.	44.255723386582254
Mr Flannagan manufactured plastic tongue depressors.	320.40612759358413
He travelled all over the world.	15.298110615895398
She didn't like to travel.	13.047641933015747
Planes made her feel faint, and in Tokyo, where she had gone that summer, she had been given raw fish for breakfast and so she had come straight home.	561.0780419317658
She and her husband had formerly lived in New York, where she had many friends, but Mr Flannagan thought the country would be safer in case of war.	1027.4933973644359
She would rather live in danger than die of loneliness and boredom.	150.53090568712037
She had no children; she had made no friends.	47.3626746168622
"I've seen you, though, before", she said with enormous coyness, patting his knee.	122.23250273299682
"I've seen you walking your dogs on Sunday and driving by in the convertible h".	119.22521736353936
The thought of this lonely woman sitting at her window touched him, although he was even more touched by her plumpness.	277.31381069358537
Sheer plumpness, he knew, is not a vital part of the body and has no procreative functions.	326.0652054551823
It serves merely as an excess cushion for the rest of the carcass.	97.26628710546122
And knowing its humble place in the scale of things, why did he, at this time of life, seem almost ready to sell his soul for plumpness?	4643.249500166396
The remarks she made about the sufferings of a lonely woman seemed so broad at first that he didn't know what to make of them, but after the sixth drink he put his arm around her and suggested that they go upstairs and look for her checkbook there.	1520.010922699748
"I've never done this before", she said later, when he was arranging himself to leave.	301.5563974353044
Her voice shook with feeling, and he thought it lovely.	366.123498617982
He didn't doubt her truthfulness, although he had heard the words a hundred times.	293.3136452143057
"I've never done this before", they always said, shaking their dresses down over their white shoulders.	172.07430177405556
"I've never done this before", they always said, waiting for the elevator in the hotel corridor.	102.74156136981749
"I've never done this before", they always said, pouring another whiskey.	103.41643053308474
"I've never done this before", they always said, putting on their stockings.	99.6998264115532
On ships at sea, on railroad trains, in summer hotels with mountain views, they always said, "I've never done this before".	233.7623552603892
"Where have you been"?	22.245725142843682
Mrs Pastern asked sadly, when he came in.	217.48596603384487
"It's after eleven".	27.661090393722986
"I had a drink with the Flannagans".	159.2995798954122
"She told me he was in Germany".	28.098957901378547
"He came home unexpectedly".	17.194122193830655
Charlie ate some supper in the kitchen and went into the TV room to hear the news.	573.5337342591978
"Bomb them"!	32.70596574338295
he shouted.	7.570178814277265
"Throw a little nuclear hardware at them!	143.90964699959713
Show them who's boss"!	141.17464498766265
But in bed he had trouble sleeping.	52.519244498815624
He thought first of his son and daughter, away at college.	67.33506998716105
He loved them.	14.694470358574554
It was the only meaning of the word that he had ever known.	128.11269821695322
Then he played nine imaginary holes of golf, choosing his handicap, his irons, his stance, his opponents, and his weather in detail, but the green of the links seemed faded in the light of his business worries.	444.58338790120666
His money was tied up in a Nassau hotel, an Ohio pottery works, and a detergent for window-washing, and luck had been running against him.	617.6044592795446
His worries harried him up out of bed, and he lighted a cigarette and went to the window.	5761.9869407161095
In the starlight he could see the trees stripped of their leaves.	103.18793713579389
During the summer he had tried to repair some of his losses at the track, and the bare trees reminded him that his pari-mutuel tickets would still be lying, like leaves, in the gutters near Belmont and Saratoga.	748.9137800435763
Maple and ash, beech and elm, one hundred to win on Three in the fourth, fifty to win on Six in the third, one hundred to win on Two in the eighth.	613.7591142027862
Children walking home from school would scuff through what seemed to be his foliage.	540.2559115177241
Then, getting back into bed, he thought unashamedly of Mrs Flannagan, planning where they would next meet and what they would do.	1788.2823964256
There are, he thought, so few true means of forgetfulness in this life that why should he shun the medicine even when the medicine seemed, as it did, a little crude?	463.53609391502
It was not as though she noted clearly that her nephews had not been to see her for ten years, not since their last journey eastward to witness their Uncle Izaak being lowered into the rocky soil; that aside from due notification of certain major events in their lives two marriages, two births, one divorce, Christmas and Easter cards of the traditional sort had been the only thin link she had with them through the widowed years.	1986.1962290044619
Her thoughts were not discrete.	63.24895258103564
But there was a look about her mouth as though she were tasting lemons.	121.55175537739194
She grasped the chair arms and brought her thin body upright, like a bird alert for flight.	411.2226895025004
She turned and walked stiffly into the parlor to the dainty-legged escritoire, warped and cracked now from fifty years in an atmosphere of sea spray.	536.0676037266287
There she extracted two limp vellum sheets and wrote off the letters, one to Abel, one to Mark.	390.9361524406946
Once her trembling hand, with the pen grasped tight in it, was pressed against the paper the words came sharply, smoothly, as authoritatively as they would dropping from her own lips.	949.4714030577187
And the stiffly regal look of them, she saw grimly, lacked the quaver of age which, thwarting the efforts of her amazing will, ran through her spoken words like a thin ragged string.	733.3201701739796
"Please come down as soon as you conveniently can", the upright letters stalked from the broad-nibbed pen, "I have an important matter to discuss with you".	452.4850965403864
To Abel "I am afraid there is not much to amuse small children here.	431.6100824537734
I should be obliged if you could make other arrangements for your daughters.	176.52385979591696
You may stay as long as you wish, of course, but if arranging for the care of the girls must take time into account, I think a day or two should be enough to finish our business in".	447.7931565730626
To Mark "Please give my regards to Myra".	246.5205317150977
She signed the letters quickly, stamped them, and placed them on the hall table for Raphael to mail in town.	750.6272539001714
Then she went back to the wicker chair and resolutely adjusted her eyes to the glare on the water.	322.2557409901446
"My nephews will be coming down", she said that evening as Angelina brought her dinner into the dining room, the whole meal on a vast linen-covered tray.	2720.2592412087174
She looked at the girl speculatively from eyes which had paled with the years; from the early evening lights of them which had first startled Izaak to look at her in an uncousinly way, they had faded to a near-absence of color which had, possibly from her constant looking at the water, something of the light of the sea in them.	1807.1578325359276
Angelina placed the tray on the table and with a flick of dark wrist drew off the cloth.	313.56034108114744
She smiled, and the teeth gleamed in her beautifully modeled olive face.	819.9083352514351
"That will be so nice for you, Mrs Packard", she said.	60.16721046072647
Her voice was ripe and full and her teeth flashed again in Sicilian brilliance before the warm curved lips met and her mouth settled in repose.	937.6969097952156
"Um", said the old lady, and brought her eyes down to the tray.	172.8669058733424
"You remember them, I suppose"?	132.91303975853407
She glinted suspiciously at the dish before her "Blowfish.	265.2724806458186
I hope Raphael bought them whole".	61.44464241661227
Angelina stepped back, her eyes roaming the tray for omissions.	330.80437878384623
Then she looked at the old woman again, her eyes calm.	539.2565037081215
"Yes", she said, "I remember that they came here every summer.	143.149938364251
I used to play with the older one sometimes, when he'd let me.	127.27723013097942
Abel"?	12.485542805089576
The name fell with lazy affectionate remembrance from her lips.	205.93638507741684
For an instant the old aunt felt something indefinable flash through her smile.	208.32024722301094
She would have said triumph.	79.1614024660388
Then Angelina turned and with an easy grace walked toward the kitchen.	186.10702925812294
Jessica Packard lifted her head and followed the retreating figure, her eyes resting nearly closed on the unself-conscious rise and fall of the rounded hips.	821.1027737898693
For a moment she held her face to the empty doorway; then she snorted and groped for her fork.	333.1762861680454
There's no greater catastrophe in the universe, she reflected dourly, impaling tender green beans on the silver fork, than the dwindling away of a family.	1037.942891114436
Procreation, expansion, proliferation- these are the laws of living things, with the penalty for not obeying them the ultimate in punishments oblivion.	826.6109821315797
When the fate of the individual is visited on the group, then the warm sweet butter dripped from her raised trembling fork and she pushed her head forward belligerently, ah, then the true bitterness of existence could be tasted.	1393.9247325890947
And indeed the young garden beans were brackish in her mouth.	195.06757057874893
She was the last living of the older generation.	228.65777595420698
What had once been a widespread family- at one time, she knew, there were enough Packards to populate an entire county- had now narrowed down to the two boys, Abel and Mark.	2174.4562621055397
She swung her eyes up to the blue of the window, her jaws gently mashing the bitter beans.	1266.1517899522692
What hope lay in the nephews, she asked the intensifying light out there, with one married to a barren woman and the other divorced, having sired two girl children, with none to bear on the Packard name?	832.4261360442223
She ate.	12.989669701017313
It seemed to her, as it seemed each night, that the gloom drew itself in and became densest at the table's empty chairs, giving her the frequent illusion that she dined with shadows.	699.0098819036598
Here, too, she talked low, quirking her head at one or another of the places, most often at Izaak's armchair which faced her across the long table.	290.8848635656249
Or it might have been the absent nephews she addressed, consciously playing with the notion that this was one of the summers of their early years.	437.97234518095894
She thought again of her children, those two who had died young, before the later science which might have saved them could attach even a label to their separate malignancies.	649.8912409835431
The girl, her first, she barely remembered.	60.82764208738463
It could have been anyone's infant, for it had not survived the bassinet.	230.2367332428493
But the boy h the boy had been alive yesterday.	76.89534881640465
Each successive movement in his growing was recorded on the unreeling film inside her.	228.16376372860438
He ran on his plump sticks of legs, freezing now and again into the sudden startled attitudes which the camera had caught and held on the paling photographs, all carefully placed and glued and labeled, resting in the fat plush album in the bottom drawer of the escritoire.	929.0260821732016
In the cruel clearness of her memory the boy remained unchanged, quick with the delight of laughter, and the pain with which she recalled that short destroyed childhood was still unendurable to her.	706.5497437472501
It was one with the desolate rocks and the alien water on those days when she hated the sea.	168.80497620413198
The brothers drove down together in Mark's small red sports car, Mark at the wheel.	718.3792693675908
They rarely spoke.	27.391508802515766
Abel sat and regarded the farm country which, spreading out from both sides of the road, rolled greenly up to where the silent white houses and long barns and silos nested into the tilled fields.	1553.0968283830825
He saw the land with a stranger's eyes, all the old familiarness gone.	327.9613437292729
And it presented itself to him as it would to any stranger, impervious, complete in itself.	111.43980840725176
There was stability there, too- a color which his life had had once.	90.36799058050737
That is what childhood is, he told himself.	105.91294978403997
Solid, settled h lost.	43.88496434543235
In the stiff neutral lines of the telephone poles he saw the no-nonsense pen strokes of Aunt Jessica's letter.	1262.8285388709814
What bad grace, what incredible selfishness he and Mark had shown.	218.2982744668369
The boyhood summers preceding their uncle's funeral might never have been.	825.6476043979933
They had closed over, absolutely, with the sealing of old Izaak's grave.	150.60125379094393
The small car flew on relentlessly.	61.222332403461245
The old woman, stubbornly reigning in the house above the crashing waters took on an ominous reality.	254.36735455934536
Abel moved and adjusted his long legs.	100.7193787420527
"I suppose it has to do with the property", Mark had said over the telephone when they had discussed their receipt of the letters.	205.83195279942217
Not until the words had been spoken did Abel suddenly see the old house and the insistent sea, and feel his contrition blotted out in one shameful moment of covetousness.	595.9203361080233
He and Mark were the last of the family, and there lay the Cape Ann property which had seemed to have no end, stretching from horizon to horizon, in those golden days of summer.	2073.8417816111337
Now Abel turned his head to look at his brother.	286.4016618385069
Mark held the wheel loosely, but his fingers curved around it in a purposeful way and the deliberate set of his body spoke plainly of the figure he'd make in the years to come.	476.56769587662023
His sandy hair was already beginning to thin and recede at the sides, and Abel looked quickly away.	304.5038178330353
Mark easily looked years older than himself, settled, his world comfortably categorized.	358.32229195664326
The vacation traffic was becoming heavier as they approached the sea.	113.80010478045696
"She didn't mention bringing Myra", Mark said, maneuvering the car into the next lane.	513.5447587806856
"She's probably getting old- crotchety, I mean- and we figured uh-uh, better not.	391.19835047055636
They've never met, you know.	86.3247110793804
But Myra wouldn't budge without an express invitation.	255.40109302549723
I feel kind of bad about it".	26.95709863906864
He gave Abel a quick glance and moved closer to the wheel, hugging it to him, and Abel caught this briefest of allusions to guilt.	2216.5847226368587
"I imagine the old girl hasn't missed us much", Mark added, his eyes on the road.	325.4215265469893
Abel ignored the half-expressed bid for confirmation.	193.03891222296386
He smiled.	3.2250201333314497
It was barely possible that his brother was right.	46.48369887257605
He could tell they were approaching the sea.	29.995081840615477
The air took on a special strength now that they'd left the fecund warmth of the farmland behind.	421.489140235843
There was the smell of the coast, like a primeval memory, composed of equal parts salt water, clams, seaweed and northern air.	349.44179782525
He turned from the flying trees to look ahead and saw with an inward boy's eye again the great fieldstone house which, built on one of the many acres of ancestral land bordering the west harbor, had been Izaak's bride-gift to his cousin-wife as the last century ended.	969.5056111116272
Mark's thoughts must have been keeping silent pace beside his own, climbing the same crags in dirty white sneakers, clambering out on top of the headland and coming upon the sudden glinting water at the same instant.	1482.8781127783573
"Remember the Starbird?"	33.62795473125508
Mark asked, and Abel lifted his eyes from the double lines in the middle of the road, the twin white ribbons which the car swallowed rapidly as it ascended the crest of the hill and came down.	762.8517443673436
"The Starbird," Abel said.	42.90685115412603
There was the day Uncle Izaak had, in an unexpected grandiose gesture, handed over the pretty sloop to Abel for keeps, on condition that he never fail to let his brother accompany him whenever the younger boy wished.	2210.7306819016003
The two of them had developed into a remarkable sailing team h all of this happening in a time of their lives when their youth and their brotherhood knitted them together as no other time or circumstance could.	1573.8658040957787
They seemed then to have had a single mind and body, a mutuality which had been accepted with the fact of their youth, casually.	1962.7061190108727
He saw the Starbird as she lay, her slender mast up and gently turning, its point describing constant languid circles against a cumulus sky.	766.3104421336157
Both of them had known the feeling of the small life in her waiting, ready, for the two of them to run up her sails.	641.8429163884958
The Starbird had been long at the bottom of the bay.	248.16174537419795
They came unexpectedly upon the sea.	35.833820796018706
Meeting it without preparation as they did, robbed of anticipation, a common disappointment seized them.	640.3583878829343
They were climbing the hill in the night when the headlights abruptly probed solid blackness, became two parallel luminous tubes which broadened out into a faint mist of light and ended.	891.4389361747983
Mark stopped the car and switched off the lights and they sat looking at the water, which, there being no moon out, at first could be distinguished from the sky only by an absence of stars.	714.5216706024427
His eyes were old and they never saw well, but heated with whisky they'd glare at my noise, growing red and raising up his rage.	492.141528156469
I decided I hated the Pedersen kid too, dying in our kitchen while I was away where I couldn't watch, dying just to entertain Hans and making me go up snapping steps and down a drafty hall, Pa lumped under the covers at the end like dung covered with snow, snoring and whistling.	1473.638106877929
Oh he'd not care about the Pedersen kid.	181.67535517789585
He'd not care about getting waked so he could give up some of his whisky to a slit of a kid and maybe lose one of his hiding places in the bargain.	691.9585725118097
That would make him mad enough if he was sober.	102.8028555647171
I didn't hurry though it was cold and the Pedersen kid was in the kitchen.	595.9113752879018
He was all shoveled up like I thought he'd be.	81.06741190547122
I pushed at his shoulder, calling his name.	72.31212495382952
I think his name stopped the snoring but he didn't move except to roll a little when I shoved him.	286.377507325711
The covers slid down his skinny neck so I saw his head, fuzzed like a dandelion gone to seed, but his face was turned to the wall- there was the pale shadow of his nose on the plaster- and I thought, Well you don't look much like a pig-drunk bully now.	2168.570065491708
I couldn't be sure he was still asleep.	70.96110395134642
He was a cagey sonofabitch.	34.895374791327846
I shook him a little harder and made some noise.	246.06923561192175
"Pap-pap-pap-hey", I said.	172.84565512384484
I was leaning too far over.	42.49439464736136
I knew better.	9.901604964794865
He always slept close to the wall so you had to lean to reach him.	243.04525062828708
Oh he was smart.	26.736419695758116
It put you off.	18.92027204760372
I knew better but I was thinking of the Pedersen kid mother-naked in all that dough.	526.0777604410387
When his arm came up I ducked away but it caught me on the side of the neck, watering my eyes, and I backed off to cough.	1056.0662379896546
Pa was on his side, looking at me, his eyes winking, the hand that had hit me a fist in the pillow.	384.2485024072292
"Get the hell out of here".	25.0263225481418
I didn't say anything, trying to get my throat clear, but I watched him.	1474.5609652819512
He was like a mean horse to come at from the rear.	366.6835810655585
It was better, though, he'd hit me.	82.30182673766275
He was bitter when he missed.	32.784757395339405
"Get the hell out of here".	25.0263225481418
"Big Hans sent me.	53.59857992893768
He told me to wake you".	88.31862386189071
"A fat hell on Big Hans.	109.27390554564887
Get out of here".	17.48899335668999
"He found the Pedersen kid by the crib".	87.95586926959876
"Get the hell out".	26.271039591514853
Pa pulled at the covers.	53.09985216684441
He was tasting his mouth.	24.353759122060218
"The kid's froze good.	48.49702458454191
Hans is rubbing him with snow.	60.97450995666972
He's got him in the kitchen".	216.6978061525663
"Pedersen"?	20.324827059120516
"No, Pa.	10.744522397219841
It's the Pedersen kid.	49.45882395636803
The kid".	8.118909869818879
"Nothing to steal from the crib".	72.11556251834199
"Not stealing, Pa.	29.938591243049586
He was just lying there.	21.685971255271635
Hans found him froze.	75.73550588763337
That's where he was when Hans found him".	56.58315055512112
Pa laughed.	25.36167343247221
"I ain't hid nothing in the crib".	125.22164075534056
"You don't understand, Pa.	23.119202007521665
The Pedersen kid.	35.82275229019273
The kid"- "I god damn well understand".	93.7251188061846
Pa had his head up, glaring, his teeth gnawing at the place where he'd grown a mustache once.	276.1096433998812
"I god damn well understand.	67.85046117055767
You know I don't want to see Pedersen.	179.41924354442583
That cock.	19.718662671082406
Why should I?	5.746940131332006
What did he come for, hey?	40.94082256218284
God dammit, get.	36.61720720572984
And don't come back.	24.80340462073851
Find out something.	11.404034885882888
You're a fool.	62.476062195754906
Both you and Hans.	27.89406879507225
Pedersen.	16.05296361890169
That cock.	19.718662671082406
Don't come back.	17.951006745330393
Out.	7.47098532474671
Out".	7.47098532474671
He was shouting and breathing hard and closing his fist on the pillow.	156.55184784076687
He had long black hairs on his wrist.	35.65814780167525
They curled around the cuff of his nightshirt.	132.25446618279202
"Big Hans made me come.	63.195317523696914
Big Hans said"- "A fat hell on Big Hans.	297.75144565510476
He's an even bigger fool than you are.	82.89725583807704
Fat, hey?	48.128181064952074
I taught him, dammit, and I'll teach you.	63.90675985784839
Out.	7.47098532474671
You want me to drop my pot"?	122.38589214146003
He was about to get up so I got out, slamming the door.	296.4280689088303
He was beginning to see he was too mad to sleep.	71.61715681195466
Then he threw things.	19.963297342096055
Once he went after Hans and dumped his pot over the banister.	228.0073920764235
Pa'd been shit-sick in that pot.	194.33934250098156
Hans got an axe.	54.79785088502197
He didn't even bother to wipe himself off and he chopped part of Pa's door down before he stopped.	383.7898258919653
He might not have gone that far if Pa hadn't been locked in laughing fit to shake the house.	291.4245043443653
That pot put Pa in an awful good humor whenever he thought of it.	1287.4915648859949
I always felt the memory was present in both of them, stirring in their chests like a laugh or a growl, as eager as an animal to be out.	462.99712490659914
I heard Pa cursing all the way downstairs.	97.46954977759495
Hans had laid steaming towels over the kid's chest and stomach.	388.50272138916165
He was rubbing snow on the kid's legs and feet.	90.9272882780606
Water from the snow and water from the towels had run off the kid to the table where the dough was, and the dough was turning pasty, sticking to the kid's back and behind.	656.6862429318824
"Ain't he going to wake up"?	80.9008498338603
"What about your pa"?	58.729601680526024
"He was awake when I left".	30.891413024983034
"What'd he say?	47.44614006638228
Did you get the whisky"?	37.702943342999006
"He said a fat hell on Big Hans".	94.22078638727352
"Don't be smart.	15.708672627724276
Did you ask him about the whisky"?	70.72023901086082
"Yeah".	7.786428610600051
"Well"?	7.483069253650329
"He said a fat hell on Big Hans".	94.22078638727352
"Don't be smart.	15.708672627724276
What's he going to do"?	27.293665645646524
"Go back to sleep most likely".	34.272818357219144
"You'd best get that whisky".	34.3075825992921
"You go.	8.597709851559197
Take the axe.	17.587837469600455
Pa's scared to hell of axes".	123.82441454291097
"Listen to me, Jorge, I've had enough to your sassing.	101.49209296001082
This kid's froze bad.	66.61763951965955
If I don't get some whisky down him he might die.	306.6926321679924
You want the kid to die?	54.60612497824066
Do you?	4.688663263559636
Well, get your pa and get that whisky".	87.07948425329792
"Pa don't care about the kid".	99.0339053111307
"Jorge".	14.720632543950337
"Well he don't.	12.831378981736213
He don't care at all, and I don't care to get my head busted neither.	707.6448888162514
He don't care, and I don't care to have his shit flung on me.	275.83969469605665
He don't care about anybody.	53.91749692157869
All he cares about is his whisky and that dry crack in his face.	125.75085996694321
Get pig-drunk- that's what he wants.	1356.1076176875247
He don't care about nothing else at all.	63.76513874226758
Nothing.	5.354397600619958
Not Pedersen's kid neither.	73.12840779241662
That cock.	19.718662671082406
Not the kid neither".	30.34280728568912
"I'll get the spirits", Ma said.	26.99974546134372
I'd wound Big Hans up tight.	85.5679439322958
I was ready to jump but when Ma said she'd get the whisky it surprised him like it surprised me, and he ran down.	893.8675508885591
Ma never went near the old man when he was sleeping it off.	410.04987634385986
Not any more.	10.129697931365921
Not for years.	7.8954340014913
The first thing every morning when she washed her face she could see the scar on her chin where he'd cut her with a boot cleat, and maybe she saw him heaving it again, the dirty sock popping out as it flew.	1166.2193324492096
It should have been nearly as easy for her to remember that as it was for Big Hans to remember going after the axe while he was still spattered with Pa's yellow sick insides.	2898.814316574224
"No you won't", Big Hans said.	78.45565658262399
"Yes, Hans, if they're needed", Ma said.	165.8175340341428
Hans shook his head but neither of us tried to stop her.	188.33724885214673
If we had, then one of us would have had to go instead.	260.57346750546054
Hans rubbed the kid with more snow h rubbed h rubbed.	408.7461028701421
"I'll get more snow", I said.	17.318074839424828
I took the pail and shovel and went out on the porch.	1439.7024299515217
I don't know where Ma went.	29.893107581984143
I thought she'd gone upstairs and expected to hear she had.	315.55381374995636
She had surprised Hans like she had surprised me when she said she'd go, and then she surprised him again when she came back so quick like she must have, because when I came in with the snow she was there with a bottle with three white feathers on its label and Hans was holding it angrily by the throat.	1571.934040439011
Oh, he was being queer and careful, pawing about in the drawer and holding the bottle like a snake at the length of his arm.	405.04976453099385
He was awful angry because he'd thought Ma was going to do something big, something heroic even, especially for her h I know him h I know him h we felt the same sometimes h while Ma wasn't thinking about that at all, not anything like that.	813.080258068007
There was no way of getting even.	68.28460982674468
It wasn't like getting cheated at the fair.	72.65509088744022
They were always trying so you got to expect it.	52.95037972833435
Now Hans had given Ma something of his- we both had when we thought she was going straight to Pa- something valuable; but since she didn't know we'd given it to her, there was no easy way of getting it back.	767.6706574762059
Hans cut the foil off finally and unscrewed the cap.	199.956187041436
He was put out too because there was only one way of understanding what she'd done.	1241.404378072477
Ma had found one of Pa's hiding places.	196.87998331485562
She'd found one and she hadn't said a word while Big Hans and I had hunted and hunted as we always did all winter, every winter since the spring that Hans had come and I had looked in the privy and found the first one.	533.2946547772248
Pa had a knack for hiding.	102.86089136986877
He knew we were looking and he enjoyed it.	46.401231774391725
But now Ma.	19.60915731510582
She'd found it by luck most likely but she hadn't said anything and we didn't know how long ago it'd been or how many other ones she'd found, saying nothing.	969.652393475738
Pa was sure to find out.	36.81097451523711
Sometimes he didn't seem to because he hid them so well he couldn't find them himself or because he looked and didn't find anything and figured he hadn't hid one after all or had drunk it up.	622.4095503201593
But he'd find out about this one because we were using it.	76.6194032802752
A fool could see what was going on.	99.62789847555803
If he found out Ma found it- that'd be bad.	94.92496396854308
He took pride in his hiding.	47.26550674183582
It was all the pride he had.	16.948600481076664
I guess fooling Hans and me took doing.	111.75719866637517
But he didn't figure Ma for much.	58.581547447023084
He didn't figure her at all, and if he found out h a woman h it'd be bad.	1111.1440078028565
Hans poured some in a tumbler.	91.05535015832841
"You going to put more towels on him"?	87.4303392286393
"No".	3.389188185682365
"Why not?	3.6229771308461562
That's what he needs, something warm to his skin, don't he"?	642.5769855501156
"Not where he's froze good.	74.02007696278704
Heat's bad for frostbite.	93.9314961138761
That's why I only put towels on his chest and belly.	143.81307688114867
He's got to thaw slow.	33.73946290298631
You ought to know that".	534.1613815948868
Colors on the towels had run.	55.49005538173225
Ma poked her toe in the kid's clothes.	259.5985982030247
"What are we going to do with these"?	78.2680925167925
Big Hans began pouring whisky in the kid's mouth but his mouth filled without any getting down his throat and in a second it was dripping from his chin.	1148.7970025497432
"Here, help me prop him up.	45.44949572202562
I got hold his mouth open".	47.3496386379384
I didn't want to touch him and I hoped Ma would do it but she kept looking at the kid's clothes piled on the floor and the pool of water by them and didn't make any move to.	807.9032418316402
"Come on, Jorge".	40.79262542762382
"All right".	3.3441791718922933
"Lift, don't shove h lift".	149.84390591744784
"OK, I'm lifting".	47.40582640053658
I took him by the shoulders.	22.84132975860315
His head flopped back.	32.56151400233928
His mouth fell open.	37.64091385283009
The skin on his neck was tight.	60.73680147346654
He was cold all right.	15.519489208464337
"Hold his head up.	28.693937300097964
He'll choke".	14.473653474052098
"His mouth is open".	18.74162354417727
"His throat's shut.	36.921572438871756
He'll choke".	14.473653474052098
"He'll choke anyway".	25.306088956739178
"Hold his head up".	28.693937300097964
"I can't".	6.927404360641192
"Don't hold him like that.	25.543521295117564
Put your arms around him".	41.50758991489143
"Well Jesus".	12.44592303485449
He was cold all right.	15.519489208464337
I put my arm carefully around him.	172.863537221459
Hans had his fingers in the kid's mouth.	104.72019142556077
"Now he'll choke for sure".	59.48256909246779
"Shut up.	19.610530029245428
Just hold him like I told you".	60.78466809325013
He was cold all right, and wet.	124.46083054698406
I had my arm behind his back.	130.09976647616372
He was in his mid-fifties at this time, long past the establishment of his name and the wish to be lionized yet once again, and it was almost a decade since he had sworn off lecturing.	4397.049560461983
There was never a doubt any more how his structures would be received; it was always the same unqualified success now.	182.32754166032103
He could no longer build anything, whether a private residence in his Pennsylvania county or a church in Brazil, without it being obvious that he had done it, and while here and there he was taken to task for again developing the same airy technique, they were such fanciful and sometimes even playful buildings that the public felt assured by its sense of recognition after a time, a quality of authentic uniqueness about them, which, once established by an artist as his private vision, is no longer disputable as to its other values.	5586.212329962467
Stowey Rummel was internationally famous, a crafter of a genuine Americana in foreign eyes, an original designer whose inventive childishness with steel and concrete was made even more believably sincere by his personality.	1361.9161865456801
He had lived for almost thirty years in this same stone farmhouse with the same wife, a remarkably childish thing in itself; he rose at half-past six every morning, made himself some French coffee, had his corn flakes and more coffee, smoked four cigarettes while reading last Sunday's Herald Tribune and yesterday's Pittsburgh Gazette, then put on his high-topped farmer's shoes and walked under a vine bower to his workshop.	2004.8064409568797
This was an enormously long building whose walls were made of rocks, some of them brought home from every continent during his six years as an oil geologist.	598.6691793809539
The debris of his other careers was piled everywhere; a pile of wire cages for mice from his time as a geneticist and a microscope lying on its side on the window sill, vertical steel columns wired for support to the open ceiling beams with spidery steel cantilevers jutting out into the air, masonry constructions on the floor from the time he was inventing his disastrous fireplace whose smoke would pass through a whole house, visible all the way up through wire gratings on each floor.	3139.985326314137
His files, desk, drafting board and a high stool formed the only clean island in the chaos.	324.06625843789664
Everywhere else his ideas lay or hung in visible form his models, drawings, ten-foot canvases in monochromes from his painting days, and underfoot a windfall of broken-backed books that looked as though their insides had been ransacked by a maniac.	1175.6077024803892
Bicycle gear-sets he had once used as the basis of the design for the Camden Cycly Company plant hung on a rope in one corner, and over his desk, next to several old and dusty hats, was a clean pair of roller skates which he occasionally used up and down in front of his house.	1267.7690572066433
He worked standing, with his left hand in his pocket as though he were merely stopping for a moment, sketching with the surprised stare of one who was watching another person's hand.	777.3133605697417
Sometimes he would grunt softly to some invisible onlooker beside him, sometimes he would look stern and moralistic as his pencil did what he disapproved.	837.3946199503193
It all seemed- if one could have peeked in at him through one of his windows- as though this broken-nosed man with the muscular arms and wrestler's neck was merely the caretaker trying his hand at the boss's work.	933.2831384491485
This air of disengagement carried over to his apparent attitude toward his things, and people often mistook it for boredom in him or a surrender to repetitious routine.	786.2878760609246
But he was not bored at all; he had found his style quite early in his career and he thought it quite wonderful that the world admired it, and he could not imagine why he should alter it.	346.7295367488396
There are, after all, fortunate souls who hear everything, but only know how to listen to what is good for them, and Stowey was, as things go, a fortunate man.	3988.8952378936697
He left his home the day after New Year's wearing a mackinaw and sheepskin mittens and without a hat.	419.17305696228414
He would wear this same costume in Florida, despite his wife Cleota's reminders over the past five days that he must take some cool clothes with him.	833.3149880369946
But he was too busy to hear what she was saying.	132.61606480562995
So they parted when she was in an impatient humor.	327.9810934529304
When he was bent over behind the wheel of the station wagon, feeling in his trouser cuffs for the ignition key which he had dropped a moment before, she came out of the house with an enormous Rumanian shawl over her head, which she had bought in that country during one of their trips abroad, and handed him a clean handkerchief through the window.	2642.9052437287364
Finding the key under his shoe, he started the engine, and while it warmed up he turned to her standing there in the dripping fog, and said, "Defrost the refrigerator".	2108.228227066352
He saw the surprise in her face, and laughed as though it were the funniest expression he had ever seen.	322.69814727814725
He kept on laughing until she started laughing with him.	113.84029367672326
He had a deep voice which was full of good food she had cooked, and good humor; an explosive laugh which always carried everything before it.	336.3818251753831
He would settle himself into his seat to laugh.	105.82444774378345
Whenever he laughed it was all he was doing.	171.98602759918154
And she was made to fall in love with him again there in the rutted dirt driveway standing in the cold fog, mad as she was at his going away when he really didn't have to, mad at their both having got older in a life that seemed to have taken no more than a week to go by.	1545.6011933197601
She was forty-nine at this time, a lanky woman of breeding with an austere, narrow face which had the distinction of a steeple or some architecture that had been designed long ago for a stubborn sort of prayer.	947.7788029170152
Her eyebrows were definite and heavy and formed two lines moving upward toward a high forehead and a great head of brown hair that fell to her shoulders.	875.8384640962082
There was an air of blindness in her gray eyes, the startled-horse look that ultimately comes to some women who are born at the end of an ancestral line long since divorced from money-making and which, besides, has kept its estate intact.	514.9016771866062
She was personally sloppy, and when she had colds would blow her nose in the same handkerchief all day and keep it, soaking wet, dangling from her waist, and when she gardened she would eat dinner with dirt on her calves.	1026.315552620043
But just when she seemed to have sunk into some depravity of peasanthood she would disappear and come down bathed, brushed, and taking breaths of air, and even with her broken nails her hands would come to rest on a table or a leaf with a thoughtless delicacy, a grace of history, so to speak, and for an instant one saw how ferociously proud she was and adamant on certain questions of personal value.	1273.989460327947
She even spoke differently when she was clean, and she was clean now for his departure and her voice clear and rather sharp.	511.7146334797553
"Now drive carefully, for God's sake"!	109.66201804278887
she called, trying to attain a half humorous resentment at his departure.	226.5472710026544
But he did not notice, and was already backing the car down to the road, saying "Toot-toot"!	1041.7404697519216
to the stump of a tree as he passed it, the same stump which had impaled the car of many a guest in the past thirty years and which he refused to have removed.	1142.7660695299141
She stood clutching her shawl around her shoulders until he had swung the car onto the road.	422.35257567018846
Then, when he had it pointed down the hill, he stopped to gaze at her through the window.	1986.7299304776973
She had begun to turn back toward the house, but his look caught her and she stood still, waiting there for what his expression indicated would be a serious word of farewell.	515.8644097735895
He looked at her out of himself, she thought, as he did only for an instant at a time, the look which always surprised her even now when his uncombable hair was yellowing a little and his breath came hard through his nicotine-choked lungs, the look of the gaunt youth she had suddenly found herself staring at in the Tate Gallery on a Thursday once.	1072.6949038530654
Now she kept herself protectively ready to laugh again and sure enough he pointed at her with his index finger and said "Toot"!	750.4581479145521
once more and roared off into the fog, his foot evidently surprising him with the suddenness with which it pressed the accelerator, just as his hand did when he worked.	1647.0841733185794
She walked back to the house and entered, feeling herself returning, sensing some kind of opportunity in the empty building.	361.5034750638977
There is a death in all partings, she knew, and promptly put it out of her mind.	404.7314298533852
She enjoyed great parties when she would sit up talking and dancing and drinking all night, but it always seemed to her that being alone, especially alone in her house, was the realest part of life.	985.6778970282583
Now she could let out the three parakeets without fear they would be stepped on or that Stowey would let them out one of the doors; she could dust the plants, then break off suddenly and pick up an old novel and read from the middle on; improvise cha-chas on the harp; and finally, the best part of all, simply sit at the plank table in the kitchen with a bottle of wine and the newspapers, reading the ads as well as the news, registering nothing on her mind but letting her soul suspend itself above all wishing and desire.	2497.3177266159378
She did this now, comfortably aware of the mist running down the windows, of the silence outside, of the dark afternoon it was getting to be.	396.4719760181197
She fell asleep leaning on her hand, hearing the house creaking as though it were a living a private life of its own these two hundred years, hearing the birds rustling in their cages and the occasional whirring of wings as one of them landed on the table and walked across the newspaper to perch in the crook of her arm.	880.2856695871365
Every few minutes she would awaken for a moment to review things Stowey, yes, was on his way south, and the two boys were away in school, and nothing was burning on the stove, and Lucretia was coming for dinner and bringing three guests of hers.	1719.5997615367526
Then she fell asleep again as soddenly as a person with fever, and when she awoke it was dark outside and the clarity was back in her eyes.	919.3868477014884
She stood up, smoothing her hair down, straightening her clothes, feeling a thankfulness for the enveloping darkness outside, and, above everything else, for the absence of the need to answer, to respond, to be aware even of Stowey coming in or going out, and yet, now that she was beginning to cook, she glimpsed a future without him, a future alone like this, and the pain made her head writhe, and in a moment she found it hard to wait for Lucretia to come with her guests.	989.099516061915
She went into the living room and turned on three lamps, then back into the kitchen where she turned on the ceiling light and the switch that lit the floods on the barn, illuminating the driveway.	924.0052077397442
She knew she was feeling afraid and inwardly laughed at herself.	220.7226139767479
They were both so young, after all, so unready for any final parting.	127.15738513037927
How could it have been thirty years already, she wondered?	372.8332020904198
But yes, nineteen plus thirty was forty-nine, and she was forty-nine and she had been married at nineteen.	286.6463722414909
She stood still over the leg of lamb, rubbing herbs into it, quite suddenly conscious of a nausea in her stomach and a feeling of wrath, a sensation of violence that started her shivering.	1012.0584796641267
But they all said, "No, your time will come.	51.302242830571025
Enjoy being a bride while you can".	82.09925529104108
There was no room for company in the tiny Weaning House where the Albright boys always took their brides, till they could get a house and a farm of their own.	333.4946392554473
So when the Big House filled up and ran over, the sisters-in-law found beds for everyone in their own homes.	273.08262922582094
And there was still not anything that Linda Kay could do.	678.7647245174775
So Linda Kay gave up asking, and accepted her reprieve.	315.8165280326762
Without saying so, she was really grateful; for to attend the dying was something she had never experienced, and certainly had not imagined when she thought of the duties she would have as Bobby Joe's wife.	806.9378882203341
She had made curtains for all the windows of her little house, and she had kept it spotless and neat, shabby as it was, and cooked good meals for Bobby Joe.	1281.3397089210712
She had done all the things she had promised herself she would do, but she had not thought of this.	799.2111682112056
People died, she would have said, in hospitals, or in cars on the highway at night.	428.1689327163118
Bobby Joe was gone all day now, not coming in for dinner and sometimes not for supper.	222.08354807762424
When they first married he had been working in the fields all day, and she would get in the car and drive to wherever he was working, to take him a fresh hot meal.	7003.733758549959
Now there was no work in the fields, nor would there be till it rained, and she did not know where he went.	2074.6532563704973
Not that she complained, or had any cause to.	56.69461200007183
Four or five of the cousins from East Texas were about his age, so naturally they ran around together.	285.4303107631767
There was no reason for her to ask what they did.	84.46550722290138
Thus a new pattern of days began to develop, for Granny Albright did not die.	227.64591130848987
She lay still on the bed, her head hardly denting the pillow; sometimes she opened her eyes and looked around, and sometimes she took a little milk or soup.	1440.9323810459248
They stopped expecting her to die the next minute, but only in the next day or two.	1027.4888337916232
Those who had driven hundreds of miles for the burial would not go home, for she might die any time; but they might as well unpack their suitcases, for she might linger on.	423.7079212627162
So the pattern was established.	19.714589158660882
When Linda Kay had put up her breakfast dishes and mopped her linoleum rugs, she would go to the Big House.	547.344402330747
There was not anything she could do there, but that was where everyone was, or would be.	822.6482187878295
Bobby Joe and the boys would come by, say "How's Granny"?	246.0111255205707
and sit on the porch a while.	48.865775692268684
The older men would be there at noon, and maybe rest for a time before they took their guns off to the creek or drove down the road towards town.	387.52351200703816
The women and children stayed at the Albrights'.	68.05550411122611
The women, keeping their voices low as they worked around the house or sat in the living room, sounded like chickens shut up in a coop for the night.	696.6690773545295
The children had to play away from the house in the barn loft or the pasture behind the barn, to maintain a proper quietness.	206.98248308940995
Off and on, all day, someone would be wiping at the powdery gray dust that settled over everything.	300.05919504905944
The evaporative cooler had been moved to Granny's room, and her door was kept shut; so that the rest of the house stayed open, though there was a question as to whether it was hotter or cooler that way.	1665.7710840621623
The dust clogged their throats, and the heat parched them, so that the women were always making ice water.	1078.2752013215375
They had cleaned up an old ice box and begun to buy fifty-pound blocks of ice in town, as the electric refrigerator came nowhere near providing enough ice for the crowds who ate and drank there.	857.3741957778086
One afternoon, as the women sat clucking softly, a new carload of people pulled up at the gate.	312.20813487983423
It was a Cadillac, black grayed with the dust of the road, its windows closed tight so you knew that the people who climbed out of it would be cool and unwrinkled.	1055.599830930542
They were an old fat couple as Linda Kay described them to herself, a thick middle-aged man, and a girl about ten or twelve.	1363.5888940292461
There was much embracing, much exclaiming.	52.224085034811495
"Cousin Ada!	54.86848633650384
Cousin John"!	29.29085525857758
"Cousin Lura"!	54.86848633650384
"Cousin Howard"!	39.55844813132664
"And how is she"?	17.019803448012325
"About the same, John, about the same".	175.12027201576112
All the women got up and offered their chairs, and when they were all seated again, the guests made their inquiries and their explanations.	1134.4041280325478
"We were on our vacation in Canada", Howard explained, in a muffled voice that must have been used to booming, "and the news didn't catch up with us till we were nearly home.	891.2291345128693
We came on as soon as we could".	73.41596127689591
There was the suggestion of ice water, and- in spite of the protest "We're not really thirsty"- Linda Kay, to escape the stuffy air and the smothering soft voices, hurried to the kitchen.	907.7424869963596
She filled a big pitcher and set it, with glasses, on a tray.	149.15551166055917
Carrying it to the living room, she imagined the picture she made tall and roundly slim, a bit sophisticated in her yellow sheath, with a graceful swingy walk that she had learned as a twirler with the school band.	998.7473606682424
Almost immediately she was ashamed of herself for feeling vain, at such a time, in such a place, and she tossed back her long yellow hair, smiling shyly as she entered the room.	1859.9539655816943
Howard the thick middle-aged man was looking at her.	270.1209946838396
She felt the look and looked back because she could not help it, seeing that he was neither as old nor as thick as she had at first believed.	642.9947124950056
"And who is this"?	13.808948320524104
he asked, when she passed him a glass.	179.208868886608
"Oh that's Linda Kay", Mama Albright said fondly.	532.4589235962326
"She married our baby boy, Bobby Joe, this summer".	148.40485564709286
"Let's see", Cousin Ada said.	91.66755835534488
"He's a right smart younger than the rest"?	65.06629967054562
"Oh yes", Mama laughed.	63.549255656982766
"He's ten years younger than Ernest.	113.29234156953872
We didn't expect him to come along; thought for the longest he was a tumor".	763.1003265290702
This joke was not funny to Linda Kay, and she blushed, as she always did; then, hearing the muffled boom of Howard's laughter, blushed redder.	865.4177049726231
"Who is Howard, anyway"?	46.04891111020965
she asked Bobby Joe that night.	48.62680136199812
"He makes me uncomfortable".	32.625641794951314
"Oh he's a second cousin or something.	88.83622002594582
He got in the oil business out at Odessa and lucked into some money".	336.9584444325536
"How old is he"?	8.614498890170799
"Gosh, I don't know.	18.483023906881176
Thirty-five, I guess.	58.56050286359842
He's been married and got this half-grown kid.	123.68615118089085
If he bothers you, don't pay him any mind.	93.38539659608564
He's just a big windbag".	69.40546811299645
Bobby Joe was thinking about something else.	93.80225350322173
"Say, did you know they're fixing to have a two-day antelope season on the Double X"?	269.23555242913676
He was talking about antelope again when they woke up.	113.52506912438264
"Listen, I never had a chance to kill an antelope.	567.9514208815027
There never was a season before, but now they want to thin 'em out on account of the drouth".	385.23882666662325
"Did he ever visit here when he was a kid"?	183.83876563443914
Linda Kay asked.	59.032228343650665
"Who"?	8.198404600115378
"Howard".	9.61070599047154
"Hell, I don't know.	16.466502305997682
When he was a kid I wasn't around".	264.72034848963096
Bobby Joe took a gun from behind the door, and with a quick "Bye now" was gone for the day.	276.2266174303791
Almost immediately Howard and his daughter Debora drove up in the Cadillac.	608.3909004077935
"We're going after ice", Howard said, "and thought maybe you'd go along and keep us company".	622.9429340226019
There was really no reason to refuse, and Linda Kay had never ridden in a Cadillac.	268.1781460970797
Driving along the caliche-topped road to town, Howard talked.	300.46926347841696
Finally he said, "Tell me about yourself", and Linda Kay told him, because she thought herself that she had had an interesting life.	1747.791175022151
She was such a well-rounded teenager, having been a twirler, Future Farmers sweetheart, and secretary of Future Homemakers.	944.5118499530791
In her sophomore year she had started going steady with Bobby Joe, who was a football player, Future Homemakers sweetheart, and president of Future Farmers.	1148.5662081613448
It was easy to see that they were made for each other, and they knew what they wanted.	5139.987732531929
Bobby Joe would be a senior this year, and he planned to graduate.	276.778947135519
But there was no need for Linda Kay to go on, since all she wanted in life was to make a home for Bobby Joe and blushing raise his children.	1206.3377770944348
Howard sighed.	22.161971318628872
"You lucky kids", he said.	33.15217196964806
"I'd give anything if I could have found a girl like you".	412.52089500120206
Then he told Linda Kay about himself.	77.03557319583796
Of course he couldn't say much, really, because of Debora, but Linda Kay could imagine what kind of woman his wife had been and what a raw deal he had got.	603.6891481241983
It made her feel different about Howard.	69.5600135098074
She was going to tell Bobby Joe about how mistaken she had been, but he brought one of the cousins home for supper, and all they did was talk about antelope.	968.7444134103337
Bobby Joe was trying to get Linda Kay to say she would cook one if he brought it home.	335.5811241710498
"Cook a whole antelope"?	72.91372234970012
she exclaimed.	20.01349284841814
"Why, I couldn't even cook a piece of antelope steak; I never even saw any".	420.1771642480485
"Oh, you could.	43.12713841582015
I want to roast the whole thing, and have it for the boys".	10132.07513396737
Linda Kay told him he couldn't do anything like that with his Grandma dying, and he said well they had to eat, didn't they, they weren't all dying.	513.186336589077
Linda Kay felt like going off to the bedroom to cry; but they were going up to the Big House after supper, and she had to put on a clean dress and fix her hair a little.	2751.9961431145857
Every night they all went to Mama and Papa Albright's, and sat on the open front porch, where they could get the breeze.	2618.3577805008645
It was full-of-the-moon or a little past, and nearly light as day.	121.98016839561839
They all sat around and drank ice water, and the men smoked, and everybody had a good time.	284.93403748426067
Once in a while they said what a shame it was, with Granny dying, but they all agreed she wouldn't have wanted it any other way.	1364.9973680633084
That night the older men got to talking about going possum-hunting on a moonlight night.	269.4726235778607
Bobby Joe and two or three of the other boys declared they had never been possum-hunting, and Uncle Bill Farnworth from Mama Albright's side of the family said he would just get up from there and take them, right then.	2922.192293998004
After they had left, some of the people moved around, to find more comfortable places to sit.	108.35309902703992
There were not many chairs, so that some preferred to sit on the edge of the porch, resting their feet on the ground, and others liked to sit where they could lean back against the wall.	578.1641568893225
Howard, who had been sitting against the wall, said he needed more fresh air, and took the spot on the edge of the porch where Bobby Joe had been sitting.	5932.802239096899
"You'll be a darn sight more comfortable there, Howard", Ernest said, laughing, and they all laughed.	357.9975840584386
Linda Kay felt that she was not exactly more comfortable.	1229.134758567794
Bobby Joe had been sitting close to her, touching her actually, and holding her hand from time to time, but it seemed at once that Howard sat much closer.	537.330918425327
Perhaps it was just that he had so much more flesh, so that more of it seemed to come in contact with hers; but she had never been so aware of anyone's flesh before.	1947.2177772771458
Still she was not sorry he sat by her, but in fact was flattered.	171.60970820076338
He had become the center of the company, such stories he had to tell.	981.7451368129376
He had sold oil stock to Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in person; he had helped fight an oil-well fire that raged six days and nights.	685.9729453385012
"But tell me, doctor, where do you plan to conduct the hatching"?	185.56704640255197
Alex asked.	20.859616099190006
"That will have to be in the hotel", the doctor retorted, confirming Alex's anticipations.	7624.149616615634
"What I want you to do is to go to the market with me early tomorrow morning and help smuggle the hen back into the hotel".	802.0518467639276
The doctor paid the bill and they repaired to the hotel, room number nine, to initiate Alex further into these undertakings.	713.4633269415062
The doctor opened the smallest of his cases, an unimposing straw bag, and exposed the contents for Alex's inspection.	375.7645503808775
Inside, carefully packed in straw, were six eggs, but the eye of a poultry psychologist was required to detect what scientifically valuable specimentalia lay inside; to Alex they were merely six not unusual hens' eggs.	1106.5955548356064
There was little enough time to contemplate them, however; in an instant the doctor was stalking across the room with an antique ledger in his hands, thoroughly eared and big as a table top.	1074.4748269967508
He placed it on Alex's lap.	71.50762516787478
"This is my hen ledger", he informed him in an absorbed way.	134.26199949328537
"It's been going since 1908 when I was a junior in college.	111.63656977003939
That first entry there is the Vermont Flumenophobe, the earliest and one of the most successful of my eighty-three varieties- great big scapulars and hardly any primaries at all.	470.25718650352286
Couldn't take them near a river, though, or they'd squawk like a turkey cock the day before Thanksgiving".	583.1608805020697
The ledger was full of most precise information date of laying, length of incubation period, number of chicks reaching the first week, second week, fifth week, weight of hen, size of rooster's wattles and so on, all scrawled out in a hand that looked more Chinese than English, the most jagged and sprawling Alex had ever seen.	1255.65935544376
Below these particulars was a series of alpha-beta-gammas connected by arrows and crosses which denoted the lineage of the breed.	659.6025955168533
Alex's instruction was rapid, for the doctor had to go off to the Rue Ecole de Medecine to hear more speeches with only time for one sip of wine to sustain him through them all.	3412.1369242915994
But after the doctor's return that night Alex could see, from the high window in his own room, the now familiar figure crouched on a truly impressive heap of towels, apparently giving its egg-hatching powers one final chance before it was replaced in its office by a sure-enough hen.	1723.3545255927813
A knocking at Alex's door roused him at six o'clock the following morning.	486.9560658615695
It was the doctor, dressed and ready for the expedition to the market, and Alex was obliged to prepare himself in haste.	393.73646362674583
The doctor stood about, waiting for Alex to dress, with a show of impatience, and soon they were moving, as quietly as could be, through the still-dark hallways, past the bedroom of the patronne, and so into the street.	325.7899106232106
The market was not far and, once there, the doctor's sense of immediacy left him and he fell into a state of harmony with the birds around him.	797.3503546310963
He stroked the hens and they responded with delighted clucks, he gobbled with the turkeys and they at once were all attention, he quacked with the ducks, and cackled with a pair of exceedingly flattered geese.	799.8111766703068
The dawn progressed and it seemed that the doctor would never be done with his ministrations when quite abruptly something broke his revery.	1060.9128630759758
It was a fine broody hen, white, with a maternal eye and a striking abundance of feathers in the under region of the abdomen.	361.4316686382956
The doctor, with the air of a man whose professional interests have found scope, drew Alex's attention to those excellences which might otherwise have escaped him the fine color in comb and wattles, the length and quality of neck and saddle hackles, the firm, wide spread of the toes, and a rare justness in the formation of the ear lappets.	2432.049559711372
All search was ended; he had found his fowl.	135.43357396984513
The purchase was effected and they made their way towards the hotel again, the hen, with whom some sort of communication had been set up, nestling in the doctor's arms.	717.8023774900338
The clocks struck seven-thirty as they approached the hotel entrance; and hopes that the chambermaid and patronne would still be abed began to rise in Alex's well exercised breast.	1490.8544886504658
The doctor was wearing a long New England greatcoat, hardly necessary in the June weather but a garment which proved well adapted to the sequestration of hens.	972.5754626220024
Alex entered first and was followed by the doctor who, for all his care, manifested a perceptible bulge on his left side where the hen was cradled.	1227.3669864028482
They advanced in a line across the entrance hall to the stairway and up, with gingerly steps, towards the first landing.	436.2140524119135
It was then that they heard the tread of one descending and, in some perturbation glancing up, saw the patronne coming towards them as they gained the landing.	566.2421642079956
"Bonjour, messieurs, vous etes matinals", she greeted them pleasantly.	584.6559605814516
Alex explained that they had been out for a stroll before breakfast while the doctor edged around behind him, attempting to hide the protuberance at his left side behind Alex's arm and back.	1123.286698312197
"Vous voulez vos petits dejeuners tout de suite alors"?	4027.862824485398
their hostess enquired.	62.66366096774936
Alex told her that there was no hurry for their breakfasts, trying at the same time to effect a speedy separation of the persons before and behind him.	361.7917041868767
The doctor, he noticed, was attempting a transverse movement towards the stairs, but before the movement could be completed a distinct and audible cluck ruffled the air in the hollow of the stair-well.	771.8036666531873
Eyes swerved in the patronne's head, Alex coughed loudly, and the doctor, with a sforzando of chicken noises floating behind him, took to the stairs in long-shanked leaps.	1466.1730766481517
"Comment"?	20.324827059120516
ejaculated the surprised woman, looking at Alex for an explanation but he, parting from her without ceremony, only offered a few words about the doctor's provincial American speech and a state of nerves brought on by the demands of his work.	537.7093161133602
With that he hurried up the stairs, followed by her suspicious gaze.	540.1902607213409
When Alex entered his room, the doctor was already preparing a nest in the straw case, six eggs ready for the hen's attentions.	817.856334496605
There was no reference to the incident on the stairs, his powers being absorbed by this more immediate business.	228.3969411477406
The hen appeared to have no doubts as to her duties and was quick to settle down to the performance of them.	1732.3957499663586
One part of her audience was totally engaged, the connoisseur witnessing a peculiarly fine performance of some ancient classic, the other part, the guest of the connoisseur, attentive as one who must take an intelligent interest in that which he does not fully understand.	535.2930652218125
The spectacle progressed towards a denouement which was obviously still remote; the audience attended.	314.56798392535256
Time elapsed but the doctor was obviously unconscious of its passage until an unwelcome knock on the door interrupted the processes of nature.	460.8080887921161
Startled, he jumped up to pull hen and case out of view, and Alex went to the door.	696.8138552986142
He opened it a crack and in doing so made as much shuffling, coughing, and scraping noise as possible in order to drown emanations from the hen who had begun to protest.	496.6224714276136
It was Giselle, the fille de chambre, come to clean the room, and while she stood before him with ears pricked up and regard all curiosity, explaining her errand, Alex could see from the corner of his eye the doctor doing all he could to calm the displeased bird.	893.4107726997598
Giselle was reluctant but Alex succeeded in persuading her to come back in five minutes and the door was shut again.	857.2801682198982
"Who was that, young feller"?	67.52641204201977
the doctor instantly asked.	57.54537077556135
"That was the fille de chambre, the one you thought couldn't get the eggs out.	180.93140505063886
She looked mighty interested, though.	33.63250366650354
Anyhow she's coming back in five minutes to do the room".	170.50336105310885
The doctor's mind was working at a great speed; he rose to put his greatcoat on and addressed Alex in a muted voice.	434.0069992610634
"Have you got our keys handy"?	57.680884405255306
"Right in my pocket".	34.23406983316114
"All right.	3.3441791718922933
Now you go outside and beckon me when it's safe".	159.3184753478465
The hall was empty and Alex beckoned; they climbed the stairs which creaked, very loudly to their sensitive ears, and reached the next floor.	503.4149521846078
A guest was locking his room; they passed behind him and got to Alex's room unnoticed.	355.33154907055325
The doctor sat down rather wearily, caressing the hen and remarking that the city was not the place for a poultry-loving man, but no sooner was the remark out than a knock at this door obliged him to cover the hen with his greatcoat once more.	1149.2897722246134
At the door Alex managed to persuade the increasingly astonished fille de chambre to return in ten minutes.	457.2543357341321
It was evident that a second transfer had to be effected, and that it had to take place between the time the fille finished the doctor's room and the time she began Alex's.	1751.2344101846072
They waited three minutes and then crept out on tip-toe; the halls were empty and they passed down the stairs to number nine and listened at the door.	478.02394746319163
A bustle of sheets being smoothed and pillows being arranged indicated the fille de chambre's presence inside; they listened and suddenly a step towards the door announced another important fact.	1242.6777960431411
The doctor shot down to the lavatory and turned the doorknob, but to no effect the lavatory was occupied.	277.6415683007192
Although a look of alarm passed over his face, he did not arrest his movements but disappeared into the shower room just as the chambermaid emerged from number nine.	808.9014787567255
Alex suppressed those expressions of relief which offered to prevail in his face and escape from his throat; unwarranted they were in any case for, as he stood facing the fille de chambre, his ears were assailed by new sounds from the interior of the shower room.	1675.1789561870846
The events of the last quarter of an hour, mysterious to any bird accustomed only to the predictable life of coop and barnyard, had overcome the doctor's hen and she gave out a series of cackly wails, perhaps mourning her nest, but briefly enjoyed.	966.9372944787675
The doctor's wits had not left him, however, for all his sixty-eight years, and the wails were almost immediately lost in the sound of water rushing out from the showerhead.	3085.8406727235842
Alex nodded to the maid as though nothing unusual were taking place and entered the doctor's room.	381.2704664226071
Shortly, the doctor himself entered, his hair somewhat wet from the shower, but evidently satisfied with the outcome of their adventures.	349.7564337442056
Without comment he opened the closet and from its shelves constructed a highboard around the egg case which he had placed on the floor inside.	584.1261796812466
Next, the hen was nested and all seemed well.	87.03797372609255
The two men sat for some time, savoring the pleasure of escape from peril and the relief such escape brings, before they got up and left the hotel, the doctor to go to the conference house and Alex to go to the main post office.	1713.567918836626
Alex returned to the hotel, rather weary and with no new prospects of a role, in the late afternoon, but found the doctor in an ebullient mood.	1409.9433889220963
At the time Alex arrived he was engaged in some sort of intimate communication with the hen, who had settled herself on the nest most peacefully after the occurrences of the morning.	391.98374641007985
"Chickens have short memories", the doctor remarked, "that's why they are better company than most people I know", and he went on to break some important news to Alex.	1502.4354567217151
"Well", he began, "It seems like some people in Paris want to hear more from me than those fellers over at the conference house do.	470.35196183775605
They've got a big vulture from Tanganika at the zoo here, with a wife for him, too, very rare birds, both of them, the only Vulturidae of their species outside Africa.	897.320092481811
Seems like she's willing, but the male just flops around all day like the bashful boy who took Jeannie May behind the barn and then didn't know what to do, and the people at the zoo haven't got any vulture chicks to show for their trouble.	1620.6742066750967
Going downstairs with the tray, Winston wished he could have given in to Miss Ada, but he knew better than to do what she said when she had that little-girl look.	691.7860736260085
There were times it wasn't right to make a person happy, like the times she came in the kitchen and asked for a peanut butter sandwich.	2385.3520332719513
"You know we don't keep peanut butter in this house", he always told her.	156.3935342315129
"Why, Winston", she'd cry, "I just now saw you eating it out of the jar"!	271.4198047693084
But he knew how important it was for her to keep her figure.	68.45936077197595
In the kitchen, Leona, his little young wife, was reading the morning paper.	270.3170836138415
Her legs hung down long and thin as she sat on the high stool.	660.9264744115663
"Here", Winston said gently, "what's these dishes doing not washed"?	333.02629119625203
The enormous plates which had held Mr Jack's four fried eggs and five strips of bacon were still stacked in the sink.	559.0950119858811
"Leave me alone", Leona said.	80.2482301312175
"Can't you see I'm busy"?	143.6082675996573
She looked at him impudently over the corner of the paper.	114.75763765780091
"This is moving day", Winston reminded her, "and I bet you left things every which way upstairs, your clothes all over the floor and the bed not made.	550.8931416133158
Leona"!	28.826365438569706
His eye had fastened on her leg; bending, he touched her knee.	256.990636013937
"If I catch you one more time down here without stockings"- She twitched her leg away.	387.05106695823446
"Fuss, fuss, old man".	71.93206025052973
She had an alley cat's manners.	86.44780605194151
Winston stacked Miss Ada's thin pink dishes in the sink.	446.9284142724048
Then he spread out the last list on the counter.	70.32803033776219
"To Be Left Behind" was printed at the top in Miss Ada; fine hand.	888.7084667491986
Winston took out a pencil, admired the point, and wrote slowly and heavily, "Clothes Stand".	573.0430340220234
Sighing, Leona dropped the paper and stood up.	149.5540944854942
"I guess I better get ready to go".	1889.238169700423
Winston watched her fumbling to untie her apron.	385.675126771342
"Here".	5.87198308313894
Carefully, he undid the bow.	97.58086981772824
"How come your bows is always cockeyed"?	204.18450287317526
She turned and put her arms around his neck.	77.06459361170042
"I don't want to leave here, Winston".	121.153295684943
"Now listen to that".	56.123978109376566
He drew back, embarrassed and pleased.	63.946052294435056
"I thought you was sick to death of this big house.	71.6024487636225
Said you wore yourself out, cleaning all these empty rooms".	223.76884022232042
"At least there is room here", she said.	83.75866596706766
"What room is there going to be in an apartment for any child"?	751.758418477729
"I told you what Miss Ada's doctor said".	99.92758776260713
"I don't mean Miss Ada!	49.207639841118706
What you think I care about that?	51.8154027712039
I mean our children".	12.827832737492553
She sounded as though they already existed.	80.31838993321759
In spite of the hundred things he had on his mind, Winston went and put his arm around her waist.	444.8933524965299
"We've got plenty of time to think about that.	627.8868674896935
All the time in the world.	164.8172674702078
We've only been married four years, January".	49.50980178545226
"Four years"!	12.770325840764835
she wailed.	29.447429927452077
"That's a long time, waiting".	24.181501109984396
"How many times have I told you"- he began, and was almost glad when she cut him off- "Too many times"!- and flounced to the sink, where she began noisily to wash her hands.	435.3828560371723
Too many times was the truth of it, Winston thought.	61.35533210580892
He hardly believed his reason himself any more.	63.9755227515487
Although it had seemed a good reason, to begin with no couple could afford to have children.	127.25541597776495
"How you going to work with a child hanging on you"?	1969.3207062639062
he asked Leona.	22.76268039491001
"You want to keep this job, don't you"?	79.47554036067555
He doubted whether she heard him, over the running water.	116.68454725920991
He sat for a while with his hands on his knees, watching the bend of her back as she gathered up her things- a comb, a bottle of aspirin- to take upstairs and pack.	589.8219476764947
She made him sad some days, and he was never sure why; it was something to do with her back, the thinness of it, and the quick, jerky way she bent.	705.6494042435689
She was too young, that was all; too young and thin and straight.	191.42038966594455
"Winston"!	23.573205242302194
It was Mr Jack, bellowing out in the hall.	344.8776866310049
Winston hurried through the swinging door.	117.5432437427458
"I've been bursting my lungs for you", Mr Jack complained.	105.26105407849276
He was standing in front of the mirror, tightening his tie.	106.74796394870098
He had on his gray tweed overcoat and his city hat, and his brief case lay on the bench.	365.1785766340914
"I don't know what you think you've been doing about my clothes", he said.	559.6764027899661
"This coat looks like a rag heap".	115.68089738838331
There were a few blades of lint on the shoulder.	47.99003685454253
Winston took the clothesbrush out of the closet and went to work.	78.45208145608007
He gave Mr Jack a real going-over; he brushed his shoulders and his back and his collar with long, firm strokes.	297.93825898415554
"Hey"!	18.820141563989527
Mr Jack cried when the brush tipped his hat down over his eyes.	1580.1784646518943
Winston apologized and quickly set the hat right.	154.31712718969538
Then he stood back to look at Mr Jack, who was pulling on his pigskin gloves.	241.9432570965078
Winston enjoyed seeing him start out; he wore his clothes with style.	312.63976478958523
When he was going to town, nothing was good enough- he had cursed at Winston once for leaving a fleck of polish on his shoelace.	502.28385805099435
At home, he wouldn't even wash his hands for supper, and he wandered around the yard in a pair of sweaty old corduroys.	372.9204918909492
The velvet smoking jackets, pearl-gray, wine, and blue, which Miss Ada had bought him hung brushed and unworn in the closet.	696.9347848501786
"Good-by, Winston", Mr Jack said, giving a final set to his hat.	189.3076251953659
"Look out for those movers"!	88.81676651459478
Winston watched him hurry down the drive to his car; a handsome, fine-looking man it made him proud to see.	592.1365644293895
After Mr Jack drove away, Winston went on looking out the window.	174.64229983221756
He noticed a speck of dirt on the sill and swiped at it with his finger.	528.9466736332946
Then he looked at his finger, at the wrinkled, heavy knuckle and the thick nail he used like a knife to pry up, slit, and open.	575.8441825452173
For the first time, he let himself be sad about the move.	70.75488415721323
That house was ten years off his life.	56.73044804446405
Each brass handle and hinge shone for his reward, and he knew how to get at the dust in the china flowers and how to take down the long glass drops which hung from the chandelier.	1458.7501971363668
He knew the house like a blind man, through his fingers, and he did not like to think of all the time and rags and polishes he had spent on keeping it up.	3296.022316825003
Ten years ago, he had come to the house to be interviewed.	4327.489712049117
The tulips and the big pink peonies had been blooming along the drive, and he had walked up from the bus almost singing.	461.5449239987105
Miss Ada had been out back, in a straw hat, planting flowers.	633.0794694765898
She had talked to him right there, with the hot sun in his face, which made him sweat and feel ashamed.	563.6856453206943
Winston had been surprised at her for that.	63.07304540515513
Still, he had liked the way she had looked, in a fresh, neat cotton dress- citron yellow, if he remembered.	675.8772591713557
She had had a dignity about her, even barefoot and almost too tan.	108.80537726030698
Since then, the flowers she had planted had spread all over the hill.	261.73286204103715
Already the jonquils were blooming in a flock by the front gate, and the periwinkles were coming on, blue by the porch steps.	646.8051583159139
In a week the hyacinths would spike out.	73.23363633578286
And the dogwood in early May, for Miss Ada's alfresco party; and after that the Japanese cherries.	373.1794236253151
Now the yard looked wet and bald, the trees bare under their buds, but in a while Miss Ada's flowers would bloom like a marching parade.	970.4763223303994
She had dug a hole for each bulb, each tree wore a tag with her writing on it; where would she go for her gardening now?	546.1465762240301
Somehow Winston didn't think she'd take to window boxes.	744.0510501177785
Sighing, he hurried to the living room.	60.437341389230916
He had a thousand things to see to.	25.82293014555466
Still, he couldn't help thinking, we're all getting old, getting small; the snail is pulling in her horns.	340.99879276877675
In the living room, Miss Ada was standing by the window with a sheaf of lists in her hand.	202.08976464982322
She was looking out at the garden.	27.06911388327663
"Winston", she said, "get the basket for the breakables".	111.73430831371522
Winston had the big straw basket ready in the hall.	495.05191698977916
He brought it in and put it down beside her.	60.31617283669834
Miss Ada was looking fine; she had on her Easter suit, blue, with lavender binding.	428.10356559312703
Halfway across the house, he could have smelled her morning perfume.	224.49839051636292
It hung in all her day clothes, sweet and strong; sometimes when he was pressing, Winston raised her dresses to his face.	343.0455062119243
Frowning, Miss Ada studied the list.	110.0612080579924
"Well, let's see.	47.19370846986845
The china lemon tree.	50.198123298937055
The alabaster cockatoo".	40.79304204616295
Winston followed her around the room, collecting the small frail objects Christmas, birthday, and anniversary and wrapping them in tissue paper.	536.3040670852206
Neither of them trusted the movers.	32.59852715986729
When they came to Mr Jack's photograph, twenty by twelve inches in a curly silver frame, Miss Ada said, "By rights I ought to leave that, seeing he won't take my clotheshorse".	860.6701351350395
She smiled at Winston, and he saw the hateful hard glitter in her eyes.	158.4461878371851
He picked up the photograph and began to wrap it.	90.88317634271111
"At least you could leave it for the movers", Miss Ada said.	129.61459234603907
"What possessed you to tell me a clotheshorse would be a good idea"?	368.8908841457846
Winston folded the tissue paper carefully.	126.82554752964333
"He's used it every day; every morning, I lay out his clothes on it".	155.03351724652674
"Well, that's over now.	23.71573187476158
And it was his main present!	33.42674390701417
Leave that fool picture out", she added sharply.	139.14028783171054
Winston laid it in the basket.	49.44423982694018
"Mr Jack sets store by that".	54.31656452191822
"Really, Winston.	31.123386827280324
It was meant to be my present".	329.68750867212896
But she went on down the list.	22.96281824865098
Winston was relieved; those presents had been on his mind.	401.1663010574632
He had only agreed with Miss Ada about getting the valet, but he had actually suggested the photograph to Mr Jack.	303.2501011625119
"You know what she likes, Winston", he had said wearily, one evening in November when Winston was pulling off his overshoes.	598.6679242364131
"Tell me what to get her for Christmas".	272.87765666130656
"She's been talking about a picture", Winston had told him.	883.8405595584852
"Picture!	28.826365438569706
You mean picture of me"?	36.658158052254656
But Winston had persuaded him.	46.45508213267746
On Christmas night, they had had a disagreement about it.	423.5783740453685
Winston had heard because he was setting up the liquor tray in the next room.	224.93037288849058
Through the door, he had seen Mr Jack walking around, waiting for Miss Ada.	218.28179315300846
Finally she had come down; Winston had heard her shaking out the skirt of her new pink silk hostess gown.	529.893410723284
"How do you like it"?	13.506202147905643
she had asked.	12.449968513411134
Mr Jack had said, "You look about fifteen years old".	282.5342391651708
"Is that a compliment"?	32.262612624404206
"I don't know".	2.83260721340474
He had stood at a little distance, studying her, as though he would walk around next and look at the back of her head.	414.04609019472224
"Lovie, you make me feel naked".	107.4133709023604
Miss Ada had giggled, and she went sweeping and rustling to the couch and sank down.	372.4863693778218
"You look like that picture I have at the office", Mr Jack had started.	344.04417871592636
"Not a line, not a wrinkle.	29.276283108863687
I look like an old man, compared", and he had picked up his photograph with the red Christmas bow still on it.	635.1919229875988
"Look, an old man.	89.60828121196646
Will you wear pink when you're sixty"?	108.85443102332356
"Darling, I love that photograph.	71.93135646447391
I'm going to put it on my dresser".	60.02529147566383
"I guess it's children make a woman old.	69.54566375912393
A man gets old anyhow".	39.976627886207815
After a minute he went on, "People must think the curse is on me, seeing you fresh as an apple and me old and gray".	558.7834685958101
"I'll give you a medical certificate, framed, if you like", Miss Ada had said.	156.4683194349543
"No.	3.389188185682365
All I want is a picture- with a few lines.	94.95076395503322
Make the man put them in if he has to".	158.6600289364701
After that they had sat for five minutes without saying a word.	71.15888741216156
Then Miss Ada had stood up, rustling and rustling, and gone upstairs.	291.64058179972074
Was it love?	17.1537543810179
I had no doubt that it was.	198.34660941378343
During the rest of the summer my scholarly mania for making plaster casts and spatter prints of Catskill flowers and leaves was all but surpassed by the constantly renewed impressions of Jessica that my mind served up to me for contemplation and delight.	1278.3072149540253
Nothing in all the preceding years had had the power to bring me closer to a knowledge of profound sorrow than the breakup of camp, the packing away of my camp uniforms, the severing of ties with the six or ten people I had grown most to love in the world.	721.2745185028816
In final separation from them, in the railroad terminal across the river from New York, I would nearly cry.	191.3449644687183
My parents' welcoming arms would seem woeful, inadequate, unwanted.	359.8819234609164
But that year was different, for just as the city, in the form of my street clothes, had intruded upon my mountain nights, so an essential part of the summer gave promise of continuing into the fall Jessica and I, about to be separated not by a mere footbridge or messhall kitchen but by the immense obstacle of residing in cruelly distant boroughs, had agreed to correspond.	2251.0693699126855
These letters became the center of my existence.	59.79949231709127
I lived to see an envelope of hers in the morning mail and to lock myself in my room in the afternoon to reread her letter for the tenth time and finally prepare an answer.	1344.0146209286938
My memory has catalogued for easy reference and withdrawal the image of her pink, scented stationery and the unsloped, almost printed configurations of her neat, studious handwriting with which she invited me to recall our summer, so many sentences beginning with "Remember when h"; and others concerning camp friends who resided in her suburban neighborhood, and news of her commencing again her piano lessons, her private school, a visit to Boston to see her grandparents and an uncle who was a surgeon returned on furlough, wounded, from the war in Europe.	1974.8313065788634
In my letters I took on a personality that differed from the self I knew in real life.	140.11903467019667
Then epistolatory me was a foreign correspondent dispatching exciting cables and communiques, full of dash and wit and glamor, quoting from the books I read, imitating the grand styles of the authors recommended by a teacher in whose special, after-school class I was enrolled.	1027.6793899512445
The letters took their source from a stream of my imagination in which I was transformed into a young man not unlike my bunkmate Eliot Sands- he of the porch steps anecdotes- who smoked cigarettes, performed the tango, wore fifty dollar suits, and sneaked off into the dark with girls to do unimaginable things with them.	1238.9930268701867
Like Eliot, in my fantasies, I had a proud bearing and, with a skill that was vaguely continental, I would lead Jessica through an evening of dancing and handsome descriptions of my newest exploits, would guide her gently to the night's climax which, in my dreams, was always represented by our almost suffocating one another to death with deep, moist kisses burning with love.	2007.8397220198187
The night after reading her letter about her surgeon uncle- it must have been late in September- I had a vision of myself returned in ragged uniform from The Front, nearly dying, my head bandaged and blooded, and Jessica bending over me, the power of her love bringing me back to life.	1282.7717384981524
For many nights afterward, the idea of her having been so close to me in that imagined bed would return and fill me with obscure and painful desires, would cause me to lie awake in shame, tossing with irresolution, longing to fall into a deep sleep.	662.1411470557949
The weeks went by, and the longer our separation grew, the more unbounded and almost unbearable my fantasies became.	347.4787947760227
They caused my love for Jessica to become warmer and at the same time more hopeless, as if my adolescent self knew that only torment would ever bring me the courage to ask to see her again.	459.2877853670025
As it turned out, Jessica took matters into her own hands.	69.35696238931645
Having received permission to give a camp reunion-Halloween party, she asked that I come and be her date.	355.1098679671049
I went and, mum and nervous, all but made a fool of myself.	100.74718225185427
Again among those jubilantly reunited bunkmates, I was shy with Jessie and acted as I had during those early Saturday mornings when we all seemed to be playing for effect, to be detached and unconcerned with the girls who were properly our dates but about whom, later, in the privacy of our bunks, we would think in terms of the most elaborate romance.	2007.5982871978647
I remember standing in a corner, watching Jessica act the hostess, serving soft drinks to her guests.	558.1614673256101
She was wearing her dark hair in two, thick braids to attain an "American Girl" effect she thought was appropriate to Halloween.	557.0310394517527
It made her look sweet and schoolgirlish, I was excited to be with her, but I did not know how to express it.	131.04605888109975
Yet a moment did come that night when the adventurous letter writer and fantasist seemed to stride off my flashy pages, out of my mind, and plant himself in reality.	5297.111578064948
It was late, we were playing kissing games, and Jessica and I were called on to kiss in front of the others.	329.52322598935456
We blushed and were flustered, and it turned out to be the fleetest brush of lips upon cheek.	242.9141428823213
The kiss outraged our friends but it was done and meanwhile had released in me all the remote, exciting premonitions of lust, all the mysterious sensations that I had imagined a truly consummated kiss would convey to me.	1075.6441865067582
It was at that party that, finally overcoming my timidity, inspired by tales only half-understood and overheard among older boys, I asked Jessie to spend New Year's Eve with me.	1073.8535514656144
Lovingly, she accepted, and so great was my emotion that all I could think of saying was, "You're amazing, you know"?	480.9071126113241
Later, we agreed to think of how we wished to spend that night.	171.67463253643675
We would write to one another and make a definite plan.	63.5620961984736
She was terribly pleased.	24.133006968150834
Among my school and neighborhood friends, during the next months, I bragged and swaggered and pompously described my impending date.	805.6455666300428
But though I boasted and gave off a dapper front, I was beneath it all frightened.	217.4384086546614
It would be the first time I had ever been completely alone with a girl I loved.	355.00615579366956
I had no idea of what subjects one discussed when alone with a girl, or how one behaved Should I hold her hand while walking or only when crossing the street?	1289.6818422512888
Should I bring along a corsage or send one to her?	146.54238209329682
Was it preferable to meet her at home or in the city?	680.6362642226403
Should I accompany her to the door of her home, or should I ask to be invited in?	2391.5265560770576
In or out, should I kiss her goodnight?	132.13211989560938
All this was unknown to me, and yet I had dared to ask her out for the most important night of the year!	4920.269023230848
When in one letter Jessica informed me that her father did not like the idea of her going out alone on New Year's Eve, I knew for a moment an immense relief; but the letter went on she had cried, she had implored, she had been miserable at his refusal, and finally he had relented- and now how happy she was, how expectant!	829.5802639952717
Her optimism gave me heart.	62.57473497452294
I forced confidence into myself.	48.106877916569594
I made inquiries, I read a book of etiquette.	365.729251727217
In December I wrote her with authority that we would meet on the steps of the Hotel Astor, a rendezvous spot that I had learned was the most sophisticated.	736.6470927138372
We would attend a film and, later on, I stated, we might go to the Mayflower Coffee Shop or Child's or Toffenetti's for waffles.	469.3824235850983
I set the hour of our meeting for seven.	51.524442807541476
At five o'clock that night it was already dark, and behind my closed door I was dressing as carefully as a groom.	330.03229334071665
I wore a new double-breasted brown worsted suit with a faint herringbone design and wide lapels like a devil's ears.	1042.6169947944736
My camp-made leather wallet, bulky with twisted, raised stitches around the edges, I stuffed with money I had been saving.	1121.2444363467664
Hatless, in an overcoat of rough blue wool, I was given a proud farewell by my mother and father, and I set out into the strangely still streets of Brooklyn.	846.4613724847969
I felt superior to the neighborhood friends I was leaving behind, felt older than my years, and was full of compliments for myself as I headed into the subway that was carrying its packs of passengers out of that dull borough and into the unstable, tantalizing excitement of Manhattan.	661.134579557535
Times Square, when I ascended to it with my fellow subway travellers all dressed as if for a huge wedding in a family of which we were all distant members, was nearly impassable, the sidewalks swarming with celebrants, with bundled up sailors and soldiers already hugging their girls and their rationed bottles of whiskey.	1866.7246048735344
Heavy-coated, severe-looking policemen sat astride noble horses along the curbside to prevent the revellers from spilling out in front of the crawling traffic.	1852.6096667211746
The night was cold but the crowd kept one warm.	68.30749379232358
The giant electric signs and marquees were lit up for the first time since blackout regulations had been instituted, and the atmosphere was alive with the feeling that victory was just around the corner.	1006.7081432309735
Cardboard noisemakers, substitutes for the unavailable tin models, were being hawked and bought at makeshift stands every few yards along Broadway, and one's ears were continually serenaded by the horns' rasps and bleats.	1880.6379061983494
An old gentlemen next to me held a Boy Scout bugle to his lips and blasted away at every fourth step and during the interim shouted out, "V for Victory"!	1022.9196612172028
His neighbors cheered him on.	33.505509542885505
There was a great sense of camaraderie.	88.45583940733717
How did one join them?	29.51788350855448
Where were they all walking to?	36.36183313660527
Was I supposed to buy a funny hat and a rattle for Jessica?	389.4034719928977
It was a quarter of seven when the crowd washed me up among the other gallants who had established the Astor steps as the beach-head from which to launch their night of merrymaking.	468.523475442707
I looked over their faces and felt a twinge they all looked so much more knowing than I. I looked away.	278.574663342086
I looked for Jessica to materialize out of the clogging, curdling crowd and, as the time passed and I waited, a fiend came to life beside me and whispered in my ear How was I planning to greet Jessica?	1074.6220369764399
Where exactly would we go after the movie?	99.30906999621784
Suppose the lines in front of the movie houses were too long and we couldn't get in?	468.4929415813244
Suppose I hadn't brought along enough money?	145.58793527858876
I felt for my wallet.	37.0845749509253
Its thick, substantial outline calmed me.	127.79496391466415
But when I saw that it was already ten past seven, I began to wonder if something had gone wrong.	311.42798335416126
Suppose her father had changed his mind and had refused to let her leave?	896.8943137580098
Suppose at this very moment her father was calling my house in an effort to cancel the plans?	554.3529404879373
I grew uneasy.	23.168636496186707
All about me there was a hectic interplay of meetings taking place, like abrupt, jerky scenes in old silent movies, joyous greetings and beginnings, huggings and kissings, enthusiastic forays into the festive night.	1240.7364925064326
Whole platoons were taking up new positions on the steps, arriving and departing, while I stayed glued, like a signpost, to one spot.	458.6945424749025
At 725 two hotel doormen came thumping down the steps, carrying a saw-horse to be set up as a barricade in front of the haberdashery store window next to the entranceway, and as I watched them in their gaudy red coats that nearly scraped the ground, their golden, fringed epaulets and spic, red-visored caps, I suddenly saw just over their shoulders Jessica gracefully making her way through the crowd.	1646.91295033313
My heart almost stopped beating.	88.49709375051208
There were thirty-eight patients on the bus the morning I left for Hanover, most of them disturbed and hallucinating.	212.4073258683721
An interne, a nurse and two attendants were in charge of us.	122.37426375264029
I felt lonely and depressed as I stared out the bus window at Chicago's grim, dirty West Side.	489.3688591943951
It seemed incredible, as I listened to the monotonous drone of voices and smelled the fetid odors coming from the patients, that technically I was a ward of the state of Illinois, going to a hospital for the mentally ill.	2234.380769532653
I suddenly thought of Mary Jane Brennan, the way her pretty eyes could flash with anger, her quiet competence, the gentleness and sweetness that lay just beneath the surface of her defenses.	1200.6102239525417
We had become good friends during my stay at Cook County Hospital.	207.06876826579204
I had told her enough about myself to offset somewhat the damaging stories that had appeared in local newspapers after my little adventure in Marshall Field Co. She knew that I lived at a good address on the Gold Coast, that I had once been a medical student and was thinking of returning to the university to finish my medical studies.	1156.1808716688731
She knew also that I was unmarried and without a single known relative.	166.54039656882506
She wasn't quite sure that I felt enough remorse about my drinking, or that I would not return to it once I was out and on my own again.	891.9993863553486
This had worried her.	22.07243795325411
"I read those newspaper stories about you", she had said.	268.435363403512
"You must have loved that girl very much, but you couldn't have meant it when you said that you wanted to kill her".	352.4483610617118
"Why do you say that"?	501.32052459587067
I asked.	2.845731170704088
"I was full of booze and, well, a drunk is apt to do anything he says he'll do".	119.12697450072771
Nonsense!	18.820169421464946
I grew up in an Irish neighborhood on Chicago's West Side.	583.5840085830587
Don't tell me about drunks.	78.58195979134342
You're not the kind to go violent.	25.37953879183644
Were you in love with that girl"?	82.75194055572936
"Would it make any difference to you if I were, Mary Jane"?	140.39024957713917
She met my eyes, suddenly angry.	78.83982418432075
"I wouldn't have gone into nursing if I didn't care about people.	157.70715503738774
I'm interested in every patient I've helped take care of.	93.8243605002764
When I think of people like you, well, I"- "You what, Mary Jane"?	321.1235192574456
"You are young, intelligent, have a whole lifetime before you to make something worth while of yourself, but you mess it up with whiskey, indifference, self-destructive attitudes.	546.346564670755
I don't blame that girl for breaking her engagement with you.	115.58592609319665
Was she pretty"?	41.11629432195558
"Oh, yes", I said, feeling annoyed, "she was very pretty.	546.3579756706479
You don't believe that I'm going back to medical school and finish, do you"?	366.11040116447583
"Why should I?	5.746940131332006
I've worked this ward for three months now.	125.92609190108314
We keep getting the same ones back again and again.	72.94222831371331
They all mean well, have great promises to make when they are about to go home, but drinking is their sickness.	383.5732055930592
You've not seemed like them, but maybe you are.	134.0255770238743
You've treated your stay here like a big joke.	96.45400411258815
It's not a joke to be sent to a place like this or to Hanover.	998.338342783326
I wanted to go to college, to"- "Why didn't you"?	677.0056749297615
I asked.	2.845731170704088
"Chicago has some of the best"- Her eyes flashed angrily.	99.87193353311713
"That's what I mean about you, Anderson", she said.	57.671278837661156
"You don't seem to know much about reality.	139.9854161696027
I'll tell you why I didn't go to college; I'm the oldest of six children.	277.7157446371251
My father's a policeman and makes less than seven thousand dollars a year.	403.30680036519107
There was no money for tuition, for clothes, for all the things you apparently take for granted.	197.64148575450017
Nurses' training here doesn't cost anything.	160.9032179607957
They even pay me six dollars a month.	65.45348471533308
I think it's a good deal.	96.12388354532996
I'm going to become a good nurse, and I've got two baby brothers that are going to have college if I have to work at my profession until I'm an old maid to give it to them".	2208.1227149990723
"Do you have a boy friend"?	20.3717136063544
I asked.	2.845731170704088
"That's none of your business", she said, then changed the subject.	178.16443977102432
"What about your father and mother, don't you think of them when you're in a place like this"?	138.54559868289826
"My father and mother died when I was two years old", I said.	72.14813892413513
"My aunt raised me.	45.417592870076554
Aunt Mary died when I was doing my military service.	206.94849754704782
I have no one but myself to worry about".	33.22089801305902
Something in my voice must have touched her deeply because her anger passed quickly, and she turned away to keep me from seeing her face.	828.697477658334
"I'm sorry", she said.	6.657006096375087
"I don't know what I'd do without my family.	60.342310541358295
We've always been so close".	24.524358012314686
"Tell me more about them".	33.16032780725452
Her eyes became bright as she talked about her father and mother, aunts and uncles, cousins.	423.6864022165335
Listening, I felt cheated and lonely as only an orphan can.	258.09166507890086
When she had finished I said "Your dad sounds like a good father and a good policeman.	608.0949243834315
I'll bet he wouldn't be pleased if a rumdum like me were to ask his daughter for a date- I mean, after I'm out of the hospital, a month or so from now".	515.2468165633533
"My father is a sergeant of detectives and has been attached to Homicide for five years.	141.3110175046845
He's a pretty good judge of character, Anderson.	104.9735130398981
I don't think he'd mind too much if he were sure you'd decided not to be a rumdum in the future".	249.7148882138734
"What about you?	13.719927686411058
How would you feel about it if I were to ask you for a date when I get through at Hanover"?	491.3827591012858
"If I thought you were serious about going back to school, that you'd learned something from your experiences here and at Hanover- well, I might consider such an offer.	787.9730586059661
What about your h that girl you were going to kill"?	517.6046106520793
It suddenly seemed very important to me that Mary Jane Brennan should know the truth about me- that I was not the confused, sick, irresponsible person she believed me to be.	1706.6968124644598
"There are things about me that I can't tell you now, Mary Jane", I said, "but if you'll go out to dinner with me when I get out of Hanover, I'd like to tell you the whole story.	4849.793739894356
I can say this I'm dead serious about going back to school.	115.20820801702298
As for that other girl, let's just say that I never want to see her again.	318.80759400534646
You will get to come home on long weekends from Hanover, won't you"?	164.44301420193392
"Yes, I'll get one overnight a month".	72.93918112407643
"We'll go up to the Edgewater Beach Hotel for dinner", I said.	640.3680855473461
"Do you like to dance?	12.81259484190509
They always have a good orchestra".	35.48622393616665
"I like to dance", she said, then turned and walked away.	442.68999539648564
There hadn't been anything really personal in her interest in me.	103.45828239903948
I knew that.	5.275215316205588
It was just that she felt deeply about every patient on the ward and wanted to believe that they might benefit from their treatment there.	712.1581605932251
Now, riding this hospital bus, feeling isolated and utterly alone, I knew that she was genuine and unique, quite unlike any girl I had known before.	1009.816666804402
It seemed the most important thing in my life at this moment that she should know the real truth about me.	238.9964812136173
It was a fantastic story.	15.878770722761583
Only two people in the state of Illinois knew that I was entering Hanover State Hospital under an assumed name, or why.	702.7571311748392
It was unlikely that any girl as sharp as Mary Jane Brennan would believe it without proof.	325.5174792238622
But I had the proof, all documented in a legal agreement which I would show her the moment I was free to do so.	300.77385124510175
As the bus turned into the main highway and headed toward Hanover I settled back in my seat and closed my eyes, thinking over the events of the past two weeks, trying to put the pieces in order.	1626.7472963265088
I wondered suddenly as I listened to the disconnected jabberings coming from the patient behind me, if I had not perhaps imagined it all.	582.8300497153267
Perhaps this was reality and Dale Nelson, the actor, was delusion; a figment of Carl Anderson's imagination.	286.23976449366
FOUR I had come to Chicago from New York early in September with a dramatic production called Ask Tony.	386.5839906305496
It was a bad play, real grade-A turkey, which only a prevalence of angels with grandiose dreams of capital gain and tax money to burn could have put into rehearsal.	775.472250570647
No one, not even the producer, had any real hope of getting it back to Broadway.	205.03263955620434
But because it was a suspense gangster story of the Capone era, many of us felt that it might catch on for a run in Chicago, continue as a road company, and eventually become a movie.	2197.6452352076567
Such optimism was completely unjustified.	92.79564678993634
The critics literally screamed their indignation.	105.5621730229637
Ask Tony was doomed from the moment Kupcinet leveled on it in his Sun-Times column.	953.7963192752884
We opened on Friday and closed the following Monday.	83.7217731354645
Out of the entire cast I alone received good notices for my portrayal of a psychopathic killer.	593.6627178133571
This let me in for a lot of kidding from the rest of the company, two members of which were native Chicagoans.	141.98483934807538
We were paid off Tuesday morning and given tickets back to New York.	137.1002228259447
I felt lonely and depressed as I packed my bags at the Croydon Hotel.	288.93755330600175
It seemed to me that my life was destined to be one brilliant failure after another.	311.1599807695772
I had been among the top third in my class at NYU, had wanted desperately to go to medical school, but I'd run out of money and energy at the same time.	417.841647248965
Then later I had quit my safe, secure five-a-week spot on a network soap opera to take a part in this play.	893.1621301595636
It seemed to me that I was not only unlucky but quite stupid as well.	220.78620413918782
I knew that I'd soon be back working as an orderly at the hospital or as a counterman at Union News or Schraffts while waiting for another acting job to open.	1715.002178270974
It suddenly occurred to me that I did not particularly like acting, that I was at some sort of crossroads and would have to decide soon what I was going to do with my life.	3550.0702785126837
I closed the last bag and stood all three at the door for the bellboy to pick up, then went to the bathroom for a drink of water.	401.20208713903503
The telephone rang.	23.796281538804184
When I answered it a voice too dignified and British to be real said, "Is this Mr Dale Nelson, the actor"?	363.61984170466604
"All right", I said.	44.62638381080228
"Why don't you bastards lay off for a while"?	64.98355910424493
"I beg your pardon, sir"?	96.76232602853653
"All right.	3.3441791718922933
This is Dale Nelson h the actor".	71.79959059033631
"Good.	7.682297108484888
I'm calling you, Mr Nelson, at the request of Mr Phillip Wycoff.	105.8181951501289
Could you possibly have lunch with him today?	92.51858191018314
His car could pick you up at your hotel at twelve".	158.04508756641792
I smiled.	10.767380895372929
"You'll send the Rolls-Royce, of course"?	36.872917847226304
"Yes, of course, Mr Nelson".	24.2995118232862
I started to say something else appropriate, but the man had hung up.	102.84136327708728
I finally went downstairs to the bar off the main lobby where most of the cast were drowning their sorrows over the untimely passing of Ask Tony.	1956.7728094237393
They all bowed low as I approached them.	77.84548428480139
"All right, you bastards", I said, "the great actor is about to buy a drink".	465.65290102356954
I laid a tenspot on the bar and motioned to the bartender to serve a round.	157.1751112738651
He had just returned my change when the doorman came in off the street to page me.	283.2658729559912
I walked over to him.	14.537024975705867
"You Mr Nelson"?	32.984099198335
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
"That's right".	10.517554479276507
"Mr Wycoff's car is waiting for you at the east entrance".	117.89842603409697
I followed him out through the lobby to the street.	52.768997724375666
An ancient Rolls-Royce, as shiningly impressive as the day it came off the ship, was parked at the curb.	388.1371529419711
The elderly chauffeur, immaculate in a dark uniform, stood stiffly at attention holding open the door of the town car.	1194.096077787131
I was giving the parked cars the once-over.	63.72837150857316
The Oldsmobile with the license number JYJ 114 was in stall number five.	287.0970694773886
"Okay", I said to the attendant, "I'll let you know if I close the deal on the office in this building".	830.2082372689177
I walked with him back to the entrance.	1127.5633363507159
He gave me a ticket on the agency car and parked it.	100.77956533065006
I was back in ten minutes.	19.212949426654394
"Forgot to get something out of the car", I told him, showing him my ticket.	523.0705230033066
He started to say something as I walked in and then suddenly grinned and said, "Oh, yes.	164.67942290557608
You're the one I was talking to about a monthly rental.	163.36013158765172
"That's right", I told him.	53.901688638955356
He consulted the parking ticket, then looked at a notation and said, "You're in the third row back toward the rear.	619.1426730647331
Can you find it all right"?	41.907589329018286
"Sure", I told him.	10.18397705500332
I went back to the agency car and got out an electric bug, one of the newest devices for electronic shadowing.	1852.513988540541
I always keep a set in the car.	76.88988596277306
I put in new batteries so as to be certain I'd have plenty of power and on my way out walked over to the regular parking stalls and stood looking at them thoughtfully.	1763.7859534484705
I waited until the parking attendant was busy with a customer, then slipped around the back of the car with license number JYM 114, attached the electronic bug to the rear bumper and walked out.	1791.0857332562648
The attendant waved me on.	42.706724897110035
One of the hardest chores a detective has is hanging around on a city street, trying to make himself inconspicuous, keeping an eye on the entrance of an office building and waiting.	443.76985476945697
For the first fifteen or twenty minutes it's possible to be more or less interested in window displays, then in people passing by.	568.4913339496346
After a while, however, a person's mind gets fed up and that magnifies all of the disagreeable physical symptoms which go with that sort of an assignment.	567.5411320103844
You want to sit down.	33.61061980595823
Your leg muscles and back muscles feel weary.	219.03948588094258
You're conscious of the fact that your feet hurt, that the city pavements are hard.	272.94170011737083
I waited a solid two hours before my man came out of the office building.	115.82869756207788
He came out alone.	16.48527329118559
I wasn't far behind him when he entered the parking lot and hurried over to his car.	273.6838786544431
The attendant recognized me once more and said, "What did you do about that office"?	198.6823970792898
"I haven't made up my mind yet", I said.	51.88399113588688
"It's a sublease.	21.1151560046455
I have a couple of them I'm figuring on; one here and one that's out quite a ways where there's usually curb parking".	566.652794454296
"That curb parking is undependable and annoying, particularly when it rains", he said.	212.36528549058593
I kept trying to get him to take my money.	5115.158448107232
"Okay", I told him.	10.236858954354856
"I'm in a rush right now.	84.32126326057568
I know where the car is.	18.73846298648166
Want me to drive it out"?	81.62906543571151
"I'll have one of the boys get it", he said.	118.78454439044941
"It's one of the rules on transients.	1400.5424201275969
Regulars drive out their own cars".	100.46939707056036
"Make it as snappy as you can, will you"?	93.73419407450697
I asked.	2.845731170704088
"Oh, that's all right", he said.	58.39349060988893
"You're going to be a regular.	278.65666388474824
You'll get in the office building here.	79.77741432279505
You don't want to lease a place way out in the sticks.	99.61961184529494
You get business where the business is, not where it isn't".	71.95929111311604
I grinned at him, handed him a couple of dollars and said, "By the time you get the parking charge figured up, there should be a cigar in it for you".	238.8402447203891
I hurried over to the agency heap, jumped in, started the motor and was just in time to see the car I wanted to shadow turn to the left.	2016.1237293333402
I was held up a bit trying to make a left turn.	242.8095884476661
By the time I'd made it he was gone.	321.3193069937375
Traffic was pretty heavy.	37.37998711427415
I turned on the electric bug, and the signal came in loud and clear.	124.4262526001216
I made time and picked him up within ten blocks.	112.2311735079032
I stayed half a block behind him, letting lots of cars keep in between us, listening to the steady beep h beep h beep.	656.6913709924555
After fifteen minutes of traffic driving he turned to the left.	664.7139008913405
I couldn't see him, but the electric bugging device gave steady beeps when it was straight ahead, short half beeps when the car I was following was to the left, and long drawn-out beeps when it turned to the right.	2741.077963751488
If it ever got behind me, the beep turned to a buzz.	449.632685761372
I turned left too soon and got a signal showing that I was still behind him but he was to the right.	1648.792112669228
After a while the signal became a buzz and I knew he was behind me.	93.17960554683306
That meant he'd parked someplace.	124.82066310269519
I made a big circle until I located the car parked at the curb in front of an apartment house.	256.80171962127173
I found a parking place half a block away, sat in the car and waited.	734.9038352929578
My quarry was in the apartment house for two hours.	462.9029306798986
Then he came out and started driving toward the beach.	70.01788410949185
By this time it was dark.	12.084549519700559
I could get up close to him where there was traffic but had to drop far behind when there wasn't traffic.	520.4635551012947
My lights would have been a giveaway if I'd tried to shadow him in the conventional manner.	310.0032091168322
Moreover, I'd have lost him if it hadn't been for the electronic shadowing device h. His signal was coming loud and clear and then all of a sudden it turned to a buzz.	691.8457833259307
I circled the block and found he was in the parking lot of a high-class restaurant.	311.7144964651046
I sat where I could watch the exit and realized I was hungry.	97.23628710868125
I sat there with the faint odor of charcoal-broiled steaks tantalizing my nostrils and occasionally catching the aroma of coffee.	726.9965841697358
My man came out an hour later, drove to the beach, turned right and after half a mile went to the Swim and Tan Motel.	584.1822323581468
It was a fairly modern motel with quite a bit of electrical display in front.	548.806971134792
I remembered it was the Peeping Tom place.	84.2497541001779
I waited until my man was coming out of the office with the key to a cabin before I went in to register.	320.3131538600149
The card the man I was shadowing had filled out was still on the counter.	160.42386968240635
I noticed that he was in Unit 12 and that he had registered under the name of Oscar L Palmer and wife, giving a San Francisco address.	525.0906583341551
He had written out the license number of his car but had transposed the last two figures, an old dodge which is still good.	196.15775555687725
Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the motel manager doesn't check the license number on the plates against the license number the tenant writes out.	738.7258506913871
If he does, it's still better than an even chance he won't notice the transposition of the numbers, and if he should notice it, the thing can be passed off as an honest mistake.	1439.5236562850291
I used the alias of Robert C Richards, gave the first three letters and the first and last figure of the license number on the agency heap, but a couple of phony numbers in between.	701.2201824369218
I could have written anything.	25.308391971008234
The manager of the motel was a woman who apparently didn't care.	103.6660705261567
She was complying with the law in regard to registrations but she certainly wasn't checking license numbers or bothering the tenants.	527.1257259402173
"You mean you're all alone, Mr Richards"?	432.04602645704887
"That's right".	10.517554479276507
"Your wife isn't going to join you- later"?	147.80384069268828
"I don't think so".	8.406753199587671
"If you expect her to show up", she said, "you'd better put 'and wife' on there.	984.8258913544784
It's a formality, you know".	33.06434700368376
"Any difference in the rate"?	126.09959122445235
I asked.	2.845731170704088
"Not to you", she said smiling.	550.9909966335915
"It's ten dollars either way.	52.605727224631956
There are ice cubes in a container at the far end and in another by the office.	79.79050443580684
There are three soft-drink vending machines, and if you should be joined by- anybody- try to keep things quiet, if you will.	1662.546793401393
We like to run a nice quiet place".	70.1985592784467
"Thank you", I told her.	21.97514620842396
I took another sidelong glance at the other registration card, then took the key to Unit 13 that she had given me and went down long enough to park the car.	733.7204194227548
The construction was reasonably solid; not like the cracker-box construction of so many of the motel units that have stucco all over the outside but walls that are thin enough so you can hear every movement of the people in the adjoining apartment.	814.3296891103109
I put a small electric amplifier against the wall on the side I wanted to case.	1084.6147176035306
With the aid of that I could hear my man moving around, heard him cough a couple of times, heard the toilet flush, heard the sound of water running.	585.0507521362642
Whoever his companion was going to be, she was going to join him later.	444.0764259012762
She knew where to come.	22.062469993767365
He didn't have to telephone.	18.651912769295468
I was so hungry my stomach felt all lines of communication had been severed.	245.59952993943773
It's one thing to go without food when you're occupied with some work or when you're simply postponing a meal, but when you're dependent on someone else and know that you can't eat until he's bedded down for the night, hunger can be a gnawing torture.	2433.5338274684427
I had noticed a drive-in down the road a quarter of a mile.	47.57028296420519
The batteries on the bugging device I had put on the car were still fresh enough to send out good strong signals.	662.5656943822454
The powerful microphone I could press against the wall between my motel unit and that occupied by the man would bring in the sound of any conversation, and I was positively nauseated I was so hungry.	2584.960630063785
I got in the car, drove down to the drive-in and ordered a couple of hamburgers with everything included, a cup of coffee and the fastest service possible.	7925.609702471478
The place wasn't particularly busy at that time of night, and the girl who was waiting on me, who was clothed in the tightest-fitting pair of slacks I had ever seen on a woman and a sweater that showed everything there was- and there was lots of it- wanted to be sociable.	1687.4634569108357
"You really in a hurry, Handsome"?	87.34050302076726
she asked.	3.5150327112772244
"I'm in a hurry, Beautiful".	268.1791018015152
"It's early in the evening to be in a hurry.	765.8027133514905
There's lots of time left".	36.37761819179602
"There may not be any women left", I said.	245.0611605865759
She gave a little pout and said, "I don't get off work until eleven o'clock.	222.43671421206182
That's when my evening commences".	64.85586886078744
"I'll be here at ten-fifty-five", I said.	121.74402070959988
"Oh, you!"	8.479232892158285
she announced.	15.184961863845045
"That's what they all say.	22.403305522927976
What's that thing going buzz-buzz-buzz in your car"?	393.6100638077035
I said "Darn it, that's the automatic signal that shows when the ignition key is on.	227.3992948881264
I didn't turn it off".	19.679117960894462
I reached over and switched off the electronic bugging device.	170.17905851067152
She went in to get the hamburgers, and I switched on the device again and kept the signal from Dowling's car coming in steady and clear until I saw her starting back with the hamburgers.	523.6344936696362
Then I shut off the device again.	50.655440371199184
She wanted to hang around while I was eating.	65.85237531712671
"Don't you think it's selfish to have dinner before you go to pick her up"?	244.96395742628806
"No", I said.	3.0656929303179217
"It's a kindness to her.	18.764267666826488
You see, she's on a diet.	35.26352386700041
She'll eat just a pineapple and cottage cheese salad and I'm to have one with her so she won't feel out of place".	259.2743207226562
"diets can be terrible", the girl said.	62.952089505410505
"How much overweight is she"?	39.842513568589936
"Not a bit", I said, "but she's keeping her figure in hand".	237.7880262325918
She looked at me provocatively.	44.8095434250939
"Good figures should be kept in hand", she said, and walked away with an exaggerated wiggle.	792.4006813420406
I turned on the device again, half fearful that I might find silence, but the buzzes came in loud and clear.	263.00937142871703
When I switched on the lights for her to come and get the check, I had the exact change plus a dollar tip.	326.3843605948121
The fat man said, "All we gotta do is go around the corner".	146.38208562327128
The gun moved.	13.146571272455143
The thin man said, "That-a-way".	48.20974320645128
"- second building on the right".	519.1036268290723
"- it says police right on the door".	58.2858079308435
"- so even if we was as dumb as you take us for, we could still find it".	134.36943685687137
Roberta and Dave began to back toward the door.	225.72450977619116
The thin man waved the gun again.	68.47327388272325
He said, "Right around the corner".	25.91165010908507
"It says water works, but there is a policeman on duty, too".	70.73134444377595
"A night policeman just like in the States.	198.03635552632485
You know"?	6.927961715172486
"Canada doesn't have much of this here juvenile delinquency problem, but we keep a night policeman all the same on account of the crazy tourists".	639.8420079056016
At the door, Dave paused to feel for the latch.	109.74310692222015
Roberta glanced up at her husband.	90.4647005641943
He was going to be sensible and not try to do anything rash with that gun pointed at him.	116.49718669380255
She measured the distance from where they stood to the men and the gun, measured the distance from the men to the back room.	763.8389294848256
She decided to risk it.	27.818884252648573
There was something phony about all this gun waving- something not quite what it seemed in the detailed directions for finding the police.	256.9467082453832
Dave had the latch under his thumb now and he removed his arm from his wife in order to pull the door open.	698.806174401459
In a flash she was away to the back, paying no attention to three angry shouts from the male throats.	307.0577138997961
She tore open the back door.	37.439836196020586
It was dark inside the room but enough light spilled from the restaurant behind her to enable her to make out a round table with a green cloth top.	373.04771311099717
There was a small sideboard with some empty beer bottles on it and perhaps fifteen wooden chairs.	529.7856990433779
Slowly she turned to face the men again.	46.310951349614
Rat-face at the counter was on his feet.	87.99235798865755
The distance between where she stood and where Dave waited at the outside door was a hundred miles.	254.36382707955156
Keeping her frightened gaze on the men at the counter, she began to feel her way to the door.	309.9889236928718
She sidled along the booths one step at a time.	91.37738665111907
The gun followed her.	19.460029486016328
As she reached Dave and felt his arm go around her, felt him pull her to the safety of his person, she knew with the certainty of despair that something bad had happened to Lauren.	492.2068080667233
The two men watched as Dave closed the door behind them, watched them cross the sidewalk to their car.	166.49570343527498
It was getting light.	9.162368820571428
The fat man removed his apron, put on a greasy and wrinkled jacket, and zipped it over his paunch.	696.8275257718238
The thin man moved swiftly to the phone and dialed a number.	134.50926206885165
When he was answered, he said, "Albert?	35.12387110958381
Vince.	16.05296361890169
I'm sending you a couple of customers- yeah- just get them out of my hair and keep them out- I don't give a damn what you tell them- only don't believe a word they say- they're out to make trouble for me and it is up to you to stop them- I don't care how- and one more thing- Cate's Cafe closed at eleven like always last night and Rose and Clarence Corsi left for Quebec yesterday- some shrine or other- I think it was called Saint Simon's- yeah, yesterday.	2829.036434713003
Got it"?	16.93821801129705
He turned from the phone and strode to the front of the restaurant.	55.62876439024453
The white Buick hadn't moved away yet.	110.2588055118906
Good.	7.682297108484888
A line of worry formed, a twitch pulled his mouth over to one side.	157.11499733247814
He said, "Grosse?	19.683709142632853
You ain't kidding me- the kid don't know the name of this town"?	252.39191203019675
"I ain't kidding you, Vince.	118.54117628083202
How could she?	14.535362538891992
She musta been walking in her sleep- you seen her yourself in here".	204.1129826836505
"Howda I know"?	50.465252632032396
"Remember how she looked when Barney held the door for her?	154.34145700917503
Kinda like a zombie?	106.80159665594289
She was just waking up when we found her at the garage".	87.20813271039316
Vince swore.	43.53094638705767
"Stupid fools- ain't got enough brains between the two of you"- Grosse muttered, his head down, one hand playing with the zipper on his jacket.	773.8795385590348
"- had enough brains to call ya up so as ya could do sompin about it when the parents- I coulda let her go go"- His eyes were lowered, so he couldn't have seen the narrow, pointed face of his companion suddenly writhe with fury; but he was aware of it just the same.	1240.962386663362
He knew Vince Steiner was one of those men who had to work up a fury once in a while just to prove how dangerous he could be.	8112.942758707035
With a curse, Vince seized the thing nearest, a glass sugar container with a spouted metal top, and threw it against the wall opposite.	1062.295807137913
The heavy glass didn't break, but the top flew off; sugar sprayed with a hiss that was loud in the silence.	372.99316411512405
Not really startled, but careful to appear so, Grosse sucked noisily on his pipe.	406.00778050668055
Vince cursed steadily.	80.84993373378799
"Why does everything have to happen to me"?	46.659461002674234
Grosse quietly got a broom and started to sweep up the sugar.	275.53704053482426
Vince watched him.	41.660094227097936
His mouth worked over the profanity, the obscenities in his vocabulary.	172.14471198114774
Once he said, "Why'n hell didn't you look in the back seat of the car before you drove off?	845.5872805152648
Don't you and Barney ever use your brains"?	143.6996637613191
The fat man didn't answer.	19.110686798641343
He got one of the menus and brushed the spilled sugar onto it and carried it to a box on the floor behind the counter.	289.7006231883459
He returned the menu to its place between catchup bottle and paper napkin dispenser.	389.3605319060025
He spoke soothingly.	22.53893674981174
"She don't know nothing about them cars.	72.20796582487587
She thinks she's in a ordinary garage".	102.21186655072755
"How do you know, stupid?	95.28426111989013
And put Cate's gun back".	67.95958314425455
"I know".	4.505871426233801
Grosse tucked the gun under the counter.	146.55966581179078
"- one word of this gets to Guardino"- "Who's telling Guardino"?	437.60859700214127
Vince swore again.	53.86872988492737
"You get that kid over to Rose's house".	103.1429856653225
The fat man winced.	18.946756071469636
He ran a finger down his cheek, tracing the scratch there.	128.52451470620784
"Why can't I leave her locked up in the tool crib"?	492.7944405760241
The thin man stopped his pacing long enough to glance at the clock.	164.13041134450506
"You and Barney get her over to Rose's before it gets too light.	235.33013488093502
After Guardino's left, we'll dump the kid somewhere near the border where she kin get home.	397.67625990641477
God help you if she knows where she's been".	152.75205178767732
Grosse spread his hands.	45.105537983254706
"What am I going to do with her all day?	43.186067032237
In the tool crib she can't get away".	97.38516076406344
"What the hell do I care what you do with her all day?	62.85015910105835
Just get her where Guardino won't see her and start asking questions".	274.4732377248079
Grosse swore now.	49.296861619175374
"Dammit all, Vince.	63.880422069593386
I ain't no baby sitter".	70.76556161660176
Vince shouted finally, "Get her over to Rose's and I'll come by and see that she stays put".	258.36679050010383
Grosse rubbed the bridge of his nose where it was swollen.	229.76601333587044
He spoke sullenly.	22.53893674981174
"You don't hafta get nasty.	71.29244172879653
I wish you luck when you try scaring that kid".	134.26256726461327
Suddenly he grinned.	17.537537080557673
His voice lost its sullen tones and he chuckled.	159.41513294979424
"I got one question".	16.91495756663035
"What is it"?	3.2041059019629534
Impatiently.	16.05296361890169
"Are you a poor dumb Canadian or a smart aleck from the States"?	222.0063664977406
Vince lifted his hand as if to strike, but his thin lips spread in a smile.	283.7872368721842
Grosse ducked and sniggered.	128.1791058662614
"Where'd you say you was born"?	115.64374739133989
"In a Chicago slum just like you.	44.87255440672643
And I ain't going back there on account of one lousy kid".	201.83422843948472
Lauren Landis rubbed her face against the blanket.	259.0011172072535
She had cried a little because she was frightened.	71.861094131762
She could easily understand why the two men had been startled to find a strange girl in the back seat of their car she had figured that out, but she couldn't understand their subsequent actions.	848.5426024993305
Was it because she had shown panic?	89.19863371371552
Who could blame her for that?	43.18276044905692
It was one thing to awaken outside a restaurant where your parents were eating and quite another to awaken in a strange garage and know your parents had gone on home without you.	385.39872606755563
She was glad the fat man had left.	44.53387652536935
Barney was not really frightening.	67.52358485058824
She jumped as the little man now appeared at the window and, reaching through the opening, offered her a bottle of coke.	278.7343706408559
She smiled at him wetly.	72.02557414649927
Although she found she was thirsty, she was about to refuse never, never take candy from a strange man when she saw the bottle was unopened.	1136.3440622592273
He placed a bottle opener on the counter.	93.73941835887506
So, he understood her panic.	41.3100060096886
She blew her nose on a tissue and opened the coke bottle.	267.0600500108113
It was icy cold and tasted delicious.	97.60072150963389
She felt a lift in spirit.	41.54589257687515
When she was finished she pushed it back.	41.358452399833766
The man was busy doing something to the inside of the door-frame on the driver's side of a car.	1065.8663092722693
She called softly, "Barney".	61.62856471806583
He looked in her direction but he didn't answer.	59.706851335648594
She said, "Barney, why is he keeping me here"?	88.52755251335874
Still no answer.	18.31648335704262
He seemed to be looking at a point above the little window.	48.72888692467708
Lauren said, "Why can't I call my home?	206.71979638607348
Or borrow some money from someone and go home by bus?	248.59610675354017
I could send the money right back".	37.03739170153008
Barney finished the cigarette he had been smoking.	175.12255188792963
He dropped it and carefully ground it to nothing with the sole of his heavy shoe.	154.86909828341393
Now he looked at her.	457.7155942160915
He said, "I only work here".	72.04382091464413
Lauren said, "Please"?	81.84594989900029
But he was back at work on a car.	91.5141763212294
She dropped her head on her arms on the counter.	116.90412559724341
How could he be kind one moment and cruel the next?	91.68843083816512
Did he know something that made him feel sad and sorry for her?	184.62781259402033
And was he afraid to do anything as definite as releasing her?	170.86431561109643
Her heart was thumping painfully; the unknown was so much worse than- what dangers lay ahead for her?	488.6962042038022
What awful thing had she to face in the next few hours?	75.88755971227543
Something wet and hot was trickling on her wrists.	168.6228522692697
Tears?	12.48556392627508
With a sturdy act of will she turned her mind away from herself; as long as she could do nothing constructive about the situation she was in, she would think about something else.	393.43159161725777
Her mother and father, for instance.	21.03578957055571
Where were they now?	18.43613426756022
In her mind she followed the white Buick along the road somewhere between here and the Niagara River.	307.3891269757468
Her father's attention would be on the road ahead and it wouldn't deviate an inch until he crossed the bridge at the Falls and took the River Road to LaSalle and, finally, turned in at their own driveway at 387 Heather Heights.	991.4629709243759
Then he would yawn and stretch and shout, "All out.	91.32290717949269
This is the end of the line".	6.523378106499483
And what would her mother be doing right now?	85.38862039342764
Her mother would be fast asleep curled up against that wonderful, big, safe, solid shoulder next to her on the front seat.	582.1910641899171
Lauren Landis was in trouble and she was alone.	114.01131385030513
Roberta Landis put her hand on her husband's arm as he slid in the driver's seat beside her.	714.6028096855014
Somewhere birds were sweetly calling, were answered.	148.98201645962845
Her teeth chattered so that she made three attempts at speech before she became intelligible.	385.4783172093707
"Dave.	11.649634568401213
I saw that woman's apron behind the door.	59.33326275077638
There was a wet spot- she couldn't have been gone long".	95.98833937682645
Dave made some sound meant to convey agreement.	155.13853443944635
He inserted the car key in the lock.	69.65280604225276
Roberta was violently trembling.	105.10024805047647
She stammered, "You heard what he said about police?	174.66039270839795
Why don't we drive around the corner"?	66.88092587375988
The car door crashed shut.	53.04249108719824
The engine throbbed into life.	38.3042880596008
Dave said, "I got the message.	120.0705433767969
We're going".	31.47975580775737
Roberta said, "No.	33.85717051321883
You go.	8.597709851559197
Walk.	9.610812679755654
Suppose Lauren comes looking for us?	107.96485371589112
I can sit here in the car while you walk around the corner".	211.88764200367885
The big car sprang away from the curb like something alive.	173.68762064175198
He said, "I'm not going to leave my wife and my car out here in sight of those"- Roberta glanced at him and stopped trembling.	283.9260100557693
His jowls were spiked by barbs of graying beard.	318.10465988133166
His small, mean eyes regarded Marty steadily, unblinkingly.	256.83754546337195
His eyes were threaded by little filaments of red as if tiny veins had burst and flooded blood into them.	486.26880043178056
As he chewed his gum and exuded wheezing breath, Marty smelt the reek of bad whiskey.	816.7657553880289
Marty recognized the man.	28.98669569712551
He had driven the car that passed them on the road outside Admassy's place.	283.33026722416264
This was Acey Squire, proprietor of the juke joint.	133.2471235933355
Marty smiled at Squire pleasantly and said, "There was a cab waiting for me here.	394.1209433274417
Do you know where it might have gone"?	182.16952733784578
Squire chewed his gum, his jaw moving in a steady rhythm.	334.0306926761456
He looked straight at Marty.	43.474562200396484
He did not answer.	15.341961548187387
Marty scanned the faces of the others nearest him, looked into their staring eyes.	515.0469920948191
"Did anyone see my cab"?	97.4662966184995
he asked, keeping his voice casual.	255.83883486555553
He avoided showing any surprise or annoyance when no one answered him.	229.8580398435343
"I have to get back to Jarrodsville", he went on.	580.1777416025777
"I see there are some cars here.	45.12889550809761
I wonder if one of you gentlemen could drive me back to town?	124.52424886139923
I'd be happy to pay for the favor, of course".	82.30969107661329
The seventeen men stood and stared at him for a moment longer.	271.636503610123
And then a startling thing occurred.	39.641351796398055
It was so utterly unexpected that Marty stood for several moments with his mouth hanging open foolishly after it had happened.	1767.7120996670044
There was no word spoken, no apparent signal given.	144.96661172993302
Yet the men all moved at the same instant.	43.57617608225996
They piled into the waiting cars, motors roared, the cars sped off.	243.79199508576488
The station wagon and the old Plymouth headed east toward Jarrodsville.	284.2416024581601
The Ford and the pickup truck sped west toward Sanford's Run.	423.47578708395446
In seconds all four cars were out of sight.	151.51862638027123
Marty Land stood alone on a red-clay road as storm clouds gathered ominously in the sky again.	681.9782505748519
From a great distance thunder growled and broke the silence.	163.0073003267526
Land looked back toward the dilapidated house.	105.98341801235202
He thought he saw a pale face at a window.	26.54801111679118
Perhaps it was Dora May.	26.260243413336575
Perhaps she would be glad that they hadn't hurt him.	138.91086746811447
There were other farmhouses nearby.	28.560049577378066
Across the road there was one no more than a hundred yards away.	98.25111106191616
There was another on this side, a little further down.	108.92503445994765
There were many more between here and Jarrodsville.	156.51223106393903
Telephone poles lined the road.	57.22490355528145
They reared tall and mocking.	72.94642730923074
Their wires stretched out into infinity.	117.41772885493933
Not a single strand of wire reached into the silent houses beside the red-clay road.	226.85020485678388
There was nothing he could do but walk.	33.74777298786055
And Jarrodsville was more than three miles away, down an old dirt road that the rain had turned into a quagmire.	705.1546984236743
Marty faced east and started walking down the left side of the road.	98.6632918990851
After he had proceeded a few feet, he paused and turned up the cuffs of his trousers, which were already damp and mud-caked.	848.182582121441
The viscous mud was ankle-deep, and in places great puddles spread across the road and reflected the murky light.	1720.5764965130452
As he approached the first farmhouse, thunder sounded behind him again, closer now and louder, like a steadily advancing drum corps.	409.5028847671066
There were several people on the porch of the farmhouse.	317.0395749169495
There was a very old man and a young woman and a brood of children ranging from toddlers to teen-agers.	856.4792929624393
For just an instant he thought of appealing to them for help.	96.9446195457186
Perhaps they had a car or truck and would drive him into town.	119.22187308895647
Then he realized the utter futility of the idea.	205.3180759532561
They were staring at him in the same blank and menacing way that the men outside the gate had stared.	343.64010973467134
Even the eyes of the smallest children seemed malicious.	196.89963333661427
On his side of the road there were two farm hands, well back in a field, leaning against a plow.	606.5337615049176
They, too, stared at him.	14.094216921512892
The drums of thunder were right behind him now.	80.30036017108964
A foolish thought came into his head.	57.443883364958445
He remembered a story he had read as a youth.	59.99954172707429
It was probably one of Kipling's tales of the British Army.	514.5252032404211
It concerned an officer who had been disgraced and drummed out.	1261.3575985278069
The steady roll of the drums had sounded behind him as he walked between the endless ranks of the men he had commanded, and each man about-faced and turned his back as the officer approached.	1191.0548447485155
Marty wished these poor farm people would turn their backs.	337.5230013923168
The fencing by the roadside ended.	57.722671695577134
Now the dirt highway was bordered on either side by a fairly deep drainage ditch, too broad to leap over unless you were an Olympic star.	825.0577827420963
The day's rain had been added to the stagnant water.	107.43056216691109
He was trapped on the road when he heard the sound of an approaching car.	246.89047855215517
It was coming toward him.	15.61609866374177
The car was now in sight.	16.191631818536322
Marty's heart skipped a beat when he recognized it.	186.11554716354382
It was the station wagon that had passed his cab on the road, the station wagon that had been parked at the Burch farm.	500.30144248887746
Acey Squire's station wagon.	111.61674326566389
It had headed back toward Jarrodsville.	78.26004630182777
That had only been a ruse to lure him out on the deserted road.	179.85237600478283
Now Acey and his friends were returning to seek him out.	344.21562621426807
The station wagon came to a stop a couple of hundred feet in front of him, beside a fenced field.	252.84015030173325
Then there was another sound.	14.962075257575263
A second car was coming from the west, from the direction of Sanford's Run.	369.3619335366495
It was the Ford that had been outside Burch's farm.	78.25775122388266
Marty looked helplessly in both directions.	141.48418565209712
It was a narrow road, barely wide enough for two cars to pass.	102.04958072862942
He could not leave the road because of the water-filled drainage ditch.	154.1869522525153
When the two cars were equidistant from him, the station wagon started up again and the Ford gathered speed.	457.69010587866745
They bore down on him.	151.98386246459518
There was nothing he could do except jump into the ditch.	81.67739978188642
He jumped, and sank to his knees in muddy water.	89.61549052944893
As the two cars roared by, there was a high-pitched eerie, nerve-shattering sound.	1338.4656602255066
Marty knew how the Union soldiers must have felt at Chancellorsville and Antietam and Gettysburg when the ragged gray ranks charged at them, screaming the wild banshee howl they called the Rebel yell.	1616.5529563287607
For moments he stood in water, shivering and gasping for breath.	465.8537779971416
He had turned his ankle slightly, and it pained him.	98.13438380085555
The cars, with their load of howling men, had disappeared in the distance.	191.26179900721283
There had been two more cars parked at the farm, a Plymouth and a pickup truck.	138.22882033150046
They would be coming for him next, bearing down on him from both directions.	112.61803320952762
And then the station wagon and the Ford would seek him out again.	93.32431314925692
He would be harassed repeatedly and would escape death by inches time after time, all the way to Jarrodsville.	410.47862822053463
He still had three miles to go.	33.21893724029167
Back East the more affluent juvenile delinquents, who could afford hyped-up autos instead of switch blades as lethal weapons, played this same game and called it "Chicken".	1646.3106743374383
He could not go through the fields.	23.394497018390418
That way was barred on both sides of the road by a high barbed-wire fence.	253.62100569397896
He had to make for the section of road just ahead that was bordered by the rail fence, the section by the farmhouse.	674.6530021197223
At least he could climb up on the fence when his tormenters roared by again.	210.73302732359127
The Admassy place could not be far now.	69.60673955948889
He would go in there, climb through the window, and at least be safe for a little while and able to rest.	735.214149667296
There was even a bare chance that the phone had not been disconnected.	95.73841640554437
He did not dare climb back up to the road.	213.0689176178545
He was deep in water, but at least they could not reach him there.	283.42087287686786
He splashed on, mud sucking at his feet with each step, until he reached the end of the drainage ditch and the beginning of the fence that enclosed the farm.	537.6689849931122
He climbed back to the road, and he felt utterly exhausted.	137.38808394636192
He stood, panting, for a moment.	16.427005117302333
And then he saw something that he had not seen before, and panic gripped him again.	246.62752898078904
The fence, his only refuge when the metal death came roaring at him, was made of rails, all right, but the rails were protected by a thick screening of barbed wire that would rip his flesh if he pressed against it.	1551.2631488864256
He lurched on down the road despairingly, because there was no place else to go.	2893.8433570074694
He lost all sense of dignity.	389.6764756678134
You could not stand on dignity when you were soaked and muddied and your life was at stake.	110.70571211979785
Probably people were watching him from the porch or from behind the windows of this farmhouse, too, but he did not bother to look.	654.2779567701032
He broke into a dogtrot, breathing heavily, streaming with sweat.	169.37985096331178
He had to reach Admassy's place.	37.30919115839271
It was his only sanctuary.	17.637705282902193
The fences on both sides of the road bristled with the barbed wire.	624.6355659191768
The fences stretched on endlessly.	70.82477371324869
And then he heard them.	19.23553869540501
And now he saw them.	16.28485645995694
The Plymouth was coming at him from the east, the pickup truck from the west.	256.9481358630442
They had timed it better this time.	33.50208658915273
They would reach him at almost exactly the same instant.	578.038389939635
He stopped stone-still.	24.864819636267615
If he backed against the fence, one of the cars would brush him as it passed, and he would be cruelly lacerated by the wire.	498.9175530196281
He stumbled to the middle of the road and simply stood there, waiting for them, a perfect target.	4077.416942259802
The cars must have had their gas pedals pushed down to the floor boards.	380.84987143054866
They were coming on at reckless speed for such old vehicles.	110.28777778239593
They thundered at him.	22.633256352518288
He held his arms close to his sides and made himself as small as possible.	206.92021187013285
When the Plymouth neared, it veered toward him and seemed about to run him down.	181.58270948299082
He forced himself to stay frozen there.	68.15397522577886
If he moved, he would be in the path of the other car.	884.4343198506956
He thought the fender of the Plymouth brushed his jacket as it went by.	129.57884649074418
In a fraction of a second the pickup truck hurtled by on the other side.	998.9399363497758
The weird, insane sound of the Rebel yell reverberated again and echoed from the distant hills.	461.66610433846745
He did not leave the middle of the road.	78.33300112819147
He did not try to run.	50.016988503012485
He trudged on, his aching eyes focused straight ahead.	171.68160264084287
He was nearing the Admassy house.	42.781337240560276
He was going to make it, he told himself.	376.15914339486073
And then he heard a car coming from the east, and he felt as if he would break down and weep.	438.2914209346673
"Oh, no, not again", he said aloud.	845.2219171678092
"Not again so soon".	27.224830799863632
There was a new sound, a sound as piercing as the Rebel yell, yet different.	125.03609215505527
It was the sound of a siren.	27.536093782375765
Now he saw that the approaching car was painted white, and he began to wave his arms frantically.	470.5859260968565
It was the prowl car from the sheriff's office.	63.270011394894695
The car drew up alongside him and stopped.	77.90802680765096
"Get in", Charley Estes said brusquely.	172.83738356684302
He staggered into the back seat and lay back, fighting for breath.	138.07974151042993
There was someone in front with the sheriff.	49.32289696330664
It was Pete Holmes, the cabdriver.	56.108111798223405
Pete turned around and said to Marty, "I guess you think I'm a yellow-bellied hound.	684.7311958114996
But there wasn't no use in me staying there.	69.86444457716244
I couldn't fight a dozen or so of 'em.	46.46460953175824
If I'd stayed, all that I'd have got was four punctured tires and one busted head.	544.0143300222034
Why didn't you wait at the Burch house?	93.38750467802241
You must've known I'd gone to get the sheriff.	155.11871768335843
I was lucky they let me go, I guess".	65.83912377300096
The sheriff was occupied with maneuvering the car around in a very narrow space.	163.4908054413074
When it was finally pointed east, he said, "You should never have come out here alone.	119.81775602717794
This is redneck country.	20.698389135480838
Every man in every one of these houses is a Night Rider.	98.416442611459
Then he turned the telephone over to Rourke, and went into the bedroom to change his slippers for dry socks and shoes.	1074.2451763823128
Rourke was talking on the phone when he came back.	134.89789143343367
"About an hour, eh?	64.6081113389733
Are you positive"?	14.833034636549794
He listened a moment and then said, "Hold it".	80.28659882904168
He turned his head and said, "Alvarez will definitely be in a back room at the Jai Alai Club on South Beach within an hour.	2037.6298171179849
Want to try and meet him there"?	96.41726090564305
Shayne looked at his watch.	68.63195714429244
That wasn't too far from Fifth Street, and should allow him to make Scotty's Bar by midnight.	1445.3866721965155
He said with satisfaction, "That's fine, Tim.	82.53003501159756
I'll be there".	7.0843988742808675
Rourke confirmed the appointment over the phone and hung up.	144.986831442863
"I don't know what you're getting into, Mike", he said unhappily.	349.2398647404367
"I hope to Christ h".	102.74995375215383
Shayne said briskly, "Grab another drink if you want it.	642.7790988568253
We've got one other call to make before I meet Alvarez".	88.42910145647849
"Where"?	5.468967915355091
"It's out in the Northeast section.	83.28324029444408
Have you got my car here"?	29.24979725794863
"It's parked in front".	168.87597911968132
Rourke hastily slopped whiskey into his glass on top of half-melted ice-cubes.	721.6657549327663
"I'd better keep on driving yours", Shayne decided, "because I'll be going on over to the Beach.	193.46789077669467
I can drop you back here to pick mine up".	105.32385240384082
He went to a closet to get a light jacket, and took his hat from beside the door.	594.9085930502912
Timothy Rourke gulped down the whiskey hastily and joined him, asking, "Who are we going to call on in the Northeast section"?	2635.8131442777394
"A lady.	6.272157194825022
That is, maybe not too much of a lady.	745.5806933074296
At least, I want to find out whether she's home yet or not".	164.60359945573595
He opened the door and followed Rourke out.	284.3980562426679
In Rourke's car, Shayne drove east to Biscayne Boulevard and north toward Felice Perrin's address which had been given to him by the Peralta governess.	1543.8730915975043
As he drove, he filled in Timothy Rourke briefly on the events of the evening after leaving the reporter to go to the Peralta house, and on his own surmises.	1084.2291961403475
"I want to be in Scotty's Bar at midnight when Marsha makes her phone call there", he ended grimly.	1342.45981757084
"I don't know whether that threatening letter of hers has anything to do with this situation or not, but I want to see who takes the call".	635.7753251183477
"This deal at Las Putas Buenas where the two knife-men jumped you", said Rourke with interest, "that sounds like it was set up with malice aforethought by the luscious Mrs Peralta, doesn't it"?	1102.1941834799966
"It does", Shayne grunted sourly, still able to taste her mouth on his in the Green Jungle parking lot.	464.6509444000453
"That story of hers about an unsigned note directing her to be there tonight sounds completely phony.	525.2790657421779
If it was designed to put me on the spot, it would have to have been written before Peralta ever called me in on the case".	9003.429244075174
"Do you think Laura did have the counterfeit bracelet made without her husband's knowledge"?	290.1424787587165
"I haven't the faintest idea.	34.65992145432445
I think her husband strongly suspects so, and that's why he called me in on the thing in direct defiance of his confederates h and almost certainly without telling them why he was doing so.	468.48075772679607
Isn't this Felice's street"?	99.08921034833509
Shayne asked, peering ahead at the partially obscured street sign.	353.11322060692777
Rourke could see it better out the right-hand side, and he said, "Yes.	177.13011333478659
Turn to the left, I think, for that number you gave me.	9942.209517109646
Not more than a block or so".	93.91609068510407
Shayne got in the left-hand lane and cut across the Boulevard divider.	1309.4218478861164
There was a small, neon-lighted restaurant and cocktail lounge on the southeast corner of the intersection as he turned into the quiet, palm-lined street where most of the houses on both sides were older two-story mansions, now cut up into furnished rooms and housekeeping apartments.	3052.4128760217827
Shayne drove westward from the Boulevard slowly, letting Rourke crane his head out the window and watch for street numbers.	1730.9306176415253
A single automobile was parked half-way up the block on the left-hand side.	249.7209356991719
Shayne noted idly that it carried Miami Beach license plates as he approached, and then saw the flare of a match in the front seat as they passed, indicating that it was occupied.	662.9522125502774
He turned to see the briefly-illumed faces of two men in the parked car just as Rourke said, "It's the next house, Mike.	312.71082743161816
On the right".	34.33022988180125
Instead of pulling into the curb, Shayne increased his speed slightly to the corner where he swung left.	311.44566657589695
He went around the corner and parked, turning off his lights and motor.	136.04173798902218
"I told you, Mike", said Rourke in an aggrieved voice.	136.56527828397392
"It was back there h".	16.06622246109372
Shayne said, "I know it was, Tim".	744.6386306535434
His voice was chilling and cold.	33.657741633896165
"Did you see the car parked across the street"?	740.8268153323597
"I didn't notice it.	17.819652416885653
I was watching for numbers h".	33.92921689577597
"It has a Beach license, Tim.	54.699403559208406
Two men in the front seat.	26.205979444382702
I got a quick look at their faces as we went past.	352.04088052201985
Unless I'm crazy as hell, they're two of Painter's dicks.	251.50442641193848
A couple named Harris and Geely.	75.5689465958297
Those names mean anything to you"?	53.28773200834966
"Wait a minute, Mike.	43.18700258888415
In Painter's office this evening h".	71.24492023289915
Shayne nodded grimly.	113.71792401019417
"The pair whom Petey is officially commending for slapping me around and pulling me in".	420.67408659659554
"What are they doing here"?	29.56807076367336
"A stake-out, I suppose.	49.79902591451397
On Felice Perrin.	61.49482844241645
Maybe with specific orders to see that I don't make contact with her.	136.19752503708963
I'm not positive, Tim.	23.611010549742044
I may be wrong.	99.68635605676377
I'll slide out and walk around the block back to the cocktail lounge on Biscayne.	391.4169237949487
You drive on and circle back and pull up beside them parked there.	205.4557998444815
You're a reporter, and you're looking for Miss Perrin to interview her.	192.88740045775407
Make them show their hands.	33.2507243480865
If they are Beach cops on a stake-out, they'll admit it to a reporter.	124.82287779112298
They've got no official standing on this side of the Bay.	539.4989463321024
As soon as you find out if they are Geely and Harris, come on around to the lounge where I'll be waiting".	1177.14507409647
Shayne opened the door on his side and stepped out.	386.145556178759
Timothy Rourke groaned dismally as he slid under the wheel.	359.4829336869819
"The things you talk me into, Mike h".	79.09273130493094
Shayne chuckled.	49.182611116393105
"How often do they add up to headlines?	75.22212195092592
You should complain".	17.936127915767038
He crossed the street and walked swiftly southward to circle back to the Boulevard and north a block to the open restaurant.	1556.30154731429
He was standing at the end of the bar enjoying a slug of cognac when Rourke came in six or eight minutes later.	151.611430615108
The reporter nodded as he moved up beside him at the bar.	694.4949568233271
Shayne told the bartender, "Bourbon and water", and Rourke told him, "It's those two, all right.	568.8390803393041
Harris and Geely.	36.691280950793455
I made them show me their identification before I could be persuaded not to call on Felice Perrin".	390.08042602568094
Shayne said happily, "I've got it all worked out, Tim.	146.27676197711924
Take your time with your drink.	55.99114083344801
I'll beat it.	31.523924816578454
In exactly three minutes, go in that phone booth behind you and call Police Headquarters.	361.0551821693923
Be excited and don't identify yourself.	93.64306271887575
Just say that a couple of drunks are having a hell of a fight down the street, and they better send a patrol car.	1283.4488417879847
Then hang up fast and come walking on down to the Perrin address.	183.47517265943335
I'll be waiting for you there".	14.053201008564116
The bartender brought Rourke's drink and Shayne laid a twenty-dollar bill on the bar.	1009.9435586192213
He said in a low voice, "I've got a date with a lady, Mister.	92.72480068980283
Will that pay for a pint I can take with me.	89.5086645357705
You know how it is", he added with a conspiratorial wink.	583.8970467978946
"Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker h and you don't have any candy for sale here anyhow".	767.5222797106896
"We sure don't".	17.12429746246073
The bartender winked back at him and palmed the bill.	131.46174530051698
He turned away and returned in a moment with a pint of brandy in a small paper sack which he slid over the counter to Shayne.	396.84505982295235
As the detective slid it into his pocket, Rourke asked sadly, "What in hell are you going to do, Mike"?	4758.422243739489
"Make a couple of punk detectives named Geely and Harris wish to God they'd stayed out of my way this afternoon.	581.122281885805
Three minutes, Tim".	42.5837049313518
Shayne strode out blithely, and Rourke checked his watch and sipped his drink, getting a dime ready to make the telephone call to the police.	1345.4248148437905
Outside, Shayne hesitated when he saw that Rourke had parked his coupe directly in front of the bar headed south.	750.9143080399473
He walked over to the right-hand door, opened it and got the reloaded automatic out of the glove compartment and put it in his hip pocket.	576.5877786454987
He hoped he wouldn't be forced to use it in taking care of the Beach detectives, but its weight was comforting at his hip.	1232.3824468031396
On this side of the Bay, Miami Beach cops had no more legal rights than any ordinary citizen, and Shayne's pistol permit was just as good as theirs.	1016.0504575801885
He went swiftly up the sidewalk toward the parked car with the two Beach detectives in the front seat.	538.3910165394685
He tugged the brim of his hat low as he approached, stepped out into the street just behind the car and strode around to the right-hand side.	749.3445992715851
The big, paunchy man named Geely was on that side, half-turned in the seat toward his hatchet-faced companion so that his back partially rested against the closed door.	572.4206416399526
Shayne turned the handle and jerked the door open before either of the men were quite aware of his presence in the night.	1264.755277168723
Geely grunted and slid partly out, and Shayne's left arm snaked in around his neck to help him, while he set himself solidly on the roadway and swung his right fist to the big, gum-chewing jaw before Geely could straighten up.	1874.965248907504
Shayne stepped back to let him slump to the ground, and then dived over him through the open door into Harris who was cursing loudly and trying to drag a gun from a shoulder holster, somewhat impeded by the steering wheel.	1360.2362395400785
Shayne locked his big hands around Harris' thin neck and dragged him out over the seat into the roadway.	671.8653364262988
He hit him once on the sharp point of his chin and felt the body go limp.	184.2899838306861
He dropped him into the street a couple of feet away from Geely's recumbent figure and stared down at both of them for a moment before kicking the big man lightly in the side.	289.9905648701152
He didn't stir.	19.62103354832704
They were both breathing heavily, out cold, and Shayne didn't think either of them had recognized him or could describe him.	500.43579911929424
He got the pint of liquor out of his pocket and unscrewed the top, sprinkled the pungent stuff liberally over both men, and then tossed the open bottle in on the front seat.	768.5912639531998
He turned, then, to look toward the lighted Boulevard, and saw Rourke's tall, emaciated figure come out of the lounge and hurriedly start to angle across the street toward the opposite side.	460.4302607890244
Shayne strolled across to intercept the reporter in front of the two-story house where Felice Perrin lived, and asked casually, "Get the police okay"?	3170.777841905558
"Sure.	9.610798453901891
Said they'd have a patrol car here fast.	121.95966214227002
Let's get inside.	26.34789833094748
What happened with you"?	11.034134552822346
"Why the two damned fools got all excited when they saw the bottle, and knocked each other out cold", Shayne said good-humoredly.	626.4341256004708
"They'll have fun explaining that to the Miami cops.	235.50598109430246
Got no business over here on a stake-out anyway".	175.80931720318853
They went up onto a front porch and into a small hallway where a dim bulb burned high in the ceiling.	1022.8983301377182
A row of mailboxes along the wall had numbers and names on them.	134.42648139403914
Shayne found one marked PERRIN 2-A.	143.0519730058855
The stairway on the right was dark, but there was a wall-switch at the bottom which lighted another dim bulb at the top, and they went up.	669.9496959745159
There were two front rooms, both dark behind their transoms, and there was no sound or light in the entire house to indicate that any of the occupants were awake.	232.56090936761376
Eight, nine steps above him, Roberts had paused.	184.63013189510414
Mickey paused with him, waiting, no longer impatient, trying now to think it out, do a little planning.	277.53762005872335
He looked down over the banister at the hotel desk, with the telephone and pen set.	552.0123328204426
If I could call in, they could check the story while we were on our way.	186.81980320149205
I wouldn't have to tell them I had Roberts- Then he heard it, like a muffled thud, felt a subtle change in air pressure.	1164.0039951832243
He glanced up in time to see Roberts hurtling down on him from above, literally flying through the air, his bloody face twisted.	617.0374086177758
Mickey tried to flatten against the banister, gripped it with one hand, but Roberts' full weight struck him at that moment in the groin.	1499.0221517177702
He gasped for air and the impact tore his hand from the rail.	148.76041047910886
He tumbled with Roberts, helpless and in agony, over and over, down the steps.	70.49518561891284
By a wrenching effort, he managed to hunch and draw in, to take the final fall on his back and shoulders rather than his head.	620.1606937369852
He was fuzzy in his mind and, for a moment, helpless on the lobby floor, but he was conscious, and free of the weight of Roberts' body.	1602.1326303184728
When his vision cleared he saw the taller one scrambling upward, reaching.	288.7713089844653
Mickey was on his knees when Roberts turned on the stairs and the razor flashed in his hand.	416.76760095939153
He felt his empty pocket and knew that Roberts had retrieved the only weapon at hand.	192.78959412772994
Mickey's eyes fixed on the other's feet, which would first betray the moment and direction of an attack.	588.5530517374291
He rose stiffly, forcing his knees to lock.	130.2646106616425
The knifelike pain in his groin nearly brought him down again.	217.1037749862246
He made himself back off slowly, his eyes wary on Roberts, who now had no more to lose than he.	437.4738901068407
The pain dulled as he moved, and he steadied inside.	113.58200644717877
After a moment he extended one hand, the fingers curled.	106.19685786186477
"Come on", he said.	9.374281144539307
"You want to be that big a fool- I was hoping for this".	228.29650631061293
Roberts brushed at his eyes with his free hand and started down the steps.	135.22318488671692
He held the razor well out to one side.	42.61702911874071
He was invulnerable to attack, but he could be handled, Mickey knew, if he could be brought to make the first move.	3106.9506636812725
They were eight feet apart when Roberts cleared the last step.	115.45847671665985
Mickey waited with slack arms.	99.48191981626253
"Any time, Roberts", he said.	27.844203082127695
"Or would it be easier if I put my hands in my pockets"?	223.32729970629967
The taunt was lost on Roberts.	56.855408121972395
He advanced slowly, directly, giving no hint of a feint to either side.	206.4263888966534
He was just short of arm's reach when he stopped.	92.67775895583736
Mickey backed off two steps, forcing him to come on again.	487.5963694801146
There was a fixed grin on Roberts' face, made hideous by the swollen nose and the smeared blood.	284.59989126535265
Mickey backed off again and Roberts hesitated, then came along.	263.11784454885975
They moved in a series of rhythmic fits and starts, a macabre dance- two steps back, two steps forward, two steps back.	546.071613762832
Mickey felt his shoulders come up against the wall beside the heavy slab front door.	727.2092478469717
This was going to be it now, any second, and what he had to remember was to keep his eye on the razor, no matter what, even if Roberts should feint with a kick to the groin, the deadly hand was his exclusive concern.	830.4933364180115
The kick came, sudden and vicious but short.	91.43529279466661
Mickey's guts twisted with the effort, but he kept his eye on the weapon.	320.32026331411294
It moved in a silver arc toward his throat, then veered downward.	240.64033960691498
He hunched his left shoulder into it and slashed at Roberts' forearm with his own, felt the blade slide off his sleeve.	1202.7215298938754
Before Roberts could move inside to cut upward toward his face, he slammed his right fist into Roberts' belly.	697.4735206055528
Roberts sagged and slashed at him wildly.	175.91978393838133
Ducking, Mickey tripped and fell to one side, landing heavily on the wood floor.	319.0691180028459
Then Roberts was on him, gasping for breath and for a couple of seconds Mickey lost sight of the blade.	882.0599913163896
He felt it rip at the side of his jacket and a momentary sting under his left ribs.	259.9062062561026
He got a knee up into Roberts' belly, used both hands and heaved him clear, then scrambled to his feet.	276.33847498346876
They were in the center of the lobby now.	197.65041090121528
Still clutching the razor, Roberts came up into a crouch, shaking his head.	269.44745429464217
When he charged Mickey was ready.	42.99788778531475
He hit Roberts with his left fist in the ribs and the razor cut toward him feebly, then wobbled in mid-air.	461.01410025797367
With his right fist, and nearly all his weight behind it, he smashed at the bloodstained face.	637.2704182443822
Roberts careened backward, his back arched, fought for balance and, failing, stumbled against the newel post at the foot of the stairs.	847.040952729229
The sound of his head striking the solid wood was an ultimate, sudden-end sound.	259.3065568155822
He fell on his side across the lowest step, rolled over once, then lay still.	221.02421064491452
Mickey found himself leaning against the desk, with stiff hands, panting for breath.	311.5251467522341
After a minute he went to Roberts, looked at one of his eyes and felt for a pulse.	307.0374387659
He couldn't feel any.	17.494309234212956
Roberts appeared to be dead; if not yet, then soon, very soon.	165.71569941457025
Suddenly it was cold in the lobby.	41.68365572101711
12 It seemed to him that a long time had passed before he decided what to do.	3063.6224431675732
Actually it was no more than eight or ten minutes, and the sum of his reasoning came to this There's no way to take him in now and keep those other two- Wister and the one who hired the two of them- from finding out about Roberts and lamming out.	2520.542290603979
The local law here would hold me till they check clear back home, and maybe more than that.	435.69958425439313
They would have to.	8.950830951091461
By then they could never catch up with the others.	495.24279052849386
There's no other way; I'll have to do it myself.	118.1085981543082
He looked at where Roberts lay sprawled on the step.	80.73569395104629
Mickey was sure now he was dead.	57.75453224466085
One thing, he thought, nobody knows about it yet.	412.88830582444194
Only me.	9.141877514897729
He climbed the stairs, went into Roberts' room, found a suitcase and packed as much into it as he could.	1727.691322949584
He left a few things.	20.558299697217137
It didn't have to be perfect.	23.889276057231434
Roberts was a wastrel.	52.46751598326105
Walking away on impulse, he might logically leave behind what it was inconvenient to carry.	363.0577960774603
When he had closed the suitcase he found a rag and moved about the room, wiping carefully everything he might have touched.	266.7046368630207
It took him nearly an hour.	29.02006229925042
He went to the room he had rented and got into his overcoat.	111.23882499372291
He left the rest of his things and returned to the lobby.	145.7555471960874
He set Roberts' suitcase near the front door, went outside and walked back to the garage.	407.65504349017357
He was mildly surprised to find it was snowing.	325.1680266511129
It snowed softly, silently, an undulating interruption of his vision against the night sky.	344.3193696233151
He could feel it on his face and in his hair.	267.4033239432097
He found the key to the Jeep, got it started and warmed it up for five minutes.	129.7099533373462
Then he backed out and swung around to the front drive.	218.23599580093207
He went into the hotel and searched till he found the razor.	91.71740066939923
He put it in his own pocket for safekeeping.	62.483311748839824
He took the suitcase out to the Jeep and put it in the front seat.	95.43284624665252
Then he went back for Roberts.	36.69895029213231
The body was heavier than he had anticipated.	216.6248514100561
He got it onto his shoulder after some work and carried it outside and down to the Jeep.	188.16129350367243
He dumped it into the back and made sure it wouldn't roll out, then returned to the porch and closed the front door, making sure it was unlocked.	562.7711590236473
He drove carefully in the direction of the brief tour they had taken earlier.	197.46103050262752
It snowed continuously, but quietly, evenly.	126.7225858628679
When he reached the dip in the woods, he saw that already the earlier ruts were barely discernible.	266.1744163764032
The Jeep fought its way through the low spot and got onto higher ground.	616.5692083089482
He drove in low gear to the fork in the road and swung as close as possible to the entrance to the abandoned mine.	846.3328303307553
He parked facing it and left the headlights on, but when he started into the tunnel with the suitcase, he found the illumination extended no farther than half a dozen feet into the passage.	432.9889147844132
He went back and got the flashlight, returned to the tunnel and carried the suitcase to the edge of the pit he had found earlier.	182.3977917545279
He tossed the bag into the pit and watched dry dust spray up around it.	248.1194013347813
When the dust settled, he went back to the Jeep and carefully worked Roberts' body onto his shoulder.	444.5712418276239
It wasn't like carrying the suitcase.	52.94597733147006
The soft snow was deceitful underfoot.	129.56341926446075
Twice he nearly fell.	24.661110624055123
Inside the passage, he had to work his way over the fallen timber and nearly collapsed under his clumsy burden.	507.2415742620858
By the time he reached the edge of the pit he was panting and his shoulder and back ached under the drag of the dead weight.	290.85888204535485
He stood looking down for a few seconds, then backed up two or three paces from the edge.	541.1298894052396
There was too much weight casually to toss it away.	90.18346750936387
He could feel himself falling in with it and being unable to get out.	1976.021847778143
It would be a bad place to die.	23.644903469157367
It was a bad place for Roberts to wind up, but Roberts had asked for it.	65.72491371783991
It was too late to worry about that.	36.96097667683003
He knelt slowly and dumped the corpse onto the floor of the tunnel.	265.5619313223655
It was a relief to get rid of the weight.	260.70638731657715
He was shaking with tension and it took him a couple of minutes to get his breath and settle down.	393.4876226702696
Then he got on his knees and rolled Roberts' body toward the edge.	398.6775741158467
It hung momentarily on the point of dropping off.	365.365153853855
He gave it a strong push, heard it slide, then tumble dryly into the hole.	234.5092344663274
He got to his feet and threw the flashlight beam into the pit.	81.07045063899537
The body lay in an awkward sprawl twelve or fifteen feet below the level of the tunnel floor.	765.5977580865306
Deep enough, he decided.	45.43312372669005
There was little chance anyone would enter this shaft during the winter.	365.8913576624965
The external signs of his approach to it would be covered by the snow, probably by the next day.	117.95568360427531
It wasn't cold enough in the tunnel to preserve the body intact.	122.58745931527659
By spring it would be a skeleton.	62.42440739871736
He made his way back to the Jeep.	99.53368977566166
He had started to back into the turn when he remembered the razor in his pocket.	292.77637845387636
He climbed down, went back into the tunnel and tossed the razor into the pit.	240.16245323206115
It landed on Roberts' sprawled right thigh, poised precariously, then slid off to the ground.	678.8166493704841
He went back once more to the Jeep and started the short drive to the hotel.	426.6587013537485
In the garage he checked the Jeep for signs of the use he had made of it.	195.6411440528034
There were stains here and there and he cleaned them off, using an oiled rag he found on a nail.	313.7160255082386
He wiped the steering wheel and all the places he might have touched the Jeep.	217.3177228371103
He replaced the flashlight where it had been stowed, got into his own car and backed it out of the garage.	203.17252867360014
There were tire marks where it had been, but they were overlapped by others and on the dusty floor would not be noticeable except under close scrutiny.	498.5420346887848
Liz Peabody, he thought, might spend some time grieving for her lost lover, but he doubted that she would launch an investigation.	487.2051935709255
He judged her to be a woman of some pride, though not much sense.	117.98032886927456
Still she would probably have sense enough not to call in the local sheriff to find her boy friend who, apparently, had run away.	307.07623365587096
He put in a call to Cunningham from his hotel room.	90.6736130193295
The maid answered and he decided Nancy must be at work.	92.67515112203935
Jeb cautioned him not to be too hopeful and then, ignoring his own advice, said excitedly, "But it does sound good.	2079.662821318435
A woman named Lisa who tells nobody anything about herself.	253.36361702581416
That courtyard picture with the same initials".	96.81930922204705
"I'm not exactly jumping up and down with enthusiasm.	50.766981969236035
I'll call you in a day or so".	209.65507871127778
On the highway he relaxed and enjoyed the drive over Lake Pontchartrain and along the coast.	381.5342922371869
Gulf Springs was ten miles inland- more of a quaint old coast town than those along the beach made garish by tourist attractions.	916.8150230569237
He checked into a motel and drove downtown.	92.41760508300463
The courthouse was a white-stucco building minus the customary dome.	252.96195756841263
Instead of the usual straggling privet hedges and patches of bare dirt in most small-town squares, the building was hemmed in by a semitropical growth of camellias and azaleas and a smooth lawn the improbably bright-green shade of florist's grass.	1616.717044752128
He figured his best bet was a call on the sheriff.	138.4384068800745
A clerk in the outer office took him in to Sheriff Carruthers, a big, paunchy man with thick, white hair and a voice with a senatorial resonance which suggested he should be running for higher office.	949.3504384689608
Seated in front of the desk, Hank said, "I'm looking for some information with very little to go on, Sheriff".	335.27253705463033
He explained the background of the case, ending with the tenuous clue which had brought him to Gulf Springs.	1784.3571527620365
The sheriff's swivel chair tilted back.	139.36598617571826
"So you're looking for a woman who married a man who might have lived here a year ago and might have been poisoned.	212.5391736579044
If there was such a person, I'm afraid she got away with it.	101.19558312665006
Pity we don't know more about him.	75.89779962827281
I think the best bet is to go through the society columns of last year and see if any of the grooms match with the obituaries a little later.	465.07884708813594
It'll be a tedious job, but if you want to try it, the old newspaper files are in the basement here in the county supervisor's office".	1211.6153419553846
"Maybe the society editor would remember a good-looking out-of-town bride".	117.49822254943415
"That's an idea.	13.126196006943548
Mrs Calhoun has been society editor here for twenty-five years.	222.99193913936116
The editor says that marriages may be made in heaven, but weddings are made in Mrs Calhoun's columns.	572.8471844518574
She's the one who decides which wedding is to get the lead space in the Sunday paper and all that".	1664.8548365668116
He smiled.	3.2250201333314497
"Once, when the editor was just out of the hospital from a gallstone operation, Mrs Calhoun and the mother of the bride went out to his house and fought it out beside his bed.	785.7175937739922
She'd be sure to remember any bride who was vague about background.	206.98554015016447
She'd have made a great scientist dedicated to tracking down heredity and environment.	636.9660732111245
She'd also remember if the groom died later".	146.6655038881261
He stood up.	5.223143413354746
"I wish you good luck, but please don't dig up too tough a case for me this close to election.	261.0522517341328
If you find out anything, come on back here and we'll get started on it".	109.37026614291739
Tracking down Mrs Calhoun was like trying to catch up with Paul Revere between Lexington and Concord.	1675.6849205685835
It turned out that she also sold real estate, cosmetics, and hospital insurance.	114.95129499717517
The wearying trek stretched into the afternoon- from newspaper plant to insurance office to her house and back to the newspaper, where he found her at five o'clock.	294.7001331690638
She was a large woman with a frizzled gray poodle cut and a pencil clamped like a bit between her teeth while she hunted and pecked on an old typewriter.	821.6872251344912
It took a couple of minutes to run through her various businesses and get down to the one he wanted.	240.10602881282887
"Last year?	7.07778476857093
Well, I do remember one.	67.17419361487623
From Baton Rouge.	57.68776511062187
Married a man named Vincent Black.	144.5670197115105
I remember her because she didn't want her picture in the paper.	268.19212843604447
First bride like that I've seen in twenty-five years".	443.3697099089587
"What reason did she give"?	55.848795453837404
"Said she had a breaking-out on her face- some sort of allergy- and none of her old pictures was good enough.	307.2088924375369
I didn't see her till several days later at the wedding, and her face looked like it had never had a blemish on it.	259.88247871745614
But, of course, you couldn't see too well through the veil".	140.9151295101608
"Was her name Lisa Carmody"?	224.14566007568445
"Now how in hell would I remember that"?	77.91182924115297
"Never mind.	5.815112130702706
I can look it up.	9.547737516700277
Do they still live here"?	29.85717573838646
"I think they moved away shortly after they were married.	249.96307491734584
He was a salesman for something or other and must have been transferred.	82.89559431720038
I'm sure it'll be in the files.	30.873306995733135
We usually run a social note when somebody moves away".	162.43122571980518
He stood up and thanked her.	109.90753826508033
"Have they inherited some money or something"?	101.78205382292097
she asked with a reportorial gleam in her eye.	98.80297589975956
He said vaguely, "Well, it is a little legal matter, but nothing like that".	576.8502372715933
He hurried across to the courthouse and caught the sheriff just as he was leaving.	357.9129115759604
"Sounds like what you're after", he said when Hank had finished.	186.73969747387656
"Come on, let's hurry down before they lock up for the day".	313.17551292082743
In the basement the sheriff took him to a small, dingy office occupied by a tall, thin man informal in rolled-up shirt sleeves.	694.4230895344831
"Mr Ferrell h Hirey Lindsay, chairman of the board of supervisors.	160.63194045612642
Mr Ferrell is a private detective, Hirey.	336.2349247048082
Wants to look up something in the newspaper files, so don't lock him in here".	426.4387461621787
"Sure", said Hirey.	38.112767938882705
"I'll just leave the door open.	82.3916305214161
It latches when you close it, so stay as long as you like".	87.18318482457093
Carruthers crossed the room to a metal door with an open grillework in the top half.	256.80431607091816
He pulled it open.	15.151944935873152
"Now don't shut this door.	51.28686060531272
It won't open from inside.	21.906316467570086
Before we built the new jail, we used to keep prisoners in here overnight sometimes when the old jail got too crowded.	707.2317866623669
Hirey treats himself a lot better than we do prisoners.	659.2752656474147
They were a sight more comfortable than the ones in the jail with the cold air from Hirey's air conditioner coming through the grille".	393.5947054697004
He walked past the sheriff into a windowless room with shelves full of big, leather-bound volumes from floor to ceiling all around the walls.	444.1084715944181
A metal table and four chairs stood in the center.	206.38656580649032
"They're all here, back to 1865", Carruthers told him.	41.26738874397195
"It's all right to smoke, but make sure your cigarettes are out before you leave.	202.5820735299797
And, of course, you know not to take clippings".	263.79440491849294
"I'll leave the air conditioner on for you, Mr Ferrell", said Hirey.	154.92612434447824
"Don't forget to turn it off and close the door good so it'll latch".	282.0532210004204
Hank thanked them and promised to observe the rules.	117.6009555694682
When they had gone, he stood for a minute breathing in the mustiness of old paper and leather which the busily thrumming air conditioner couldn't quite dispel.	1220.0849207317526
CHAPTER FOURTEEN In a tour around the stacks, he found that the earliest volumes began on the left and progressed clockwise around the room.	2757.0410787858077
An old weakness for burrowing in records rose up to tempt him.	201.72862682728402
It was, indeed, all here- almost a century.	70.6106967012911
From reconstruction to moon rockets.	61.07161217401072
But he pulled away from the irrelevant old volumes and walked around to the newer ones.	337.0413564491629
Last year's volume was at the top a couple of inches below the ceiling.	275.7996294395481
Near it was a metal ladder on casters attached to the top shelf.	560.761613716046
He pulled it over, climbed up, and lifted out the big volume, almost losing his balance from the weight of it.	170.59259257576272
He staggered over and dropped it on the table.	428.2849174849859
Since Mrs Calhoun remembered only that the marriage had been in the spring, he started to plod through several months.	821.6780595430488
He tried to turn right to the society page in each one, but interesting stories kept cropping up to distract him.	726.4250296601583
At last he found it in the paper of April 2.	108.48281558092816
It told him little more than Mrs Calhoun had remembered, stating that it had been a small, modest wedding compared to some of the others.	877.6840863042794
There was a marked contrast in the amount of information on bride and groom.	261.7316719439759
Mr Black's life was an open book, so to speak, from his birth in Jackson, Mississippi, through his basketball-playing days at LSU and his attainment of a BA degree, which had presumably prepared him for his career as district sales manager for Peerless Business Machines.	996.0639114117411
The one line on the bride said she was Miss Lisa Carmody from Baton Rouge.	439.92748207931606
No mention of New Orleans.	24.26524061177876
Hank was beginning to feel sharp concern for Mr Black.	187.60667399223763
If Mrs Black was who he thought she was, Mr Black's Peerless selling days might well be over.	331.2355910919469
Now for their exodus from Gulf Springs.	100.6641755644813
This time the search took twice as long, cutting down on his extra reading, for he had to pick through several columns of one- and two-line social notes in each issue.	1189.0895134529808
He found it in the edition of May 15.	44.168881189127774
The item said Mr and Mrs Black had moved to Jackson, his home town- so the lovely Lisa had been with him a year ago.	304.32327682664663
Next on his program was a call to the Jackson office of Peerless Business Machines to find out if Vincent Black was still with them- or, more specifically, still with us.	6462.653878004087
He glanced at his watch, saw it was only seven, and decided to indulge his weakness now.	202.19361276276265
For the next hour he scrambled happily up and down the ladder, sharing the excitement of reporters who had seen McKinley's assassination, the Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago, and the Hall-Mills trial.	1541.732700908947
In the middle of the stock market crash, he heard a slight noise in the outer office.	195.6432516689844
He turned around, saw nothing, and decided it must be a mouse.	188.00013554677312
Something else distracted him, yet there was no sound, only tomblike silence.	269.9755520062991
Then he knew it was not sound, but lack of it.	93.50316595292705
The air conditioner was no longer running.	63.97582033551196
He jumped up and turned around to see the metal door closing.	115.02213618256685
It clanged shut as he sprang toward it.	102.4328006783372
He pressed his face against the grille.	81.18166660398094
"Who's there"?	21.873363664093088
The light shining through the grille dimly illumined the office beyond- enough for him to see there was no one there.	399.70019535010925
Then he heard the outer door closing.	57.89093881443293
"Hey, come back", he shouted.	53.52428580031486
He thought it must be some damn janitor or cleaning woman puttering around, figuring that Hirey had gone off and forgotten to turn off everything and lock up.	654.4227530402
_hen the faint beginnings of fear stirred in his mind.	153.63212946241447
Unless he was stone-blind, the person who'd just left couldn't have missed seeing Hank through the open door of the brightly lighted room.	965.2623619119873
And even if he'd somehow missed seeing him, he wouldn't have gone off and left the light on and door open in the file room.	1224.7367031731055
Whoever it was had meant to shut him up in here, had followed him and waited till the courthouse and square were deserted.	411.0538513234031
But why?	7.286929702197701
To search his room at the motel?	78.17420486389405
To come back later and kill him after the stores had closed around the square and everybody had left?	679.733683263283
No, they could kill him just as easy right now.	178.59840701373673
Nobody could hear what was going on in this underground vault.	453.4836460280026
Then he heard it and smelled it- the steady hissing, the dread, familiar pungency of gas escaping.	316.7218663783199
It must be coming from an upright heater against the far wall in the supervisors' office.	173.76770009441438
Until now, Lilac Gaylor and Lila Kingsley had been like an anagram which he could unscramble at his own pace and choosing.	851.8028591424867
Except for those minutes in her room, he had lost touch with her as a reality.	505.68889275410567
Gaylor's obsession and Cunningham's chimera-chasing reminiscences had mesmerized him into thinking of Lila and Lilac, separately or together, as a legend.	1176.5099272275556
They kept drifting apart and merging again in his mind like some minute form of life on a microscope slide.	652.4826943113569
"Well"- said Mr Skyros.	49.001275247355785
"I take a little time to think it over".	7181.521680214161
It was awkward very awkward.	42.873209782336495
There would be all the nuisance of contacting someone else to take over.	641.5598965519196
Someone reasonably trustworthy.	44.689439914542405
And Angie would hear about it.	47.686105512900156
And Angie knew- "Time", said Angie, and he smiled very sweet and slow at Mr Skyros.	440.7786299030233
"Not too much time, because I'll be needing some more myself pretty much right away.	558.3814652962634
And I done favors for you, big favor not so long back, didn't I, and I'm right here to take on where Pretty left off.	358.0857630806214
No trouble.	10.397047021076537
I don't want no trouble, you don't want no trouble, nobody wants trouble, Mr Skyros".	2162.7551944677034
Dear heaven, no, thought Mr Skyros, turning away as another man came in.	230.18083209049772
He straightened his tie at the mirror with a shaking hand; the genial smile seemed painted on his face.	315.421441659673
Angie knew- Speak of dangerous information!	233.12169267838598
Angie knew too much entirely already.	120.19501904928569
Really he had Mr Skyros at bay h "Big favor I done you.	342.39119231731246
Acourse there's this deal o' Denny's- and Jackie's- kinda hangin' fire, ain't it, maybe you've been kinda worryin' over that.	2017.5166679150939
And can't say I blame you", said Angie thoughtfully.	212.24260341902803
"This deal with the ace o' spades.	123.96374062409865
Anything to do with an ace o' spades, bad luck".	227.1132116620887
Ace of spades- a widow, that was what they called a widow, these low-class crooks remembered Mr Skyros distractedly.	3599.2789982230975
All about that Angie knew, too.	43.681267275588134
When things got a little out of hand, they very rapidly got a lot out of hand- it seemed to be a general rule.	664.3773464269412
All just by chance, and in a way tracing back to poor Frank, all of it, because naturally- brothers, living together- and Angie- Mr Skyros did not at all like the look on Angelo's regular-featured, almost girlishly good-looking face- or indeed anything about Angelo.	2197.667308267676
Mr Skyros was not a man who thought very much about moral principles; he found money much more interesting; but all the same he thought now, uneasily, of the way in which Angelo earned his living- and paid for his own stuff- and eyed the soft smile, and the spaniel-like dark eyes, and he felt a little ill. "Look, my friend", he said, "in my life I learn, how is it the proverb says, better an ounce of prevention to a pound of cure.	1368.3383441196859
I stay in business so long because I'm careful.	142.08807449089042
Two weeks, a month, we talk it over again, and maybe if nothing happens meanwhile to say the cops know this and that, then we make a little deal, isn't it"?	1381.0548185439086
"That's a long while", said Angie.	60.50425095782398
"I tell you, you want to leave it that way, I don't fool around with it.	310.3935491442596
I go over to Castro and get fixed up there.	73.58503241877995
I can't wait no two weeks".	35.151085096300534
And Mr Skyros didn't like Angie, but what with Prettyman and three of his boys inside, and not likely to come out- And Angie such a valuable salesman, Prettyman said- All the nuisance and danger of getting in touch with practically a whole new bunch of boys- Why did everything have to happen at once?	1291.181051013995
Denny said stupidly, "Why, you ain't turning Angie down, are you, Mr Skyros?	1503.5389672250956
I mean, we all figured- I guess anybody'd figure- Angie"- Angelo gave him an affectionate smile.	507.80882713868675
"Mr Skyros too smart a fellow want to get rid of me", he said.	496.8092787144152
"It's OK, Denny, everything's OK Ain't it, Mr Skyros"?	675.529222313598
Oh, God, the name repeated over and over, anybody to hear- Not being a fool, Mr Skyros knew why.	430.3417791815053
But aside from everything else, it would scarcely be pleasant to have dealings with one who was nominally an underling and actually held- you could say- the whip hand.	493.47201605167595
And all because of Domokous!	57.891967323577674
If Mr Skyros had dreamed of all the trouble that young man would eventually cause- Of course, there was another factor.	491.3489587944695
Angie worth his weight in gold right now, but these users, they sometimes went down fast.	1480.9328332537675
Who knew, Angie might not last long h. The sweat broke out on Mr Skyros' forehead as he realized he had been actually thinking- hoping- planning- perhaps- Good God above, had not Domokous been enough?	1025.6325815570003
He patted Angelo's thin shoulder paternally.	294.1376906509667
"Now you don't want to go talking that way", he said.	769.9866816456207
"Sure, sure, you're the one take over for Pretty, soon as I get the supply, get started up again, isn't it?	164.8401747477604
You don't need worry, Angelo.	33.32639855535099
I tell you, I know how it is with you, my friend, I sympathize, and I'll make it a special point- a special favor- get in touch, and get some stuff just for you.	1796.6353553912104
I don't know if I can manage it tonight or tomorrow, but I'll try my best, my friend.	288.55927846312454
You see, you got to remember, we all got schedules, like any business!	135.97355231082884
My man, he won't be around a little while, he just fixed me up with this stuff they took out of the Elite.	446.2650847847687
It's awkward, you see that, isn't it"?	207.48149567505266
"Well, that's your business, Mr Skyros", said Angie, and his dreamy eyes moved past Mr Skyros' shoulder to gaze vaguely out the ground-glass window.	764.278288967106
"I appreciate it, you do that.	68.92038824248887
Sure.	9.610798453901891
We don't none of us want no trouble h. I'm in a room over the Golden Club on San Pedro, you just ask for me there, you want see me.	1376.2701628220627
Or maybe I call you- tonight?	110.73790837081351
About nine o'clock, I call and see if you got any.	112.57034745127721
A couple decks for me, Mr Skyros- and ten-twelve to sell, see, I like to have a little ready cash".	1188.1608048336361
"Oh, now, I don't know about that much", said Mr Skyros.	1886.1579249639503
"And you know, Angelo, Pretty, he always keeps it a strict cash basis, like they say"- "Sure", said Angie.	427.586151154117
"Sure, Mr Skyros.	39.24329882969549
Fifty a throw, that the deal?	52.03444454339531
Sure.	9.610798453901891
I bring you the cash, say five hundred for ten decks.	149.68143814592315
Never mind how much I cut it, how much I get", and he smiled his sleepy smile again.	227.74597424675355
"Standard deal, Mr Skyros.	81.1616591774947
You go 'n' have a look round for it".	84.57061291110321
"I do my best", said Mr Skyros earnestly, "just for you, my friend.	1629.0112277865858
This is awkward for everybody, isn't it, we all got to put up with inconvenience sometimes.	339.46605226782845
But I do my best for you".	18.989522472055043
He got out of there in a hurry, brushing past another man in the door, mopping his brow.	409.59294744546395
The expedient thing- yes, very true, one must make do as one could, in some situations.	2466.5687258459234
It could all be straightened out later.	44.86042033719443
Not very much later, but when things had settled down a little.	260.50082465044926
After this deal with the Bouvardier woman went through.	90.21194024579549
An ace of spades h. He was not a superstitious man, but he felt perhaps there was a little something in that, indeed.	301.8177763246086
He rather wished he had never got into the business, and still- scarcely to be resisted, a nice little profit with not much work involved, easy money h Katya Roslev, who would be Katharine Ross so very soon now, rang up her first sale of the day and counted back the change.	3808.9469493928364
She did not notice that the customer seized her purchase and turned away without a smile or a word of thanks.	642.8102937768762
Usually she marked the few who did thank you, you didn't get that kind much in a place like this and she played a little game with herself, seeing how downright rude she could act to the others, before they'd take offense, threaten to call the manager.	1185.4980664851266
Funny how seldom they did used to it, probably.	113.04444588415488
The kind who came into a cheap store like this!	136.73989147933906
Grab, snatch, I saw that first!	374.8370668365335
and, Here, I'll take this, I was before her, you wait on me now or I don't bother with it, see!	520.5243953296434
This kind of place h She'd be through here, just no time at all- leave this kind of thing 'way behind.	537.2023357794417
Off at noon, and she'd never come back.	834.7194290211936
Never have to.	7.831414818460779
Money- a lot of money, enough.	96.82446044759776
She'd be smart about it, get him to give it to her in little bills so's nobody would suspect- maybe couldn't get it until Monday account of that, the banks- But that wasn't really long to wait.	1106.9993492060478
Not when she'd waited so long already.	121.2209302337042
No need say anything at all to the old woman.	96.44512107331242
She had it all planned out, how she'd do.	82.69229432755178
She'd say she didn't feel good on Sunday, couldn't go to church- there'd be a little argument, but she could be stubborn- and when the old woman had gone, quick pack the things she'd need to take, all but the dress she'd wear Monday, and take the bag down to that place in the station where you could put things in a locker overnight, for a dime.	1388.8607911834238
Then on Monday morning- or it might have to be Tuesday- get up and leave just the usual time, and last thing, put the money in an envelope under the old woman's purse there in the drawer.	1379.3382682608021
She wouldn't be going to get that for an hour or so after Katya had left, go do the daily shopping.	716.463403941423
No need leave a note with it, either- or maybe just something like, Don't worry about me, I'm going away to make a better life.	687.4991862657695
A better life.	11.126598388441446
Escape.	10.395973204777384
It wasn't as if she wanted much.	40.73301682539708
She didn't mind working hard, not as if she figured to do anything wrong to live easy and soft- all she wanted was a chance, where she wasn't marked as what she was.	586.121684279336
To be Katharine Ross, and work in a nicer shop somewhere, at a little more money so she could have prettier clothes, and learn ladies' manners and all like that, and get to know different people than up to now, not just the ones like her here, with foreign-sounding names, the ones went to the same church and- Different place, different job, different people, she'd be all different too.	1156.072062171062
Prettier, she'd do her hair another way; smarter, and wear different kinds of clothes- she'd be Katharine Ross, just what that sounded like.	1318.7823058947818
"You've give me the wrong change", said the customer sharply.	79.40709985750783
"Think I can't count"?	76.2820662267862
Katya made up the amount in indifferent silence.	129.41470172934987
She was listening to other voices, out of the future.	70.36028363632825
Some of those vaguely-imagined new, different people.	52.70780377118081
Oh, Katharine's awfully nice, and pretty too, I like Katharine- Let's ask Katharine to go with us, she's always lots of fun- Katharine- Soon, very soon now h SIXTEEN Mendoza didn't wake until nearly nine-thirty.	1672.058931773649
It was going to be another hot day; already the thermometer stood close to ninety.	103.59198840894925
Alison was still sound asleep; he made fresh coffee and searched through all the desk drawers for more cigarettes before thinking of her handbag, and found a crumpled stray cigarette at its bottom, which tasted peculiarly of face powder.	2038.4293303235984
He left a note propped on the desk asking her to call him sometime today, and drove home.	280.1474139571906
After he'd got out fresh liver for Bast, he paused to look at her crouched daintily over her dish.	893.3581637084513
Surely she was just a trifle fatter around the middle?	238.57563389290996
He seemed to remember reading somewhere that Abyssinians had large litters, and suffered a dismaying vision of the apartment overrun with a dozen kittens.	2073.759983207401
"Y que sigue despues?- what then"?	278.6099588845711
he asked her severely.	20.269047535156194
"A lot of people are so peculiar that they don't like cats, it's not the easiest thing in the world to find good homes for kittens- and, damn it, you know very well if I have them around long, impossible to give them away!	686.3531071970049
And I suppose now that you've finally grown up, if a little late, you'd go on producing kittens every six months or so.	408.9253722891974
Yes, well, it's a pity to spoil your girlish figure- which all those kittens would do anyway- but I think when you've raised these we'll just have the vet fix it so there won't be any more h. I wonder if the Carters would take one h. And it's no good looking at me like that", as she wound affectionately around his ankles.	1559.9846167131345
Maude's long nose unexpectedly wrinkled up.	225.78859479558068
"Happened to be in the hall!	141.29100736755174
Happened to hear you quarrel about her!	175.27902281826576
Oh, well, you can't really blame Lolotte.	124.45958746570044
She lost her beau to you".	33.99056110214358
But she was talking of Emile when she saw the black line of the open door; Sarah remembered it clearly.	970.6187591274422
Maude went on.	23.409129948980357
"I've got to get busy.	7.759394920662009
Miss Celie's taken to her bed, with the door locked.	447.1958696699418
She opened it an inch and poked out the keys for me to give you.	143.4522346816448
Here"- She thrust a bundle of keys strung on a thick red cord into Sarah's hand.	552.4053234875507
"Not that there's much use in locking up the smokehouse and the storehouse now.	172.7222453349959
Drink your coffee"- Coffee.	120.33897845352274
"It's- cold".	14.509533192479545
Maude suddenly looked quite capable of pouring it down her throat.	348.6107341228002
"I don't want it", Sarah said, firmly.	148.70345299785708
"Oh.	3.7445007932686747
Well- I'll take it down with me as I go".	426.4047476076895
Maude swooped up the cup and hiked up her top hoop as if about to take off with a racing start.	1514.5852451105359
At the door she turned back, her Roman nose looking very long now and satiric.	255.67121667856284
"I forgot.	11.431927960652954
Ben and Lucien have gone after them.	87.1159724489875
It's just like that book your Northern friend wrote- except there aren't any ice floes to cross and no bloodhounds".	660.8538224808735
"I don't know Mrs Stowe h. What can they do if they find them"?	141.3157705075499
"They can't do anything.	147.6074447902208
It's silly, childish, running after them like that.	97.04906131824914
I told Ben so.	19.98921527594556
But of course the paterollers won't be of any help, not with everything so upset and that Yankee cavalry outfit they say is running around, God knows where".	667.2676736564547
She had swished away, she had been gone for a long time probably when Sarah suddenly realized that she ought to stop her, pour out the coffee, so no one would drink it.	563.3335339930145
But then the so-called coffee was bad enough at best, cold it was all but undrinkable- especially that cup!	231.3090766955942
She was deeply, horribly sure that Lucien had filled it with opium.	238.64588114466378
She had quarreled with Lucien, she had resisted his demands for money- and if she died, by the provisions of her marriage contract, Lucien would inherit legally not only the immediate sum of gold under the floorboards in the office, but later, when the war was over, her father's entire estate.	1578.2607060535042
She felt cold and hot, sticky and chilly at the same time.	79.50185173147916
Now wait a minute, she told herself, think about it; Lucien is not the only person in this house who could have put opium in that coffee.	749.0592596482824
She had lost a bottle of opium- but that was on the trip from New Orleans.	1106.0647075121153
Or someone had taken it during her first day at Honotassa.	192.28867870822106
Yes, she had missed it after her talk with Emile, after dinner, just before Emile was shot.	314.01115474536846
Rilly or Glendora had entered her room while she slept, bringing back her washed clothes.	645.1140888577983
So somebody else could have come in, too- then or later while she was out of the room.	182.3820579176899
It would have been easy to identify as opium by its odor.	77.31061365960566
It was not very reasonable to believe that Lucien had procured unprocurable opium and come back to Honotassa with a formed plan to murder her.	396.1400400030455
He didn't even know that she was there.	381.3337640231059
And he certainly couldn't have guessed that she would resist his demand for the gold or that she was not the yielding- yes, and credible fool he had every right to expect.	2113.8598788861364
No, he had been surprised, unpleasantly surprised, but surprised.	215.96090002099297
Then somebody else?	29.870176290177884
Don't question, Rev had said, don't invite danger.	131.80306967001735
Her skin crawled Lolotte had told Maude that she was in the hall and the door was open.	5281.417001188511
Sarah had begun to tell Lucien of Emile, she had begun to question and a little draft had crept across the room from the bedroom door, open barely enough to show a rim of blackness in the hall.	917.7488513442388
So Lolotte- or anybody- could have listened, and that somebody could have already been supplied with the missing bottle of opium.	425.2366625042065
That was not reasonable either.	23.305724995645097
The opium had disappeared before Emile's death and whoever shot him could not by any stretch of the imagination have foreseen Sarah's own doubts and suspicions- and questions.	599.2533373182378
She began to doubt whether there had been in fact a lethal dose of opium in the cup.	535.8141273204649
So suppose somebody only wished to frighten her, so she would leave Honotassa!	1016.3352252915263
That made a certain amount of logic.	40.26389197686451
Added to the argument was the fact that while she might have tasted the coffee if it had been still hot, she might even have drunk some of it, she wouldn't have taken enough to kill her, for she would have been warned by its taste.	801.5093330237715
No.	3.389188185682365
It was merely an attempt to frighten her.	145.797286834183
She wouldn't go back to New York as Maude suggested; she wouldn't run like a scared cat.	1118.575104744126
But- well, she'd be very careful.	638.1599232287103
She dressed and the accustomed routine restored to her a sense of normal everyday life.	199.30267634469143
But before she left her room she dug into her big moire bag, took out the envelope holding her marriage contract and the wax seal had been broken.	1284.6271753048586
So somebody else knew what would happen to her father's money if she died.	227.63727750412463
Rev had known all along.	46.953727182736976
Rev didn't need to break the wax seal, read the contract and find out.	200.78630582350442
He could conceivably have wished to make sure; Rev loved Honotassa, it was like a part of his breath and body; Rev had stressed the need for money.	459.79444846222754
Rev would never have tried to give her poison!	196.7030458327692
She thrust the envelope back in the bag; there was no point in locking it up in the armoire now, it was like locking the barn after the horse was stolen.	295.15939634307233
And in all likelihood, by now, there was more than one person in the house who knew the terms of her marriage contract.	341.34746250448984
There was no point either in telling herself again what a fool she'd been.	230.63562549879313
She went downstairs and received another curious shock, for when Glendora flapped into the dining room in her homemade moccasins, Sarah asked her when she had brought coffee to her room and Glendora said she hadn't.	1272.418134504875
"Too much work this morning, Miss Sarah- everybody gone like that"- Sarah swallowed past another kind of constriction in her throat.	500.6643752149432
"Well, then who brought it"?	28.515377753831043
"Miss Maude.	25.625265771933346
She come to the kitchen and say she take it up to you".	709.4106392132054
Glendora put down a dish of lukewarm rice.	225.27992696844794
"Not much breakfast this morning.	44.081662335760115
I don't know what we're going to do, Miss Sarah".	1049.6350405620065
"We've got to eat", Sarah said, curtly, because a chill crawled over her again.	140.9129837419486
Maude?	20.324827059120516
Glendora flapped away.	64.22136597970807
The rice wasn't dosed with opium, indeed it had no taste at all, not a grain of salt.	288.1536213458707
She ate what she could and went out along the covered passageway, with the rain dripping from the vines.	333.84978497305616
In the kitchen Glendora was despairingly picking chickens.	126.17322548669898
"Get a basket", Sarah told her.	71.43499533077078
"We'll go to the storehouse".	76.0702558107925
Glendora dropped a chicken and a flurry of feathers, and went with her through the drizzle, to the storehouse.	426.66589098083057
Sarah found the right key and unlocked the door.	85.00028887582154
It was a long, low room, like a root cellar, for it was banked up with soil, and vines had run rampant over that, too.	367.6321773662042
It was dark but dry and cool.	24.553708913293818
She doled out what Glendora vaguely guessed were the right amounts of dried peas, eggs, cornmeal, a little salt.	607.2402355121282
The shelves looked emptier than when Miss Celie had shown her the storeroom, and since the men from the Commissary had called; there were certainly now fewer mouths to feed but there was less to feed them with.	1029.377639063835
She took Glendora to the smokehouse, unlocked it and saw with satisfaction there was still a quantity of hams and sides of bacon, hanging from the smoke-stained rafters.	559.266929233909
They wouldn't go hungry, not yet.	54.46611167746873
And the fields were green and growing.	40.20720412623308
"Can't you possibly imagine what life is going to be like, here"?	309.3164637491692
Maude had said.	21.544071608748478
Maude.	16.05296361890169
She sent Glendora back to the house, her basket and her apron laden.	495.17412990530454
She stood for a moment, rain dripping from the trees over her head, thinking of Maude.	584.0818522447731
Maude had the opportunity to take the bottle of opium from Sarah's room.	1225.3428803856796
Maude had the cool ruthlessness to d o whatever she made up her mind to do.	582.0589925964075
She couldn't see how her death could affect Maude.	165.59510431579625
She couldn't see any reason why Maude would attempt to frighten her.	225.3399118899413
Besides, there was something hysterical and silly, something almost childish about an attempt to frighten her.	540.1897061246214
Maude was neither hysterical nor silly and Sarah rather doubted if she had ever been childish.	3839.9910024165983
Yet Maude had suggested that Sarah return to New York.	135.11544307026514
Maude could have shot Emile- if she'd had a reason to kill him.	1631.0319227323866
There was no use in standing there in the drizzle, trying to find a link between Emile's murder and opium in a cup of coffee.	673.9665311279501
She started back for the house, saw a light in the office, opened the door and surprised a domestic little scene which was far outside the dark realm of murder or attempted murder.	1463.0220603966939
Rev, George and Lolotte were mending shoes.	169.6535350680626
a lighted lamp stood on the table that dusky, drizzling day.	200.80998903409665
They were all three bent over a shabby riding boot; George had a tack hammer.	433.91076592310066
Lolotte held a patch of leather, Rev steadied something, a tiny brad, waiting for George's poised hammer.	1126.5564787591636
George said, "First thing I do when I get to Vicksburg again, is get me a Yankee"- "With boots on", Lolotte laughed softly.	527.8982995153748
Rev looked up and saw her.	30.51833671654071
Lolotte looked up and stiffened.	98.92935409565189
George didn't look up at all.	228.794145295928
There was no way to know, no way to guess whether any one of them was surprised at Sarah's appearance, believing her to be drugged and senseless- and just possibly dead.	1153.1906685567951
Rev said, "Come in, Sarah.	74.12956763444193
Reckon you know the news".	52.809226424772476
And what news, Sarah thought as satirically as Maude might have said it.	219.25190728014587
Rev's face was suddenly a little fixed and questioning.	158.30699325109603
He turned to George and Lolotte.	33.37647178027912
"Take your cobbler's shop somewhere else.	162.49375608700015
I want to talk to Sarah".	55.26053720621293
Everything in the office, the spreading circle of lamplight, the patch of leather in Lolotte's hands.	1848.0668863113685
George poised with the tack hammer, the homely, everyday atmosphere, all denied an attempt at murder.	423.89383285950436
A rush of panic caught Sarah.	110.41703438582444
"No.	3.389188185682365
Not now.	8.687449517339747
I mean I've got to- to see to the kitchen.	92.68977449943812
Glendora"- Her words jumbled together and she all but ran from the office and from the question in Rev's face.	602.867220582376
Now why did I do that?	43.925901765093414
she thought as warm, drizzling rain touched her face.	211.8277395223126
She was no schoolgirl, refusing to bear tales.	102.51142787750078
As she reached the kitchen door the answer presented itself; if she told anyone of the opium it must be Lucien, her husband.	899.6064889144807
It might be, indeed it had already proved to be a marriage without love, but it was marriage.	184.7112070181172
So she couldn't choose Rev as a confidant; it must be Lucien.	263.51259013083114
Always provided that Lucien himself had not dosed her coffee with opium, she thought, as coldly and sharply, again, as Maude might have said it.	959.4319670159751
She paused at the kitchen door, caught her breath, told herself firmly that the opium was only an attempt to frighten her and went into the kitchen, where Glendora was eyeing the chickens dismally and Maude was cleaning lamp chimneys.	3574.915038241382
Glendora gave a gulp.	86.95582724536442
"Miss Sarah, I can't cut up no chicken.	126.41646806588636
Miss Maude say she won't".	98.73541657525352
Again the homely, everyday details of daily living refuted a vicious attempt to frighten her- or to murder her.	429.9630531727071
The homely everyday details of living and domestic requirements also pressed upon her with their immediate urgency.	463.0208949459441
No matter what had happened or hadn't happened, somebody had to see about dinner.	127.97269795757815
She eyed the chickens with, if she had known it, something of Glendora's dismal look and thought with a certain fury of the time she had spent on Latin verbs.	1787.86126832783
"Not since last night.	21.841612234985437
I didn't think there was any reason to".	41.91422650754053
"Maybe there isn't.	21.843024094222507
Speak to him again anyway.	37.31273132986061
Try talking to some of the fellows he works with, friends, anyone.	263.9415658322965
Try to find out how happy he is with his wife, whether he plays around with women.	109.37885747551954
You might try looking into his wife too.	40.4234340475104
She might have been talking to some of her friends about her husband if they've been having any trouble".	1089.2172738269444
"You think Black's the one we're looking for"?	120.46737399179526
"Yeah.	7.786428610600051
I think he might be", Conrad said grimly.	8477.915173076088
"Then again he might not".	89.34201729143096
"What a stinking world", Rourke said.	74.27445765778192
"Black is Gilborn's best friend".	82.19755132086857
"I know".	4.505871426233801
"Will you be coming back soon"?	40.49596004609725
"I think so.	7.412813719481377
I'm on my way to see the Jacobs woman".	95.88906847031205
"Gilborn's secretary?	51.15498491764352
What for?	6.740474763003205
You don't think Gilborn is the-"?	44.372806056952605
"I don't think anything.	10.32050026906758
I just don't want to go off half-cocked before picking up Black, that's all".	614.9093141822335
Conrad interrupted.	40.83513026852952
"Gilborn says he was in his office all day with her yesterday.	261.8830209201962
I'd like to make sure.	111.97141605335283
Also, it's just possible she might know something about Mrs Gilborn".	211.39309490458473
"Right.	9.610791341046074
I'll see you later".	50.64720807026411
"Aren't you ever going to go home"?	56.65124553853101
"It sure as hell doesn't look like it, does it?	121.26484276207191
I'm telling you, if these corpses ever knew the trouble they put us to, they'd think twice before letting themselves get knocked off".	322.11606690241234
"Remember to tell that to the next corpse you meet".	828.8077079411103
Conrad hung up and sat on the small telephone-booth bench, massaging his right leg.	959.8441462488076
He looked at his watch.	9.840587388184018
It was ten minutes before eleven.	46.82317097449768
He wondered how long it would be before they had a signed confession from Lionel Black.	243.01445506612706
Thirty years' experience let him know, even at this early stage, that Black was his man.	141.9206419494936
But he still wanted to know why.	312.397422245609
It was a cold, windy day, the day after Kitti's death, but Stanley Gilborn paid no attention to the blustery October wind.	1099.9556845703096
After leaving Conrad, Gilborn had no destination.	117.16690653557674
He simply walked, not noticing where he was, not caring.	254.52979548519306
He stopped automatically at the street corners, waiting for the traffic lights to change, unheeding of other people, his coat open and flapping.	1075.9246455510943
As he walked, he tried to think.	24.826838355304844
Of Kitti.	22.541101042379694
Of himself.	8.999746025122743
Mainly of what Conrad had tried to make him believe.	871.6633842265311
There was nothing coherent about his thinking.	33.49849111726523
It was a succession of picture-images passing through his mind the same ones, different ones, in no apparent sequence, in no logical succession.	291.79223689691304
The enormity of what Conrad had told him made it impossible for Gilborn to accept, with any degree of realism, the actuality of it.	1170.8001242592434
Conrad's words had intellectual meaning for him only.	123.10152392209575
Emotionally, they penetrated him not at all.	48.918234149423135
Whoever he was and your wife were intimate.	73.30777400957174
Gilborn remembered Conrad's exact words.	199.9305452662171
They made sense and yet they didn't.	41.03773213228855
He knew Conrad had told him the truth.	47.284701728299126
It was so.	5.8419544127593
Yet it wasn't so.	18.273031301112372
It wasn't so because it couldn't be so.	40.38080040486398
When Kitti was alive- and he remembered the pressure of her hand resting lightly on his arm- she had been the center of his life.	1003.1556121006114
She was the sun, he the closest planet orbiting around her, the rest of the world existing and visible yet removed.	249.88944056919243
For fifty-five years he had lived, progressing towards a no-goal, eating, working, breathing without plan, without reason.	1515.681660667696
Kitti had come along to justify everything.	117.15998009736178
She was his goal, she was his reason.	38.83577378884155
He had lived all his life waiting for her.	46.67646707431161
Not once, in the time that he had known her, had he ever considered the possibility, not once, not for one one-thousandth of a second, of her infidelity.	850.7646849330432
He could not consider it now.	15.136235715170818
Not really.	8.112080513646216
And so he walked, aimless again.	38.022640979165374
The walk ended, inevitably, right in front of his hotel building.	81.74434091738162
The doorman began to nod his head automatically, then remembered who Gilborn was, what had happened to him the night before.	1071.680472819732
He looked at Gilborn with undisguised curiosity.	73.77518995152468
Gilborn passed by him without seeing him.	116.4496350670493
He crossed the lobby and rode up in the elevator lost in his own thoughts.	291.58879318795044
In the apartment itself, all was still.	31.41895344458398
The police were no longer there.	20.646776497045696
There was no evidence that anything was different than it had been.	231.1262513599591
Except that Kitti wasn't there.	57.4724910237338
Without taking off his coat, he sat in the blue chair which still faced the closed bedroom door.	333.3228540276074
At last, sitting there, in the familiar surroundings, the truth began to sink in.	92.74351684045061
Who?	8.198404600115378
He felt no anger towards Kitti, no sense that she had betrayed him.	203.2740221354951
Who?	8.198404600115378
She was all he had, everything he had, everything he wanted.	149.07511207451535
Someone had taken her away from him.	44.284592589655105
Who?	8.198404600115378
Where there is a left-hand entry in the ledger, there is a right-hand one, he remembered from his school days.	409.74951022127647
Where there is a victim, there is a killer.	185.72060374772877
Who?	8.198404600115378
Whoever he was and your wife were intimate.	73.30777400957174
He rose from the chair, took off his coat.	67.6105279288179
Quickly, he went into the bedroom.	213.17010885325146
The bed still showed signs of where Kitti had lain.	227.50274850164806
Gilborn stood there for a long time.	86.17301075208174
He looked at the bed unblinkingly.	27.007478871570395
The bed was empty now.	30.365784970098666
Kitti would lie in it no more.	59.315000648956286
He would lie in it no more.	24.022965368825183
Gilborn wondered whether Kitti had lain in that same bed with h Who?	730.8671598512618
For thirty minutes, Stanley Gilborn stood there.	113.26784032535386
At the end of the half-hour, racking his brains, thinking over and over again of Kitti, her friends, her past, he left the bedroom.	520.7076334545104
Who?	8.198404600115378
He could think of no answer.	12.628683603371599
Gilborn put on his coat again.	90.64995479391645
Before leaving, he took one last, lingering look at the apartment.	86.41563035924851
He knew he would never see it again.	343.72304884503615
In the street, walking as quickly as he could, Stanley Gilborn was a lone figure.	483.5141273779375
On Blanche Jacobs, Kitti Gilborn's death had a quite different effect.	393.837145409843
For Blanche, Kitti's death was a source of guilty, but nonetheless soaring, happy hope.	283.0970445890444
In Blanche's defense, it must be said she was unaware of the newborn hope.	73.86519318003917
If anyone had asked her, she would have described herself only as nervous and worried.	143.65241312668212
The figures on the worksheet paper in front of her were jumping and waving around so badly it was all she could do to make them out clearly enough to copy them with the typewriter.	430.73506932218197
She wondered whether Stanley would call.	88.30813639419233
She wanted to be with him, to give him the comfort and companionship she knew he needed.	3803.6052679602103
She had skipped her lunch hour in the fear that he might call while she was out.	284.5663146298626
He hadn't.	7.156336860082071
And now she was feeling sick, both from concern about Stanley and hunger.	165.23846288213971
Why hadn't he called?	47.713358461907156
Men, she reflected, even men like Stanley, are unpredictable.	162.54529347284844
She tried to think of his unpredictable actions in the eleven years she had known him and discovered they weren't so many after all.	316.9059368539709
Stanley really was quite predictable.	95.08279495796683
That was one of the things she liked about Stanley.	93.83687359805204
He wasn't like so many other men.	315.5736098464699
The dentist last night, for instance.	37.40011994534446
Dinner and the movies had been fine.	58.35760429864878
He had taken her upstairs to say good night.	53.46589065055073
She had invited him in for coffee.	37.82839447768651
It was in the kitchen, as she was watching the kettle, waiting for the water to boil, that he had grabbed for her.	263.71313022646586
Without warning, without giving her a chance to prepare for it.	103.89116080347466
From behind, he had put his arms on her shoulders, turned her around, and pressed her to him, so close she couldn't breathe.	773.965533227426
Later, she apologized for the long scratch across his face, tried to explain she couldn't help herself, that the panic arose in her unwanted.	2254.4945524093628
But he hadn't understood.	21.609343527008146
When he left, she knew she would never see him again.	80.93003793972936
Stanley wasn't like that.	31.759682800019448
She could always predict what Stanley was going to do, ever since she first met him.	681.3866616564405
Except for that one morning.	19.474570682925812
The morning he walked in to announce to her, blushing, that he was married.	168.14470488284314
She thought she was going to die.	18.914334458769428
She had assumed before then that one day he would ask her to marry him.	140.60601757156473
Blanche couldn't remember when she had first arrived at this conclusion.	401.0172873619387
She thought it was sometime during the second week she worked for Stanley.	345.9272523128584
It was nothing that he said or did, but it seemed so natural to her that she should be working for him, looking forward to his eventual proposal.	351.74457501506083
She was thirty-one years old then.	135.9374242998684
Her mother was already considerably concerned over her daughter's future.	109.39052697269975
But Blanche had been able to maintain a serene and assured composure in the face of her widowed mother's continued carping, had been able to resist her urgings to date anyone who offered the slightest possibility of matrimony.	1209.9134129134834
For Blanche, it was only a matter of time before Stanley would propose.	588.8477704156343
It was to be expected that Stanley would be shy, slow in taking such a momentous step.	661.6624477789228
Stanley went along in life, she knew, convinced that he deserved the love and faith of no woman.	427.09674713632756
As a result, he never looked for it.	37.16507728180382
But one day, she expected, he would somehow discover, without her having to tell him, that there was such a woman in the world; a woman who was willing to give him love, faith, and anything else a woman could give a husband.	4613.829909327275
Indeed, there was a woman who, unasked, had already given him love.	211.92252160796187
Unquestionably, Blanche loved Stanley.	118.23051487845589
And then, unexpectedly, Stanley made his announcement.	63.80431982637469
On that first day, Blanche literally thought she was going to die, or, at the very least, go out of her mind.	420.5184154650765
It might have been easier for her if Kitti Walker hadn't been everything that Blanche was not.	501.82740408161743
Kitti was thirty years younger than Stanley, taller than Stanley, prettier than Stanley had any right to hope for, much less expect.	659.7983752088123
Kitti could have married a score of men.	232.99310423541752
There was no reason for her to marry someone like Stanley Gilborn, there was no need for her to marry Stanley.	654.0031969343706
Kitti had come into the office, on somebody's recommendation, because she needed help in preparing her income tax return.	920.5071351149204
Stanley had filled out the return and because, when he was finished, it was close to the lunch hour, he had politely asked Kitti to join him, never expecting her to accept.	366.5769686976507
Blanche knew all this because the door to Stanley's office was open and, without straining too hard, she could hear everything that was said.	412.78267277373
Stanley had gone out, saying he would be back in an hour.	35.03973348434625
He hadn't come back for over two.	36.99229552440695
After that day, Blanche still didn't know exactly what had happened.	126.28404182796584
There were mornings when Stanley came in late, afternoons when he left early, days when he didn't come in at all.	243.52599637586457
Blanche knew something must be causing Stanley's new, strange behavior but she never once connected it with Kitti Walker.	855.5024716780886
It was too unprecedented.	19.33148066670139
Then, six weeks after the day Kitti first came into the office, Stanley announced he and Kitti were married.	327.12739455640514
Somehow, Blanche managed to cover the stunned surprise and offer her congratulations.	321.4529596035531
That night the two of them left for a week's honeymoon in Acapulco.	286.92203017703144
While they were away Blanche came into the office every morning, running things as she had always run them for Stanley, going through the week in a dazed stupor, getting things done automatically, out of habit.	770.7389421979722
For exactly one week, she was able to continue in this manner.	181.58914589226146
On the morning of Stanley's return, however, her strength left her.	69.37404230565558
Two hours of watching his serenely happy face, listening to his soft humming as he bent over his penciled figures, and Blanche had to leave.	1068.4159593528668
She stayed away for ten days.	37.39676588981876
Those ten days were like no others that Blanche had known.	162.01518240501036
Mostly, she stayed in bed.	52.829475699141945
She didn't tell anyone, even her mother, what was wrong.	555.6114495047829
She refused to have a doctor, insisting there was nothing a doctor could do for her.	342.10872353168975
"Right", said the fingerprint man.	48.9344831403888
"Also, if you're going to believe those prints, you'll have to look for a killer who's a top-grade piano player".	144.36369536858578
He demonstrated by playing an imaginary piano, doing a staccato passage with a broadly exaggerated attack.	422.89104768208716
To make it clearer he shifted to acting out, but with no change of manner, the killing of Rose Mallory.	993.8933543234475
His hands snatched at an imaginary bucket, swooping down hard to grab it and coming away with equal snap like a ball that's been bounced hard.	801.5420397117335
In the same way he pantomimed grasping a mantel and bouncing cleanly off that, pressing his hands against the floor and bouncing cleanly off that.	410.402506647592
He was moving like a ballet dancer, playing for laughs.	124.68356917338286
If Rose Mallory's killer acted this way, catching up with him was going to be a cinch.	543.8570167651194
We'd know him by his stretch pants and the flowers he'd wear twined in his hair.	252.76710097672128
Perhaps if Felix had first come upon us when this boy was not cavorting so gaily up and down the hall outside the murdered woman's apartment, we might have had less trouble convincing Felix of our seriousness.	1601.3009366437461
This, you will remember, was still New Year's Day.	502.2465346776751
By the time Felix turned up it was early afternoon, which, one would think, would be late enough so that by then, except for small children and a few hardy souls who had not yet sobered up, it could have been expected that people would no longer be having any sort of active interest in the previous night's noisemakers and paper hats.	1231.3447607355108
Felix was the exception.	24.384706504987143
He had retained his hat and his horn, and, whatever fun might still be going, he was ready to join it.	155.3572794605918
That, incidentally, might give you some idea of what Felix was like.	56.200173995321975
After all, he hadn't happened upon us in that second-floor hall without warning.	737.0742583449983
The ME's boys had finished their on-the-spot examination and the body had been removed for autopsy.	233.66234523084634
The meat wagon, therefore, was not out in front of the house any more, but the cluster of squad cars was still there and there was a cop on the door downstairs to screen any comings and goings.	770.6192409572772
There was, furthermore, the crowd of curious onlookers gathered in the street and a couple more cops to hold them at a decent distance.	483.23437541561015
Just put yourself in Felix's place for a moment.	213.0344140598374
You're a taxpayer, householder, landlord.	199.97090173522614
You've been away from home for the New Year festivities, but now the party is over and you come home.	446.7155179904215
Defining sobriety in the limited sense of being free from the clinical symptoms of the effects of alcohol ingested and not yet eliminated from the system, you are sober.	428.1926628448607
You still have your paper hat and you're wearing it, but then, it is an extraordinary paper hat and, in addition to anything else you may be, you are also the sculptor who created that most peculiar dame out in the back yard.	704.0277771939658
It's not too much to assume that you will have a more lasting interest in paper hats than will Mr Average Citizen.	1331.85356870289
You have your paper horn clutched in your big, craggy fist, and for your entrance you have planned a noisy, colorful and exuberant greeting to your friends and tenants.	719.9746517745047
You find your house a focus of public and police attention.	91.64281957216205
Can you imagine yourself forgetting under the circumstances that you are approaching this startling and unexpected situation so unsuitably hatted and armed with a paper horn?	1738.0928219481543
Maybe one could be startled into forgetfulness.	124.02955798105305
You shoulder your way through the cluster of the curious and you barge up to the cop on the door.	195.17505165824795
You identify yourself and ask him what's going on.	120.62134613334703
Instead of answering you, he sticks his head in the door and shouts up the stairs.	115.76337929851516
"Got the upstairs guy", he bellows.	139.35314027339544
"The owner.	6.231757573243769
Do I send him up"?	45.74242429773183
Then he turns back to you.	21.99422437180767
"Go on in", he says.	13.591247924727906
"They'll tell you what's cooking".	120.22764754778663
Even then, as you go into the house oppressed by the knowledge that something is cooking and that your house has passed under this unaccountable, official control, could you go on forgetting that you still had that ridiculous hat on your head and you were still carrying that childish horn in your hand?	1254.2996178205765
What I'm getting at is that we were fully prepared for Felix's being an odd one.	562.3830151037939
We'd seen his handiwork out in the back yard, and the little his tenants had told us of him did make him sound a little special.	296.33432299996156
We were not, however, prepared for anything like the apparition that confronted us as Felix came up the stairs.	94.58000403389141
He, of course, must have been equally unprepared for what confronted him, but, nonetheless, I did find his reaction startling.	1084.0238504922627
If Felix was still wearing the hat and carrying the horn because he'd forgotten about them, he now remembered.	682.3913018008051
He came bounding up the stairs and joined the dance.	584.2243097104862
He adjusted the hat, lifted the horn to his lips as though it were a flute, and fell in alongside our fingerprint expert to cavort with him.	375.4882055162831
Our man stopped dead and glowered at Felix.	164.60324383830798
Felix threw his head back and laughed a laugh that shook the timbers of even that solidly built old house.	494.61776399955
This was a bull of a man.	61.47049267382088
He was big-chested, big-shouldered and heavy-armed.	156.87069319190755
His face was ruddy and heavy and unlined, and when he laughed he showed his teeth, which were big and white and strong and unquestionably home-grown.	264.34393260011626
I don't remember ever seeing teeth that were quite so white and at the same time quite so emphatically not dentures.	233.06186948152418
His hair had receded most of the way to the back of his neck.	132.6015537272657
He had only a fringe of hair and he wore it cropped short.	115.83049325576975
It was almost as white as his teeth.	31.407495292839993
For a man of his mass he was curiously short.	174.2047966894256
He wasn't a dwarf but he was a bit of a comic figure.	97.41874843342518
A man with so big and so staggeringly developed a torso and such long and powerful arms is expected to stand taller than five feet five.	388.3502662146363
For Felix it was a bit of a stretch to make even that measurement.	121.54272013841333
The man was just this side of being a freak.	47.85027285667858
We waited till he had finished laughing, and that gave us a few moments for taking stock of him.	538.63634034662
He was dressed in a manner Esquire might suggest for the outdoor man's country weekend.	227.7897441772132
Dark gray sports jacket, lighter gray slacks, pink flannel shirt, black silk necktie.	1704.9809513442283
His eyes were clear.	15.396045284482737
He was freshly shaved, and if there had been any alcohol in him we could never have missed detecting some scent of it on the massive gusts of his laughter.	886.3641785254649
Not even a whiff.	28.94667715590528
Eventually he subsided.	34.5316765575659
"Felix"?	12.48547944324803
Gibby said.	20.060862379477502
"Me", he said merrily.	59.82246162676129
"Me, the happy one".	22.758092355042645
"That much Latin we remember", Gibby said dryly.	187.69047177014298
"You always live up to your name, always like this, always making happy"?	402.45991338105364
"I try", Felix said blithely.	63.396218914402446
"The world is full of blokes who put their hearts into making the tragic scene.	176.51880521472359
I've never noticed that it improves things any".	48.48026631425581
"Bully for you", Gibby said.	74.30936082130313
"What's the rest of your name"?	34.47204797646791
"No rest of it.	12.06460028411921
Felix is all there is".	26.10725890355919
"All there ever was"?	22.081166862705672
"The past I leave to historians", Felix intoned, demonstrating that he could be pompous as well as happy.	297.8765844735634
"You live in the present"?	107.32618043541233
"In the present", Felix proclaimed.	163.87298909818665
"For the future.	6.431838308892227
Is there any other time in which a man can live"?	764.7310170250727
"We", Gibby announced, "are not philosophers.	87.61195907918854
We are Assistant District Attorneys.	62.1950332537534
This gentleman is a police officer.	42.95433342064425
He is a fingerprint specialist.	25.37267057959896
Could your future, your immediate future, be made to include taking us upstairs, giving us a bit of space in which our friend can work, and making available to him your finger tips"?	2358.6948641251565
The happy one could never have looked happier.	96.0337160145506
This was more than joy.	20.16977233980331
It was ecstasy.	12.880666891666905
"Those lovely whorls", he chortled.	121.41676024585661
"So intricate, so beautiful.	35.652624803328976
Come right along.	26.97200186615717
I love fingerprints".	33.73323119978992
He was prancing along the hall, heading for the next flight of stairs.	140.31505188329595
Gibby called him back.	39.430142528734116
"We're here because of what happened last night", he said.	106.88808147803468
"Past, yes, but important.	29.66153593511439
Since it is important, for the record let's have the full name".	334.20560245183174
"That important"?	9.974153920766593
Felix asked.	16.133373164917824
"That important".	8.577138337764573
"Grubb", Felix whispered.	92.23514702653438
"Felix Grubb"?	52.08678307818321
Gibby asked, not bothering to whisper.	117.36902515887567
"Shh", Felix implored.	108.55190944016952
"I can't see what would make it necessary for you to know.	929.9179702464637
Nothing could make it necessary to proclaim it to the whole world".	191.0900233429451
Obligingly Gibby lowered his voice.	154.6500709277188
"Felix Grubb"?	52.08678307818321
he repeated.	14.057939960942218
"No.	3.389188185682365
Edmund, but not for years.	84.15192843970438
For years it's been just Felix.	62.701231889280564
First thing I did after my twenty-first birthday was go into court and have it officially changed, and this is something I don't tell everybody.	623.0830859521782
That was almost forty years ago".	157.57366394461312
Having volunteered that he was a man of about sixty, he bounded up the stairs and with each leap rendered the number less credible.	1063.6059020569855
This was a broth of a boy, our Felix, and nothing was more obvious than the joy he took in demonstrating how agile he was and how full of juice and spirit.	789.4477672121825
We followed him up the stairs.	56.71771336602593
The cops would gather up Connor and the foursome on the third floor and bring us those of them who would voluntarily submit to fingerprinting.	413.31203423727294
You may think we didn't need Nancy and Jean, but you always get what you can when you can, and we had no guarantee that a fingerprint record on them couldn't be useful before we were through with this case.	921.8770529326745
Also, if we had excluded the ladies we would have to that extent let the whole world know at least that much of where we stood.	1197.3517880593065
The killer, if in our present group, would certainly be interested in knowing that much, and even though with the fingerprint evidence what it was I could see no way he could use this bit of information to improve on his situation, there might always be some way.	665.5544406938652
If you can possibly avoid it, you don't hand out any extra chances.	701.195902281837
Felix took us into his studio.	78.51671478879851
It was that oddly shaped space at the very top of the house, where ceiling heights had to accommodate themselves to the varying angles of roof slope.	2782.1948534170087
At each angle of its pitch a big skylight had been fitted into the roof and all these skylights were fitted with systems of multiple screens and shades.	593.6741233532264
When Felix first opened the door on it, all these shades were tightly drawn and the whole studio was as dark as night.	1769.0530574278262
He quickly fixed that, rolling back the shades on some of the skylights and adjusting screens on the others.	422.5721283627757
He flew about the place making these adjustments and it was obvious that what he was doing was the fruit of long experience.	354.7279352401649
None of his movements was tentative.	37.633222635246206
There was no process of trial and error.	27.242593515928917
Starting with the room completely blacked out, as it was when we came in, he unerringly fixed things so that the whole place was bathed in the maximum of light without at any point admitting even so much as a crack of glare.	589.7476252332992
Expecting something more-than-average wacky, I was surprised by what we found.	247.2384587453328
There was no display of either works in progress or of finished work.	73.74208405876755
Here and there on work table or pedestal stood a shape with a sheet or a tarpaulin draped over it.	289.0916627744901
These shapes might have been mad, but there was no telling.	83.68974059015119
They were all completely shrouded.	38.407261287629495
The equipment was solid and heavy and in good condition.	155.20456348933732
Everything was orderly and it seemed to be arranged for the workman's comfort, convenience and efficiency.	956.225019808325
There were tools about but they were neatly kept.	79.52692603839012
There was no confusion and no litter.	35.514685427351274
Supplies of sheet metal were neatly stacked in bins.	297.397605304068
ANDY DID NOT SEE the newspapers the next day.	199.87814400216212
Someone on his staff- he suspected it was Ed Thornburg- intercepted them and for this Andy was grateful.	408.2422716488193
He finally fell asleep around six in the morning with the aid of a sleeping capsule, a crutch he rarely used, and didn't awaken until early afternoon.	593.4006348939946
Memory flooded him the instant he opened his eyes and the sick feeling knotted his stomach.	462.98740952958264
Outside his window bloomed a beautiful summer day.	130.90041468789624
Presumably the same sun was shining upon little Drew also, and those who had kidnapped him.	846.2144954602852
But where?	6.1189777057691295
It was still a very big world, despite all the modern cant to the contrary.	280.2502485455017
Hub was sitting in a chair that blocked the hall door.	1254.9324339019927
He was dozing, perhaps the only sleep he'd gotten.	144.4379111210184
He snapped to alertness at Andy's entrance.	136.91032001180358
"Sorry, Mr Paxton.	70.94189847743355
Nothing new.	9.792032282182442
Lot of people waiting to see you, though".	70.81351220389809
"Reporters"?	12.48556392627508
"Our own people.	10.330219151166235
Questions about the show tonight".	44.10444066461181
Hub picked up the telephone.	67.8933876803793
"Shall I let them know you're awake"?	223.72544079409536
"I suppose.	6.626548087507181
How's Lissa, do you know"?	64.38876529326879
Hub considered.	24.844558539940202
"Some better.	8.793170988212482
She's got plenty of guts, Mr Paxton.	173.4542323621349
You want me to call her"?	51.77950837385495
"She expecting me to"?	28.213240473107426
Hub shook his head so Andy told him not to bother.	297.7838301611147
The only reason for contacting Lissa was to comfort or to be comforted.	196.99041454157867
He could not manage the former or expect the latter; they had nothing to give to each other.	94.781776816537
The omission might look peculiar to outsiders, but Andy could not bring himself to go through the motions simply for the sake of appearances.	264.3964126534251
He had little time to himself, anyway.	24.73375507346363
As the afternoon sped toward evening, the suite saw a steady procession of Paxton aides pass in and out, each with his own special problem.	1305.877357589174
Thornburg arrived with the writers.	52.740115038684706
They had spent the morning revising the act, eliminating all the gay songs, patter and dancing with a view of the best public relations.	262.32844684290694
What remained lacked the original verve but it was at least dignified, as befitting the tragic circumstances.	500.4875986918353
Raymond Fox reported that the orchestra had hastily rehearsed "Cradle Song" in case it was needed.	533.0971543099381
Charlie Marble was back and forth on several occasions, first to confer with Andy on the advisability of cancelling the Las Vegas engagement- they decided it was wise- and later to announce that a prominent comedian, also an agency client, had agreed to fill the casino's open date.	1023.2963290292007
And once Bake slipped in, pale and drawn, last night's liquor still on his breath with some of today's added to it.	312.93202354007775
He asked if there was anything he could do.	21.828162468611513
Andy invented a job to keep him busy, sending him ahead to El Dorado to supervise last minute arrangements.	730.9506766502444
But from Rocco Vecchio, they heard nothing.	105.01238964254965
At last it was time to depart.	20.456713648020905
Hub, nosing about, spotted reporters in the lobby, so Andy was hustled away quietly through the hotel's service entrance in a strange car which Hub had procured somewhere.	1285.8640002031104
They succeeded in eluding the curious at the hotel, but there was no chance of avoiding them at the nightclub.	264.5903299746311
El Dorado was surrounded by a mob.	818.1318723366868
They overflowed the parking lot, making progress by automobile difficult.	176.53881317880976
Long before he reached the protection of the stage door, Andy was recognized.	677.8014813344041
Word of his arrival spread through the crowd like a brushfire.	188.17040066154692
They surged around him, fingers pointing, eyes prying.	214.53325668319698
It was not a hostile gathering but Andy sensed the difference from last night's hero-worshippers.	307.70578637025596
They had come not to admire but to observe.	48.03607471538831
"It's worse inside", Thornburg informed Andy.	207.2395825220764
"Skolman's jammed in every table he could find.	515.5815718174873
Under the heading of it's an ill wind, et cetera".	119.33018349783177
Backstage was tomblike by contrast.	91.92209700990993
Andy's co-workers kept their distance, awed by the tragedy.	210.57865035794825
But in his dressing room was a large bouquet and a card that read, "We're with you all the way".	181.97472383249672
It was signed by everyone in the troupe.	52.90605420992055
Andy couldn't help but be touched.	108.29749927283913
He instructed Shirl Winter to compose a note of thanks to be posted on the call board.	341.2574100589087
Bake was waiting to report that Lou DuVol had been sobered up to the point where he could function efficiently.	1035.7004873643234
Andy gathered that this had been no small accomplishment.	317.0325462410864
Bake himself looked better; any kind of job was better than brooding.	235.10257059148776
Andy told him, "Bake, I wish you'd talk to Skolman, see if some kind of p a system can be rigged up outside.	873.1677144064201
It's just barely possible with this crowd that the kidnapper wasn't able to get a table.	241.10268283014295
I wouldn't want him to miss the message".	46.081970651758816
"I'll try.	26.127218859286973
Skolman isn't going to like it much, though, giving away what he should be selling".	277.25008686009755
Skolman wasn't the only one who didn't care for Andy's scheme.	226.6233667098588
A short time later, Lieutenant Bonner stomped into the dressing room.	168.81607710555377
"I got a bone to pick with you, Mr Paxton.	356.2880526275415
It's those damn loudspeakers".	56.0570367691645
Andy rolled up the revised script he had been studying.	226.0052834528876
"What about them"?	10.760604689528316
"They're going to louse me up good.	94.71937253710064
My men have been here all afternoon, setting up for this thing".	124.67076373664335
Bonner explained that, with the nightclub's cooperation, the police had occupied El Dorado like a battlefield.	2029.791732338917
Motion picture cameras had been installed to film the audience, the reservation list was being checked out name by name, and a special detail was already at work in the parking lot scrutinizing automobiles for a possible lead.	1893.8435726873126
However, it was virtually impossible to screen the mob outside, even if Bonner had manpower available for the purpose.	354.4057045507574
"I want you to have the speakers taken out".	115.31707528291432
Andy sighed.	32.37464338905713
"Seems like we're never going to see eye to eye, Lieutenant.	277.0718547381061
Didn't they tell you what I wanted the p a system for"?	152.28203790092724
"Sure, I know.	16.39569640701697
But it's such a long shot"- "No longer than yours.	110.86851995335473
What do you expect to get tonight, anyway?	73.76188356629885
You think somebody is going to stand up in the audience and make guilty faces?	6377.067144240549
Or have a sign on his car that says, 'Here Comes the Paxton Kidnapper'"?	354.09254496143967
Andy crumbled the script in his fist.	164.5110141230522
"I can't stop you from doing what you think is right.	83.19489420051553
But don't try to stop me, either".	515.3487568750187
"Someday", Bonner said, "you're going to ask us for help.	178.59646656756271
I can hardly wait".	12.165202282840996
"What you don't understand is that I'm asking for it now".	152.56051964232944
But Bonner departed, still full of ill will.	78.16447490891242
He had gotten stuck with a job too big for his imagination; he had to cling to routine, tested procedures.	287.59215539225715
To act otherwise would be to admit his helplessness.	444.9670627857004
But, admit or not, Bonner was helpless.	75.98263144775444
The crime showed too much planning, the kidnappers appeared too proficient to be caught by a checklist.	360.3854666652443
Andy's performance was scheduled for eleven o'clock.	103.43312546001485
He stalled for a half-hour longer, hoping to hear something from Vecchio about the ransom money.	246.28279022022932
Bake and Shirl Winter, on separate telephones, could not reach him at any conceivable location in Los Angeles, nor could they secure any clear-cut information regarding his efforts.	1106.6594204251462
Bake cursed.	31.172468835496232
"The sweaty bastard's probably halfway to Peru with our money by now".	262.6136099599062
When no one smiled, he felt constrained to add, "Just kidding, natch".	290.6464320107991
Thornburg popped in to advise, "Andy, Skolman's sending up smoke signals.	525.5484416128268
You about ready"?	24.392267566512032
"What's he complaining about"?	49.945050330397606
Bake asked.	14.937551023833066
"They're drinking, aren't they"?	30.371617081264798
"No.	3.389188185682365
We got a bunch of sippers out there tonight.	99.51178335860723
I guess nobody wants to pass out and miss anything".	127.90553267693454
Thornburg added in a lower voice but Andy overheard, "They act more like a jury than an audience".	384.8868332882955
Andy said, "Well, I guess we can't wait any longer.	84.74118717797595
Hub, you stick by the stage door.	91.07134120095948
If Rock shows up during the number- or you hear anything- give me the signal".	179.51544289282018
Shirl Winter said, "I'll stay on the phone, Mr Paxton.	177.034884142391
There's a couple of call-backs I can work on".	72.46846704644001
"You're a sweetheart- but leave one line open.	178.59566973276054
He may try to phone us".	34.27501583852528
Andy passed into the corridor, their "good lucks"!	252.44361328216613
following him.	8.312376461028483
It was what they said before every performance but tonight it sounded different, as if he really needed it.	332.41039202473866
They were right.	7.747046098916726
The act, cut to shreds and hastily patched together during the afternoon, had not been rehearsed sufficiently by anyone.	561.0777287956158
The result had nothing of the polish, pace or cohesion of the previous night.	80.91669830762906
Here's where luck would normally step in.	100.03037181959039
But this was no ordinary show and Andy knew it.	187.05606415264276
Whether he sang well or badly had nothing to do with it.	46.382649477296056
The audience had come not to be entertained but to judge.	137.43220922008632
Twenty-four hours had changed him from a performer to a freak.	75.4730835199237
Within this framework, what followed was strained, even macabre.	156.6501913054342
Eliminating the patter and the upbeat numbers left little but blues and other songs of equal melancholy.	484.43983606320603
The effect was as depressing as a gravestone, the applause irresolute and short-lived.	332.51325026172987
Yet Andy plowed ahead, mouthing the inconsequential words as if they possessed real meaning, and gradually his listeners warmed to him.	606.0613165235795
Their clapping grew more fervent; the evening was still not beyond salvaging, not as a show but for him as a person.	346.39408501319355
The worst was yet to come.	25.760700929541024
As Andy reached the finale of his act, a subdued commotion backstage drew his attention to the wings.	349.5293971201986
Rocco Vecchio- a perspiring, haggard Vecchio- was standing there, flanked by two men in the uniforms of armored transport guards.	736.3902133859
Vecchio was nodding and pointing at the large suitcase he held.	212.37346798270687
Andy felt his heart thud heavily with relief.	199.61385228999515
He waved at Fox to cut off the finale introduction.	441.2740171031146
The music died away discordantly.	59.388200392410745
He drew a deep breath.	41.935298344175564
"Ladies and gentlemen, in place of my regular closing number tonight, I'd like to sing something of a different nature for you.	298.66973794413053
Ray, if you please- the 'Cradle Song'".	158.96142093115077
He sensed rather than heard the gasp that swept across the audience.	123.16060333831045
Nor could he blame them.	17.870872842714654
This particular song at this particular time could only be interpreted as the ultimate in bad taste, callous exploitation beyond the bounds of decency.	1323.5438257368978
Having no choice, he plunged into it, anyway, holding onto the microphone for support.	257.45662914608516
"Lullaby and goodnight h" His voice shook.	232.82729635815207
For the first time in his life he forgot the lyrics midway through and had to cover up by humming the rest.	225.59084224565916
He wondered if the audience would let him finish.	47.9928243795184
They did; though contemptuous, they were still polite.	226.61718407705536
But when he was finally through, their scorn was made apparent.	223.85648770139753
Someone clapped tentatively then quickly stopped.	189.5745596848671
Otherwise, the silence was complete.	63.631608424981295
As the lights came up, Andy could see that a number of patrons were already on their way toward the exit.	1405.3402930493094
He stumbled off-stage.	36.12818090505942
"My God", he muttered.	33.00271046493956
"My God".	10.133174653084078
Hub was there to support him.	52.842845580775986
"It's okay, Mr Paxton.	86.26503733143424
The money's here, all of it".	403.72386888765243
At this moment, all he could think of was what he'd been forced to undergo.	413.170201372171
"Did you hear them?	95.4197748646462
Do you know what they think of me"?	1636.7371685854737
"Bunch of damn jerks", Hub growled.	377.54919142446323
"Who needs them"?	23.2262969508297
Thornburg patted his arm.	63.962304387131994
"Sure, Andy, it'll be all right.	56.45897688409696
Nothing broken that can't be mended".	101.29664867056646
The words were hollow.	27.478051464439215
Thornburg knew, better than any of them, that a public image was as fragile as Humpty Dumpty.	2401.2055809980156
All the king's horses and all the king's men h Vecchio shouldered in.	257.93168812288405
"I got it, Andy.	29.83519438582082
God knows how, but I got it.	30.923219211847037
You'll never believe the places I've been today.	42.84998027903727
I practically had to sign your life away, you'll probably fire me for some of the deals I had to go for, but"- Andy nodded dully.	1210.2801764309802
"It doesn't matter, Rock.	32.265933633927155
We've done our part".	15.484065324329782
He clutched that knowledge to him as he returned to his dressing room.	813.322941394264
The usual congratulatory crowd was conspicuously absent; the place had the air of a morgue.	249.26633415776521
Andy had no desire to linger himself but Hub reported that the mob outside was still large despite the efforts of the police to disperse them.	692.4903128013058
His son watched until he got as far as the hall, almost out of sight, then hurried after.	220.64513049927808
"Dad.	10.480665544470849
Dad, wait".	20.446014917186524
He caught up with the old man in the living room.	3011.8255386398123
Old man Arthur had put down the suitcase to open the front door.	453.9904069335349
"Just this one favor, Dad.	51.77168532415161
Just don't tell Ferguson that crazy opinion of yours".	170.62933420891133
"Why not"?	3.6229771308461562
The old man gave the room a stare in leaving; under the scraggly brows the pale old eyes burned with a bitter memory.	368.7751830026531
"It's the truth".	9.08084106460122
"The Bartlett girl was killed by Mr Dronk's son.	174.9702172027158
Rossi and Ferguson have been across the street, talking to the kid.	173.82046653960728
They've found some sort of new evidence, a bundle of clothes or something, and it must link the kid even stronger to the crime.	949.9590357559292
Why won't you accept facts?	78.45712272809394
The two kids were together a lot, they were having some kind of teen-age affair- God knows how far that had gone- and the kid's crippled.	359.25675321629893
He limps, and the man who hit you and took the cane, he limped.	160.35680405163077
My God, how much more do you want"?	106.18827661667176
His father looked him over closely.	46.72868309799121
"You sound like an old woman.	601.9865979448645
You should have gone to work today, 'stead of sneaking around spying on the Dronk house".	348.68526536713256
"Now, see here"- "The trouble with you", old man Arthur began, and then checked himself.	162.85227728843674
Young Mrs Arthur had opened the oven and there was a drifting odor of hot biscuits.	344.5802095995326
The old man opened the door and stepped out into the sunlight.	111.68642134180259
"Isn't enough time to go into it", he finished, and slammed the door in his son's face.	1405.1679439156696
Mrs Holden turned from the window draperies.	147.74954868931232
"They found something else up there", she said half-aloud to the empty room.	160.83933256923396
"They took it away, overalls or something".	72.61848108832554
She walked restlessly across the room, then back to the windows.	321.20976402782304
"Now they've gone, they didn't come back, and they didn't arrest that Dronk boy".	429.0159023500584
She stood frowning and chewing her lip.	155.31981503039887
She was wearing a brown cotton dress, cut across the hips in a way that was supposed to make her look slimmer, a yoke set into the skirt and flaring pleats below.	1074.6679454212735
She smoothed the skirt, sat down, then stood up and went back to the windows.	169.73633813737666
"Why on earth did I send him off to work?	122.10255601226987
There was excuse enough to keep him home h that young Mr Arthur's still over there".	193.34922253299806
With sudden energy, she went to the phone and rang Holden's office and asked for him.	483.1987916722678
"I think you had better come home".	10.818922687191572
"Mae, we're so busy.	147.37324423732068
Mr Crosson's been on everybody's neck, an order he expected didn't come through and he's"- "I don't care.	391.0134234918483
I want you here.	79.15843031007704
I'm all alone and certain things are going on that look very ominous.	120.57956740276373
I need someone to go out and find out what's happening".	77.25285562162316
"But I couldn't do that, even if I were home"!	465.7941577226982
His voice grew high and trembling.	58.17323841964533
"I can't be underfoot every time those cops turn around!	196.24714333848053
They'll h they'll think I did something".	146.39257000948984
He couldn't see the grin that split her mouth; the teeth that shone into the phone were like a shark's.	339.51646196769224
"You'll just have to risk it.	61.78952189039685
You can't wander along in the dark, can you?	631.5191225804338
I'd think that you h even more than I h would be wondering what they're up to.	196.44763612978392
They found some clothes", she tossed in.	52.01936724285112
"What"?	5.789336317050656
Deliberately, she ignored the yelp.	109.93101104744972
"Also, that Mr Ferguson was here.	33.01919326565133
I guess he wants to ask you some questions.	73.73240697047511
I stalled him off.	24.6926244437437
He doesn't expect you until five".	40.78504599877459
"Then I'd better wait until five".	55.25545602615902
"No h o h o.	65.79870371763162
Come home right away".	41.55086672489339
She slapped the receiver into its holder and stepped away.	167.12625124166408
Her eyes were bright with anticipation.	64.62499009712872
In his office, Mr Holden replaced the phone slowly.	119.3436953954774
He rose from his chair.	19.03599914943287
He had to cough then; he went to the window and choked there with the fresh breeze on his face.	212.0747267985532
He got his hat out of the closet.	46.50483097025195
For a moment he thought of going into Crosson's office to explain that he had to leave, but there was now such a pain in his chest, such a pounding in his head, that he decided to let it go.	1848.7357253621956
He passed the receptionist in the outer office, muttering, "I've got to go out for a little while".	1129.2167807287099
Let her call Crosson if she wanted to, let Crosson raise the roof or even can him, he didn't care.	639.2914878071125
He got into the car.	6.3772264554921545
Putting the key into the switch, pressing the accelerator with his foot, putting the car into reverse, seemed vast endeavors almost beyond the ability of his shaking body.	542.172116340564
Once out in the street, the traffic was a gadfly maze in which he wandered stricken.	777.4278690152504
When he turned into the highway that led to the outskirts of the city and then rose toward home, he had to pull over to the curb and wait for a few minutes, sucking in air and squinting and blinking his eyes to clear them of tears.	603.938547283113
What on earth was in Mae's mind, that she wanted him up there spying on what the cops were doing?	385.31339236351874
What did she think he could do?	177.27991797924082
He tried to ignore what his own common sense told him, but it wasn't possible; her motives were too blatant.	1607.3578149519462
She wanted him to get into trouble.	41.0867006917732
She wanted the police to notice him, suspect him.	65.8112831400733
She was going to keep on scheming, poking, prodding, suggesting, and dictating until the cops got up enough interest in him to go back to their old neighborhood and ask questions.	981.1255591295786
And he knew in that moment, with a cold sinking of despair, a dying of old hopes, that Mae had spread some kind of word there among the neighbors.	1066.9411706456676
Nothing bald, open; but enough.	58.01317110486701
They'd have some suspicions to repeat to the police.	144.59960917237524
Though his inner thoughts cringed at it, he forced himself to think back, recreating the scene in which Mae claimed to have caught him molesting the child.	838.4732096802612
It hadn't amounted to anything.	45.107446506903145
There had been nothing evil or dirty in his intentions.	156.2786140820539
A second scene flashed before his mind, the interior of the garage at the new house and the young Bartlett girl turning startled to meet him, the dim dark and the sudden confusion and fear and then the brightness as Mae had clicked on the light.	1498.805153227203
Suppose the cops somehow got hold of that?	93.42274717733127
Well, it hadn't been what it seemed, he'd had no idea the girl was in there.	304.3124637594599
He hadn't touched her.	20.927112788052373
And when he came to examine the scene, there was a certain staginess to it, it had the smell of planning, and a swift suspicion darted into his mind.	1201.089352112234
Too monstrous, of course.	22.321311285300776
Mae wouldn't have plotted a thing like that.	116.19878518215462
It was just that little accidents played into her hands.	85.30664286315285
Like this murder.	18.17940344612863
He leaned on the wheel, clutching it, staring into the sunlight, and tried to bring order into his thoughts.	527.8669099933862
He felt light-headed and sick.	41.07923850801382
There was no use wandering off into a territory of utter nightmare.	122.99462433918559
Mae was his wife.	29.809426210779797
She was married to him for better or for worse.	23.15444044337974
She wouldn't be wilfully planning his destruction.	115.24210911013087
But she was.	34.67563615786216
She was.	4.107419312609574
Even as the conviction of truth roared through him, shattering his last hope of safety, he was reaching to release the hand brake, to head up the road for home, doing her bidding.	443.4389058368754
He drove, and the road wobbled, familiar scenes crept past on either side.	380.0480434017327
He came to a stretch of old orange groves, the trees dead, some of them uprooted, and then there was an outlying shopping area, and tract houses.	1120.8660703976882
He had the feeling that he should abandon the car and run off somewhere to hide.	596.8332445771739
But he couldn't imagine where.	30.530512488161424
There was really no place to go, finally, except home to Mae.	124.01362800116127
At the gate he slowed, looking around.	60.08721836316777
Cooper was beside his car, on the curb at the right, just standing there morosely; he didn't even look up.	733.3131096866776
Behind him on the steps of the little office sat old man Arthur; he was straight, something angry in his attitude, as if he might be waiting to report something.	277.3240732923298
Holden stepped on the gas.	59.166044804159
A new idea drifted in from nowhere.	57.84389444689361
He could go to the police.	15.953444784050513
He could tell them his fears of being involved, he could explain what had happened in the old neighborhood and how Mae had misunderstood and how she had held it over him- the scene was complete in his mind at the moment, even to his own jerkings and snivelings, and Ferguson's silent patience.	1522.9772505282726
He could throw himself on the mercy of the Police Department.	79.86676799780223
It wasn't what Mae would want him to do, though.	54.004879645575016
He was sure of this.	6.895942887829946
Once he had abandoned himself to the very worst, once he had quieted all the dragons of worry and suspense, there wouldn't be very much for Mae to do.	589.4161376053007
At that moment, Holden almost slammed on the brakes to go back to Cooper and ask if Ferguson was about.	231.02794875515664
It would be such a relief.	227.196767986178
What was that old sign, supposed to be painted over a door somewhere, Abandon hope, all ye who enter here?	575.6097213846838
Why, Holden said to himself, surprised at his own sudden insight, I'll bet some of those people who enter are just as happy as can be.	254.5212806565395
They've worried, they've lain awake nights, they've shook at the slightest footstep, they've pictured their own destruction, and now it's all over and they can give up.	673.0730342163623
Sure, they're giving up hope.	42.1743452946138
Hand in hand with hope went things like terror and apprehension.	77.16580477389034
Good-bye.	17.615629091236855
Holden waved a hand at the empty street.	134.43030455697266
Glad to see you go.	49.04520712053008
He drove into the paved space before the garage and got out, slamming the car door.	242.12607163056956
He looked up and down the street.	146.74022332125205
If Ferguson's car had been in sight, Holden would have walked directly to it.	195.2480281813998
He went to the front door and opened it and looked in.	57.12761599663292
Mae entered the room from the hallway to the kitchen.	94.62545061353072
She had a cup of something steaming, coffee perhaps, in one hand, a fresh piece of toast in the other.	4960.389483517249
She stood there, watching Holden come in, and she put the piece of toast in her mouth and bit off one corner with a huge chomp of her white teeth.	709.2186697254
"Mae"- "I've been thinking", she said, swallowing the toast.	95.48235718831607
"Didn't you have an old pair of painting overalls in the garage?	282.4489137377368
You used them that time you painted the porch at our other house.	132.16389737056693
And then you wiped up some grease".	64.1061120213642
She had caught him off guard, no preparation, nothing certain but that ahead lay some kind of disaster.	262.67973379666296
"No.	3.389188185682365
Wait a minute.	16.31745468448371
What do you"- "I've been looking for them, and they're gone.	243.0350837948605
I'm sure they were in the garage up until a couple of days ago.	524.9965349921863
Or even yesterday.	19.377373111462198
You used to paint in them, and then you just took them for rags.	479.9282814900449
The police have them now".	16.378816449104832
"I don't remember any overalls at all".	48.97843635147407
"They were all faded.	16.00257353327879
Worn through at the knees".	50.63198535229135
She stood sipping and chewing and watching.	91.3068728411676
"Green paint, wasn't it?	58.10512315766326
Well, I'm not sure of the color.	127.09416874096165
But you had them".	10.062434209481859
"Mae, sit down.	42.126192281312626
Put down the cup of coffee.	31.400764108217295
Tell me what this is all about".	182.43954948874412
She shook her head.	25.410354320170747
She took another bite of toast.	50.02128506995175
Holden noticed almost absently how she chewed, how the whole side of her cheek moved, a slab of fat that extended down into her neck.	751.488918547548
"My goodness, you ought to remember if I do.	306.9869060921965
You're going to have to go to the police and explain what happened.	505.5721209654022
Tell them the truth h or something h before they come here".	135.5336782717921
A seeping coldness entered Holden's being; his nerves seemed frost-bitten down to the tips of his tingling fingers and his spine felt stiff and glass-like, liable to break like an icicle at any moment.	1167.4675196256876
"I've never owned any painting overalls.	57.75362405339725
A man with a sketch pad in hand sat with a large pink woman in a small office at the end of a long, dim corridor and made pencil lines on paper and said, "Is this more like it, Mrs MacReady?	1347.0487435391453
Or are the eyebrows more like this"?	46.41005026562881
When he had finished with that, he would go to another part of the hotel and say much the same things to someone else, most probably a busboy.	472.83676144487373
"Begin to look like him now, would you say?	121.3520835235631
Different about the mouth, huh?	59.39310873226491
More like this, maybe"?	43.155289863440295
Men blew dust on objects in a room on the seventeenth floor of the Hotel Dumont and blew it off again, and did the same in a tiny, almost airless room in a tenement in the West Forties.	1324.3508302267521
And men also used vacuum cleaners in both rooms, sucking dust up once more.	267.7780351206219
Men from the Third Detective District, Eighteenth Precinct, had the longest, the most tedious, job.	315.1400056029254
At the Hotel Dumont there had, at the time in issue, been twenty-three overnighters, counting couples as singular.	471.3055175629978
These included, as one, Mr and Mrs Anthony Payne, who had checked in a little after noon the day before, and had not checked out together.	771.3971337990754
But Gardner Willings was not included; he had been at the Dumont for almost a week.	449.1511867911779
There was, of course, no special reason to believe that the man or woman they sought had stayed only overnight at the hotel.	729.2272979701322
The twenty-three or twenty-two with the Paynes themselves omitted provided merely a place to start, and their identification was the barest of starts.	1016.8859421582633
With names and addresses listed, verification came next.	115.59451400103335
It would take time; it would, almost inevitably, trouble some water.	71.83270013228973
"I certainly was not at the Dumont last night and my husband couldn't have been.	129.69005615219186
He's in Boston.	12.697295689782825
Of course he's in"- The Hotel King Arthur across the street provided almost twice as many problems.	251.9007235358716
The King Arthur offered respectable and convenient lodgings to people from the suburbs who wanted to see a show and didn't want- heaven knew didn't want!- to lunge anxiously through crowded streets to railroad stations and, at odd hours of night, drive from smaller stations to distant homes, probably through rain or, in November, something worse.	1242.4156599351618
The King Arthur was less expensive than the Dumont.	104.10105961163706
The King Arthur had fifty-four overnighters, again counting rooms rather than people.	294.5769699253559
Check the overnighters out.	25.618887823039444
Failing to find what was wanted, as was most likely, check out other guests, with special- but not exclusive- attention to those with rooms on the street.	352.33164299947487
Anyone active enough can reach a roof, wherever his room may be.	159.07819226207604
And know, while all this went on, that there was no real reason to suppose that the murderer had been a guest in either hotel.	241.3658656360512
It was not even certain the shot had been fired from either hotel.	72.23971957104881
There were other roofs, less convenient but not impossible.	61.78427334678932
It is dull business, detecting, and hard on feet.	66.04210554953373
There was also the one salient question to ask, and ask widely Did you notice anything out of the way?	389.81910910312484
Like, for example, a man carrying a twenty-two rifle, probably with a telescopic sight attached?	851.2153805643102
There was, of course, no hope it really would be that simple.	27.220024895702583
The sniper, whether psychopathic marksman or murderer by intent, would hardly have walked to his vantage point with rifle over shoulder, whistling a marching tune.	954.8545051096318
Anybody carrying anything that might hide a rifle?	227.89214308889692
Long thin suitcase?	75.70272830996855
Or long fat suitcase, for that matter?	57.16067776950372
Shrugs met that, from room clerks, from bellhops.	200.09419781874288
Who measures?	22.33785229691968
But nothing, it appeared, long enough to attract attention.	83.00934632704092
Cases, say, for musical instruments?	425.3519219828249
None noted at the Dumont.	54.71165849828304
Several at the King Arthur.	33.3641581491059
A combo was staying there.	46.180153279042116
And had been for a week.	15.999991801792866
Anything else?	22.359023658480012
Anything at all?	16.785442503060835
Shrugs met that.	30.62528921389323
Detective Pearson, Eighteenth Precinct, thought for a time he might be on to something.	532.177737446469
A refuse bin at the Dumont turned up a florist's box- a very long box for very long-stemmed flowers.	520.5599236997023
Traces of oil on green tissue?	145.32051742158012
The lab to check.	26.295577422339733
The lab Sorry.	45.53005956706188
No oil.	10.256374330454278
Anything at all strange?	54.60935689899454
Well, a man had tried, at the King Arthur, to register with an ocelot.	278.88685175417066
At the Dumont, a guest had come in a collapsible wheel chair.	153.54069709519
At the King Arthur one guest had had his head heavily bandaged, and another had a bandaged foot and had walked with crutches.	391.73306471557123
There had also been a man who must have had St Vitus or something, because he kept jerking his head.	3098.596311162017
As reports dribbled in, William Weigand tossed them into the centrifuge which had become his head.	325.9987574308752
Mullins came in.	19.742559563861718
There was no sign of Mrs Lauren Payne at her house on Nod Road, Ridgefield, Connecticut.	302.3003271370151
The house was modern, large, on five acres.	55.84410465250429
Must have cost plenty.	42.972268388249674
The State cops would check from time to time; pass word when there was word to pass.	142.27528531998624
Weigand tossed this news into the centrifuge.	187.04305771319142
Sort things out, damn it.	74.74184997814251
Sort out the next move.	52.08005569075515
Try to forget motive for the moment.	35.650951219113
Consider opportunity.	13.083271583985487
Only those actually with Payne when he was shot, or who had left the party within not more than five minutes make five arbitrary positively had none.	1346.1559864680753
The Norths; Hathaway, Jerry's publicity director; Livingston Birdwood, producer of Uprising.	872.1440988015481
They had been with Payne when he was shot, could not therefore have shot him from above.	271.2434950929853
Take Gardner Willings.	75.2067243685034
He had left after the scuffle; had been seen to leave.	58.582602166626785
He would have had ample time to go into a blind somewhere and wait his prey.	915.809925984152
Consider him seriously, therefore?	57.0407264379046
Intangibles entered, then- hunches which felt like facts.	209.25869161447184
Willings would ambush, certainly; Willings undoubtedly had.	241.9522298073551
Willings was, presumably, a better than average shot.	110.68816086184995
But- hunch, now- Willings would not ambush anything which went on two legs instead of four.	306.74866336861555
Because, if for no other reason, Willings would never for a moment suppose he was not bigger, tougher, than anything else that went on two legs.	401.68636878841977
Ambushes are laid by those who doubt themselves, as any man may against a tiger.	608.7142151538453
Faith Constable had had to "go on" from the party and had, presumably, gone on.	601.898022805845
To be checked out further.	29.199977205207777
Forget motive?	44.17713426672224
No, motive is a part of fact.	24.702331443141183
Nobody in his right mind punishes a quarter-century-old dereliction.	187.6280898241395
Grudges simply do not keep that well in a sane mind.	174.40727677823395
Faith Constable had accomplished much in a quarter of a century.	227.74716548913892
Jeopardize it now to correct so old a wrong?	167.187100529803
Bill shook his head.	24.00770320176567
Also, he thought, I doubt if she could hit the side of a barn with a shotgun.	212.62054903812935
Lauren herself?	50.63181745889717
She had left the party early, pleading a headache.	216.3642526875615
No lack of opportunity, presuming she had a gun.	291.9120902541925
She might, conceivably, have brought one in in a large-enough suitcase.	303.26477668426395
Check on the Payne luggage.	57.495781589027224
She might now have taken it away again.	66.26939863453147
Motive- her husband wandering?	147.791920355708
Bitter, unreasoning jealousy?	173.01667573851142
Heaven knew it happened and hell knew it too.	118.874032204773
But- it happened, almost always, among the primitive and, usually, among the very young.	137.35084936638512
Call it mentally young; call it retarded.	161.68274904900875
There was nothing to indicate that Lauren Payne was primitive.	351.35989443498255
She did not move in primitive circles.	37.21040295328307
She was young, but not that young.	27.72616348867632
It occurred to Bill Weigand that he was, on a hunch basis, eliminating a good many.	199.85346266460724
He reminded himself that all eliminations were tentative.	115.52801833529027
He also reminded himself that he had an unusual number of possibilities.	58.23215843035547
The Masons, mother or son, or mother and son?	121.93333244980465
Opportunity was obvious.	31.984139401726047
Motive.	16.05296361890169
Here, too, the cause to hate lay well back in the years.	212.1312611055827
But bitterness had more cause to remain, even increasingly to corrode.	171.63734830515637
With the boy, particularly.	20.807305907765773
The boy had, apparently- if Mrs MacReady was right in what she had told Mullins- only in recent months been forced to give up college, to work as a busboy.	996.6096342200079
Seeing the man he blamed for this made much of- youth and bitterness and- Bill picked up the telephone; got Mullins.	372.17239073829387
"Send out a pickup on Mrs Mason and the boy when you've got enough to go on", Bill said.	343.28226548454063
"Right"?	11.308442014867905
Mullins would do.	22.487502063440818
A man named Lars Simon, playwright-director, had expressed a wish that Anthony Payne drop dead.	511.7614267793392
He would say, of course, that he had not really had any such wish; that what he had said was no more than one of those things one does say, lightly, meaning nothing.	1842.0624290370502
Which probably would turn out to be true; which he obviously had to be given the opportunity to say.	1339.0155235036566
A man named Blaine Smythe, with "y" and "e" but pronounced without them, had been fired at Payne's insistence.	1011.1306129539325
He was also, if Pam North was right, a closer acquaintance of Lauren Payne's than she, now, was inclined to admit.	305.2954643298981
He might deny the latter; would certainly deny any connection between the two things, or any connection of either with murder.	210.78317865087368
He would have to be given the opportunity.	110.38792329850428
Mullins?	20.324827059120516
It was evident that Mullins was the man to go.	157.09215741921892
It was evident that a captain should remain at his desk, directing with a firm hand and keeping a firm seat.	262.5918132851361
Bill Weigand was good and tired of the wall opposite, and the crack in the plaster.	349.96275850798804
Let Mullins keep the firm seat; let Stein.	187.45351570699043
When Siamese cats are intertwined it is difficult to tell where one leaves off and another begins.	312.07501706826355
Stilts and Shadow, on Pam's bed, appeared to be one cat- rather large, as Siamese cats go, and, to be sure, having two heads and two tails.	2342.2476172349193
On the other hand, they, or it, seemed to have no legs whatever.	379.51307535579105
Pamela North said, "Hi", to her cats, and added that proper cats met their humans at the door.	581.5209197074813
Of four dark brown ears, one twitched slightly at this.	203.4629146948395
"All right", Pam said.	28.356126443458034
"I know it isn't dinnertime".	179.64314206105686
But at this the one too-large cat suddenly became two cats, stretching.	195.7424632250154
Shadow, the more talkative, began at once to talk, her voice piteous.	233.29783147336556
Stilts, a more direct cat, leaped from the bed and trotted briskly toward the kitchen.	546.9288026105164
Shadow looked surprised, wailed, and trotted after her.	195.4634241252689
The hell it isn't dinnertime, two waving tails told Pam North.	403.81852258794726
It was not, whatever tale was told by tails.	182.07686972908422
Martha presumably would cope.	86.39988809246394
She might be firm.	21.11468309952751
It was most unlikely that she would be firm.	46.73905082515151
They want to be fat cats, Pam thought, and lighted a cigarette and leaned back on a chaise and considered pulling her thoughts together.	831.66214738837
After a time, it occurred to her that her thoughts were not worth the trouble.	469.0118165002509
A vague feeling that Anthony Payne had had it coming was hardly a thought and was, in any event, reprehensible.	316.493475824004
Had Faith Constable's explanation of her confidence, so uninvited, been a little thin?	441.6740747116532
That was more like a thought, but not a great deal more.	1693.326252322669
Had that tall dark boy, carrying trays too heavy for him, found what he might have considered adulation of a man he probably hated more than he could bear?	663.3750786913828
And possessed himself- how?- of a rifle and killed?	392.38468485274285
Pam found she had no answers; had only a hope.	139.81441356973622
The poor kid- the poor, frail kid.	113.4919836127744
Some people have luck and some have no luck and that, whatever people who prefer order say, is the size of it.	246.88261572090013
The poor, unlucky- The telephone rang.	101.38316754402788
Pam realized, to her surprise, that she had been almost dozing.	283.51116602843183
At four o'clock in the afternoon.	41.28807734073485
Two martinis for lunch- that was the trouble.	80.09280634482066
I ought to remember.	18.146255276938046
Don't pretend.	22.680706095080307
You do remember.	13.977550878178889
You just- "Hello?	49.69124714913226
Yes, this is she?	20.535687562554024
What"?	5.789336317050656
The voice had music in it.	18.624451495265067
Even with words coming too fast, they came on the music of the voice.	958.3640567063559
"I said I would", Pam said.	79.35942293471872
"They won't talk about who gave the information.	68.64924124277867
Not unless they have to.	23.73514768029864
They don't, Mrs Constable.	34.80954014111947
Not unless they have"- She was interrupted.	89.17421908706172
"Call this a cry for help", Faith Constable said.	165.7838597311249
"Through a door conveniently unlocked", Madden supplemented.	256.5639001856455
"That damn door", said the police chief.	78.01126084997098
"A gift horse to be viewed with suspicion".	85.40620373162567
Madden's dark face wore a meditative look.	212.61836822755018
"If there was collusion between an outside murderer and a member of the household it would be an elementary precaution to check on the door later.	296.0547320144852
And it makes a very poor red herring for an inside job.	164.4887840406662
Much better to break a cellar window".	76.5982413349957
"Don't forget, there was the hope it would pass for a natural death", Pauling reminded him.	287.1179655606146
"Well, with a house as big as that there must be at least one cellar window that wouldn't be noticed right away unless there was a police investigation".	969.9841360316392
"Yeah.	7.786428610600051
And a pane of glass isn't hard to"- The telephone interrupted him.	191.4044926179536
He scooped up the receiver and said, "Police chief", into the mouthpiece, and then, "Oh yes, Mr Benson.	294.7570947083884
I was hoping I'd hear from you today".	84.70435731868373
With his free hand he pulled a pad and pencil toward him and began to make notes as he listened, saying, "Uh-huh" and "I see" at intervals.	658.2386280014956
At last he said, "Well, thank you for calling, Mr Benson.	514.5162464676423
Although there was no doubt in my mind and we've been handling it as one I'm glad to have it made official".	588.8000445828035
He hung up.	10.368569339455833
"Coroner", he said to Madden.	78.69390141672461
"He's just heard from the pathologist who says Mrs Meeker apparently died from suffocation".	543.2889696807503
Pauling looked at his notes.	64.36043354055616
"Many minute hemorrhages in the lungs; particles of lint and thread in the mouth and nostrils.	379.28920877331166
Scrapings from the bed linen identical with the lint and thread found in the nasal and oral cavities.	618.2647456905316
No other cause of death apparent.	37.961738465290956
Trachea clear of mucus and foreign objects.	138.85813114036895
Brain examined for thrombosis, clot or hemorrhage.	261.4081420158746
No signs of these, no gross hemorrhage of lungs, heart, brain or stomach".	219.74765238314092
He paused.	8.085450972689422
"That's about it.	10.092265716504958
Oh, the time of death.	39.00776782616523
The duration of the digestive process varies, the pathologist says, but the empty stomach and the findings in the upper gastrointestinal tract indicate that Mrs Meeker died several hours after her seven-o'clock dinner.	936.0018882693677
Probably around midnight, give or take an hour either way".	151.25927116441332
Pauling paused again.	52.341102012368935
"So there it is", he said.	8.432650505411111
"Not your problem, of course, unless Johnston and the murderer are one and the same".	56.949657863209005
They discussed this possibility.	20.34664828983692
However likely it was, Pauling said, he couldn't limit himself to it.	217.07433303545292
He had to look for other prospects, other motives until more conclusive evidence pointing to Johnston came to light.	873.6879953240295
Madden, with his investigation centered on the fraud, said that tomorrow he would go to the Bronx bank through which Mrs Meeker's checks to Johnston had cleared.	610.6064552090317
Arthur Williams had to be located, they agreed.	168.14830384251715
He might have been in collusion with Johnston on the fraud; he might be Mrs Meeker's murderer or have played some part in her death.	271.7214992522698
This was Madden's suggestion; the police chief shook his head over it.	149.50376819866187
If Arthur Williams was involved in the fraud or the murder, then he too had another identity.	206.4655200237935
No one the Medfield police had questioned professed to know any more about him than about Johnston.	281.4367577504698
Scholarship applicant?	56.41329523837549
Pauling looked doubtful.	51.43006164706157
Madden explained that he was thinking of an application sent directly to Mrs Meeker.	270.05808843126954
Then he asked to use the phone and called Brian Thayer, who said that he was just leaving to keep a lunch date but would be home by two o'clock.	1426.6965516145253
Madden said that he would see him at two and made another call, this one to Mrs Meeker's lawyers.	543.8262858822325
Mr Hohlbein was out for the day, but Mr Garth would be free at one-thirty.	3324.519615642453
The secretary's tone indicated that an appointment at such short notice was a concession for which Madden should be duly grateful.	548.714493823436
He inferred that Hohlbein and Garth were high-priced lawyers.	573.238522026357
He had lunch with Pauling.	38.79850513287045
Promptly at one-thirty he entered Hohlbein and Garth's elegant suite of offices in Medfield's newest professional building.	708.0900842085817
He disliked Garth on sight, conservative clothes and haircut, smile a shade too earnestly boyish for a man who must be well into his thirties, handclasp too consciously quick and firm.	1058.919870846359
Youngish man on the make, Madden labeled him, and was ready to guess that in a correct, not too pushing fashion, the junior partner of the firm had political ambitions; that Mrs Garth would be impeccably suitable as the wife of a rising young lawyer; that there were three children, two boys and a girl; that she was active in the Woman's Club and he in Lions, Rotary, and Jaycee; and finally, that neither of them had harbored an unorthodox opinion since their wedding day.	2347.259393096116
Madden knew that he could be completely wrong about all this, but also knew that he would go right on disliking Garth.	8423.304406357496
Garth was prepared to be helpful in what he referred to with fastidious distaste as this unfortunate Johnston affair, which would not, he said more than once, have ever come about if Mrs Meeker had only seen fit to consult Mr Hohlbein or him about it.	4141.36586104184
Madden regretted not being able to find fault with so true a statement.	511.60977612774747
He asked to see a copy of Mrs Meeker's will.	585.190370675141
Garth brought one out.	41.66681191608306
The date, October 8, 1957, immediately caught the inspector's eye.	159.24496734763576
"Fairly recent", he remarked.	56.68036827834925
"Was she in the habit of making new wills"?	155.83846580418913
"Oh no.	6.2198032349694286
She had reason to change the one she made right after Mr Meeker's death.	143.40029548253355
Her estate had grown considerably.	62.09538924558731
She wanted to make a more equitable distribution of it among the groups that would benefit the most; particularly the scholarship fund.	290.0770247437453
At the time the will was drawn Mr Hohlbein mentioned to me how mentally alert she seemed for her age, knowing just what changes she wanted made and so forth".	728.2713783543809
Garth hesitated.	43.024312909091755
"Mr Hohlbein and I have noticed some lapses since, though.	142.22215476965386
Most of them this past year, I'd say.	237.64765887231357
Even two or three years ago I doubt that she'd have become involved in this unfortunate Johnston affair.	1237.6297330136636
She'd have consulted us, you see.	74.36458061168165
She always did before, and showed the utmost confidence in whatever we advised".	2495.614078490913
The inspector nodded, doubting this.	66.56468300327731
Mrs Meeker hadn't struck him as ready to seek anyone's advise, least of all Garth's.	556.892800518389
With her sharp tongue she'd have cut his pompousness to ribbons.	799.8603721038311
It would have been Hohlbein who handled her affairs.	56.454153644016436
Madden settled back to read the will.	64.07502819469376
He skimmed over the millions that went to Meeker Park, Medfield Hospital, the civic center, the Public Health Nursing Association, the library, and so on, pausing when he came to the scholarship fund.	260.5203190222869
Two millions were added to what had been set aside for it in Mrs Meeker's lifetime, and the proviso made that as long as Brian Thayer continued to discharge his duties as administrator of the fund to the satisfaction of the board of trustees hereinafter appointed by the bank administering the estate he was to be retained in his present capacity at a salary commensurate with the increased responsibilities enlargement of the fund would entail.	1498.3082831798438
A splendid vote of confidence in Thayer, Madden reflected.	187.31979373577005
Tenure, too.	17.13154798361161
Very nice for him.	22.247568380481304
He went on to personal bequests, a list of names largely unknown to him.	173.6489832567801
Twenty-five thousand to each of the great-nieces in Oregon not much to blood relatives out of millions ten thousand to this friend and that, five thousand to another; to Brian Thayer, the sum of ten thousand dollars; to the Pecks, ten thousand each; to Joan Sheldon the conditional bequest of ten thousand to be paid to her in the event that she was still in Mrs Meeker's employ at the time of the latter's death.	3384.0294064597997
No additional five thousand for each year after Joan's twenty-first birthday; Mrs Meeker hadn't got around to taking care of that.	521.4497840090334
Too bad, Madden thought.	33.54013590434525
Joan Sheldon had earned the larger bequest.	179.7946987440665
Mr Hohlbein was left twenty thousand, Garth ten.	186.53477638786794
There were no other names Madden recognized.	51.37426513714446
Arthur Williams's might well have been included, he felt.	133.02655583629448
Mrs Meeker had spent a small fortune on a search for him but had made no provision for him in her will if he should be found after her death, and had never mentioned his name to her lawyers.	905.033083995125
Madden took up this point with Garth, who shrugged it off.	210.57504854107736
"Old people have their idiosyncrasies".	60.78678920321569
"This one came a bit high at thirty thousand or more".	90.72713227990847
"Well, she had a number of them where money was concerned", Garth said.	100.19040051878129
"Sometimes we'd have trouble persuading her to make tax-exempt charitable contributions, and I've known her to quarrel with a plumber over a bill for fixing a faucet; the next moment she'd put another half million into the scholarship fund or thirty thousand into something as impractical as this unfortunate Johnston affair.	2032.6884608721002
There was no telling how she'd react to spending money".	102.32417769720975
Madden inquired next about the audit of the scholarship fund.	205.36725108024098
There was an annual audit, Garth informed him.	90.83218702752153
No discrepancies or shortages had ever been found.	117.92178009090591
Brian Thayer was a thoroughly honest and competent administrator.	270.3853433918887
His salary had reached the ten thousand mark.	99.70087578375069
His expenses ran another four or five thousand.	131.84164262686943
The lawyer didn't know him very well although he saw him occasionally at some dinner party- Thayer, like himself, Madden reflected, was the extra man so prized by hostesses- and found him easy enough to talk to.	646.1985921244888
But he didn't play golf, didn't seem to belong to any local clubs- his work took him away a lot, of course- which probably accounted for his tendency to keep to himself.	367.08838668069734
Garth's glance began to flicker to his watch.	171.44042183264332
He said that he had already told the police chief that he didn't know what insurance man had recommended Johnston to Mrs Meeker.	2248.787668637627
He would offer no theory to account for her murder.	63.25539335094896
The whole thing, his manner conveyed, was so far outside the normal routine of Hohlbein and Garth that it practically demanded being swept under the rug.	366.1658095141878
No doubt Mrs Meeker had snubbed him many a time and he felt no grief over her passing.	1148.4180713853789
Even so, Madden's dislike of the suave, correct lawyer deepened.	186.02316705346345
It would be all right with him, he decided, if his investigation of the fraud, with its probable by-product of murder, led to Garth's door.	902.154925468391
Motive?	20.324827059120516
Ten-thousand-dollar bequest.	98.78210484905463
At first glance, not much of a motive for a man of his standing; but for all his air of affluence, who could tell what his private financial picture was?	542.6410125824657
The inspector knew as he left that this was wishful thinking.	109.67443816123087
Nevertheless, he made a mental note to look into Garth's financial background.	156.53845472676747
Brian Thayer had a downtown address.	130.1918048940431
He lived in an apartment house not over three or four years old, a reclaimed island of landscaped brick and glass on the fringe of the business district.	675.2250458551094
He occupied a two-bedroom apartment on the fourth floor, using the second bedroom as his office.	199.82981260438078
Airy and bright, the apartment was furnished with good modern furniture, rugs, and draperies.	319.1708154653944
Done by a professional decorator, Madden thought, and somehow as impersonal, as unremarkable as its occupant.	394.720813670526
In Dunston the rent would run close to two hundred a month; in Medfield, perhaps twenty-five less, not all of it paid by Thayer, who could charge off one room on his expense account.	1222.3944537859747
He took Madden into the room he used as an office.	261.56816967209136
It contained a desk, files, a typewriter on a stand, and two big leather armchairs.	472.47137182039484
A newspaper open at stock-market reports lay on one of them.	258.94711946200147
Thayer folded it up and offered a drink.	122.90407926519592
The inspector declined.	24.374408949724835
To begin the interview, he asked if Thayer, with more time to think it over, could add to what he had said the other day about Johnston.	739.1622811626038
Thayer shook his head.	34.29163640429704
"It's all I think about, too.	27.9455211618256
That and her death.	16.432434549776485
It's still unbelievable that it was murder.	70.54810629372831
For all her domineering ways, I can't conceive of her having had a deadly enemy".	232.39254400062208
"Dammit, Phil, are you trying to wreck my career?	657.6457593774913
Because that's what you're doing- wrecking it, wrecking it, wrecking it"!	260.7063100043487
Griffith had confronted Hoag on the building's front steps- Hoag had been permitted no further- and backed him against a wrought-iron railing.	1061.041346485091
His rage had built up as he made his way here from the second floor, helped by the quantity of champagne he had consumed.	453.1066346115327
Hoag said, "I didn't send for you, Leigh.	117.34072792242218
I want the captain in charge.	23.230651311167204
Where is he"?	11.928604911637798
"Phil, for God's sake, go away.	74.21489565901763
The undersecretary's in there.	16.03987437281668
I told you there's nothing between Midge and me, nothing.	118.46225639496978
It's all in your mind".	22.017484386755743
A couple of sobs escaped him, followed by a sentiment that revealed his emotional state.	146.4488821593822
"Why, I'm not fit to touch the hem of her garment".	126.44349302127067
"Leigh, get a grip on yourself.	87.1869582239322
It's not about you or Midge.	52.61988949347182
I have some security information about the prime minister".	459.4732422465219
Griffith looked at him suspiciously through red-rimmed eyes.	308.99859551740855
"Not about me?	13.264163862485692
You mean it, Phil?	47.023864916898305
You wouldn't pull my leg, old man?	132.5899749962278
I did get you on the platform this morning".	54.94335634796592
"I'm not pulling your leg.	26.17498989836987
Will you call that captain"?	48.47997043278876
"No use, he won't come".	35.46118680167293
He peered closely at Hoag in the gathering darkness.	112.32945753723548
"What happened to your head"?	21.660098313416295
"I was hit- knocked out.	27.22594141770899
Now will you get him"?	33.61742436251406
"He says I'm to take the message".	40.31362964278187
He stared at Hoag drunkenly.	46.7348367836369
"Who'd hit you in the head"?	279.1915909860194
"It doesn't matter.	12.050114549385539
You get back to the captain and tell him this Somebody's going to take a shot at the prime minister, and Mahzeer is in on the plot.	479.3485972948524
Tell him under no circumstances to trust the prime minister with Mahzeer".	283.64725835198146
Griffith said, "That's impossible.	56.49421649330578
Mahzeer's the ambassador".	41.26429353413047
"Nevertheless it's true".	22.68846847101322
"Impossible".	16.05296361890169
Griffith was trying to clear his head of the champagne fuzz that encased it.	408.7668101858556
"I'll show you how wrong you are.	17.471473059173164
Mahzeer and the prime minister are alone right now".	116.11227927391326
He nodded triumphantly.	29.09164779593788
"So that proves it"!	31.267333120251784
Hoag looked terrified.	79.01470764408758
"Where are they"?	11.508974829061204
"Where'd you expect, the john?	117.87398899207483
Mahzeer's office".	24.953060208248537
"Where is that"?	10.850875888676997
"Facing us, two flights up.	60.32510448346682
Look, old man, you can't go up.	469.78233224172635
They won't even let you in the front door.	222.12947127433875
So why don't you be a good boy and"- Hoag grabbed him by the shoulders.	309.3042236410262
"Listen to me, Leigh.	38.94859316066461
If you want to spend another day in the State Department- another day- you get in there and tell that captain what I told you".	229.00487478470512
He bit out the words.	19.185730505353934
"And you know I can do it".	459.0480605286455
Griffith raised placating hands.	95.25994112836688
"Easy does it, Phil.	53.21030009992699
I was just going.	10.436174988496168
I'm on my way".	13.68108494521924
He turned and fled into the house and made his way up the marble stairs without once looking back.	381.65560518893096
On the second landing he paused to look for Docherty, didn't see him, and accepted a glass of champagne.	501.5547634953428
He took several large swallows, recollected that Docherty had gone up another flight, and decided he would be wise to cover himself by finding him.	497.09269322765033
The way Hoag was, no telling what he might say or do.	126.58131116613056
He finished his champagne and climbed uncertainly to the next landing.	170.1859709651204
At the top a uniformed officer blocked further progress.	86.89221898847711
"Yes, what is it"?	8.916962816307398
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
"I want Captain Docherty".	47.81281527660119
He spotted Docherty coming out of a room at the far end of the corridor and called to him.	907.4674705432489
Docherty said, "It's okay, Bonfiglio, let him by".	178.08828789254386
They walked toward each other.	159.14010879947415
"Well"?	7.483069253650329
Griffith said, "Hoag told me to tell you"- he waited until they were close; it was hideously embarrassing- "not to let the prime minister be alone with Mahzeer".	1337.6335427320398
Griffith looked half-crocked to the captain; it would be just like him.	206.62390685683752
"Why not"?	3.6229771308461562
"He claims Mahzeer's in a plot to kill the PM".	363.8333593043779
Docherty went taut was it possible?	163.38406991828307
Could the ambassador himself be the man on this side the prime minister feared?	649.5723181940106
Not possible, he thought; the prime minister knew who his enemy was here; he wasn't going to allow himself to be led meekly to the slaughter.	1874.288311416618
And if by some wild chance Mahzeer was the man, he wouldn't dare try anything now- not after Docherty had looked in on the two of them to see that all was well.	2017.2974194818476
Docherty was damned if he would make a fool of himself again the way he had earlier over the laundry truck.	630.8543092226728
One more muddleheaded play like that one and they'd be leading him away.	283.5996835575632
Still, this had to be checked out.	68.83215705445743
"Where'd your friend Hoag get his information"?	227.62475306702532
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
"Haven't the faintest, Captain".	85.82478569362881
"Would you mind sending him up here?	73.21948239893901
I'd like to talk to him".	70.95155204735457
Troubled, he continued along the corridor, poking his head into the next office for a careful look around.	322.2389235848799
3 But Hoag had not stayed on the front steps when Griffith disappeared into the building.	2712.9972855043598
He was unwilling to rely on Griffith's carrying his message, and he had no confidence the police would act on it.	326.523068534821
If Mahzeer was alone with the prime minister he could be arranging his execution while Hoag stood out here shivering in the darkening street.	1452.3416463624133
He would have to do something on his own.	57.944724737746746
But what?	4.879178832075764
The door opened and three men and a woman in a sari swept past him and down the stairs.	1372.9051736079214
In the lighted interior he saw other men and women struggling into their wraps.	235.57559103852674
These were the early departures; in half an hour the reception would be over.	98.96771551652589
If Mahzeer was planning to set up the prime minister for Muller he would have to do it in the next few minutes.	239.52847554503245
Hoag descended the stone steps to the street and looked up at the building.	172.31283673131392
Wide windows with many small leaded panes swept across the upper stories.	560.0183617063385
On the second floor he saw the animated faces of the party guests; the scene looked like a Christmas card.	702.2245386227952
On the third floor one of the two windows was lighted; it was framed in maroon drapes, and no faces were visible.	403.75047384787337
This would be Mahzeer's office.	24.48414282675563
He and the prime minister would be back from the window, seated at Mahzeer's desk; they would be going over papers Mahzeer had saved as excuse for just such a meeting.	3102.2000370049377
In a minute, or five minutes, the business would be done; Mahzeer would stand up, the prime minister would follow.	987.7274323177625
Mahzeer would direct the prime minister's attention to something out the window and would guide him forward and then step to one side.	702.2900342530206
The single shot would come; Hoag would carry its sound to his grave.	176.05836676199095
Mahzeer, of course, would be desolate.	40.92267279922904
How was he to suspect that an assassin had been lurking somewhere across the street waiting for just such a chance?	935.1751674127397
Hoag turned.	32.41086437276112
Where across the street?	35.09659900219001
Where was Muller waiting with the rifle?	107.48574371840273
Narrow four-story buildings ran the length of the block like books tightly packed on a shelf.	714.6450609815626
Most of them could be eliminated; Muller's would have to be one of the half dozen almost directly opposite.	202.65005986946034
The legation was generously set back from the building line; if the angle of fire were too great the jutting buildings on either side would interfere.	524.3258359635304
Would the shot come from a roof?	68.82072879952962
He ran his eye along the roof copings; almost at once a figure bulked up.	538.9843807311046
But dully glinting on the dark form were the buttons and badge of a policeman.	259.59924319303644
With a cop patrolling the road Muller would have to be inside a building- if he was here at all, and not waiting for the prime minister somewhere between this street and the terminal building at La Guardia Airport.	2564.8902803166416
Hoag crossed the narrow street, squeezing between parked cars to reach the sidewalk.	457.46997206852893
From this side he could see farther into the legation's third-story window, but he saw no faces; the room's occupants were still seated or they had been called into the hallway by an alarmed police captain.	1199.131532718878
If only the latter were true h. He walked rapidly along the buildings scanning their facades one was a club- that was out; two others he ruled out because all their windows were lighted.	534.5238698278554
That left three, possibly four, one looking much like the next.	85.05439603036014
He climbed the steps of the first and opened the door to the vestibule.	193.47600138263633
He quickly closed it again.	27.97813908109976
He had assumed that all these buildings had been divided into apartments, but this one, from a glance at the hall furnishings, was obviously still a functioning town house, and its owners were in residence; that made it doubtful as the hiding place of a man whose plans had to be made in advance.	1496.7721610543506
He went on to the next building and found what he expected- the mingled cooking aromas of a public vestibule.	301.6993231197318
On one wall was the brass front of a row of mailboxes; there were six apartments.	327.27774218341176
Now what?	6.817140233537226
The names on the mailboxes meant nothing to him.	240.04054369473528
This was senseless- he had no idea what to look for.	93.89991015856673
He peered in the boxes themselves; all were empty except one, and that one was jammed with letters and magazines.	1458.5876834946018
The occupants of Apartment Number 3 were probably away for a few days, and not likely to return on a Friday.	339.35069377862953
Had Muller made the same deduction?	129.231774882285
Muller was attracted to the lore of mailboxes.	149.43693390541895
He opened the inner door; the cooking odors were stronger- all over the city, at this hour, housewives would be fussing over stoves.	642.0760268419832
He climbed, as quickly as he could urge his body, up the two unbroken flights to the third floor, pulling himself along on a delicate balustrade, all that remained of the building's beauty.	576.226824452062
He paused on the landing to steady his breathing and then bent to examine the single door by the light of the weak bulb overhead.	285.7580015686557
Now he was certain the lock had not yielded to Muller's collection of keys; fresh scars showed that the door had been prized open.	461.4113569854639
It had been shut again, but the lock was broken; he noted with a thrill of fear that the door moved under his touch.	885.0517717493256
What was he to do now?	86.44643301595836
He had thought no further than finding Muller.	101.19879162867169
He realized now he had more than half hoped he wouldn't find him- that Muller would not be here, that the attempt would be scheduled for somewhere beyond Hoag's control.	2827.90389028934
He could not break in on an armed man.	39.36447730588097
He would have to climb back down to the street and signal a cop.	101.47496192201706
Was there time?	21.160474134195894
His thoughts were scattered by the sharp report of a rifle from the other side of the door.	62.143599009576526
Hoag pushed open the door at the far end of the long dark room Muller was faintly silhouetted against the window, the rifle still raised; he stood with his feet apart on a kitchen table he had dragged to the sill.	550.4008896800406
He turned his head to the source of the disturbance and instantly back to the window and his rifle sight, dismissing Hoag for the moment with the same contempt he had shown in their encounter at Hoag's apartment.	565.7736689221729
Hoag stretched his left hand to the wall and fumbled for the switch evil flourishes in the dark.	595.5658584534156
The room was bathed in light at the instant Muller's second shot came.	203.9989412287924
Muller, nakedly exposed at the bright window like a deer pinned in a car's headlights, threw down the rifle and turned to jump from the table; his face wore a look of outrage.	943.2414577437918
A shot caught him and straightened him up in screaming pain; a following volley of shots shattered glass, ripped the ceiling, and sent him lurching heavily from the table.	1482.487899939615
He was dead before his body made contact with the floor.	121.08069964472377
Hoag stumbled back into the hall, leaned against the wall, and started to retch.	38159.76480438056
4 After Captain Docherty sent Arleigh Griffith for Hoag he was able to complete his detailed inspection of the third floor and to receive a report from his man covering the floors above before Griffith returned, buoyed up by a brief stop for another glass of champagne.	1880.3992699258895
The safe at Ingleside District Station stands next to the gum machine in a narrow passageway that leads to Captain Harris's office to the left, the lieutenant's office farther along and to the left and the janitor's supply closet straight ahead.	4080.0646196234325
The safe is a repository for three dead flashlight batteries, a hundred and fifty unused left-hand fingerprint cards, a stack of unsold Policemen's Ball tickets from last year, and thirty-seven cents in coins and stamps.	982.8876706116669
Gun set the captain's fifth of Hiram Walker inside the safe before he reported to Lt Killpath, though he knew that Killpath's ulcer prevented him from making any untoward incursion on Herman Wolff's gift.	2949.4452088819953
It was more a matter of tact, and also it was none of Killpath's goddam business.	152.38089839953724
He walked up to the lieutenant's office, leaned wearily against the gun rack that housed four rifles and a gas gun nobody remembered having used and a submachine gun that was occasionally tried out on the Academy Range.	2727.21287910514
He stared at the clerk who sat at a scarred and ancient fumed-oak desk stuffing envelopes.	397.89419347632713
"Where's the Lieut"?	56.84788957988013
The clerk wagged his head toward the captain's office.	154.71577587075822
Gun went to the connecting door, which was open, and stood at attention while Orville Torrence Killpath, in full uniform, finished combing his hair.	669.9960486130614
The lieutenant's sparse brown hair was heavily pomaded, and as Killpath raked the comb through it, it stuck together in thatches so that it looked like umbrella ribs clinging to his pink skull.	1593.2757086219149
The lieutenant eyed Gun's reflection in the mirror over the washbowl and then glanced back at his own face, moving the comb methodically around his head.	653.3395357287618
Leave me alone, Gun thought.	81.89698403552774
Fight with Sam Schaeffer, fight with the whole damned Bureau.	727.2619711452569
But leave me alone.	25.728753187801207
Because I'm looking for the son of a bitch that killed that old man, and I'm going to get him.	834.900109097857
If you just leave me to hell alone, Lieutenant.	98.13710373775957
Killpath peered through half-closed lids at his reflection, thrust up his chin in a gesture of satisfaction and about-faced.	511.44174507668794
Gun waited for Killpath to sit down behind the desk near the window.	260.17862219435636
He sat stiff-backed in a chair that did not swivel, though it was obvious to Gun that Killpath felt his position as acting captain plainly merited a swivel chair.	1843.3989801350363
The desk before him was in no better repair than the rest of the furniture crowded into the room, including wooden file cabinets with some of their pulls yanked off and a wardrobe stained with the roof seepage of countless seasons.	1815.4394753129059
Killpath pulled one thin leg up, clamping his arms around the shinbone to press his knee into an incredibly scrawny gut.	1242.3130289403655
It was the posture which the men had come to recognize as that of Killpath defying his ulcer.	323.08760450656985
He put his chin on his kneecap, stretching his neck like that of a turkey on a chopping block, and stared wordlessly at his sergeant.	429.514993511421
Gun waited.	27.425113293379244
The 745 bell rang and he could hear the outside doors bang shut, closing in the assembled day watch.	784.5368449584254
Finally, Orville intoned through his hawk nose, "We can't have people running in any time they please, Sergeant".	494.8504619329787
"No, sir".	10.174233809554389
"Running in, running out.	27.537945108214902
Can't have it.	11.929461882799757
Makes for confusion and congestion".	48.79204485779378
He rocked back in the chair, knee locked against stomach, his beady eyes fixed on Matson.	505.9919596215095
He was silent again, possibly listening to the sounds in the squadroom.	127.99819286363328
Roll was being called.	30.175526678773103
Gun cleared his throat.	50.051370858505564
Killpath said, "You were expected to report to my office twenty minutes ago, Sergeant.	1472.1193580981133
That's not getting all the juice out of the orange, now is it"?	92.10496902751585
"No, sir".	10.174233809554389
Then Killpath smiled.	38.84221126945617
Gun knew that nothing but aces back to back would give the lieutenant an ulcer and a smile at the same time.	246.32678428070165
The day-watch platoon commander, Lt Rinker, was calling out the beat assignments, but Matson couldn't make the names mean anything.	550.2175647118852
"I called the station at three this morning", Killpath's nasal voice pronounced.	270.2023725888412
"Do you have any idea who might have been in charge at the time"?	421.76231764458
"Sergeant Vaughn, sir".	45.089242799299555
"Now, now, you're just guessing, Sergeant".	976.584686454507
He smiled thinly, savoring his joke.	83.87763284729594
"What if I said nobody was here but a couple of patrolmen"?	168.88298194654394
"Sir, Vaughn knows better than to leave the station without a relief.	177.39029634735263
He must have"- "He let a patrolman take over the duties of the station keeper.	159.71965077099532
Now that's not regulation, is it"?	230.21660757057685
"No, sir".	10.174233809554389
"But you didn't know a thing about it, did you"?	538.5771638698598
Killpath leaned forward; his foot slipped off the chair and he put it back again, frowning now.	457.4196851918112
"That's not taking one's command with a responsible attitude, Matson".	184.6267732746279
Gun told himself that the old bastard was a fool.	130.34709149532807
But stupidity was no consolation when it had rank.	117.35847241354146
"I was out in the district, sir".	223.01830230445708
"Oh, yes.	9.574954286734124
So I have heard".	15.205204838025708
He stretched a pale hand out to the scattered papers on his desk.	157.7246332222553
"I might point out that your inability to report to my office this morning when you were instructed to do so has not h ah h limited my knowledge of your activities as you may have hoped".	1222.4722400021005
He took up a white sheet of paper, dark with single-spaced data.	150.8462886299997
A car pulled into the driveway outside the window.	87.58407839754233
Gun knew it was Car 12, the wagon, returned from delivering Ingleside's drunk-and-disorderlies to the City Jail.	521.2139925525655
But for some fool reason he couldn't remember which men he'd put on the transfer detail.	271.8427019576688
He stared at the report in Killpath's hand, sure it was written by Accacia- just as sure as if he'd submitted it in his scrawled longhand.	2417.0077303305643
He sucked in his breath and kept quiet while Killpath laid down the sheet again, wound the gold-wire stems of his glasses around his ears and then, eying the report as it lay before him on the desk, intoned, "Acting Lieutenant Gunnar Matson one failed to see that the station keeper was properly relieved two absented himself throughout the entire watch without checking on the station's activities or the whereabouts of his section sergeants three permitted members of the Homicide Detail of the Inspector's Bureau to arrogate for their own convenience a patrolman who was thereby prevented from carrying on his proper assignment four failed to notify the station commander Acting Captain O T Killpath of a homicide occurring in the district five frequented extralegal establishments known as after-hours spots for purposes of an unofficial and purportedly social nature and six"- he leaned back and peeled off his glasses "- failed to co-operate with the Acting Captain by returning promptly when so ordered.	2904.6623310879504
What have you to say to that, Sergeant"?	58.46655925499013
Killpath sailed the paper across the desk, but Matson didn't pick it up or even glance at it.	404.0238593671412
"Well"?	7.483069253650329
"I didn't think Accacia knew so many big words, Lieutenant".	203.22286571271354
Killpath licked his lips.	54.08280103082738
"Patrolman Accacia is an alert and conscientious law-enforcement officer.	259.6089762372933
I don't think his diligence mitigates your negligence, Matson".	193.75361381245008
"Negligence, hell"!	33.11458936089448
Gun held his breath a moment, pushing the volume and pitch of his voice down under the trapdoor in his throat.	695.9803264728425
"Sir.	8.570614373280554
I would have been negligent and a goddam lousy cop to boot, if I'd sat around this station all night when somebody got away with murder in my district.	695.3850236974674
It's too bad I didn't call you, and it's too bad I let Schaeffer use Accacia when he could have had a boy who'd be glad to learn something of Homicide procedure.	1387.0337322616317
But I'm not one damned bit sorry I went out to question the people I know in the places they hang around, and"- "Let's not push our patience beyond the danger line, Sergeant", Killpath nasaled.	778.9370569963538
"I shouldn't like to have to write you up for insubordination as well as dereliction of duty".	201.13015560470973
Gun stiffened, his hands balling into fists at his sides.	266.31071542205854
He clamped his jaws to keep the fury from spilling out.	184.7788206666417
An argument with Orville Torrence Killpath was as frustrating and as futile as a cap pistol on a firing range.	683.7323481021597
Killpath leaned forward again, rocked comfortably with his arms still wrapped around one knee.	669.0508290255615
"Let's just remember, Sergeant, that we must all carry our own umbrella.	172.17576186200023
A district station can't run smoothly, unless"- He interrupted himself, looking around Gun at the doorway.	427.70911936588607
"Morning, Lieutenant Rinker".	74.2068508755286
"Sorry, Orville.	51.41832996850104
I thought you hadn't come in yet".	44.98613285659379
"I've been here for some time".	9.305094331020529
He stood up, cocked his head and eyed Gun coldly.	494.3701353717378
"The sergeant is just leaving".	44.41709929750082
It had come as no great surprise to Matson that the hot water in the showers didn't work, that Loren Severe had thrown up all over the stairs, or that some thieving bastard of a cop had walked off with his cigarettes.	1154.1419857327078
It was the best he could hope for on a watch that had ended with a session in Killpath's office.	252.63114083275542
Now, as he passed the open counter that divided the assembly room from the business office, he nodded and said good night to the station keeper and his clerks, not stopping to hear the day-watch playback of his chewing out.	935.7867363941189
Not that he gave a damn what the grapevine sent out about Killpath's little speech on the comportment of platoon commanders.	1004.4426054465736
He just didn't want to talk about it.	251.6158553408031
If the acting captain wanted his acting lieutenant to sit on his ass around the station all night, Killpath would just have to go out and drag Gun back by the heels once an hour; because he'd be damned if he was going to be a mid-watch pencil-pusher just to please his ulcerated pro-tem captain.	874.7699682847634
At the doorway he squinted up at the gray morning overcast and patted his jacket pockets for the cigarettes, remembering then that he'd left them at the Doughnuttery.	548.0956966308446
He could pick up another pack on his way home, if he were going home.	309.96536955339536
But even before he started across the oiled road to his Plymouth, parked in the lot under the cypress trees across from the station, he knew that he wasn't going home.	497.4210748096749
Not yet.	6.228974826952895
It was nine o'clock in the morning the hour which, like a spade turning clods of earth, exposed to the day a myriad of busy creatures that had lain dormant in the quiet night.	1124.2422064824127
Mission Street at this hour was populated by a whole community that Gun could not have seen on his tour of duty- the neighborhood that had known Urbano Quintana by day.	888.8796187160793
TEN Sol Phillips had purchased the Alliance Furniture Mart seventeen years ago.	719.5105276059139
It was professedly worth three thousand dollars in stock and good will, and the name was written in gold in foot-high letters across each of the two display windows.	429.03132409595247
On the right window, at eye level, in smaller print but also in gold, was Gonzalez, Prop, and under that, Se Habla Espanol.	415.62526449245547
Mr Phillips took a razor to Gonzalez, Prop, but left the promise that Spanish would be understood because he thought it meant that Spanish clientele would be welcome.	584.6731353064345
Language was no problem anyway; Mr Phillips had only to signal from his doorway to summon aid from the ubiquitous bilingual children who played on the sidewalks of Mission Street.	967.0335321161972
Aside from the fact that business was slow this time of year and his one salesgirl was not the most enterprising, Mr Phillips had no worries at all, and he said as much to Gun Matson, who sat across from him in civilian clothes, on a Jiffy-Couch-a-Bed, mauve velour, $79.89 nothing-down special!	2837.519484321046
"She's honest as the day", Mr Phillips said, and added, "Mr Gunnar, I can say this to you Beebe is a little too honest.	388.9556613836171
You can't tell a customer how much it's going to cost him to refinance his payments before he even signs for a loan on the money down!	434.16314603555634
A time plan is a mere convenience, you understand, and when"- He interrupted himself, smiling.	418.24346085355245
"I put her in lamps.	31.891717127741014
That way I don't lose so much".	52.38424904203509
"Why don't you just hire somebody else"?	71.25024831745884
"She says she has to finish a story".	39.41477278161641
He shrugged.	11.679230940171202
"I asked her why she couldn't do it tomorrow, but it seems the muse is working good tonight and she's afraid to let it go".	478.9121653291358
Casey made some comment, but his mind was busy as he considered the man.	149.81338995422513
His name was George Needham and he, too, had come from a good family.	796.883680655323
He was perhaps thirty-two, nicely set up, with light brown hair that had a pronounced wave.	494.5287666123702
He was always well groomed and well tailored, and he had that rich man's look which was authentic enough and came from two good prep schools and a proper university.	535.8117533113383
An only child, he had done all the things that young men do who have been born to money and social position until his father double-crossed him by dying broke.	1274.5538007502175
Since then he had worked at this and that, though some said his main interest was gambling.	137.52264003891355
All this went through Casey's mind in the first instant, but what held his interest was the fact that these two should be together at all.	241.43278251132892
For he had understood that Betty had been engaged to a boy named Barry Jenkins.	314.10583951823196
She had grown up with young Jenkins, and he had heard that they had been at the point of getting married at least twice.	1266.6781400960526
He wanted to ask her about Jenkins now, but he knew he couldn't do so in Needham's presence.	1192.0325364602943
And so, still wondering and a little perplexed, he grinned at the girl and spoke lightly to make sure that she would know he was kidding.	306.32496739983316
"Where did you pick him up"?	68.05482115013444
"Oh, I've known him quite a while".	39.06740081489869
She glanced at her companion fondly.	123.9196010947606
"Haven't I, George"?	43.84056150643145
"I've been after her for years", Needham said, "but I've never been able to get anywhere until the last few days".	359.0811474387355
The girl's eyes were softly shining as she reached out and touched Casey's hand.	1048.1754311379657
"Can I tell you a secret?	70.41457903764905
We're going to get married.	437.7670657342721
Do you approve"?	18.15069788000798
Casey kept his smile fixed, but some small inner disturbance was working on him as he thought again about Needham, who was eight or ten years older than the girl.	2052.734832713286
He wondered whether Needham was going to swear off gambling and get a steady job or whether he was counting on the income from Betty's estate to subsidize him.	461.0829558155178
None of this showed in his face, and he tried to keep his skepticism in hand.	1185.5839197309856
He made a point of frowning, of acting out the part of the fond father-confessor.	226.16508367448
"I'll have to give it some thought", he said.	22.860903378579273
"You wouldn't want me to say yes without making sure his intentions are honorable, would you"?	389.14291667658574
She made a face at him and then she laughed.	79.47228563951555
"Of course not".	6.24071581465891
"I'll get my references in order", Needham said, and though he spoke with a smile, Casey somehow got the idea that he was not particularly amused.	1473.891471204354
"Stop by any time, Casey".	56.68847548288469
He stood up and touched the girl's arm.	179.88125174169534
"Come on, darling.	38.30145694104074
If you're really serious about working on that story, I'd better take you home".	79.26388980320701
Casey watched them go, still frowning absently and then dismissing the matter as he called for his check.	421.6498937137633
As he went out he told Freddie the dinner was perfect, and when he got his hat and coat from Nancy Parks and put a fifty-piece piece in the slot, he told her to be sure that it went toward her dowry.	723.3684481605095
A taxi took him back to the bar and grill where he had left his car, and a few minutes later he found a parking place across the street from his apartment.	5501.7168778428795
Because his mind had been otherwise occupied for the past couple of hours, he did not think to look and see if Jerry Burton's car was still there.	835.742571071228
In fact, he did not think about Jerry Burton at all until he entered his living room and closed the door behind him.	197.56177864703565
Only then, when his glance focused on the divan and saw that it was empty, did he remember his earlier problem.	1212.1612190038772
Even from where he stood he could see the neatly folded blanket that he had spread over Burton, the pillow, the sheet of paper on top of it.	279.3459411382715
Then he was striding across the room, his thoughts confused but the worry building swiftly inside him as he snatched up the note.	680.5285775069896
Jack Look in the wastebasket.	72.31084006190389
I knew the only way I could beat you was to play possum, but it was a good try, kid, and I appreciate it.	394.9703756688621
J  The wastebasket stood near the wall next to the divan, and the instant Casey picked it up he knew what had happened.	329.2029465723595
The discarded papers inside were sodden, there was a glint of liquid at the bottom, and the smell of whisky was strong and distinct.	305.44879002365053
He put the basket down distastefully, muttering softly and thoroughly disgusted with himself and his plan that had seemed so foolproof.	519.0755714623581
For he remembered too well how he had brought back the loaded drinks to Burton and then returned to the kitchen to get weaker drinks for himself.	889.1190726129109
For another second or two he gave in to the annoyance that was directed at himself; then his mind moved on to be confronted by something far more serious, and as the thought expanded, the implications jarred him.	573.7440264335798
It no longer mattered that Burton had outsmarted him.	170.23907203601118
The important thing was that Burton had gone somewhere to meet a blackmailer with a gun in his pocket.	517.8929769521669
And that gun was empty.	29.56606812237085
Even before his mind had rounded out the idea, he thrust one hand into his trousers pocket and pulled out the six slugs he had taken from the revolver.	418.20785469864967
He considered them with brooding eyes, brows bunched as his brain grappled with the problem and tried to find some solution.	1270.46374151528
He said "The crazy fool", half aloud.	89.30374131244872
He put the shells on the table, as though he could no longer bear to hold them.	528.6027854080664
He thought Where the hell could he have gone?	87.29341345354838
How can I find him?	22.55747205687671
There was no answer to this and he began to pace back and forth across the room, his imagination out of control.	1117.9265569062673
He tried to tell himself that maybe Burton had sobered up enough to get some sense.	489.43787813606804
Maybe he only intended to scare the blackmailer, whoever he was, in which case an unloaded gun would be good enough.	434.4633341277531
He thought of other possibilities, none of them satisfactory, and finally he began to think, to wonder if there was some way he could reach Burton.	842.751071719346
Then, as he turned toward the telephone, it rang shrilly to shatter the stillness in the room and he reached for it eagerly.	464.45081788807096
"Yeah", he said.	9.60823214981244
"Casey"?	14.849317747849904
"Yeah".	7.786428610600051
"Tony Calenda".	46.468828166614486
Casey heard the voice distinctly and he knew who it was, but it took him a while to make the mental readjustment and control the disturbance inside his head.	1360.0815143517705
When he heard Calenda say "What about that picture you took this afternoon"?	189.95181600065393
it still took him another few seconds to remember the job he had done for Frank Ackerly.	828.0900504643522
"What picture"?	11.186491758122097
he demanded.	3.0748737928926495
"You took a picture of me at the corner of Washington and Blake about three thirty this afternoon".	799.9081569245399
"Who says so"?	22.771799016158173
"One of my boys".	42.25078982333476
Casey believed that much.	30.352471727271734
Calenda was not the sort who walked around without one of his "boys" close at hand.	149.51266717388592
"So"?	6.157118943022047
"With my trial coming up in Federal Court next week I wouldn't want that picture published".	330.73417306076703
"Who says it's going to be published"?	280.4465298621515
"I wouldn't even want it to get around".	47.62315707742409
Under normal circumstances Casey was a little fussy when people told him what to do with pictures he had taken.	432.9409168957
Even so, he generally listened and was usually reasonable to those who voiced their objections properly.	170.2479290361488
Right now, however, he was still too worried about Jerry Burton, and the gun that had no bullets, and the story Burton had told him, to care too much about Tony Calenda.	5968.495024148317
His nerves were getting a little ragged and his impatience put an edge in his voice.	267.2707803251314
"Look", he said.	261.38451266409294
"I was hired to take a picture.	86.16937142123604
I took it.	8.97959660690839
That's all I know about it and that's all I care".	305.0997999610416
"Maybe you'd better tell the guy who hired you what I said".	316.40345712247904
"You tell him".	12.049973123343095
"All right", Calenda said, his voice still quiet.	218.31784371039657
"But I meant what I said, Casey.	239.64960182449957
If that picture gets around and I find out you had anything to do with it, I'm going to send a couple of my boys around to see you".	478.3308339787066
"You do that", Casey said.	28.489257753099558
"Just be sure to send your two best boys, Tony".	161.85361441225095
He hung up with a bang, annoyed at himself for running off at the mouth like that but still terribly concerned with the situation he had helped to create.	563.7841307947384
As soon as he could think logically again he reached for the telephone directory and found Jerry Burton's home number.	1124.3643138106925
He dialed it and listened to it ring ten times before he hung up.	217.6464980570398
He called the bar and grill where he had picked Burton up that afternoon.	144.2601856161837
When he was told that no one had seen Burton since then, he thought of three other places that were possibilities.	7066.904347419809
Each time he got the same answer and in the end he gave up.	150.45272878568576
By the time he had smoked three cigarettes he had calmed down.	104.84054397654742
He had done all he could and that was that.	85.92712865806048
And anyway Burton was not the kind of guy who would be likely to get in trouble even when he was drunk.	1203.448514181447
He, Casey, had been scared for a while, but that had come mostly from the fact that he felt responsible.	380.55970559818707
He should have stayed here and watched Burton.	75.43822336021718
He didn't.	5.191843993293067
So he made a mistake.	42.40486973226682
So what?	3.935038345344613
He kept telling himself this as he went out to the kitchen to make a drink.	460.9829108138342
Only then did he decide he didn't want one.	81.5290253224219
He considered opening a can of beer but vetoed that idea too.	151.1951809333456
Finally he went into the bedroom and sat down to take off his shoes.	399.9987634712177
He had just finished unlacing the right one when the telephone rang again.	144.08494236635738
When he snatched it up the voice that came to him was quick and urgent.	120.65509672220473
"Casey?	14.849317747849904
You don't know me but I know you.	48.19801369418118
If you want a picture get to the corner of Adams and Clark just as fast as you can.	513.8542574718564
If you hurry you might beat the headquarters boys".	86.85999546964861
Casey heard the click of the distant receiver before he could open his mouth, and it took him no more than three seconds to make his decision.	714.5662947779153
For over the years he had received many such calls.	119.84072866783492
Some of them came from people who identified themselves.	112.4743773692602
Some telephoned because he had done them a favor in the past.	170.83281147116375
Others because they expected some sort of reward for the information.	107.1289505386518
A few passed along a tip for the simple reason that they liked him and wanted to give him a break.	195.45742684784304
Only an occasional tip turned out to be a phony, and, like the police, Casey had made a point of running down all such suggestions and he did not hesitate this time.	516.0489739801804
He was in his car with his camera and equipment bag in less than two minutes, and it took him only three more to reach the corner, a block from Columbus Avenue.	627.3732055231771
It was a district of small factories and loft buildings and occasional tenements, and he could see the police radio car as he rounded the corner and slammed on the brakes.	322.11629744518433
He did not bother with his radio- there would be time for that later- but as he scrambled out on the pavement he saw the filling station and the public telephone booth and knew instantly how he had been summoned.	554.9106523809452
The police car had pulled up behind a small sedan, its headlights still on.	234.86519118849552
slowly he pulled out the hand throttle until the boat was moving at little more than a crawl, and watched Elaine rapidly spin from one station to another, tune in the null, then draw in a line on the chart.	615.0368356001816
"We're out just a little too far.	90.20429189759064
Make a 90 degree straight for shore".	79.89559383091934
Poet came in, raising his eyebrows appreciatively as he saw Elaine.	386.6841334653012
"Now"?	6.3312029077298995
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
"Pretty quick", she replied.	53.24025539060758
"Will you drop the anchor"?	45.29464788220214
Poet nodded, swung below and a moment later emerged from the forward hatch where he picked up the anchor.	1227.4798527442201
The rock and roll music coming from the radio station suddenly faded as the boat coasted into the null on the RDF.	779.7257635279883
"Reverse", Elaine said, then peered through the loop of the RDF and waved to Poet.	405.87892677797913
A second later she came behind the wheel and backed off the anchor line until it was set in the ocean floor.	420.09311340788094
She cut the engines and slowly the cruiser swung around on the end of its lines until its bow was pointing into the wind and the cockpit faced toward the shore.	569.38304433439
Nick watched her somewhat enviously as she efficiently cut the engines, and started the auxiliary motor.	459.6545237040362
Poet came up from below, wearing new bathing trunks.	261.33867388552454
The price tag hung from the belt and he pulled it off as he entered the chartroom and looked at it curiously.	655.70920312508
Nick wondered if Elaine had bought them, but he said nothing.	444.70131828913946
Nobody, he suddenly realized, was saying anything.	82.33742517133835
It seemed as if they were all under a spell.	2157.7365089323193
There should be an excited conversation, for somewhere, directly below them, was a treasure lost for more than four hundred years.	407.6742949825402
But instead of chatter there was a null, like on the radio direction finder.	151.42167487351531
Once, in New York, he had gone flying with some friends in a small private airplane with a single engine.	636.9619628645536
They had all been laughing, joking, when suddenly the engine had failed.	147.25859968743478
No one had screamed.	17.31049344843876
No one had prayed.	21.18741254234788
All had fallen into a complete silence, listening to the wind whistle over the wings.	181.81682261091032
The pilot had been good.	18.16182592050698
He'd landed the plane on a small airstrip in Connecticut and as soon as the aircraft had coasted to a stop, everyone had burst into chatter at the same moment.	338.36108183737514
There had been tension in the plane during the silent descent; a tension similar to the one now.	199.87798670239027
But in the plane there was a concrete reason for it.	87.557494853602
Now, at this moment, there should be none h unless skin diving was much more dangerous than he had been led to believe.	638.4660893051189
Yet tension existed.	25.01356075520152
The same taut-nerved relationship as there had been between the passengers on the plane now strained at the three of them here on the boat.	262.3400455856161
It hung over them like a cloud, its arrival as sudden as a cloud skidding over the sun.	271.89995024229404
Silently, Elaine picked up her keys from the table and went out into the cockpit, Poet behind her, Nick trailing behind him.	984.0593649489541
She threw back a cushion over one of the seats, unlocked a padlock on the chest beneath it, then presently straightened, holding a long knife and a wicked looking spear gun in her hand.	712.3295801841728
Poet whistled softly as he looked at the gun.	661.0860489631056
"Hydraulic"?	20.324827059120516
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
Elaine nodded.	21.464985136119445
"They are the best".	182.932929901297
She kicked the locker lid shut and replaced the cushion.	229.20025444005103
"They are the most efficient".	5.304359879100403
"And the deadliest", Poet commented as he buckled on his tank harness.	322.6930841911738
"Why do you need an arsenal"?	291.9103240296438
Nick asked, apprehensively, staring at the weapon.	132.68160021908625
"It's quite possible there's more than codfish down there, man", Poet replied with a short, nervous laugh as he held the harness for Elaine.	1852.233722651085
A moment later, moving awkwardly because of the swimming fins, she picked up the gun, handed the knife to Poet, then rolled off the transom of the boat, back first.	1228.4705632165978
Poet nodded to Nick and entered the water in a similar fashion.	130.30831819345232
Another moment and they were out of sight, leaving behind only a string of bubbles as a clue to their whereabouts.	770.0212189494495
For a while Nick followed the twisting course of the bubbles, wondering which set came from Elaine.	253.57304606740462
They remained close together, their air trail wiggling like serpents traveling side by side.	384.0301135057692
Eventually the bubbles became lost in the sparkle of the ocean surface, and he rolled over on his back.	875.2468467352996
Clasping his hands behind his head, he stared at the blue sky.	211.83352766201278
There was nothing quite like being alone on a boat on the ocean.	94.72994751675766
Alfredo certainly must have enjoyed being alone.	135.87998722144883
Next to the ocean, probably the loneliest spot was the desert.	108.88574174376868
If Elaine's uncle had stuck to this desire for aloneness, he probably would still be alive.	347.1891433535673
Yet Alfredo wanted money h wanted money to roam through the deserts.	340.042950213222
And Graham wanted money probably to roam among the dice tables in Las Vegas.	514.1938451160105
It was an odd combination h a strange pair to stumble upon the wreck of the Trinidad.	251.7912514041259
But Graham hadn't stumbled on it.	59.03783522165723
Two to three weeks prior to the charter of the Virginia, Graham had been snooping around the San Luis Rey Mission.	514.8590675746814
The small helicopter with its two steel skids churned offshore and Nick raised up to watch it heading south.	763.0468028784504
That was a hell of a note, he thought.	137.99000040465648
A couple couldn't even find a secluded spot anywhere on a beach to neck nowadays without someone swooping down upon them.	623.4195450588082
If the character flying that thing had gone over San Clemente Island yesterday he would have had an eyeful.	1445.3772994896551
Off to the west a beautiful schooner slowly beat its way into the wind, headed on a tack toward San Clemente.	488.7371072122834
Behind it a cabin cruiser drifted crossways in the small ground-swell, a lone fisherman in the chair aft.	693.3250014760578
The fisherman was right in the middle of the Deep.	34.27544755054381
Nick recalled stories that the two best fishing spots in Southern California were over the La Jolla Deep and the Redondo Deep, two spots where the ocean dropped off to fantastic depths almost from the shoreline.	1238.3545125168996
Someday, geologists had warned, the land on both sides of these deeps would fall into the ocean and no more La Jolla or Redondo Beach.	675.8608517052703
Meanwhile, fishermen took advantage of them to pull up whoppers.	1409.4543765764583
Sometimes the fish exploded as they neared the surface because of the difference in pressure.	509.1749282892274
Why, he wondered, had Elaine wanted him along on this trip?	164.10378751097568
He couldn't skindive, he couldn't run a boat, except on the open sea.	298.30050983226965
He stood up, stretched, looked around for the bubbles, but could see none.	258.8846448445599
Strolling down to the galley, he lit the butane under the coffee pot and when the brew was heated, poured himself a cup and went up to the chartroom.	610.2779651159478
Turning on the hi-fi, he went back to the cockpit, stretched out on the cushions and listened to the music.	589.6626873391134
Elaine and Poet returned together, popping up over the transom almost like dolphins breaking water.	528.737257226831
He sat up and watched as they pulled themselves over the stern.	102.59558472506633
"Any luck"?	24.480736194642585
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
Poet shook his head, sliding his face mask up on his forehead.	329.42899891603037
"We're right on the edge of the Deep", Elaine said.	101.0391325626162
Pulling off her face mask, she carefully placed the spear gun across the stern, then lifted her wet hair from her back and squeezed out the water.	1320.6838269450811
"Which is a break as the area to search is less than a square mile", she added as she swung her legs over the transom.	440.1470242301636
"Any news"?	20.543273682001086
"Not a thing".	10.39334162304684
He tossed her a towel, then repeated the service for Poet.	165.57093168508445
"Cigarette"?	20.324827059120516
Elaine shook her head as she slipped out of her harness, but Poet nodded.	387.3731227545121
His feet still hung over the stern of the transom, but as he reached for the smoke he raised them to swing them in.	223.38237756112355
The fin on his foot caught on the moulding, throwing him off balance.	226.41261556755828
His forearm smashed painfully into the narrow washboard and he grimaced as he grabbed his bruised limb with his other hand and rolled into the boat.	778.7697833519313
"Kee-reist"!	95.85598248656227
The word hissed distinctly from Poet's lips as he struggled to his feet.	224.4619062632106
Nick's body became rigid.	79.77508820950858
Turning slowly he saw Poet in a brilliant glare of horror.	260.2085711881525
Poet!	25.12752600633867
His face was still creased in pain as he studied the underside of his arm.	114.55140980379423
Poet a murderer?	55.94713345809609
Turning quickly toward Elaine, Nick saw that she, too, stood in shocked surprise.	323.920010701867
The sudden silence was too silent.	62.500105191151
Instinctively aware of the charged atmosphere, Poet raised his head slowly, looking first at Elaine.	392.8435655048166
She had caught the implication of the oath.	54.73236625905102
Her face was frozen into the mask of a mannequin, her body absolutely motionless.	322.8515894383738
And then Nick knew that all of them knew h Elaine, himself h and Poet.	182.67179145024164
Elaine recovered first, so quickly that Nick thought he might have imagined her sudden reaction.	969.7874315784551
"Do you need a bandage"?	38.158554306430815
she asked steadily.	16.351046749609132
Poet rubbed his arm.	56.72042040129778
"It's like banging a shin", he said, his eyes lingered on Nick's face, then moved back to Elaine.	671.932283629172
"Hurts like hell for a second, then it disappears".	491.66826472112086
"I'll get some ointment".	20.710943388786166
Elaine turned and started toward the companionway.	112.7660978606666
But her walk was too steady, too slow, telegraphing her fear.	176.81830047115147
Nick sensed it.	37.03797734135981
So did Poet.	22.189037218958347
Springing like a cat, he leaped back, swooped up the spring gun and, whirling, pointed it toward the cabin.	738.6222508687085
At the same instant, Nick hit the barrel and threw himself upon the smaller man.	274.80798736200165
The gun fired next to his ear with a vicious whoosh like the first stroke of an old steam engine.	361.27688566211333
At the same instant, Elaine screamed wildly, the sound ending abruptly as Nick went off the boat and into the water on top of the frantic, struggling Poet.	1743.660431749152
The moment the sea closed over Nick, some atavistic sense warned him that he would survive in this alien element only if he did not panic.	694.8633529072919
But the murderer to whom he clung had a tremendous advantage.	113.12472741760514
The wide flippers on Poet's feet gave his legs incredible power, driving the two of them down into the water as they rolled over and over.	1103.3351219330502
Poet was the captured, arms pinioned to his side, and he twisted convulsively trying to escape.	1465.169516896672
Poet would escape, Nick thought grimly, because he wore the apparatus which would keep him alive under water.	476.66785560996294
But Nick would not let go.	53.46902796950169
The rubber and glass face mask slipped from Poet's forehead, bounced painlessly off Nick's chin, then disappeared.	1095.6067899645625
Poet twisted again and Nick's knuckles scraped on the air tank, ripping off the skin.	625.0077233233219
For a split second, Nick relaxed his grip and Poet's slippery body spun completely around before Nick could stop him, holding him now from the rear.	2293.4160358848944
Something flailed at the side of Nick's head as they rolled around and around.	237.71464618577565
Suddenly Poet stopped struggling and the two of them hung suspended in the water, not rising, not sinking.	629.41695796108
A sharp pain lanced across Nick's chest and a bubble of air escaped from his tortured lungs, joining dozens of others that sailed lazily toward the surface like helium balloons rising into the sky.	2217.783966933572
A black, snake-like object swayed eerily in front of him, spewing bubbles from its flat cobra head.	498.83066163926316
The air hose was free!	58.78963097825716
The discovery struck Nick like a blow.	81.4700164918087
Desperately, Nick flashed one hand up, catching Poet's neck in the bend of his elbow.	610.8713557830617
At the same instant, he grabbed the loose, writhing hose with his other hand and bit down on the hard rubber mouthpiece.	515.5211819367173
Instinctively he exhaled through his nose then sucked in the air from the hose.	311.75673858726833
At once the excruciating pain in his chest stopped and he was seized with a sudden, wild exultation.	424.4141102056898
As if this was a signal, Poet abruptly began to thrash the water and the quick movement slowly made them sink through the water.	313.01088400970906
Relentlessly, Nick held on, sucking on the hose, inhaling the air that belonged to Poet.	440.725210442622
Poet was not fighting Nick now.	101.50854835220329
HARBOR POINT sticks out into the ocean like the fat neck of a steamer clam.	638.715808076697
It's a rich village but not much for action- too many solid residents, not enough tourists or working stiffs.	412.00443470751804
It's at the far end of the county and the last time I came here was for a hit and run manslaughter- about seven months ago.	1072.3680364812096
Chief Bob Moore looked his same hick-self; a man mountain running to lard in his middle-age.	500.51693137397
Seeing me he said with real surprise, "Well, well, ain't we honored!	287.9565397813416
Hardly expected the head of County Homicide up for this murder.	159.91537274842096
You sure climbed fast, Jed.	104.7868501318055
Rookie investigator last summer and now it's Inspector Jed.	369.63640686825255
Took me 19 years to become Chief of our three man police force.	268.3496523237226
Proves a college education pays off".	109.91038542082231
His sarcasm was followed by a stupid grin of his thick mouth and bad teeth.	269.59461880450857
"I guess it helps", I said, paying no attention to his ribbing.	132.47844140787743
"Never could figure out why you ever wanted to be a cop, Jed.	218.87636412312224
You're not only young but h well, you don't even look like a police officer.	121.10291389434711
A runt with narrow shoulders and that brush haircut h hell, you'd pass for a juvenile delinquent of the hotrod set.	511.97786421735987
In my day the first requirement for a cop was to look like the law, big and tough.	247.57406026395043
Man, when my 275 pounds and six-four comes along, why it's the same as another badge.	337.9636089790249
When I say move, a guy moves"!	87.0254601316541
"Don't worry about my being tough, Moore.	54.143821487680555
Also, it's far too early in the day for corny lines like the bigger they come h You've had your gassy lecture, let's get to work.	672.7901842046989
Who was the murdered woman h Mrs Buck"?	186.78828820174402
"Widow, nice sort of woman.	70.55192036453732
Comfortably fixed.	27.228067241822593
Ran a fair-sized farm.	271.9428660955765
Came to the Harbor as a bride and h Don't worry Jed, this one is in the bag.	225.91131763229527
I know the killer, have the only road off the peninsula covered".	520.5061959354913
"Yeah, passed your road block as I drove in", I said, sitting on his polished desk.	432.4321944737876
Although Bob dressed like a slob, he kept a neat office.	352.2365576630811
"Okay, what happened"?	25.519049813098558
"About nine this morning Mrs Buck phones me she's having trouble with one of her farm hands- money trouble.	1098.8037609397632
Colored fellow named Tim Williams- only hand she has working for her now.	362.3277906223568
Tim come with the migratory workers that follow the crops up from the South last year, but Tim and his wife settled here.	331.2733157950946
Never had no trouble with him before, thought he was a hard worker, hustling around to get a full week's work.	2074.562746004255
Anyway, Julia asks me to h".	63.36547483019245
"Julia"?	18.408676839516836
"Come on, Inspector, look alive.	74.27464777549596
Julia Buck, the deceased", Moore said, slipping me his smug, idiot-grin again.	509.5027014889265
"Julia asks me to come out at once.	98.50377754016746
But she didn't sound real alarmed h you know, like there was any immediate danger.	245.04966915342686
I got there at 947 AM, found her strangled.	168.42923127953958
I would have come sooner if I'd known h. No doubt about Tim being the killer- I have a witness.	361.9878152175372
Don't know why the County had to send anybody up here.	122.61510877252064
Told them I can handle this".	55.999924636997896
"Yeah, seems you have a nice package, with all the strings tied.	153.36757289279024
Who's h"?	24.723256261275992
"I'll collar Tim before night".	49.60151845592485
"Who's your witness"?	72.6464470330598
"Julia had- has- an old Indian woman cooking for her- Nellie Harris.	298.77502006341854
Probably the last of the original Island Indians.	105.81254783526903
Nellie was in the kitchen, had just come to work, when she heard Tim arguing with Julia in the living room.	538.9950777353757
Swears she recognized his voice, that Tim yelled, 'It's my money and I want it'!	371.80464064988024
and then rushed out of the house.	23.020041753233002
Then she heard Julia phone me.	77.76159059695071
Nellie went on with her house work- until I found Julia dead.	274.464298655801
And before you say it, Nellie ain't near strong enough to have strangled Julia.	915.5165307198171
There's no doubt this Tim sneaked back and killed Mrs Buck.	310.20376116672657
Another fact Tim's disappeared- on the run.	73.36656359683235
But there's no way off the Point except through my road block.	113.55760091681935
Guess you want to see the body- have her up the street in Doc Abel's office".	1328.3317844272585
"Let's see it".	13.540733425705207
We walked up Main Street to this big white house, then around to the back.	330.2977858744445
Being the Harbors sole doctor, Abel was also its Medical Examiner.	311.5316188028608
The corpse was on a table, covered by a sheet.	152.96499905097633
Doc Abel was busy up front with some of his live patients.	660.2152573220379
Pulling back the sheet, I examined the bruises around Julia Buck's once slender throat.	698.4856564893443
Powerful hands had killed her.	62.51377923080095
"Find any prints"?	53.69185229730159
Chief Moore shook his big head, seemed lost in thought as he stared at the nude body.	351.8940030754296
Then he said, "Never noticed it before h I mean, when she was dressed h but for a woman her age, Julia had a real fine figure".	311.4404440446624
I dropped the sheet, glanced at my watch.	92.56015351686062
It was almost one and I hadn't had lunch.	53.146853198712854
Still, I wanted to get this over with, had a lot of paper work waiting in my own office.	474.89995838383476
I told him, "I want to go see the Buck house".	174.66340556898064
"Sure".	9.610798453901891
Walking back down Main Street, I said, "I saw the Harbor's one squad car at the road block, we'll ride out in my car".	1611.558963462493
"Naw, we'll use mine", Moore said, opening the door of a sleek white Jaguar roadster.	1633.8601095310357
As I slid in beside him he said, "Some heap, hey?	457.6881588195505
Got a heck of a buy on this, dirt cheap".	177.23320151888697
"Yeah, it's a real load", I told him, looking up the street at my battered Ford.	197.8913162687472
Five racing minutes later we pulled into the driveway of this typical two-story house, and when the Jaguar stopped I managed to swallow.	1181.520894886717
There was a garage and a modern barn in the rear, all of it standing between two large flat fields planted in early potatoes.	972.6979376375479
Everything shouted gentleman farming, the kind of grandfather-father-to son folding money the Point is known for.	337.74197083527343
The fins of a Caddy were sticking out of the garage, while the inside of the house was a comfortable mixture of old and expensive contemporary furniture.	765.7458521861677
Nellie Harris wasn't old, she was ancient- a tiny shriveled woman with a face like a tan prune.	1500.8679698777446
She was also stone deaf in her right ear.	108.89048140313834
She calmly repeated what Moore had told me.	145.60183065538135
When I asked, "Why didn't you go into the living room to see how Mrs Buck was"?	711.3476587600667
the old gal stared at me with her hard eyes, said, "She didn't call.	289.08965778716265
I do the living room last.	127.00125919148229
I went up stairs and did the bath and her bedroom- way I always do in the morning".	236.38160033164678
"Have you any idea what this Tim and Mrs Buck were arguing about"?	523.4021274992458
"Probably wages.	14.81199239594993
Miss Julia was a hard woman with a dollar.	87.20422342347081
Years ago when I asked her to put me in Social Security, so's I wouldn't have to be working now, Miss Julia threatened to fire me- all because it would mean a few more dollars a year to her".	1350.0348290951576
"Did you hear Tim return"?	314.85968066740736
"No sir.	13.037665515365857
Nobody came until Chief Moore".	99.23380019810385
I drummed on the kitchen table with my pencil.	115.72133197936846
"Mrs Buck have any men friends"?	102.22648214384427
"Her"?	7.100117471927086
The wrinkled mouth laughed, revealing astonishingly strong, white, teeth.	243.33324417166324
"I never see none.	18.25029103640449
But then I wasn't her social secretary".	56.983446925205115
"Was she on friendly terms with other members of her family"?	399.1013164585976
"Didn't have no family- around here.	55.76929096946263
They had a son- killed in the war".	63.85754811102177
I walked into the living room.	35.17697945352795
There didn't seem to be any signs of a struggle.	39.35282876313615
I told Moore, "Where does Tim's wife live"?	192.81436317046706
"I'll take you there.	44.849434363469534
Look Jed, this is an open and shut case and I have to relieve my men at the road block soon.	690.127006051697
Okay, come on".	15.576311083443995
We did 80 miles an hour across a hard dirt road to a cluster of shacks.	309.6304178897199
In late summer migratory workers lived five and six to a room in these.	162.38737420206297
Now they were empty, except for a cottage across the road.	57.70647388412614
Mrs Tim Williams was about 21, with skin the color of bitter chocolate, and if you discounted the plain dress and worn slippers, she was startlingly pretty.	941.8297048298858
The inside of their place was full of new furniture, five bucks down and a buck a week stuff, but all of it clean and full of the warmth of a home.	1980.8866319571991
Mrs Williams was both sullen and frightened.	95.04093686673383
She said she didn't know a thing- Tim had left the house at six in the morning, as usual.	1220.3539906904512
She hadn't seen him since.	44.57938475749257
"Did Mrs Buck owe him any wages"?	249.2740702928824
I asked.	2.845731170704088
"Well, for this week, but they wasn't due 'till Saturday.	281.5979841473968
Listen, Mr Inspector, no matter what anybody say, my Tim didn't kill that woman!	367.89478926827496
Tim is a good man, hard working.	136.2603804801439
He strong as a bull but gentle as a baby.	92.02790603930342
Even if he angry, Tim wouldn't hurt a woman.	97.1060906051205
He never in his life took a hand to a woman or h" "We'll get him soon, see what he says", Chief Moore cut in.	1255.1350496127982
"Does your husband have a car"?	43.89445746655421
I asked.	2.845731170704088
"Got us an old station wagon.	91.14145095165803
Need it for the job".	53.896439894148834
I asked a silly question "You've no idea where your husband could be, now"?	245.52613822657494
She shook her head.	25.410354320170747
I knew she was lying.	29.33128722444079
I stood there, staring at her for a moment- thinking mostly of her beauty and her poverty.	147.96579771457445
Moore said, "Come on, Jed, I have to get to my men".	226.2435656951577
On my way out I told her, "If you should h eh h just happen to see your husband, get him to give himself up.	611.1258643076922
He'll get a fair trial.	75.42050115835796
Hiding out like this won't get him anything, except more trouble, or a bullet".	627.4640304304002
"Yes.	3.418800859412557
I'll tell him- if I see him".	252.101073986439
We made it back to the Harbor in less than four minutes.	56.73111690271433
I tried not to act scared.	44.287043715546545
That Jaguar could really barrel along.	104.36197566043174
I told Moore I was going to eat, get some forms filled out by Doc Abel.	326.6550519181155
Chief Moore said, "If I don't see you when I return, see you for certain at my road block, Inspector".	2127.4897818731847
I had a bowl of decent chowder, phoned the Doc and he said he'd leave the death statements with his girl- in a half hour.	550.7959807978493
Lighting my pipe, I took a walk.	90.25853914012565
The Harbor is a big yachting basin in the summer.	92.81951373620252
Even now, there were several slick cruisers tied to the dock, an ocean-going yawl anchored inside the breakwater.	495.96931776333116
There was a 34 foot Wheeler with CHIEF BOB'S in big gold letters on its stern also tied up at the dock.	616.7371671468164
It wasn't a new boat, about five years old, but fitted with fishing outriggers and chairs.	210.1344812404702
I asked an old guy running a fishing station if the boat was Moore's.	246.06334905853322
He said, "You bet.	11.323183000766145
Bob Moore is plumb crazy about blue fishing".	275.9826405414342
I dropped into the doctor's office, picked up my forms.	139.62744477421188
As I was walking back to the Police Station, which was in the same building with the City Hall and Post Office, I saw Mrs Tim Williams sneaking into the back of my car.	836.6600321417758
If she moved gracefully, she was clumsy at it.	81.94839717002543
I got into the front seat.	35.26472849917097
She was 'hiding' on the floor of the back seat, the soft curves of her back and hips- rousing lines.	763.2549157895686
I drove out of the Harbor, turned off into a dirt road among the scrub pine trees and stopped.	331.9461657031924
I waited a few minutes and she sat up.	84.16504656680557
For another moment we didn't talk, then she began to weep.	112.75474859394163
She mumbled, "I just know that Chief Moore is out to kill my Tim"!	388.7014029801191
"Maybe.	7.470986799235771
I never saw him so anxious before", I said, lighting my pipe and offering her a cigarette.	129.03260461882968
"Of course, it could be because this is his first murder case.	91.88883043256348
You know where Tim is, don't you, Mrs Williams"?	125.63600686670527
She puffed on the cigarette slowly, sitting slumped against the back seat; didn't answer.	647.4300063049525
But the police have dropped the case.	27.151883892243433
I want you to go to Pearson City and find out why- first-hand stuff for your modern crime series.	858.9707701400782
Take the same train Diana Beauclerk took and get there at the same time.	121.9932443497396
Go to the same hotel and occupy the same suite- 1105".	159.139708095505
"Will the hotel rent it so soon after the crime"?	631.6623445006501
"Why not?	3.6229771308461562
The police have finished with it.	22.14056804133288
Besides, the number of the suite hasn't been published in any newspaper.	188.65493200752647
To the hotel people, you'll just be an innocent tourist who happens to ask for that particular suite".	160.31809815632258
"Still, they may not want to rent it".	147.1988441906134
"That's your headache.	36.53863581376978
Once inside, keep your eyes open"!	118.37313936484705
"For what"!	11.38374839335662
Alec was growing more and more skeptical.	93.43608498679171
"The police will have gone over every square inch of the place with a fine-tooth comb.	944.2195450332697
The hotel people will have scoured and vacuumed it.	95.24002374789026
Ten to one, it's even been redecorated"!	127.60790164808446
"There's always a chance they may have overlooked something", returned the chief.	158.85008944263825
"I'm betting on that chance.	26.801668825895096
Interview the bellboy and chambermaid who waited on Beauclerk.	358.28732688362953
Study the topography of the suite.	50.081070757229554
Soak up local color.	56.829442172424656
Reenact everything Beauclerk did.	100.42758383248135
Try to imagine you're going to be murdered yourself- between eleven pm and one am the night you arrive".	289.0725355469007
Alec smirked.	55.56803692523301
"Cheerful way to spend an evening"!	97.9882273450882
A sudden thought wiped the smirk from his face.	112.14805080669217
"Suppose the murderer should return to the scene of the crime"!	111.35442756689065
The chief's eyes gleamed.	69.2414239436739
He spoke softly.	13.860384028349616
"That is exactly what I'm hoping for.	40.241786596480914
After all, the murderer is still at large.	92.51601454358318
And the key to the suite is still missing".	48.846935169478286
On the train Alec refreshed his memory of the Beauclerk case by reading teletype flimsies- spot-news stories about the crime sent out by the Pearson City Star, a member of the Syndicate Press.	1341.8224309869317
Diana Beauclerk was a second-rate actress living in New York.	273.7052887651337
Two weeks ago she had gone west to Pearson City.	188.14020743830648
Daniel Forbes, her divorced husband, lived there.	127.8564799032834
So did the firm of lawyers who had got her the divorce, Kimball and Stacy.	201.112680715447
She reached Pearson City at nine pm and went straight to the Hotel Westmore.	480.436756937752
She telephoned the junior partner of her law firm, Martin Stacy, and asked him to call at her hotel that evening.	525.7490066303122
At the time of her divorce Forbes had promised to pay her a lump sum in lieu of further alimony if she remarried.	387.55783337283464
According to Stacy, she told him she was planning to remarry and she wanted him to ask Forbes for the lump sum.	714.8583793420555
Stacy replied that it would bankrupt Forbes, who had just sunk all his money in a real estate venture.	1347.113116499022
Stacy said he left her suite at nine forty-five pm.	301.98533279110336
She was in good health and spirits, but still determined to get the money from Forbes.	1229.4876686328134
No one saw Stacy leave.	40.70890819964044
No other visitor inquired for her that evening.	68.45470217009976
Next morning she was found dead in her suite with a bullet from a .22-caliber Colt revolver in her brain.	226.8212346671428
According to the medical examiner, she was shot between eleven pm and one am.	145.1002168059766
Her door was locked and the key was missing.	85.61998709072998
So was the gun.	10.710866338168787
When Alec finished reading he was sure that either Forbes or Stacy had killed Diana Beauclerk.	850.4264938977446
Forbes had motive and Stacy had opportunity.	139.61690337839494
Find a motive for Stacy or an opportunity for Forbes and the case would be solved.	228.76894473814227
The Hotel Westmore proved to be one of the older hotels in Pearson City, and definitely second-rate.	933.3243775324177
Alec's first impression of the lobby was gloomy, Victorian dignity- black walnut and red plush, a black and white tiled floor, and Persian rugs.	640.1331110384388
He studied the night clerk as a man measures an adversary.	112.81162717173876
"I'd like the room I had the last time".	19.44685586778336
"Certainly, sir".	10.90383167721563
The clerk was young and limp, with a tired smile.	110.52111691331181
"Do you recall the number"?	27.021461109067253
"It was 1105".	15.129875330558619
The clerk's smile congealed.	74.3651034871177
"That suite is taken".	27.045072700973208
Alec's glance went to a chart of guest names and room numbers hanging on the wall behind the clerk.	805.2939580405422
Opposite the number 1105 stood one word Unoccupied.	229.07918186703697
The clerk's glance followed Alec's.	125.545305422461
"We have better rooms vacant now", he babbled.	112.37140689787596
"Larger and more comfortable.	34.523815878746966
At the same rate".	32.13583050098317
Alec's face was dark, blunt, and sulky.	158.44016187641287
He always looked impertinent and he could look dangerous.	253.16895323409088
He was looking dangerous now.	25.283952806503443
He raised his voice.	22.287078829306637
"Anything wrong with the plumbing in 1105"?	156.55620729962084
There was a sudden stillness in the lobby.	37.286556391094706
Two women, who had been chattering like parrots, were struck dumb.	484.5583787280542
A man, lighting a match for his cigar, paused until the flame burned his fingers.	223.41853206897545
Even the bellboys on their bench were listening.	90.3195329432923
The clerk's eyes flickered.	65.012913238947
"Of course not"!	12.643353272293313
"Anybody with a contagious disease been in there"?	111.2417699875424
"No"!	9.99520584836142
The clerk was almost hysterical.	42.21661897222953
"It's just that- well, 1105 is being redecorated".	135.6102578302013
"I don't believe it".	45.60540980365662
Alec leaned on the desk, holding the clerk's eyes with his.	200.62664972500676
"Suppose you tell me the real reason", he drawled.	378.20191836581876
"There might be a story in it".	19.82463107996366
"St-story"?	19.541123708276483
"I'm with the Syndicated Press, Feature Service.	76.30201897533297
Either I get the story- or I get the suite".	86.79271809932793
It was blackmail and the clerk knew it.	37.9753732547115
"There is no story", he piped tremulously.	56.758124710082804
"Front!	18.820141563989527
Show this gentleman to 1105"!	131.80847517820155
The stillness persisted as Alec followed a bellboy across the lobby to the elevator.	348.72430022913915
He could feel eyes on his back.	24.668431166181932
He wished it had not been necessary to announce the number of his suite quite so publicly.	134.20198036655805
The corridor on the eleventh floor was dimly lighted by electric globes at intervals of thirty feet.	474.13076379227624
A thick, crimson carpet muffled every footfall.	275.43175611862716
At the end of the corridor Alec noticed a door marked Fire Stairs.	166.4360055132648
It was a neat setup for murder.	35.61352762959744
The bellboy unlocked a white door numbered 1105.	281.56726756626875
The room was dark but a neon sign flashed and faded beyond the window.	196.66383515135945
A few snowflakes sifted down through that theatrical red glow, languid as falling feathers.	529.5366046296842
Hastily the boy switched on a ceiling light.	132.37947292886577
The room looked normal and even commonplace.	57.439463807104104
There was no hint of a violent struggle now.	48.3276260975615
Deal furniture with a mahogany finish was neatly arranged as if it stood in the window of a department store.	767.1835369795082
The blue rug was suspiciously bright and new.	76.6777345821317
It had never been stained with blood.	31.635054706800123
Table covers and towels were clean, ashtrays empty and supplied with fresh matches.	498.388983716512
The mirror over the bureau was a blank eye, round and innocent.	145.08733824891092
Alec played the part of an innocent tourist.	130.14372540483393
"Is there anything wrong with this room"?	32.97842124501488
"N-no".	16.468471439346345
The boy dropped his eyes.	25.598908791424936
"Afraid you'll lose your job if you don't keep your mouth shut"?	593.3948751361341
The boy raised his eyes.	24.74840311267264
"Listen, mister.	26.902885625370725
If you want my advice, pack up and take the next train back to New York".	279.4001547247053
"Were you on duty here two weeks ago"?	161.1211089954089
The boy hesitated.	22.41740894151074
Then, "I'm not talking.	16.498350368639187
But I wouldn't spend a night in here for a million bucks"!	168.4455050465509
He was in a hurry to get out of the room.	83.87549855334171
Alec gave him a tip and let him go.	381.25395108119466
Alone, Alec examined the doors.	58.59051896075092
There were three- one leading to a bathroom, one to the hall, and one to the room next door which was immovable- locked or bolted on the other side.	568.7700485304391
Alec locked the hall door and put the key with his watch on the bedside table.	300.1569766509024
It was just quarter of nine.	26.603515887418855
As he ranged his belongings on the bureau he noticed a film of white dust on the dark surface of the wood beyond the linen cover.	528.2292142839233
Not gray like the dust that collects in an unused room, but white.	198.83705159375387
Women didn't use white face powder nowadays, he recalled.	255.2915789310607
They used pink, tan, or cream powder.	122.26660106274679
Alec glanced into the bathroom.	70.58059260363173
Blood in the bathtub where the murderer appears to have washed his hands.	442.35660129575916
It seemed clean now, but Alec decided against a bath.	163.43922375245901
He crawled into bed and switched off the light.	85.37496773714341
In the darkness he could see the rosy reflection of the neon sign on the wall opposite the window.	138.073211757722
It winked as steadily as a metronome- on, off- on, off.	119.6398588627011
In less than five minutes Alec was asleep.	148.32941581904512
He never knew just what woke him.	39.21691900766978
Yet suddenly he was wide-awake.	64.37320347016632
There was no sound and apparently no movement in the room except the noiseless pulsation of the red light on the wall.	423.3285571695323
He lay still, listening to the silence, watching the light.	76.77919527428348
Somewhere in the city a big clock sounded twelve solemn notes- midnight.	1193.8922760787511
According to the medical examiner she was shot between eleven pm and one am h. Alec heard a faint sound.	374.5414938060094
His heart seemed to swell and knock against the wall of his chest.	343.2477828774311
For the sound was inside the room.	26.492157525598298
he let his eyelids droop and breathed heavily, feigning sleep.	430.9904308759201
The sound was coming nearer.	38.69805469460913
A monstrous shadow fell across the illuminated wall, distorted and indefinable.	337.1044937670455
When the neon sign faded out, the shadow disappeared.	414.66012013374603
When the neon sign flashed on, the shadow was still there.	923.0133252380871
It stretched to an impossible height, climbing the wall to the ceiling.	97.49062186450986
That meant that something between the light and its reflection on the wall was moving closer to the source of the light- in this case, the window.	845.2710388707808
Cautiously Alec tensed his muscles, ready to jump.	261.51004897472404
The bedsprings betrayed him with a creak.	119.51689819877696
The shadow vanished.	29.488259924200158
Someone had moved beyond the range of the light from the window.	876.2881982330059
Abandoning caution, Alec leaped out of bed and groped for the light switch.	710.2473426896262
Before he could snap it on, a stinging blow caught him in the ribs.	158.26085350227106
He lashed out blindly with his right.	76.96467969369706
There was a thick, squashy crack of fist on flesh.	109.33489908155066
Something hard grazed his knuckles.	120.58899022230393
He put everything he had into the next and aimed down where the stomach ought to be.	131.83635300387897
Rough cloth rasped his fist.	208.66260687388558
There was a grunt, curiously inarticulate, like that of an animal in pain.	437.30360257892954
Something heavy shook the floor as it dropped.	98.80680398672536
Alec waited a moment, on guard.	95.80676147264583
Nothing happened.	12.798355660679313
Again he groped for the light switch.	61.59100552631663
The blue rug had been rolled up and stacked in one corner of the room.	79.8646336479727
On the bare floorboards a man lay face down.	102.9891623906608
He had a short, heavy, powerful body.	99.13061469521519
Alec turned him over and discovered a round, lumpy face with narrow, slanting eyes- a primitive Tartar face from Russia or the Balkans.	786.3187981162199
The man's shoes were too pointed, his overcoat too broad at the shoulders and too narrow at the waist.	313.19714196068577
There was a slight bulge under the left armpit- a shoulder holster.	139.81427985773598
Alec promptly removed the gun.	88.7733015990295
He was familiar with this type.	101.07537456189472
He had seen it in the lineup at Police Headquarters in New York, in Broadway night clubs and Seventh Avenue pool rooms, in the criminal courts.	762.6072481187382
But he was surprised to meet it here.	31.952613118648234
Diana Beauclerk had no connection with the underworld.	186.9463876152221
A professional gunman would not have killed her with a weapon of such small caliber as a .22.	223.59174281507245
Nor would he choose a respectable hotel as the scene for a killing when it would be so much safer to take his victim for a one-way ride on a lonely country road.	731.0022377712321
The man's eyelids fluttered.	63.385884219087124
He opened his eyes.	17.356162570631145
"What are you doing here"?	30.820981928071387
demanded Alec.	38.37335025677588
The man made no reply.	15.404256386702073
His eyes were dazed.	28.71011815204176
His lips were bruised and swollen where Alec had hit him.	238.228580244651
"Did you kill Diana Beauclerk"?	142.53930842738527
Alec expected an indignant denial, but there was no response at all.	118.4766322005073
"Oh, come on, snap out of it!	118.0301892800363
Or I'll turn you over to the police"!	102.23201788026758
The silence was getting on Alec's nerves.	99.99225043201544
The man opened his mouth, but no words came.	63.72840745796322
Only that curious, animal grunting Alec had heard during their fight.	296.66335126798333
"Don't you speak English"?	32.23242255033218
The man opened his mouth wider.	60.03099392086291
A forefinger pointed toward his gullet.	131.8888296673043
Alec leaned forward to look.	72.69588501260385
There were hideous scars inside the throat and the palate was mutilated.	225.10233086848942
In good time I shall get to the distressing actuality, to Red McIver and Handley Walker, to murder and sudden death.	396.08672415829665
But you realize, I am sure, how much old deeds incite to new ones, and you must forgive me if I tell you first of the old ones.	316.85391389038523
It was in 1814 that Abraham Wharf and his sister sat by a meager fire in their house on Dogtown Common, a desolate place even then.	565.948192257943
He was sharpening his razor.	39.613909433764846
"Sister", said he "do you think people who commit suicide go to heaven"?	377.22938512782906
and she answered, "I don't know, but I hope you'll never do such a thing".	379.5319004553146
Without a tremor, "God forbid"!	84.51010813725273
he said, and went out and cut his throat in the cave near Granny Day's swamp.	1498.0284307453094
What has this to do with the present?	95.84511064440262
Much, I assure you.	16.033217082455696
You must know what gets into people, even such as Red and Handley, before you can tell what comes out of them.	195.7013991294411
They had learned, both of them, about Abraham Wharf.	69.61884422213939
That's why I beg you not to forget him.	73.98048193509105
His ghost is not laid.	38.2377804893869
Red and Handley, God help them, knew the old Dogtown lore; and I knew they knew it, for I'd told them a lot of it.	930.7966688937044
And isn't it true that you get a deeper perception about a man and his motives when you know what it is he knows?	803.7147822001086
Yes, gentlemen, I am getting to the point, to my point.	107.57743875792755
You know the facts; they are set forth in your own newspapers.	92.52722844314209
You want from me the story, but a story is about 'why' and then, perhaps, about 'how'.	765.1704626056224
The 'when' you know; yesterday morning.	66.8034418269303
So what I am trying to tell you is the 'why'- that is my point- and that concerns the spirit of the matter.	377.53301123243943
There is an inwardness and a luster to old furniture look at that mahogany highboy behind you which has a provocative emanation, if I may say so.	430.2079514561687
Places, too, have their haunting qualities.	290.1951722940473
Even people.	8.282621004034198
And my point in this sad story is the spirit of the matter.	328.1366346916088
When you hold the spirit of a thing, then somehow you know the truth- you know a fake antique from the real thing.	981.7743418812413
And the truth is what you've come for, is it not?	140.80067937687653
Now, Dogtown is one of those places that creeps into the marrow as worms get into old wood, under the veneer.	578.3719423694714
In fact, all the folk who lived on the back of Cape Ann, they are not just like others.	212.39572612586053
There's a different hall-mark on them.	48.37999530292999
There were no witch burnings here because everyone had a witch in the family.	121.66276595366723
Just think of old Granther Stannard who pulled the teeth of Dark Younger her real name was Dorcas, and because he bungled the job and left two protruding tusks she put such a hex on him that he thought his legs were made of glass.	1850.5607469101615
After that he was never known to run or even walk fast.	83.70346267123311
Today Dogtown is the only deserted village in all New England that I know of.	1075.3514051899822
There it sits, a small highland, with towns like Gloucester near by; but now it's the most lost and tortured place in the world.	255.55879572375414
Those who lived in that desolation of rocky deformity took on some of the moraine's stony character.	276.6323970571737
Scientists say it is the last spewings of a great glacier, but one rather feels that only a malevolent giant could have piled up those crouching monsters of granite which still seem to preserve a sort of suspended, ominous life in them.	1403.457617081582
We'll walk up there later.	27.637977024660383
It's perhaps a mile from here where we sit.	115.91577790075277
And not one single dwelling left there, though once, in the early eighteenth century, there were close to a hundred houses.	666.5764258913165
I myself have identified about sixty sites, from the old maps and registers.	155.25151553747935
A fascinating pursuit, I assure you.	41.67667927663228
Even I can remember nothing but ruined cellars and tumbled pillars, and nobody has lived there in the memory of any living man.	632.2082397831515
It is now a sweep of boulders and ledges, with oak, walnut and sumac creeping across the common, and everywhere the ruins and the long, long shadows.	1729.832009649535
That's your setting, and a sinister one.	55.243337544257905
Please get that in your reports.	47.993242767205416
It accounts for so many things.	37.85965410655035
Both Red McIver and Handley Walker lived nearby, almost as near as I do.	872.493479612467
Red lived at Lanesville, and from his house he could be up on the Common in a half hour's brisk walk; Handley lived further on, at Pigeon Cove.	1729.1170952914515
I'd often find one or other of them up around Dogtown sketching.	151.09860923290242
They were both painters, They were?	34.16090687959406
They are?	4.191494192568557
What should one say?	24.54669519997333
Well, anyhow, Dogtown Common is so much off the beaten track nowadays that only Sunday picnickers still stray up there, from time to time.	348.11037136168073
Sea-road, railroad, lack of water, killed Dogtown.	366.1673073406621
Dead, dead as a brass door nail, and I sometimes feel like the Sexton, for I'm about the last to be even interested.	329.82488883139405
I knew Red and Handley well.	46.5485242488403
As I said, they were both painters.	231.55769603808844
They'd come, separately, to Gloucester some twenty years ago- there's always been an artists' colony somewhere on Cape Ann- and each married here.	1249.8516445387522
They married cousins, Anta and Freya Norberg.	270.27094907290007
There are a lot of Scandinavians in this neck of the woods, and many still make painted furniture and take steam-baths.	275.92785418796956
Pretty girls among them, with blonde hair and pert faces.	702.3630506654332
Handley married Freya and Red, of the red beard, married Anta.	649.5893287645142
And it was because of an old Norberg inheritance that I got to understand them all so well.	2741.069772789722
The quarrel ended in a ridiculous draw, but I must tell you about it.	78.43210919970294
Oh, yes, I'm quite sure it's important, because of the Beech Pasture.	1747.9793408082787
What's that?	10.16149806740332
Why, that's what gave me the feeling, gave me as-it-were the spirit, the demoniac, evil spirit of this whole affair.	201.12012623392704
You see, besides being custodian of antiquities, I am also registrar.	437.5431702562423
No, I don't hold with those who live entirely among dead things.	602.6314585255947
I know as well as the next man that a ship is called from the rigging she carries, where the live wind blows, and not from the hull.	362.44984249391734
But you've got to know both.	76.9785245040908
What's below the water-line interests me also.	95.9526129257209
As I was saying, I've known all about the old records, including the old Norberg deed.	731.7373248201823
Some ten years ago that page was torn out, I don't know by whom.	370.1017887147538
About five years ago, Handley came to ask me if he could see the tattered register.	825.8200827640046
He was courteous and casual about it, as though it were of no consequence.	731.4766689418805
He's always like that, in spite of being a big man.	351.18493779045025
When you see him, you'll notice his habit of fingering, I might almost say, stroking a large mole with black hairs on it, by his right temple.	287.52071409639365
A sensual man, but very courteous, some would say slick.	189.8854736217259
Like his glossy black hair.	59.279151661705114
Too many outside manners, to my taste.	48.754856330854
He is the sort who, with an appraising eye, would cross the street to help a strange woman on to a bus and then pinch her.	601.9415431724741
A real gentleman, I feel, would do neither.	62.41604940459894
He's always worn a broad-brimmed hat, and I've noticed, in my small study at the Society, that he rather smells of cosmetics.	608.063118537484
The next week, cousin Red wandered in as casually, but curt and untidy.	207.84680416747455
Red was small and fine-boned, like ivory-inlay.	240.35193629388917
He too asked to see the same page.	203.8276140294422
When I told him someone had torn it out, he shouted.	342.75579387944066
"By God, it's that damn Handley, the sneak"!	146.48167140235637
And later in the same week they both came together to examine the register.	488.1499493820221
Fortunately we were alone in the building- so few people nowadays are interested even in their own past or in the lovely craft of other days- for they began to abuse each other in the foulest language.	579.9600216075463
Red thrusting out his tawny beard, Handley glowering under his suddenly rumpled black hair.	1036.9770698660382
They actually bristled.	26.163932532815412
Le rouge et le noir.	289.3405606740241
Violent men both.	33.58374883841593
Red always was morose, yet that day the dapper Handley was the louder of the two.	221.3869859777604
But for my presence, they would have been at each others' throats.	190.0970435986903
During the quarrel I learned what the trouble was, from the accusations each hurled at the other.	102.91863491959629
The Beech Pasture had suddenly become valuable.	150.28453557542906
There's a fine granite quarry there, and granite's coming back for public buildings.	289.2572621879127
Both men knew it was in the Norberg family holdings, but to which of the cousins did it belong, Anta or Freya?	674.5683296525755
Fortunately, I knew almost exactly what the will had said.	64.32637973053555
It began with a preamble, of course.	28.4919780002687
This explained that the judge of probate of Essex County, 1785 or 1786, appointed three free-holders of Gloucester to divide and establish the Norberg estate.	652.607388943852
After the usual Honorable Sirs, it went on to say that there had been set off to the widow one full third part of the real estate of the deceased Salu Norberg, one lower room, on the Western side, privileges to the well and bake-oven and to one third of the cellar I can show you the cellar when we go up, also one Cow Right, and lastly they set off to the widow her own land that she brought with her as dower, namely the Beech Pasture.	2262.3423157316015
And I remember that the whole of the privileges, not counting the Beech Pasture, was valued at twenty pounds.	404.9392707055788
I wish you could have seen the crests fall on these two sparring coxcombs when I told them that obviously the pasture belonged to their wives jointly.	1215.1735098796157
That battle scene, ridiculous at it was, remained in my mind.	94.5031284288929
A disturbing picture of bad blood, to be further heightened with illicit if buccolic colors, for on a subsequent day I saw Handley escorting Anta, Red's wife, up on Dogtown Common.	1247.0694794061974
I felt it would be inopportune to disclose my presence.	113.68366624350548
Not that I intentionally go unperceived, but the boulders up there are very high and I am a small woman.	578.450036818073
One other cause of jealousy between them I must tell you.	83.78290939191099
Paint!	26.433893658063823
Gloomy and unkempt as Red McIver was, he was much the better painter.	624.1111646123665
I suppose Handley knew it.	29.58524732788625
If Red had a show at Gloucester, Handley would hurry to hang his pictures in Rockport.	407.21970441689234
You may say this has little pertinence, but, gentlemen, remember that all this prepared my mind, alerted my intelligence.	278.68275495700124
By such touches the pattern takes shape.	80.19386897931611
You would call these the motives of crime.	58.67067972701552
I would call them the patterns of life, perhaps even the designs of destiny.	187.01634723602075
Yet with all this knowledge I had nothing of substance to unravel our case, as you would call it, till yesterday.	398.5148126735271
One month ago, on the 20th of October, was the opening of the gunning season in Massachusetts.	125.5180166309139
Not much to shoot, but there are a few pheasant.	201.2688226201855
Rabbits, too, if you care for them, which most of the folk around here haven't the sense to appreciate.	470.1693770191857
Any more than they have the sense to eat mussels.	113.9689024860645
That was the day Red was said to have gone away.	239.19208724634763
Oh yes, he'd talked about doing so.	68.6807895930109
In fact, he often disappeared, from time to time,- off to paint the sea, aboard a dragger out from Gloucester.	121.8791415668031
Anta, his wife, never seemed to mind.	71.24860909571392
I suppose these absences gave her more clearance for her embraces with Cousin Handley.	431.16951278969356
Anyhow, I wasn't surprised, early that morning, to see Handley himself crossing from Dogtown Common Road to the Back Road.	843.0309900919578
No, he didn't have his gun, which he should have.	283.3808755296041
It would have been a good excuse for his being there at all.	80.1608320633894
I myself had been up there by seven o'clock, after mushrooms, since there'd been a week of rain which had stopped early that morning and the day was as clear as Sandwich glass.	515.6037347905759
That's what the man had said.	18.386414744491773
Haney peered doubtfully at his drinking companion through bleary, tear-filled eyes.	784.4675574045924
He had no ready answer, as much from surprise as from the fit of coughing.	121.50900494263071
Was the man drunk or crazy or both?	115.06908899908203
But his new-found buddy had matched him drink for drink until he lost count, and the man's eyes were still clear.	706.8245662109642
The guy is off his rocker, Haney thought to himself, and looked away from those eyes.	186.1683167318587
Eyes that were clear, but also bright with a strange intensity, a sort of cold fire burning behind them.	490.4735468773156
Why hadn't he noticed it before?	78.63928519793068
No, the man was not drunk h He wondered how he got tied up with this stranger.	968.6235068693483
But, of course, he remembered now.	56.245252116934275
It was blurred, after two hours of steady drinking, but the occasion of it came back to him.	523.4983291362405
The stranger, his head seemingly sunk in thought, started to cross the street against the light just as a huge moving van roared through the intersection.	355.9449391519031
Brakes howled and a horn blared furiously, but the man would have been hit if Phil hadn't called out to him a second before.	996.3924391920112
His shout had been involuntary, something anybody might have done without thinking, on the spur of the moment.	241.63182172271556
As a matter of fact, he wouldn't have cared at all if the guy had been hit.	330.86234945703103
Actually, he regretted having opened his mouth when the truck came to a stop and the angry driver jumped down from the cab and walked back toward them.	621.1988357443432
By then, the stranger was thanking Haney profusely and had one arm around his shoulders as if he were an old friend.	661.1590848714309
So the driver started to curse at both of them as if they had been in a plot together to ruin his safe-driving record.	972.5167788008943
Then the man he saved turned and looked squarely into the truck driver's face, without saying a word.	271.2700020926374
Very suddenly, the driver stopped swearing at them, turned on his heel and went back to his truck.	972.8091695931569
Haney hadn't given it much thought at the time.	93.32530621733582
Now he recalled it very clearly, and wondered what the truck driver had seen in those eyes to make him back off.	277.38596512578846
It must have been the sort of look that can call a bluff without saying a word.	190.478724075131
When the light went their way, they went on across the street.	91.60316823882845
And when the stranger found out that Phil was on the way to one of his favorite bars, he insisted on offering to buy drinks for both of them.	174.6896231316807
Phil usually went alone and kept to himself, sitting in a corner and passing the time by nursing his favorite grudges.	1372.9896300438843
But he decided he wouldn't mind company in return for free drinks, even though he made good money at his job.	361.7249904213067
Phil was like that.	142.2072486735123
NOW he wondered if it was worth it, having a screwball for company.	874.2745142324434
He really didn't take the offer seriously, but he began to feel uneasy.	335.41771230333705
When he finally got the coughing under control, he realized that Pete all he gave was his first name was still waiting for an answer- he didn't even seem to wink as he continued to stare.	715.3080570637484
Haney managed a weak laugh.	148.29946936531917
"Guess I can't think of anyone, Pete.	89.40720663808622
Thanks anyhow".	21.185899107813857
A faint crease appeared between the man's eyebrows.	230.24341035981146
"I think you aren't taking me seriously, Phil.	87.23509117319797
I meant it.	12.61233846096785
And everybody has some kind of grudge.	64.45837547415935
I might have got hit by that truck if it wasn't for you.	293.13523748495714
I believe in returning favors.	32.32754569208646
I'll do anything for somebody I like.	32.20843604112479
It won't cost you a cent, Phil.	60.342458891578204
Go ahead and try me"!	67.39109932750613
Phil rubbed his forehead wearily.	204.33805554661032
He was beginning to feel woolly.	43.03537491416181
Maybe it would be better to humor the guy and then make an exit.	131.84908488722033
He really didn't expect anything to come of it, and there were a few people h "All right", he conceded finally, "if you must know, I don't get along with the landlord.	602.0138219595425
He keeps riding me because I like to listen to the radio and sing while I'm taking a bath.	329.53078445080075
He says the neighbors complain, but I don't believe it.	138.51087951193347
Why don't they tell me themselves if it bothers them"?	140.77133115142013
The man closed his eyes and nodded.	38.33925113157069
When he looked up again, he seeemd almost contented.	339.7996831734638
"Fine.	12.197614618108233
Give me your address.	11.307146542610782
It will take a little time.	278.5998633021956
I want to study your landlord's habits and movements first.	217.3713607722605
You see, I always make it look like an accident.	70.98788806817394
Maybe suicide, if it looks reasonable.	76.96802967738738
In that way there's no trouble for the customer".	70.48483763034655
Haney's eyebrows flew up.	114.25023382288676
"Customer"?	20.324827059120516
Pete smiled modestly.	66.7983601356513
"It's my line of work", he said h Five minutes later, before Haney could make his break, the stranger stood up and nodded farewell.	1287.014195606053
Haney watched the small but wiry man slip out the door quickly and silently, and felt relieved to see that nobody else seemed to notice his departure.	697.7952811542934
Phil decided to stay a little longer, and as time passed it seemed as if the strange little man had never been there, but for the other glass on the table.	1813.3807535711833
Some time before midnight he returned to his apartment and hit the sack, putting the whole incident out of mind before he fell asleep.	686.5517214702153
The next day, Sunday, the hangover reminded Haney where he had been the night before.	1379.9881727259285
The hangover in turn reminded him of his conversation with the weirdy, and he groaned.	467.6063024697101
He went for more aspirin later in the day, and passed the surly landlord on the way- he was still alive and scowling as usual, as if tenants were a burden in his life.	511.7374418018988
Phil shrugged and ignored him.	81.63055833711111
He went back to work Monday.	28.42925685030543
By Wednesday the landlord was still alive.	79.17144549498771
Of course h On Thursday, Haney mailed the monthly check for separate maintenance to his wife Lolly, and wished the stranger could do something about her h Coming home from work, he was startled to see a police car parked in front of the apartment building.	1545.2130693875574
Inside the lobby, people were standing around, talking excitedly.	188.08651236250728
His spine crawled with a foreboding premonition as he asked one of his fellow tenants what had happened.	578.770200940364
The landlord had died.	27.439745718076395
Late that afternoon, it seemed, he had fallen off the roof while on some obscure errand or inspection.	254.30599384824595
He had apparently been alone.	21.812857806513254
Nobody witnessed the fall- just the sickening impact when his body smashed on the pavement just outside the basement delivery entrance.	583.548524545529
Haney hoped that nobody noticed his sudden pallor, as he felt the blood drain from his cheeks.	641.2921988362289
He muttered something about how terrible it was, and walked with deliberate slowness to the elevator.	992.4194951521913
Once inside his apartment, he poured a drink with trembling hands and flopped limply in a chair.	840.5727466825294
After a while he began to feel better about it, especially when no one bothered to ask any questions.	131.8698631987048
But after all, why should they?	52.18784251808027
Still later, he finally convinced himself that it was an accident- just a coincidence.	560.2372738970607
The stranger really had nothing to do with it, of course h Haney went to bed, happy that at least he was rid of that lousy landlord.	447.81233633220825
After all, the man had no family, so no one suffered, and everybody was better off for it.	143.03807988274997
Really, he said to himself, nobody kills a man just as a favor!	207.29611642474237
So you thought I didn't mean what I said.	230.40687434803826
The stranger's eyes were large and sad, as if Phil Haney had hurt his feelings.	351.80941488140485
It was like a recurrent, annoying dream, but now the dream was beginning to take on overtones of a nightmare.	1257.9518355820996
However, Haney knew it was not a dream.	42.534930167668335
He might be very tight, but he knew where he was.	118.8455088381378
It was the same bar, and it was two weeks later- Saturday night, when he had an excuse to drink heavier than usual.	1768.7825139026543
HE had been sitting in the usual corner at the little table, as far as possible from any talkative, friendly lushes.	405.26189743043795
He was enjoying the weekly ritual of washing down his pet grievance with bourbon slightly moistened with water.	484.5843934750537
This favorite grievance was not the landlord.	90.55062443179986
He had already quite forgotten about him.	39.21139490696147
In fact, he had only mentioned him on the spur of the moment.	82.51885067169017
His real grievance was Lolly.	97.92448539666752
Toward the end of his fourth hairy highball, while he was moodily making wet rings on the table-top with the bottom of the glass, he became aware that he was not alone.	405.2229739473898
He looked up with bloodshot eyes and beheld the stranger sitting across the table, smiling a secret smile at him, as if they were fellow conspirators.	3438.246360796054
He hadn't even noticed- what was his name?	172.71180863391206
Pete?- he hadn't seen him sit down.	110.2201901724986
The man was uncanny, like a shadow, and made as much noise as a shadow.	111.90583493015716
Haney felt like shrinking out of sight, but he was already trapped in the corner with the wiry, dark little man.	310.2467846459508
He began to wish that he hadn't shouted that other evening when the truck bore down through the crossing.	269.3369488388069
Was he going to be saddled from now on with a creep for a bar-buddy?	256.91125446703137
He'd have to start going to some of the other places again.	615.0126124494642
In a low voice, almost whispering, the man had asked Phil if he was happy with the way the landlord had been taken off his back.	1224.5082710380718
He made the mistake of answering in an offhand way, and instantly realized that his skepticism must have showed in his face or voice.	413.0782309379249
Pete frowned slightly, then became sad and moody.	243.8169826476415
Haney didn't want to encourage his company, but felt he ought to buy him a drink anyhow, to prevent possible trouble.	461.16758346537205
But there was no trouble.	6.791577169456243
The guy sulked over his drink, obviously upset by Haney's lack of appreciation.	804.3323940160612
To break the uncomfortable silence, Haney began to talk.	102.40077839605523
In time, and two drinks later, he was complaining bitterly about his wife, He was on the subject for ten minutes or so when he noticed the renewed interest in his listener- it showed in the alert face and the suddenly bright eyes.	981.1084447993322
When he paused to moisten his throat, the stranger broke in.	126.55632269338918
"But why pay her bills?	46.39528092929975
If she runs around with other men, and if you hate her as you say, why not just divorce her"?	320.6076652681534
Haney scowled.	55.56803692523301
"That bitch would love a divorce", he growled.	157.88556514125642
"Then she'd get half of everything I have.	197.19898627525265
Community property deal- you know.	58.72689976125092
I'd have to sell out my business to pay her off with her share.	339.4613127882855
She can drop dead"!	47.9707929040932
Pete nodded understandingly.	77.64027273043511
"Oh yes.	15.096609397035905
Now I see.	10.607905996231935
You must understand, I haven't been in this state too long.	74.79347444435749
I came out here to retire.	21.190594219296976
That's why I- why I do a free job now and then.	77.40343455174155
You should have told me about her before".	37.30327160072722
Haney felt a twinge of annoyance when he heard the now familiar line again.	314.6238650741442
Then a wild thought ran circles through his clouded brain.	231.47558128126505
Suppose- just suppose this guy was really what he said he was!	1101.8305087146275
A retired professional killer h If he was just a nut, no harm was done.	239.03746382878987
But if he was the real thing, he could do something about Lolly.	28088.4044752024
He felt very cunning, very proud of himself as he played on the other man's soft spot.	377.94973024516156
"No offense intended", he said gently.	91.33813152298488
"But it's just that- well, you know.	39.50577684772488
The cops didn't suspect a thing, and I thought it was a coincidence.	1282.707127027264
After all, I didn't know you, Pete.	131.18475801162575
It could have been an accident".	45.63645205748877
He shrugged casually.	39.08372950407752
"But if you say you managed it h" The stranger was hooked.	125.40097983109803
His eyes burned feverishly.	47.04262201437747
"Yes, yes", he muttered impatiently.	85.7728747328243
"Of course it looked like an accident.	32.51777539167247
I always work it that way- and always at a time when the customer has an alibi.	214.39255143438356
Let me prove it, Phil.	39.919933303748124
I think I can manage one more favor for you".	80.20440248331187
He waited eagerly.	20.064028313159245
Haney swished the liquor in the bottom of his glass.	271.24954155699453
About halfway back Pops groped against a wall and stopped, pulled away two loosely nailed wide boards at one end, and went through.	3698.25221342805
"C'mon", he whispered; "floor level's about three feet down, so don't fall".	420.71856596664486
I went through and down, into pitch darkness.	63.84651730286722
He said, "Jist stay still.	35.04365393192602
I'll pull the boards back and then get us a light.	75.30803120795657
Jist stay where you are".	302.6467664226049
I jist stayed where I was while he fumbled around and then walked away.	280.9014559612237
A moment later he struck a match and lighted a candle, and I could see.	1413.2898152486964
It was a big room, empty except for a few things of Pop's at the far end- a wooden crate on which stood the candle, a spread out blanket, and an unrolled bindle.	1022.3829275867954
I looked back over my shoulder while I went to join him; he'd hung another half of a blanket over the boarded window so no light would show through.	538.0145214951275
I took the pint bottle from my pocket and handed it over as I sat down beside him on the spread blanket.	807.4648501506086
"You first", I said.	11.890642403292397
He drank and handed it back.	740.078938291419
"Nice place", I told him.	18.939336283459475
"Listen, I got a buddy I travel with, real nice guy named Larry.	862.2051081368168
I know where he is, right near here.	151.54003714630667
Could he join the party and sleep here tonight too?	499.56158208816606
We'll both be blowing town tomorrow so we won't be moving in on you".	136.91673704451432
He hesitated a second, looking at the bottle, before he said "Sure-sure", and I reassured him.	195.0881639783288
"He'll bring a bottle too, and I'll get another one or maybe two while I'm out.	205.20864172340296
You can work on this one while I'm gone, kill it if you want".	148.49358830430575
I took a short swallow from it myself and handed it to him.	573.8037121608997
His "sure-sure" was enthusiastic this time.	55.39536777552972
He put the bottle down.	24.9278474293346
"Git over by the window while there's light, an' I'll put th' candle out.	1060.0410630233973
When yuh come back I'll put it out agin till you're both inside".	271.931010720969
Charlie was waiting, leaning against a building front.	140.48333421071948
"Perfect set-up", I told him.	124.23216390698157
"But we got to go back to Fifth and get another bottle or two.	214.1994662827131
On the way I'll give you the scoop".	96.42265928218282
On the way I gave him the scoop.	134.30016737976712
I bought another pint of sherry and when we got back Pops let us in in the dark, put back the blanket and then lighted the candle again.	769.7645037825421
I introduced my friend Larry to Pops and we made ourselves comfortable.	259.87180111894764
There was still a little, not much, left in the first bottle and we passed it around once and killed it, and Charlie opened his.	228.62802646765385
I was reminded, amusedly, by a poem of Kenneth Patchen's called The Murder of Two Men by a Young Kid Wearing Lemon Colored Gloves, which Patchen himself read on a record against jazz background.	1601.9699613661426
The poem consisted of only two words, the word "Wait", repeated over and over at irregular intervals and with different inflections, and then the word "Now"!	936.0522828778696
and a blaring final chord from the jazz group.	151.14549111996516
This was the same, except that it was the murder of one man by two men and neither of us was wearing gloves.	891.181910945046
But we could wait all right; there was no hurry.	65.16426719145134
I said, "Wait h wait" to Charlie and he grinned, digging the reference.	164.83698189351182
We'd heard the record together once.	37.245202894884635
The second bottle passed a few times.	32.08816806806487
Pop was taking long ones, but not showing the effect yet.	157.27998069205358
He seemed as drunk as when I'd first talked to him, but no drunker.	764.4416931420592
He had a capacity; if we'd really been trying to get him dead drunk we'd have had to go out for more wine.	1323.8383609003024
About halfway through the second bottle, Charlie looked at me across Pops, who was sitting between us and asked "Now"?	464.1557357979117
I said, "Wait", and handed the bottle to Pops for his final drink.	143.85580553790552
When he handed it back and I had hold of it safely, Pops was looking toward me and I said "Now", to Charlie and he swung the short length of lead pipe he'd meanwhile taken from his pocket, once.	479.4954950275246
It was a lead pipe cinch.	48.70493759787823
There was a sound like the one you produce by flicking a watermelon with your finger, only louder, and Pops fell forward from the waist and then over sidewise.	806.0610115591584
Out cold, if not dead; and he'd never known what hit him- he'd never known that anything had hit him.	1090.9996560845032
I reached my hand toward him to put it inside his shirt to feel for a heartbeat, but Charlie said "Wait"!- and said it sharply, not as in the Patchen bit, but as an order- so I stopped my hand and looked at him.	1448.6415653211652
He was holding the piece of lead pipe out to me.	65.91847186906324
"We don't want to know whether he's dead, yet.	454.4371679704927
I gauged that blow to be borderline.	95.63715254785956
To kayo him and maybe or maybe not kill.	151.31034084951844
You hit again about twice that hard before we know whether he's dead or not.	230.95912385994788
That way we'll never know which of us really killed him and which was just the accomplice.	370.3852486318862
Dig"?	20.324827059120516
I dug him, I saw his point; it made sense.	217.49188654695757
I took the piece of pipe from Charlie's hand and used it, harder than he had.	848.8847928597419
The thunk was louder, anyway, and I thought I heard bone crack.	454.10385862259386
Charlie said, "Good boy.	52.073560605439894
That did it, if mine didn't.	48.20312060853651
And we'll never know which.	149.6737026383588
All right, now I'll give you a hand".	31.05421725657759
We straightened Pops up and I made sure there was no trace of a heartbeat.	153.98306695394763
I nodded to Charlie.	36.37369313649383
"Let's put him down again the way he was.	60.46608480112937
It's a more natural position".	24.22182719491488
We did that.	7.398522512639277
"How do you feel"?	58.261870436025234
Charlie asked me.	28.712344061704332
"Cool", I told him.	15.990664017780437
"What do you feel"?	45.96259734675471
"Nothing.	5.354397600619958
Well h maybe I'm exaggerating.	138.9530633687578
It was a kick, but not a big enough one for me to want to take the chance again, except for stakes.	247.05108799171362
But let's not talk about it abstractly until we're out of here.	183.60481819829818
Now, first question the bottles.	28.106216288035192
Shall we take them all with us, or leave one"?	75.75444885090683
"Take them", I said.	64.48002775882748
"If we left one we'd have to wipe it for fingerprints.	306.71370853215564
Here's the picture we want to leave for the fuzz- whenever the body gets found.	218.97394747769835
This happened in the middle of a drinking bout with another bum.	567.0540211341877
If they'd been working on a bottle or a jug he'd have taken it with him".	565.6576473680418
"Right.	9.610791341046074
And he'd have taken the weapon with him too, so we take that.	217.23241835087939
Now"- He looked around.	24.282946220880024
"I've been careful about fingerprints.	33.64856365427783
How about you"?	10.046034330709606
"Same.	10.480665544470849
There are the boards over the window, of course, but they're not painted and too rough to take prints.	1393.435413461642
Same goes for the rough cement of the ledge.	135.7020731408752
Besides, I doubt if the cops will even try dusting.	161.1813100955688
They find dead winos every day, maybe they won't even autopsy him for the cause of death".	843.4695303443906
"We can't take a chance on that.	31.027397285639676
We've got to assume they'll decide he was murdered and we've got to keep the picture consistent.	198.2935187798716
Our hypothetical other bum who killed him would have turned out his pockets.	1401.293532423518
Let's do that".	11.950512140636148
We did that and found a dirty handkerchief, some matches and fourteen cents in change.	195.0306112192904
We took the matches- they were book matches and once they'd been touched might retain fingerprints- and the change.	1952.5571227398664
We discussed the candle and decided the hypothetical other bum would have left it burning to light his way to the window and because he'd have no reason to blow it out.	807.070945637044
The candle had been stuck on a tin lid so it wouldn't set fire to the crate when it guttered out.	421.4727198136831
A fire wouldn't have mattered except that it would cause Pops to be found sooner.	366.0457940060985
He might not be found for days, even weeks, otherwise.	169.53962360891492
We went once more over every point, then triple-checked.	130.01696856574821
Being picked up for questioning by a cop on the way out seemed to be the only possible remaining danger, and we weren't picked up by a cop.	730.10711404019
In fact, nobody saw us, cop or citizen.	63.03274340732107
Winsett is a quiet street with no taverns and was completely deserted at that hour.	288.3347645879672
Which, if it matters, was one AM.	59.744297176662435
Less than three hours ago we'd decided, in Maxine Wells's pad on Cosmo, to commit a trial murder.	539.9902755514161
It had gone like clockwork.	50.71595415705134
Almost too smoothly, I found myself thinking, and then told myself that was ridiculous.	876.0140971144003
How safe is too safe?	67.562612496447
Thinking like that can get you into a padded pad.	189.86384660899435
An hour later we were back in my unpadded pad, killing what had been left of the second pint.	582.1504596937492
We decided to leave the third one intact for tomorrow.	86.78349582337562
Also our plans for me to commit Charlie's murder and for him to commit mine.	440.9483530762683
But we were really going to do it.	282.442596358501
We shook hands on it.	26.190069201470816
We planned ahead only one step, a rendezvous for tomorrow when we could swap notes.	308.9945247606499
I'd tell him everything I'd learned about Seaton's habits and habitat, and he'd tell me the score on Radic.	311.9396362201367
We made the date for two o'clock in the afternoon at Maxine Wells's pad.	482.71703705217385
Charlie would get there early because he had the key.	336.2750586609953
From here on in, the less Charlie and I were seen together in public, or visited one another's rooms, the better.	1810.795179867775
I was dead tired and slept soundly, as far as I know dreamlessly.	119.80957067580572
We met at Maxine's and decided we were set to stay as long as it took, into or even through the evening, to talk things out.	210.91967917409906
Charlie had brought food and we'd decided on no drinks.	436.33242087730895
I'd brought along the virgin pint from last night, but we were going to kill that only when we were through talking.	1479.8537188120345
I talked first, telling him everything I knew about Seaton and his house and domestic arrangements.	291.45708363498414
I drew diagrams and floor plans; he memorized them thoroughly and then we tore them into tiny pieces and flushed them down.	667.2834938741433
He gave me equivalent and even more detailed dope on Radic, including diagrams- one of the apartment building Radic lived in and one of the apartment itself.	1849.9983795796084
He'd been there several times, back when, while he and Radic had been friends, or at least not enemies.	743.0826057738943
It didn't take us as long as we'd thought it might; it was not quite six o'clock when we finished and Charlie said, "Well, I guess that's it.	362.1948533075009
Shall we flip a coin to see which of us goes first?	151.79118351962308
Or would you rather deal a hand of show-down poker or play a game of gin rummy, or what"?	784.3827215174719
"Wait a minute, Charlie", I said.	42.93808990158119
"One thing we haven't discussed, expense money.	75.5814717694439
We'll need some at least, if only bus fare to the scene of the crime.	355.1968168802961
And if you're as flat broke as I am, I think we'll have to take the added risk of knocking over a filling station or something before we split for one of us to set up an alibi while the other does his dirty work".	1092.5328316568043
He sighed.	10.81350458646783
"All right, I'll come clean.	81.92573480591848
I've got a little stashed for a rainy day, and I guess this is rainy enough.	348.20530438113786
A couple of hundred.	33.08750868360828
If you draw the short straw I'll lend you some bread, like fifty bucks, before I take off to visit my sister in Frisco.	577.9160832415905
Then, after I'm back, another fifty so you can put some mileage on yourself and have a solid alibi somewhere while I take care of your seat cover boy".	764.2026733819949
"Solid", I said.	11.20419572444596
I took a deep breath, and the plunge.	64.59806571429895
"In that case, let's not draw.	54.054679389856176
I'll go to bat first.	16.684449476536862
You'd have to wait till Seaton's back from Mexico City and also while I set it up with Doris to have her have an alibi for D-night.	920.4959115915537
So it wouldn't be for days or even a week before you could do anything.	223.51495885063116
But your friend Manny can go any time".	86.87470562694023
He grinned and clapped me on the shoulder.	84.29510245947034
"I was hoping you'd say that, Willy.	104.47186156955715
But I wouldn't have suggested it.	31.326344794736002
Well- in that case, I take off tomorrow morning for Frisco.	2265.5404038300544
And, in case, I brought the money with me".	96.00813095848565
Now that he knew himself to be self he was free to grok ever closer to his brothers, merge without let.	278.26299929565965
Self's integrity was and is and ever had been.	265.5936808119911
Mike stopped to cherish all his brother selves, the many threes-fulfilled on Mars, corporate and discorporate, the precious few on Earth- the unknown powers of three on Earth that would be his to merge with and cherish now that at last long waiting he grokked and cherished himself.	916.5016974285936
Mike remained in trance; there was much to grok, loose ends to puzzle over and fit into his growing- all that he had seen and heard and been at the Archangel Foster Tabernacle not just cusp when he and Digby had come face to face alone h why Bishop Senator Boone made him warily uneasy, how Miss Dawn Ardent tasted like a water brother when she was not, the smell of goodness he had incompletely grokked in the jumping up and down and wailing- Jubal's conversations coming and going- Jubal's words troubled him most; he studied them, compared them with what he had been taught as a nestling, struggling to bridge between languages, the one he thought with and the one he was learning to think in.	3433.0501260970123
The word "church" which turned up over and over again among Jubal's words gave him knotty difficulty; there was no Martian concept to match it- unless one took "church" and "worship" and "God" and "congregation" and many other words and equated them to the totality of the only world he had known during growing-waiting h then forced the concept back into English in that phrase which had been rejected by each differently by Jubal, by Mahmoud, by Digby.	997.4123286013237
"Thou art God".	29.179579599305494
He was closer to understanding it in English now, although it could never have the inevitability of the Martian concept it stood for.	401.504615582732
In his mind he spoke simultaneously the English sentence and the Martian word and felt closer grokking.	336.2297623014002
Repeating it like a student telling himself that the jewel is in the lotus he sank into nirvana.	472.74694625789846
Before midnight he speeded his heart, resumed normal breathing, ran down his check list, uncurled and sat up.	585.1737723445183
He had been weary; now he felt light and gay and clear-headed, ready for the many actions he saw spreading out before him.	773.3230080275774
He felt a puppyish need for company as strong as his earlier necessity for quiet.	177.23844397259364
He stepped out into the hall, was delighted to encounter a water brother.	225.10209580536414
"Hi"!	26.433893658063823
"Oh.	3.7445007932686747
Hello, Mike.	32.201643407245946
My, you look chipper".	51.70333674010876
"I feel fine!	17.032108000292745
Where is everybody"?	20.08728192089882
"Asleep.	16.05296361890169
Ben and Stinky went home an hour ago and people started going to bed".	260.8023519727881
"Oh".	3.7445007932686747
Mike felt disappointed that Mahmoud had left; he wanted to explain his new grokking.	476.8966349362022
"I ought to be asleep, too, but I felt like a snack.	683.9303596994303
Are you hungry"?	14.63989302028248
"Sure, I'm hungry"!	42.77188629215408
"Come on, there's some cold chicken and we'll see what else".	312.1404439841642
They went downstairs, loaded a tray lavishly.	126.41429083382563
"Let's take it outside.	17.065525480392495
It's plenty warm".	28.14134753200257
"A fine idea", Mike agreed.	57.203869999273834
"Warm enough to swim- real Indian summer.	135.07534369618227
I'll switch on the floods".	31.655076823857637
"Don't bother", Mike answered.	30.59557318783674
"I'll carry the tray".	48.75301087921725
He could see in almost total darkness.	46.39875380065068
Jubal said that his night-sight probably came from the conditions in which he had grown up, and Mike grokked this was true but grokked that there was more to it; his foster parents had taught him to see.	3082.817618060365
As for the night being warm, he would have been comfortable naked on Mount Everest but his water brothers had little tolerance for changes in temperature and pressure; he was considerate of their weakness, once he learned of it.	501.48015747053245
But he was looking forward to snow- seeing for himself that each tiny crystal of the water of life was a unique individual, as he had read- walking barefoot, rolling in it.	388.3480526759821
In the meantime he was pleased with the warm night and the still more pleasing company of his water brother.	142.84532537655048
"Okay, take the tray.	33.440315668091145
I'll switch on the underwater lights.	47.94304997255936
That'll be plenty to eat by".	120.1023072120186
"Fine".	12.197614618108233
Mike liked having light up through the ripples; it was a goodness, beauty.	236.71424172730954
They picnicked by the pool, then lay back on the grass and looked at stars.	1918.132414814942
"Mike, there's Mars.	50.72617043442542
It is Mars, isn't it?	18.900549814235685
Or Antares"?	32.18981571999922
"It is Mars".	8.847161684247991
"Mike?	14.627486840675177
What are they doing on Mars"?	57.28161247899926
He hesitated; the question was too wide for the sparse English language.	145.0944808099521
"On the side toward the horizon- the southern hemisphere- it is spring; plants are being taught to grow".	222.57094702298554
"'Taught to grow'"?	73.09268483194896
He hesitated.	14.3706171333256
"Larry teaches plants to grow.	78.27589230507078
I have helped him.	39.67940563629727
But my people- Martians, I mean; I now grok you are my people- teach plants another way.	342.22787186368527
In the other hemisphere it is growing colder and nymphs, those who stayed alive through the summer, are being brought into nests for quickening and more growing".	490.63864487211475
He thought.	4.593938656159603
"Of the humans we left at the equator, one has discorporated and the others are sad".	186.4541969893216
Yes, I heard it in the news".	148.336757262803
Mike had not heard it; he had not known it until asked.	95.34767005654432
"They should not be sad.	22.03691890125935
Mr Booker T W Jones Food Technician First Class is not sad; the Old Ones have cherished him".	935.9592081826933
"You knew him"?	17.812640278888743
"Yes.	3.418800859412557
He had his own face, dark and beautiful.	37.60294058610686
But he was homesick".	15.949042342637583
"Oh, dear!	24.597876037601033
Mike h do you ever get homesick?	235.3703251746944
For Mars"?	18.19527470354057
"At first I was homesick", he answered.	28.560943636088066
"I was lonely always".	24.70467708532666
He rolled toward her and took her in his arms.	82.38179476262299
"But now I am not lonely.	151.82623994332675
I grok I shall never be lonely again".	118.89961623361057
"Mike darling"- They kissed, and went on kissing.	184.2140673929363
Presently his water brother said breathlessly.	120.64645572508638
"Oh, my!	17.559027358051456
That was almost worse than the first time".	102.83686009279286
"You are all right, my brother"?	48.69157222368397
"Yes.	3.418800859412557
Yes indeed.	6.2150282688070675
Kiss me again".	36.178977038203136
A long time later, by cosmic clock, she said, "Mike?	132.3297605269005
Is that- I mean, 'Do you know'"- "I know.	191.96973761322076
It is for growing closer.	18.95332872711301
Now we grow closer".	25.554333883963032
"Well h I've been ready a long time- goodness, we all have, but h never mind, dear; turn just a little.	649.2657019522468
I'll help".	7.891722700446767
As they merged, grokking together, Mike said softly and triumphantly "Thou art God".	432.38711205933373
Her answer was not in words.	27.925490213417344
Then, as their grokking made them ever closer and Mike felt himself almost ready to discorporate her voice called him back "Oh!	716.1262177777603
h Oh!	28.089425806020177
Thou art God"!	46.611172919196264
"We grok God".	26.387513359958138
/25,.	12.330131230415454
On Mars humans were building pressure domes for the male and female party that would arrive by next ship.	697.7700930740208
This went faster than scheduled as the Martians were helpful.	154.80105498570938
Part of the time saved was spent on a preliminary estimate for a long-distance plan to free bound oxygen in the sands of Mars to make the planet more friendly to future human generations.	1645.0010444543898
The Old Ones neither helped nor hindered this plan; time was not yet.	778.8569041808681
Their meditations were approaching a violent cusp that would shape Martian art for many millennia.	656.1409163660512
On Earth elections continued and a very advanced poet published a limited edition of verse consisting entirely of punctuation marks and spaces; Time magazine reviewed it and suggested that the Federation Assembly Daily Record should be translated into the medium.	1328.508634017676
A colossal campaign opened to sell more sexual organs of plants and Mrs Joseph "Shadow of Greatness" Douglas was quoted as saying "I would no more sit down without flowers on my table than without serviettes".	1307.7929748550473
A Tibetan swami from Palermo, Sicily, announced in Beverly Hills a newly discovered, ancient yoga discipline for ripple breathing which increased both pranha and cosmic attraction between sexes.	1890.0365950004204
His chelas were required to assume the matsyendra posture dressed in hand-woven diapers while he read aloud from Rig-Veda and an assistant guru examined their purses in another room- nothing was stolen; the purpose was less immediate.	1600.048080015213
The President of the United States proclaimed the first Sunday in November as "National Grandmothers' Day" and urged America to say it with flowers.	175.15444637635025
A funeral parlor chain was indicted for price-cutting.	205.9585664914253
Fosterite bishops, after secret conclave, announced the Church's second Major Miracle Supreme Bishop Digby had been translated bodily to Heaven and spot-promoted to Archangel, ranking with-but-after Archangel Foster.	2088.5746012252894
The glorious news had been held up pending Heavenly confirmation of the elevation of a new Supreme Bishop, Huey Short- a candidate accepted by the Boone faction after lots had been cast repeatedly.	1171.2178569220564
L'Unita and Hoy published identical denunciations of Short's elevation, l'Osservatore Romano and the Christian Science Monitor ignored it, Times of India snickered at it, and the Manchester Guardian simply reported it- the Fosterites in England were few but extremely militant.	2223.552178744745
Digby was not pleased with his promotion.	93.05697483746297
The Man from Mars had interrupted him with his work half finished- and that stupid jackass Short was certain to louse it up.	504.8625664919709
Foster listened with angelic patience until Digby ran down, then said, "Listen, junior, you're an angel now- so forget it.	552.9887449502007
Eternity is no time for recriminations.	353.4280099013112
You too were a stupid jackass until you poisoned me.	214.47826853264556
Afterwards you did well enough.	39.238317192882164
Now that Short is Supreme Bishop he'll do all right, he can't help it.	400.1945103446895
Same as with the Popes.	48.498435865944444
Some of them were warts until they got promoted.	55.22566453731766
Check with one of them, go ahead- there's no professional jealousy here".	402.1658655926339
Digby calmed down, but made one request.	435.4004625852007
Foster shook his halo.	111.97351954290924
"You can't touch him.	14.352347264453142
You shouldn't have tried to.	34.26654259795889
Oh, you can submit a requisition for a miracle if you want to make a fool of yourself.	160.1470442661963
But, I'm telling you, it'll be turned down- you don't understand the System yet.	146.18527742909785
The Martians have their own setup, different from ours, and as long as they need him, we can't touch him.	1097.5414048011635
They run their show their way- the Universe has variety, something for everybody- a fact you field workers often miss".	308.3583759964918
"You mean this punk can brush me aside and I've got to hold still for it"?	422.9328048771479
"I held still for the same thing, didn't I?	164.7793111602585
I'm helping you now, am I not?	44.484161782795184
Now look, there's work to be done and lots of it.	65.01713404395295
The Boss wants performance, not gripes.	109.23593236870124
If you need a Day off to calm down, duck over to the Muslim Paradise and take it.	185.02707403733612
Otherwise, straighten your halo, square your wings, and dig in.	177.34504044754698
The sooner you act like an angel the quicker you'll feel angelic.	385.0505096323643
Get Happy, junior"!	82.8194736720223
Digby heaved a deep ethereal sigh.	304.46905144937915
"Okay, I'm Happy.	31.850979389422637
Where do I start"?	12.432303327188205
Jubal did not hear of Digby's disappearance when it was announced, and, when he did, while he had a fleeting suspicion, he dismissed it; if Mike had had a finger in it, he had gotten away with it- and what happened to supreme bishops worried Jubal not at all as long as he wasn't bothered.	6639.607801022913
His household had gone through an upset.	101.18592413063139
Jubal deduced what had happened but did not know with whom- and didn't want to inquire.	720.8382636857326
Mike was of legal age and presumed able to defend himself in the clinches.	251.60553915565242
Anyhow, it was high time the boy was salted.	304.7465232256606
Jubal couldn't reconstruct the crime from the way the girls behaved because patterns kept shifting- ABC vs D, then BCD vs A h or AB vs CD, or AD vs CB, through all ways that four women can gang up on each other.	2504.1991136589095
This continued most of the week following that ill-starred trip to church, during which period Mike stayed in his room and usually in a trance so deep that Jubal would have pronounced him dead had he not seen it before.	972.869236308257
Jubal would not have minded it if service had not gone to pieces.	169.66165953680266
The girls seemed to spend half their time tiptoeing in "to see if Mike was all right" and they were too preoccupied to cook, much less be secretaries.	649.6885338905463
Even rock-steady Anne- Hell, Anne was the worst!	274.35955583927887
Absent-minded, subject to unexplained tears h Jubal would have bet his life that if Anne were to witness the Second Coming, she would memorize date, time, personae, events, and barometric pressure without batting her calm blue eyes.	1231.523945384965
The expense and time involved are astronomical.	54.86569302649408
However, we sent a third vessel out, a much smaller and faster one than the first two.	550.6365333109206
We have learned much about interstellar drives since a hundred years ago; that is all I can tell you about them.	472.80479028001247
"But the third ship came back several years ago and reported h" "That it had found a planet on which human beings could live and which was already inhabited by sentient beings"!	995.6841775754777
said Hal, forgetting in his enthusiasm that he had not been asked to speak.	325.302321934005
Macneff stopped pacing to stare at Hal with his pale blue eyes.	428.2576196201325
"How did you know"?	13.527894994887724
he said sharply.	3.1807237637000427
"Forgive me, Sandalphon", said Hal.	134.62339983645043
"But it was inevitable!	65.18811929997382
Did not the Forerunner predict in his Time and the World Line that such a planet would be found?	344.1259587970113
I believe it was on page 573"!	60.98908665743293
Macneff smiled and said, "I am glad that your scriptural lessons have left such an impression".	1690.0107325664642
How could they not?	14.131024077755495
thought Hal.	24.9098460647362
Besides, they were not the only impressions.	90.50647773157623
I still bear scars on my back where Pornsen, my gapt, whipped me because I had not learned my lessons well enough.	1856.2219680375933
He was a good impresser, that Pornsen.	143.00513064371447
Was?	9.921006761869785
Is!	11.484804130886843
As I grew older and was promoted, so was he, always where I was.	92.55851345595865
He was my gapt in the creche.	57.49573692564059
He was the dormitory gapt when I went to college and thought I was getting away from him.	158.94757414674422
He is now my block gapt.	48.805768453376416
He is the one responsible for my getting such low M R's.	327.93123406544237
Swiftly, came the revulsion, the protest.	72.29618777820684
No, not he, for I, and I alone, am responsible for whatever happens to me.	197.29539990106886
If I get a low M R, I do so because I want it that way or my dark self does.	236.72517740687013
If I die, I die because I willed it so.	179.90198253361527
So, forgive me, Sigmen, for the contrary-to-reality thoughts!	167.27646587209867
"Please pardon me again, Sandalphon", said Hal.	232.30669399019865
"But did the expedition find any records of the Forerunner having been on this planet?	265.42811698014606
Perhaps, even, though this is too much to wish, find the Forerunner himself"?	134.3361153660816
"No", said Macneff.	18.190931117261595
"Though that does not mean that there may not be such records there.	107.76222007185967
The expedition was under orders to make a swift survey of conditions and then to return to Earth.	204.4313162155965
I can't tell you now the distance in lightyears or what star this was, though you can see it with the naked eye at night in this hemisphere.	523.236428221037
If you volunteer, you will be told where you're going after the ship leaves.	122.20171925130668
And it leaves very soon".	29.56054049981376
"You need a linguist"?	12.014572047072418
said Hal.	27.579712727200725
"The ship is huge", said Macneff, "but the number of military men and specialists we are taking limits the linguists to one.	163.08394067654632
We have considered several of your professionals because they were lamechians and above suspicion.	190.15297265909405
Unfortunately h" Hal waited Macneff paced some more, frowning.	380.22145496745617
Then, he said, "Unfortunately, only one lamechian linguist exists, and he is too old for this expedition.	574.0206114907174
Therefore h" "A thousand pardons", said Hal.	158.6423287889291
"But I have just thought of one thing.	68.77952664578953
I am married".	9.338892353023164
"No problem at all", said Macneff.	65.1636279226276
"There will be no women aboard the Gabriel.	40.412067045656926
And, if a man is married, he will automatically be given a divorce".	406.67618137178874
Hal gasped, and he said, "A divorce"?	240.4375010086425
Macneff raised his hands apologetically and said, "You are horrified, of course.	924.5618892510954
But, from our reading of the Western Talmud, we Urielites believe that the Forerunner, knowing this situation would arise, made reference to and provision for divorce.	542.7854991068646
It's inevitable in this case, for the couple will be separated for, at the least, forty years.	129.2003274781674
Naturally, he couched the provision in obscure language.	88.67840509731633
In his great and glorious wisdom, he knew that our enemies the Israelites must not be able to read therein what we planned".	602.6091567087462
"I volunteer", said Hal.	50.31253182672135
"Tell me more, Sandalphon".	65.76641690818666
Six months later, Hal Yarrow stood in the observation dome of the Gabriel and watched the ball of Earth dwindle above him.	516.6655788988164
It was night on this hemisphere, but the light blazed from the megalopolises of Australia, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, Siberia.	317.778953228374
Hal, the linguist, saw the glittering discs and necklaces in terms of the languages spoken therein.	325.30302719825414
Australia, the Philippine Islands, Japan, and northern China were inhabited by those members of the Haijac Union that spoke American.	438.69509610845785
Southern China, all of southeast Asia, southern India and Ceylon, these states of the Malay Federation spoke Bazaar.	580.4204831234467
Siberia spoke Icelandic.	91.87715616515524
His mind turned the globe swiftly for him, and he visualized Africa, which used Swahili south of the Sahara Sea.	340.6143965567514
All around the Mediterranean Sea, Asia Minor, northern India, and Tibet, Hebrew was the native tongue.	339.6148377888433
In southern Europe, between the Israeli Republics and the Icelandic-speaking peoples of northern Europe, was a thin but long stretch of territory called March.	786.1867640187751
This was no man's land, disputed by the Haijac Union and the Israeli Republic, a potential source of war for the last two hundred years.	1370.1077434547526
Neither nation would give up their claim on it, yet neither wished to make any move that might lead to a second Apocalyptic War.	2087.3254056457276
So, for all practical purposes, it was an independent nation and by now had its own organized government unrecognized outside its own borders.	936.2488130852063
Its citizens spoke all of the world's surviving tongues, plus a new one called Lingo, a pidgin whose vocabulary was derived from the other six and whose syntax was so simple it could be contained on half a sheet of paper.	1474.712998055705
Hal saw in his mind the rest of Earth Iceland, Greenland, the Caribbean Islands, and the eastern half of South America.	1624.9410426870445
Here the peoples spoke the tongue of Iceland because that island had gotten the jump on the Hawaiian-Americans who were busy resettling North America and the western half of South America after the Apocalyptic War.	769.9994025390085
Then there was North America, where American was the native speech of all except the twenty descendants of French-Canadians living on the Hudson Bay Preserve.	937.5020121754427
Hal knew that when that side of Earth rotated into the night zone, Sigmen City would blaze out into space.	557.9302226761208
And, somewhere in that enormous light, was his apartment.	73.73527161747906
But Mary would soon no longer be living there, for she would be notified in a few days that her husband had died in an accident while on a flight to Tahiti.	687.4101247854111
She would weep in private, he was sure, for she loved him in her frigid way, though in public she would be dry-eyed.	432.82922741558633
Her friends and professional associates would sympathize with her, not because she had lost a beloved husband, but because she had been married to a man who thought unrealistically.	1188.0583118727752
If Hal Yarrow had been killed in a crash, he must have wanted it that way.	889.0093559815585
There was no such thing as an "accident".	7.495470353722074
Somehow, all the other passengers also supposed to have died in this web of elaborate frauds to cover up the disappearance of the personnel of the Gabriel had simultaneously "agreed" to die.	1164.6173728462427
And, therefore, being in disgrace, they would not be cremated and their ashes flung to the winds in public ceremony.	279.19249217995207
No, the fish could eat their bodies for all the Sturch cared.	167.80160573024597
Hal felt sorry for Mary; he had a time keeping the tears from welling to his own eyes as he stood in the crowd in the observation dome.	2283.4303559541213
Yet, he told himself, this was the best way.	1571.0506046721628
He and Mary would no longer have to tear and rend at each other; their mutual torture would be over.	324.70168934919855
Mary was free to marry again, not knowing that the Sturch had secretly given her a divorce, thinking that death had dissolved her marriage.	456.24381251403025
She would have a year in which to make up her mind, to choose a mate from a list selected by her gapt.	3272.715505249116
Perhaps, the psychological barriers that had prevented her from conceiving Hal's child would no longer be present.	680.0901746178903
Perhaps.	6.336740818158776
Hal doubted if this happy event would occur.	177.63544820897135
Mary was as frozen below the navel as he.	121.5366326274359
No matter who the candidate for marriage selected by the gapt h The gapt.	190.23579725322807
Pornsen.	16.05296361890169
He would no longer have to see that fat face, hear that whining voice h "Hal Yarrow"!	958.5992259190346
said the whining voice.	42.30157439857846
And, slowly, feeling himself icy yet burning, Hal turned.	223.67346560125185
There was the squat loose-jowled man, smiling lopsidedly up at him.	186.49105759314753
"My beloved ward, my perennial gadfly", said the whining voice.	287.98280852839713
"I had no idea that you, too, would be on this glorious voyage.	1600.4393354618176
But I might have known!	34.34023846628003
We seem to be bound by love; Sigmen himself must have foreseen it.	197.12534347083164
Love to you, my ward".	147.1394549037069
"Sigmen love you, too, my guardian", said Hal, choking.	217.36418092722548
"How wonderful to see your cherished self.	83.6083197103697
I had thought we would never again speak to each other".	62.87380141389958
5 THE Gabriel pointed towards her destination and, under one-gee acceleration, began to build up towards her ultimate velocity, 99.1 percent of the speed of light.	871.8081418307613
Meanwhile, all the personnel except those few needed to carry out the performance of the ship, went into the suspensor.	545.6055311251478
Here they would lie in suspended animation for many years.	93.07517194557731
Some time later, after a check had been made of all automatic equipment, the crew would join the others.	914.804052495544
They would sleep while the Gabriel's drive would increase the acceleration to a point which the unfrozen bodies of the personnel could not have endured.	317.7729459438449
Upon reaching the desired speed, the automatic equipment would cut off the drive, and the silent but not empty vessel would hurl towards the star which was its journey's end.	595.6309969988454
Many years later, the photon-counting apparatus in the nose of the ship would determine that the star was close enough to actuate deceleration.	1093.1108158729166
Again, a force too strong for unfrozen bodies to endure would be applied.	163.99403965177376
Then, after slowing the vessel considerably, the drive would adjust to a one-gee deceleration.	231.67960468615092
And the crew would be automatically brought out of their suspended animation.	175.49094098957644
These members would then unthaw the rest of the personnel.	72.6688010194193
And, in the half-year left before reaching their destination, the men would carry out whatever preparations were needed.	272.5432484149374
Hal Yarrow was among the last to go into the suspensor and among the first to come out.	2221.0818281687407
He had to study the recordings of the language of the chief nation of Ozagen, Siddo.	518.3009615330291
And, from the first, he faced a difficult task.	298.1265512785063
The expedition that had discovered Ozagen had succeeded in correlating two thousand Siddo words with an equal number of American words.	874.5599963604124
The description of the Siddo syntax was very restricted.	78.56170794249837
And, as Hal found out, obviously mistaken in many cases.	84.20571699993612
This discovery caused Hal anxiety.	57.21719545830146
His duty was to write a school text and to teach the entire personnel of the Gabriel how to speak Ozagen.	397.57724937197014
Yet, if he used all of the little means at his disposal, he would be instructing his students wrongly.	532.2405742292754
Moreover, even getting this across would be difficult.	57.19082282229719
For one thing, the organs of speech of the Ozagen natives differed somewhat from Earthmen's; the sounds made by these organs were, therefore, dissimilar.	323.7348774266424
It was true that they could be approximated, but would the Ozagenians understand these approximations?	366.31990194458047
Another obstacle was the grammatical construction of Siddo.	144.59548620838976
Consider the tense system.	23.69157205836356
Instead of inflecting a verb or using an unattached particle to indicate the past or future, Siddo used an entirely different word.	515.5763933983166
Thus, the masculine animate infinitive dabhumaksanigalu'ahai, meaning to live, was, in the perfect tense, ksu'u'peli'afo, and, in the future, mai'teipa.	609.4555901586422
The same use of an entirely different word applied for all the other tenses.	625.9477936885075
Plus the fact that Siddo not only had the normal to Earthmen three genders of masculine, feminine, and neuter, but the two extra of inanimate and spiritual.	756.3200925845679
Fortunately, gender was inflected, though the expression of it would be difficult for anybody not born in Siddo.	200.57401851304115
The system of indicating gender varied according to tense.	136.93372447587336
All the other parts of speech nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions operated under the same system as the verbs.	1076.6906276212956
This was not, for the Angel, just a matter of running through a logical or deductive chain, or deciding on some action from some already established premise.	915.5300108579446
No doubt the Angels could do that kind of thing as fast as any computer.	137.14213235823587
What Gabriel was being asked to do now, however, was to re-examine all his basic assumptions, make value-judgments on them, and give them new and different powers in his mind to govern his motives.	2052.173549248998
This is not wholly a reasoning process- a computer cannot do it all- and even in an Angel it takes time.	1703.652547326343
Or, perhaps, especially in an Angel, whose assumptions had mostly been fixed millions of years ago.	143.43163624663578
Being reasonably sure of the reason for the long pause, however, did not make it seem any less long to Jack.	1616.7611877677084
He had already become used to Hesperus' snapping back answers to questions almost before Jack could get them asked.	393.77164133577617
There was nothing he could do but wait.	34.9762110738008
The dice were cast.	33.36780958944586
At last Gabriel spoke.	38.63597698748159
"We misjudged you", he said slowly.	37.56019475559179
"We had concluded that no race as ephemeral as yours could have had time to develop a sense of justice.	205.7853750721087
Of course we have before us the example of the great races at the galactic center; individually they are nearly as mortal as you- the difference does not seem very marked to us, where it exists.	361.82206173822175
But they have survived for long periods as races, whereas you are young.	147.32935139929535
We shall recommend to them that they shorten your trial period by half.	358.78966010906544
"For now, it is clear that we were in the wrong.	743.6314424497028
You may reclaim your property, and the penalty on Hesperus is lifted.	421.53971324848527
Hesperus, you may speak".	47.07019162053611
"I did not perceive this essential distinction either, First-Born", Hesperus said at once, "I was only practicing a concept that Jack taught me, called a deal".	566.3337816384341
"Nevertheless, you were its agent.	26.79477174828371
Jack, what is the nature of this concept"?	130.92389270923312
"It's a kind of agreement in which each party gives something to the other", Jack said.	252.93485868459115
"We regard it as fair only when each party feels that what he has received is as valuable, or more valuable, than what he has given".	2165.6444801604925
His heart, he discovered, was pounding.	138.2037674114567
"For instance, Hesperus agreed to help me find my property, and I agreed to take him to Earth.	576.6791861520002
Between individuals, this process is called bargaining.	80.7018867193838
When it is done between races or nations, it is called making a treaty.	993.062257830708
And the major part of my mission to your nest is to make a treaty between your race and mine.	616.437006979208
Recovering the property was much less important".	77.26493667960561
"Strange", Gabriel said.	27.757887046928445
"And apparently impossible.	19.030634801392388
Though it might be that we would have much to give you, you have nothing to give us".	577.0910072202043
"Hesperus and Lucifer", Jack said, "show that we do".	370.3687474712244
Another pause; but this one was not nearly as long.	81.83023611696176
"Then it is a matter of pleasure; of curiosity; of a more alive time.	121.47739143038282
Yes, those could be commodities under this concept.	69.78409815508194
But you should understand, Jack, that Hesperus and Lucifer are not long out of the nursery.	160.69348119226785
Visiting the Earth would not be an offering of worth to those of us who are older".	230.6077665318334
This explained a great deal.	22.238784944535432
"All the more reason, then", Jack said, "why we must have a treaty.	52.84977576405902
We will gladly entertain your young and give them proper living quarters, in return for their help in running our fusion reactors.	439.2767866504033
But we must know if this is in accordance with your customs, and must have your agreement they will not misuse the power we put in their hands, to our hurt".	812.0559350577596
"But this simply requires that they behave in accordance with the dictates of their own natures, and respect yours in turn.	247.6093484174507
To this we of course agree".	27.343244094912176
Jack felt a wave of complete elation, but in a second it had vanished without a trace.	430.8290780673585
What Gabriel was asking was that mankind forego all its parochial moral judgments, and contract to let the Angels serve on Earth as it is in Heaven regardless of the applicable Earth laws.	649.5793622034826
The Angels in turn would exercise similar restraints in respect for the natural preferences and natures of the Earthmen- but they had no faintest notion of man's perverse habit of passing and enforcing laws which were contrary to his own preferences and violations of his nature.	1010.2052841711356
The simple treaty principle that Gabriel was asking him to ratify, in short, was nothing less than total trust.	268.4812603633644
Nothing less would serve.	29.87165781933761
And it might be, considering the uncomfortable custom the Angels had of thinking of everything in terms of absolutes, that the proposal of anything less might well amount instead to something like a declaration of war.	465.00512941941577
Furthermore, even the highly trained law clerk who was a part of Jack's total make-up could not understand how the principle could ever be codified.	959.4388724922177
Almost the whole experience of mankind pointed toward suspicion, not trust, as the safest and sanest attitude toward all outsiders.	441.99802625204757
Yet there was some precedent for it.	29.730569214848014
The history of disarmament agreements, for instance, had been unreassuringly dismal; but the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics nevertheless did eventually agree on an atomic bomb test ban, and a sort of provisional acceptance of each other's good intentions on this limited question.	465.1217251254288
Out of that agreement, though not by any easy road, eventually emerged the present world hegemony of the United Nations; suspicion between member states still existed, but it was of about the same low order of virulence as the twentieth-century rivalry between Arizona and California over water supplies.	675.4698358503175
Besides, agreements "in principle", with the petty details to be thrashed out later, were commonplace in diplomatic history.	265.1773346604197
The trouble with them was that they almost never worked, and in fact an agreement "in principle" historically turned out to be a sure sign that neither party really wanted the quarrel settled.	366.15249520966535
Suppose that this one were to work?	32.85545755218343
There was no question in Jack's mind of the good faith on one side, at least.	570.7031047661442
If mankind could be convinced of that h It was worth trying.	118.00524198746632
In fact, it had to be tried.	71.81695203441689
It would be at once the most tentative and most final treaty that Earth had ever signed.	321.43895290242244
Secretary Hart had taught Jack, at least partially, to be content with small beginnings in all diplomatic matters; but there was no small way to handle this one.	465.99622119131294
He turned back to the screens, the crucial, conclusive phrase on his lips.	92.26148804582202
But he was too late.	36.623551647865604
He had lost his audience.	16.55891378077881
For a moment he could make no sense at all of what he saw.	129.12311666265313
It seemed to be only a riot of color, light and meaningless activity.	1204.6033056479337
Gradually, he realized that the pentagon of Angel elders had vanished, and that the ritual learning dance of the nursery had been broken up.	580.3660858191278
The Angels in the nursery were zigzagging wildly in all directions, seemingly at random.	249.1633030796817
"Hesperus!	28.826365438569706
What's going on here?	36.840738148136744
What's happened"?	4.111513583037751
"Your brothers have been found.	40.84931756808447
They are on their way here".	12.529042973590787
"Where?	5.468967915355091
I don't see them.	41.571655339103195
The instruments don't show them".	36.73144583955438
"You can't see them yet, Jack.	48.74968490647776
They'll be in range in a short while".	218.67249455157858
Jack scanned the skies, the boards, and the skies again.	120.41266367858776
Nothing.	5.354397600619958
No- there was a tiny pip on the radar; and it was getting bigger rapidly.	787.2367894346548
If that was the skiff, it was making unprecedented speed.	92.27048694430333
Then the skiff hove into sight, just a dot of light at first against the roiling blackness and crimson streaks of the Coal Sack.	785.3551391648061
Through the telescope, Jack could see that both spacesuits were still attached to it.	476.5399913312255
The sail was still unfurled, though there were a good many holes in it, as Langer had predicted would be the case by now.	6551.092337182545
It was a startling, almost numenous sight; but even more awesome was the fact that it was trailing an enormous comet's-tail of Angels.	324.2241141319391
The skiff was not heading for the nursery, however.	73.69217799235162
It seemed unlikely that her crew, if either of them were alive, could even see the Ariadne, for they were passing her at a distance of nearly a light-year.	548.6990576808688
And there would be no chance of signaling them- without the Nernst generator Jack could not send a call powerful enough to get through all the static, and by the time he could rebuild his fusion power the skiff would be gone.	1036.7566294096066
Fuming, helpless, he watched them pass him.	127.32252492454623
The sail, ragged though it was, still had enough surface to catch some of the ocean of power being poured out from the nursery stars.	1478.3929285884105
He would never have believed, without seeing it, that the bizarre little vessel could go so fast.	443.9361825023139
But where was it going?	26.900899082279015
And why was it causing so much agitation among the Angels, and being followed by so many of them?	771.1627382557581
There was only one possible answer, but Jack's horrified mind refused to believe it until he had fed the radar plots of the skiff's course into the computer.	886.1697152931508
The curve on the card the computer spat back at him couldn't be argued with, however.	192.8649141409619
The skiff was headed for the very center of the nebula- toward that place which, Jack knew now, could hold nothing less important than the very core of the Angel's life and religion.	1013.1570587319333
It was clear that Langer had at last found a way to attract the Angel's attention.	147.81722539149087
It was equally clear that as of this moment, the treaty was off.	202.19377606927532
STERN CHASE 10 LANGER WOULD HAVE to be headed off, whether he knew where he was going or not.	453.533486693672
Almost surely he did; after all, he had had the same set of facts as Jack had had to work from, and he was an almost frighteningly observant man.	2943.912345271171
But not having talked to the Angels, he had made a wrong turn in his reasoning somewhere along the line.	1384.0479654035178
Had he decided, perhaps, that the center of the cloud was a center of government, instead of a center of life and faith"?	440.5544012248107
But it didn't matter now whether he meant to invade the Holy of Holies, or was simply headed in that direction by accident.	255.66730722201666
If it was intentional, it was now also unnecessary; and whether intentional or not, the outcome would be disastrous.	140.30780391553316
Jack crawled under the boards and restored the six feet of lead line he had excised from the Nernst generator switch.	579.5747445048326
When he was back on his feet again and about to reinstall the fuses, however, he hesitated.	150.1000880072545
He had to have fusion power to catch up with the skiff, and he had to have it fast.	471.56655358775583
But fusion power in the Coal Sack was what had triggered all the trouble in the first place- and he already had an Angel aboard.	506.68834920475217
"Hesperus"?	20.324827059120516
"Receiving".	10.480665544470849
"I'm going to turn my generator back on, as I promised to do.	84.11574792075345
But I can't take you to Earth yet.	131.04056184187243
First I've got to intercept my brothers before they get any deeper into trouble.	204.88889244155268
Will you obstruct this, or will you help?	218.58122797796852
I know it's not part of the bargain, and your elders might not like it".	267.55841041775903
"Nobody else can live in your hearth while I am in it", Hesperus said promptly.	831.3155409776557
"As for my elders, they have already admitted that they were wrong.	228.64849400427715
If because of this incident they become angry with Earth, I will not be permitted to go there at all.	179.22221271908987
Therefore of course I will help".	32.589492031166564
With a short-lived sigh of relief, Jack plugged the fuses back in and threw the switch.	428.87727008174375
Without an instant's transition, the green light that meant full fusion power winked on the board.	1480.9303075859505
Always before, it had taken five minutes to- Of course.	318.9642732584815
Hesperus was in there.	21.510095878241543
From here on out, the Ariadne was going to be hotter than any space cruiser man had ever dreamed of.	241.58474859291243
But since he had failed to anticipate it, he lost the five minutes anyhow, in plotting an intercept orbit.	997.7915310168007
"Hesperus, don't use this t-tau vector trick of yours, please.	378.26455823494763
Ryan hefted his bulk up and supported it on one elbow.	317.2218126087082
He rubbed his eyes sleepily with one huge paw.	241.53190498215534
"Ekstrohm, Nogol, you guys okay"?	289.7632019285337
"Nothing wrong with me that couldn't be cured", Nogol said.	178.30720535783414
He didn't say what would cure him; he had been explaining all during the trip what he needed to make him feel like himself.	690.9292035126016
His small black eyes darted inside the olive oval of his face.	719.3799103214628
"Ekstrohm"?	20.324827059120516
Ryan insisted.	35.12937493753672
"Okay".	7.786428610600051
"Well, let's take a ground-level look at the country around here".	346.6256699026097
The facsiport rolled open on the landscape.	80.10702495770532
A range of bluffs hugged the horizon, the color of decaying moss.	192.76178927001718
Above them, the sky was the black of space, or the almost equal black of the winter sky above Minneapolis, seen against neon-lit snow.	480.9877338166195
That cold, empty sky was full of fire and light.	74.31929788202434
It seemed almost a magnification of the Galaxy itself, of the Milky Way, blown up by some master photographer.	261.3219386499229
This fiery swath was actually only a belt of minor planets, almost like the asteroid belt in the original Solar System.	521.6425625517612
These planets were much bigger, nearly all capable of holding an atmosphere.	165.95024532338837
But to the infuriation of scientists, for no known reason not all of them did.	146.88274234154522
This would be the fifth mapping expedition to the planetoids of Yancy-6 in three generations.	488.11143678292467
They lay months away from the nearest Earth star by jump drive, and no one knew what they were good for, although it was felt that they would probably be good for something if it could only be discovered- much like the continent of Antarctica in ancient history.	5550.900784021254
"How can a planet with so many neighbors be so lonely"?	128.02963917129262
Ryan asked.	21.820867231201557
He was the captain, so he could ask questions like that.	137.28875935207137
"Some can be lonely in a crowd", Nogol said elaborately.	171.459495828032
"WHAT will we need outside, Ryan"?	116.54474987715857
Ekstrohm asked.	23.567840164135237
"No helmets", the captain answered.	57.42902975631933
"We can breathe out there, all right.	34.09599147663719
It just won't be easy.	25.97337635333809
This old world lost all of its helium and trace gases long ago.	172.9085614666187
Nitrogen and oxygen are about it".	45.65468916642419
"Ryan, look over there", Nogol said.	102.23181036076255
"Animals.	9.135840127165956
Ringing the ship.	21.314826612087135
Think they're intelligent, maybe hostile"?	221.49019519582907
"I think they're dead", Ekstrohm interjected quietly.	139.71175903602847
"I get no readings from them at all.	41.50581782128168
Sonic, electronic, galvanic- all blank.	145.37915386304812
According to these needles, they're stone dead".	61.62796287835288
"Ekstrohm, you and I will have a look", Ryan said.	3106.352040257783
"You hold down the fort, Nogol.	91.44113396912897
Take it easy".	18.075218165880017
"Easy", Nogol confirmed.	59.01197874248928
"I heard a story once about a rookie who got excited when the captain stepped outside and he couldn't get an encephalographic reading on him.	445.45500862208894
Me, I know the mind of an officer works in a strange and unfathomable manner".	354.6650456748393
"I'm not worried about you mis-reading the dials, Nogol, just about a lug like you reading them at all.	249.50863409615695
Remember, when the little hand is straight up that's negative.	133.6687197107732
Positive results start when it goes towards the hand you use to make your mark".	295.00110772761684
"But I'm ambidextrous".	15.533226797008545
Ryan told him what he could do then.	3378.478656347873
Ekstrohm smiled, and followed the captain through the airlock with only a glance at the lapel gauge on his coverall.	485.2828934083917
The strong negative field his suit set up would help to repel bacteria and insects.	312.97635388007154
Actually, the types of infection that could attack a warm-blooded mammal were not infinite, and over the course of the last few hundred years adequate defenses had been found for all basic categories.	1138.0193981193297
He wasn't likely to come down with hot chills and puzzling striped fever.	307.4594740947963
They ignored the ladder down to the planet surface and, with only a glance at the seismological gauge to judge surface resistance, dropped to the ground.	391.2078599893104
It was day, but in the thin atmosphere contrasts were sharp between light and shadow.	313.9797003494694
They walked from midnight to noon, noon to midnight, and came to the beast sprawled on its side.	224.3043844536934
Ekstrohm nudged it with a boot.	108.26315827530715
"Hey, this is pretty close to a wart-hog".	115.63707586346442
"Uh-huh", Ryan admitted.	130.8272200772164
"One of the best matches I've ever found.	105.36406023905002
Well, it has to happen.	913.3132490092507
Statistical average and all.	26.880244678265115
Still, it sometimes gives you a creepy feeling to find a rabbit or a snapping turtle on some strange world.	310.85308903392803
It makes you wonder if this exploration business isn't all some big joke, and somebody has been everywhere before you even started".	405.44967286421166
THE surveyor looked sidewise at the captain.	119.4078408043401
The big man seldom gave out with such thoughts.	85.82954534928044
Ekstrohm cleared his throat.	68.24689347281421
"What shall we do with this one?	153.99202095502315
Dissect it"?	20.71280749703121
Ryan nudged it with his toe, following Ekstrohm's example.	281.44779421771847
"I don't know, Stormy.	14.94625487001727
It sure as hell doesn't look like any dominant intelligent species to me.	223.70161434944924
No hands, for one thing.	48.95742541055854
Of course, that's not definite proof".	35.734516457056486
"No, it isn't", Ekstrohm said.	47.41498027068727
"I think we'd better let it lay until we get a clearer picture of the ecological setup around here.	1026.9052807534786
In the meantime, we might be thinking on the problem all these dead beasts represent.	249.24440969198344
What killed them"?	20.39829151345731
"It looks like we did, when we made blastdown".	98.60137391676395
"But what about our landing was lethal to the creatures"?	119.7126945216478
"Radiation"?	10.242362523412295
Ekstrohm suggested.	26.011753524708524
"The planet is very low in radiation from mineral deposits, and the atmosphere seems to shield out most of the solar output.	494.2662926619187
Any little dose of radiation might knock off these critters".	289.95840042784516
"I don't know about that.	34.195302709789246
Maybe it would work the other way.	26.318276872651694
Maybe because they have had virtually no radioactive exposure and don't have any R's stored up, they could take a lot without harm".	721.3477677493227
"Then maybe it was the shockwave we set up.	85.79947333940477
Or maybe it's sheer xenophobia.	128.07442238557633
They curl up and die at the sight of something strange and alien- like a spaceship".	654.0305627778524
"Maybe", the captain admitted.	39.738571799558436
"At this stage of the game anything could be possible.	26.3702807244654
But there's one possibility I particularly don't like".	68.22532548190084
"And that is"?	5.681270818555642
"Suppose it was not us that killed these aliens.	117.14628327947985
Suppose it is something right on the planet, native to it.	74.88742242255033
I just hope it doesn't work on Earthmen too.	106.56362089928152
These critters went real sudden".	100.70906609441718
EKSTROHM lay in his bunk and thought, the camp is quiet.	148.1584575203738
The Earthmen made camp outside the spaceship.	126.27422065323032
There was no reason to leave the comfortable quarters inside the ship, except that, faced with a possibility of sleeping on solid ground, they simply had to get out.	1789.3068856300013
The camp was a cluster of aluminum bubbles, ringed with a spy web to alert the Earthmen to the approach of any being.	664.0072310972917
Each man had a bubble to himself, privacy after the long period of enforced intimacy on board the ship.	356.82921233312993
Ekstrohm lay in his bunk and listened to the sounds of the night on Yancey-6 138.	643.4919325255869
There was a keening of wind, and a cracking of the frozen ground.	195.61482466619202
Insects there were on the world, but they were frozen solid during the night, only to revive and thaw in the morning sun.	3147.475452793852
The bunk he lay on was much more uncomfortable than the acceleration couches on board.	241.92366821751696
Yet he knew the others were sleeping more soundly, now that they had renewed their contact with the matter that had birthed them to send them riding high vacuum.	1973.4697249907304
Ekstrohm was not asleep.	61.20498867274211
Now there could be an end to pretending.	190.9328395839714
He threw off the light blanket and swung his feet off the bunk, to the floor.	181.81321411930767
Ekstrohm stood up.	38.3718674623809
There was no longer any need to hide.	269.5781878959277
But what was there to do?	59.69150942524403
What had changed for him?	20.562725014384494
He no longer had to lie in his bunk all night, his eyes closed, pretending to sleep.	267.6992397712374
In privacy he could walk around, leave the light on, read.	112.25617951041772
It was small comfort for insomnia.	49.048398272106894
Ekstrohm never slept.	66.91281748827745
Some doctors had informed him he was mistaken about this.	96.83394191427347
Actually, they said, he did sleep, but so shortly and fitfully that he forgot.	1278.0097495419045
Others admitted he was absolutely correct- he never slept.	410.2973353327909
His body processes only slowed down enough for him to dispell fatigue poisons.	381.3493016450542
Occasionally he fell into a waking, gritty-eyed stupor; but he never slept.	1163.5139612520275
Never at all.	10.480504205963218
Naturally, he couldn't let his shipmates know this.	95.93993574318937
Insomnia would ground him from the Exploration Service, on physiological if not psychological grounds.	316.96373776616207
He had to hide it.	14.839951295466767
OVER the years, he had had buddies in space in whom he thought he could confide.	1440.4142361316888
The buddies invariably took advantage of him.	64.17741145337196
Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he might as well stand their watches for them or write their reports.	302.84260248507286
Where the hell did he get off threatening to report any laxness on their part to the captain?	688.4671191545157
A man with insomnia had better avoid bad dreams of that kind if he knew what was good for him.	205.9151109935829
Ekstrohm had to hide his secret.	65.8755872764266
In a camp, instead of shipboard, hiding the secret was easier.	126.16851892886005
But the secret itself was just as hard.	45.95521506640068
Ekstrohm picked up a lightweight no-back from the ship's library, a book by Bloch, the famous twentieth century expert on sex.	998.5697766669889
He scanned a few lines on the social repercussions of a celebrated nineteenth century sex murderer, but he couldn't seem to concentrate on the weighty, pontifical, ponderous style.	1796.407769105966
On impulse, he flipped up the heat control on his coverall and slid back the hatch of the bubble.	385.3887954308712
Ekstrohm walked through the alien glass and looked up at the unfamiliar constellations, smelling the frozen sterility of the thin air.	574.7228742677177
Behind him, his mates stirred without waking.	109.96147792683044
/2, EKSTROHM was startled in the morning by a banging on the hatch of his bubble.	186.59227736861482
It took him a few seconds to put his thoughts in order, and then he got up from the bunk where he had been resting, sleeplessly.	520.9056029921936
The angry burnt-red face of Ryan greeted him.	165.48132102752464
"Okay, Stormy, this isn't the place for fun and games.	113.78194356685843
What did you do with them"?	73.18109914493631
"Do with what"?	14.441996260177698
"The dead beasties.	23.80053818990795
All the dead animals laying around the ship".	73.7886491813882
"What are you talking about, Ryan?	73.66136960923957
What do you think I did with them"?	345.54265924933105
"I don't know.	2.83260721340474
All I know is that they are gone".	26.992172967604674
"Gone"?	12.485521684189907
Ekstrohm shouldered his way outside and scanned the veldt.	310.74693660421434
There was no ring of animal corpses.	42.92469228796827
Nothing.	5.354397600619958
Nothing but wispy grass whipping in the keen breeze.	227.37394865347812
"I'll be damned", Ekstrohm said.	37.38070577663672
"You are right now, buddy.	38.7279713897939
ExPe doesn't like anybody mucking up primary evidence".	334.83170988419226
"Where do you get off, Ryan"?	81.10819323310396
Ekstrohm demanded.	29.46582071851244
"Why pick me for your patsy?	134.2222144745505
This has got to be some kind of local phenomenon.	167.62591843824418
Why accuse a shipmate of being behind this"?	123.4023923968994
"Listen, Ekstrohm, I want to give you the benefit of every doubt.	509.0815579876251
But you aren't exactly the model of a surveyor, you know.	98.63072296297295
You've been riding on a pink ticket for six years, you know that".	1169.9105800262198
"No", Ekstrohm said, "No, I didn't know that".	1052.3364518188787
"You've been hiding things from me and Nogol every jump we've made with you.	838.6602448294942
Now comes this!	29.204657721463985
It fits the pattern of secrecy and stealth you've been involved in".	366.8405782098806
"What could I do with your lousy dead bodies?	633.1330467775548
What would I want with them"?	33.11344419032992
"All I know is that you were outside the bubbles last night, and you were the only sentient being who came in or out of our alarm web.	3644.4355282780116
The tapes show that.	22.549955461576264
Now all the bodies are missing, like they got up and walked away".	326.96539468661047
It was not a new experience to Ekstrohm.	22.804045870116813
No.	3.389188185682365
Suspicion wasn't new to him at all.	206.3872027292982
"Ryan, there are other explanations for the disappearance of the bodies.	98.58643531519762
Look for them, will you?	442.0944329993593
I give you my word I'm not trying to pull some stupid kind of joke, or to deliberately foul up the expedition.	371.24035483102534
Take my word, can't you"?	58.80311446016279
Ryan shook his head.	35.57922685376493
"I don't think I can.	55.6466921364784
There's still such a thing as mental illness.	73.61493024081109
You may not be responsible".	14.387708026352078
Ekstrohm scowled.	55.56803692523301
"Don't try anything violent, Stormy.	68.16682559242838
I outweigh you fifty pounds and I'm fast for a big man".	310.51442965767694
"I wasn't planning on jumping you.	51.77933236048674
Why do you have to jump me the first time something goes wrong?	978.7751675226309
She lived and was given a name.	32.02884621965486
Helva.	16.05296361890169
For her first three vegetable months she waved her crabbed claws, kicked weakly with her clubbed feet and enjoyed the usual routine of the infant.	908.9988099069441
She was not alone for there were three other such children in the big city's special nursery.	274.3126450774815
Soon they all were removed to Central Laboratory School where their delicate transformation began.	270.4424827302321
One of the babies died in the initial transferral but of Helva's "class", seventeen thrived in the metal shells.	518.6024733133683
Instead of kicking feet, Helva's neural responses started her wheels; instead of grabbing with hands, she manipulated mechanical extensions.	986.6743447133919
As she matured, more and more neural synapses would be adjusted to operate other mechanisms that went into the maintenance and running of a space ship.	297.41201797585916
For Helva was destined to be the "brain" half of a scout ship, partnered with a man or a woman, whichever she chose, as the mobile half.	1127.2147921164635
She would be among the elite of her kind.	39.29526501692745
Her initial intelligence tests registered above normal and her adaptation index was unusually high.	468.2112638682385
As long as her development within her shell lived up to expectations, and there were no side-effects from the pituitary tinkering, Helva would live a rewarding, rich and unusual life, a far cry from what she would have faced as an ordinary, "normal" being.	627.8384367629842
However, no diagram of her brain patterns, no early IQ tests recorded certain essential facts about Helva that Central must eventually learn.	697.0200827889486
They would have to bide their official time and see, trusting that the massive doses of shell-psychology would suffice her, too, as the necessary bulwark against her unusual confinement and the pressures of her profession.	797.5035150837092
A ship run by a human brain could not run rogue or insane with the power and resources Central had to build into their scout ships.	497.8882747628802
Brain ships were, of course, long past the experimental stages.	77.89437721536855
Most babes survived the techniques of pituitary manipulation that kept their bodies small, eliminating the necessity of transfers from smaller to larger shells.	644.3699353525687
And very, very few were lost when the final connection was made to the control panels of ship or industrial combine.	708.3019139579732
Shell people resembled mature dwarfs in size whatever their natal deformities were, but the well-oriented brain would not have changed places with the most perfect body in the Universe.	1849.9521392293411
So, for happy years, Helva scooted around in her shell with her classmates, playing such games as Stall, Power-Seek, studying her lessons in trajectory, propulsion techniques, computation, logistics, mental hygiene, basic alien psychology, philology, space history, law, traffic, codes all the et ceteras that eventually became compounded into a reasoning, logical, informed citizen.	1507.8706304686607
Not so obvious to her, but of more importance to her teachers, Helva ingested the precepts of her conditioning as easily as she absorbed her nutrient fluid.	441.6727651462634
She would one day be grateful to the patient drone of the sub-conscious-level instruction.	172.97433608946892
Helva's civilization was not without busy, do-good associations, exploring possible inhumanities to terrestrial as well as extraterrestrial citizens.	654.6071829887225
One such group got all incensed over shelled "children" when Helva was just turning fourteen.	515.9904296817865
When they were forced to, Central Worlds shrugged its shoulders, arranged a tour of the Laboratory Schools and set the tour off to a big start by showing the members case histories, complete with photographs.	499.24835761959514
Very few committees ever looked past the first few photos.	138.77722849369144
Most of their original objections about "shells" were overridden by the relief that these hideous to them bodies were mercifully concealed.	569.9573216572531
Helva's class was doing Fine Arts, a selective subject in her crowded program.	360.77650179434863
She had activated one of her microscopic tools which she would later use for minute repairs to various parts of her control panel.	419.06596391945294
Her subject was large- a copy of the Last Supper- and her canvas, small- the head of a tiny screw.	195.82330039229262
She had tuned her sight to the proper degree.	75.7552614147787
As she worked she absentmindedly crooned, producing a curious sound.	226.7869302467008
Shell people used their own vocal cords and diaphragms but sound issued through microphones rather than mouths.	1087.271778279553
Helva's hum then had a curious vibrancy, a warm, dulcet quality even in its aimless chromatic wanderings.	901.2161507863092
"Why, what a lovely voice you have", said one of the female visitors.	289.1721664274639
Helva "looked" up and caught a fascinating panorama of regular, dirty craters on a flaky pink surface.	635.9765498150331
Her hum became a gurgle of surprise.	136.89639628927253
She instinctively regulated her "sight" until the skin lost its cratered look and the pores assumed normal proportions.	697.889519639313
"Yes, we have quite a few years of voice training, madam", remarked Helva calmly.	3958.5817236994194
"Vocal peculiarities often become excessively irritating during prolonged intra-stellar distances and must be eliminated.	1597.1706902082692
I enjoyed my lessons".	36.10938146061572
Although this was the first time that Helva had seen unshelled people, she took this experience calmly.	439.0725727189102
Any other reaction would have been reported instantly.	221.2793259815159
"I meant that you have a nice singing voice h dear", the lady amended.	534.2108962411174
"Thank you.	16.456663926397862
Would you like to see my work"?	62.99521588695275
Helva asked, politely.	55.83016244453022
She instinctively sheered away from personal discussions but she filed the comment away for further meditation.	535.1729639355423
"Work"?	9.665944796231877
asked the lady.	15.0210463375503
"I am currently reproducing the Last Supper on the head of a screw".	105.20583596914908
"O, I say", the lady twittered.	289.7189170560456
Helva turned her vision back to magnification and surveyed her copy critically.	506.5236469698985
"Of course, some of my color values do not match the old Master's and the perspective is faulty but I believe it to be a fair copy".	459.6003097290005
The lady's eyes, unmagnified, bugged out.	109.42304194254024
"Oh, I forget", and Helva's voice was really contrite.	162.25496338211494
If she could have blushed, she would have.	43.894667258278645
"You people don't have adjustable vision".	81.39146209892806
The monitor of this discourse grinned with pride and amusement as Helva's tone indicated pity for the unfortunate.	538.9783604482975
"Here, this will help", suggested Helva, substituting a magnifying device in one extension and holding it over the picture.	803.1614524325448
In a kind of shock, the ladies and gentlemen of the committee bent to observe the incredibly copied and brilliantly executed Last Supper on the head of a screw.	373.64111799364014
"Well", remarked one gentleman who had been forced to accompany his wife, "the good Lord can eat where angels fear to tread".	587.6927847139939
"Are you referring, sir", asked Helva politely, "to the Dark Age discussions of the number of angels who could stand on the head of a pin"?	1170.3697556018508
"I had that in mind".	11.19031109853921
"If you substitute 'atom' for 'angel', the problem is not insoluble, given the metallic content of the pin in question".	444.7843713984639
"Which you are programed to compute"?	120.77970167966015
"Of course".	4.019376810476282
"Did they remember to program a sense of humor, as well, young lady"?	856.3667185479469
"We are directed to develop a sense of proportion, sir, which contributes the same effect".	138.96812401991087
The good man chortled appreciatively and decided the trip was worth his time.	166.71532444537578
If the investigation committee spent months digesting the thoughtful food served them at the Laboratory School, they left Helva with a morsel as well.	513.664838492116
"Singing" as applicable to herself required research.	127.34512515231823
She had, of course, been exposed to and enjoyed a music appreciation course which had included the better known classical works such as "Tristan und Isolde", "Candide", "Oklahoma", "Nozze de Figaro", the atomic age singers, Eileen Farrell, Elvis Presley and Geraldine Todd, as well as the curious rhythmic progressions of the Venusians, Capellan visual chromatics and the sonic concerti of the Altairians.	2255.281202283269
But "singing" for any shell person posed considerable technical difficulties to be overcome.	328.41432701382547
Shell people were schooled to examine every aspect of a problem or situation before making a prognosis.	455.9648520985318
Balanced properly between optimism and practicality, the nondefeatist attitude of the shell people led them to extricate themselves, their ships and personnel, from bizarre situations.	702.371540180616
Therefore to Helva, the problem that she couldn't open her mouth to sing, among other restrictions, did not bother her.	464.9159960838608
She would work out a method, by-passing her limitations, whereby she could sing.	175.7422168682306
She approached the problem by investigating the methods of sound reproduction through the centuries, human and instrumental.	253.67276482164553
Her own sound production equipment was essentially more instrumental than vocal.	277.1571098635598
Breath control and the proper enunciation of vowel sounds within the oral cavity appeared to require the most development and practice.	448.5710905199118
Shell people did not, strictly speaking, breathe.	174.28992818369017
For their purposes, oxygen and other gases were not drawn from the surrounding atmosphere through the medium of lungs but sustained artificially by solution in their shells.	515.1142621267073
After experimentation, Helva discovered that she could manipulate her diaphragmic unit to sustain tone.	511.5654214696321
By relaxing the throat muscles and expanding the oral cavity well into the frontal sinuses, she could direct the vowel sounds into the most felicitous position for proper reproduction through her throat microphone.	1386.0780956067988
She compared the results with tape recordings of modern singers and was not unpleased although her own tapes had a peculiar quality about them, not at all unharmonious, merely unique.	544.6858019484533
Acquiring a repertoire from the Laboratory library was no problem to one trained to perfect recall.	331.6516562027186
She found herself able to sing any role and any song which struck her fancy.	283.42753434033375
It would not have occurred to her that it was curious for a female to sing bass, baritone, tenor, alto, mezzo, soprano and coloratura as she pleased.	984.4409344700057
It was, to Helva, only a matter of the correct reproduction and diaphragmic control required by the music attempted.	970.3944355305592
If the authorities remarked on her curious avocation, they did so among themselves.	412.20151060136754
Shell people were encouraged to develop a hobby so long as they maintained proficiency in their technical work.	1367.058879254229
On the anniversary of her sixteenth year in her shell, Helva was unconditionally graduated and installed in her ship, the XH-834.	313.2754391925284
Her permanent titanium shell was recessed behind an even more indestructible barrier in the central shaft of the scout ship.	767.5303271899636
The neural, audio, visual and sensory connections were made and sealed.	231.58472981023584
Her extendibles were diverted, connected or augmented and the final, delicate-beyond-description brain taps were completed while Helva remained anesthetically unaware of the proceedings.	2465.774000636322
When she awoke, she was the ship.	36.24027130624656
Her brain and intelligence controlled every function from navigation to such loading as a scout ship of her class needed.	482.31614718595057
She could take care of herself and her ambulatory half, in any situation already recorded in the annals of Central Worlds and any situation its most fertile minds could imagine.	761.4748820019688
Her first actual flight, for she and her kind had made mock flights on dummy panels since she was eight, showed her complete mastery of the techniques of her profession.	995.8653353047466
She was ready for her great adventures and the arrival of her mobile partner.	278.3831000144626
There were nine qualified scouts sitting around collecting base pay the day Helva was commissioned.	618.1042770243787
There were several missions which demanded instant attention but Helva had been of interest to several department heads in Central for some time and each man was determined to have her assigned to his section.	653.3669954515719
Consequently no one had remembered to introduce Helva to the prospective partners.	227.09306522593806
The ship always chose its own partner.	71.30248060415538
Had there been another "brain" ship at the Base at the moment, Helva would have been guided to make the first move.	427.13142628965835
As it was, while Central wrangled among itself, Robert Tanner sneaked out of the pilots' barracks, out to the field and over to Helva's slim metal hull.	1285.5909394635637
"Hello, anyone at home"?	50.58524812301324
Tanner wisecracked.	55.56803692523301
"Of course", replied Helva logically, activating her outside scanners.	239.48104189417776
"Are you my partner"?	27.886408063603074
she asked hopefully, as she recognized the Scout Service uniform.	170.33586737260742
"All you have to do is ask", he retorted hopefully.	46.499675045908006
"No one has come.	9.525840145903803
I thought perhaps there were no partners available and I've had no directives from Central".	364.8423390304914
Even to herself Helva sounded a little self-pitying but the truth was she was lonely, sitting on the darkened field.	450.5666536318827
Always she had had the company of other shells and more recently, technicians by the score.	328.4679700539981
The sudden solitude had lost its momentary charm and become oppressive.	269.042864909477
"No directives from Central is scarcely a cause for regret, but there happen to be eight other guys biting their fingernails to the quick just waiting for an invitation to board you, you beautiful thing".	708.8173313027567
It would have killed you in the cabin.	49.524670019545255
Do you have anything for me"?	21.440948912684405
Mercer stammered, not knowing what B'dikkat meant, and the two-nosed man answered for him, "I think he has a nice baby head, but it isn't big enough for you to take yet".	3613.923063732889
Mercer never noticed the needle touch his arm.	125.63319967182397
B'dikkat had turned to the next knot of people when the super-condamine hit Mercer.	671.7546020298468
He tried to run after B'dikkat, to hug the lead spacesuit, to tell B'dikkat that he loved him.	336.11574863791594
He stumbled and fell, but it did not hurt.	218.17115207771903
The many-bodied girl lay near him.	94.46873027956823
Mercer spoke to her.	23.104939470343876
"Isn't it wonderful?	23.100394164234245
You're beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.	28.56698912978142
I'm so happy to be here".	64.91856926794058
The woman covered with growing hands came and sat beside them.	79.61897908631703
She radiated warmth and good fellowship.	68.2465237877233
Mercer thought that she looked very distinguished and charming.	160.1521694819446
He struggled out of his clothes.	105.02762236369519
It was foolish and snobbish to wear clothing when none of these nice people did.	168.9487429210278
The two women babbled and crooned at him.	74.93819827067306
With one corner of his mind he knew that they were saying nothing, just expressing the euphoria of a drug so powerful that the known universe had forbidden it.	506.8332852807139
With most of his mind he was happy.	114.46475567490334
He wondered how anyone could have the good luck to visit a planet as nice as this.	401.7544255038223
He tried to tell the Lady Da, but the words weren't quite straight.	140.54918601921804
A painful stab hit him in the abdomen.	126.08181039743356
The drug went after the pain and swallowed it.	67.79905576062754
It was like the cap in the hospital, only a thousand times better.	554.7909533204946
The pain was gone, though it had been crippling the first time.	119.56695569100933
He forced himself to be deliberate.	48.52860405335145
He rammed his mind into focus and said to the two ladies who lay pinkly nude beside him in the desert, "That was a good bite.	3610.20291985319
Maybe I will grow another head.	58.162479959968444
That would make B'dikkat happy"!	137.057969464319
The Lady Da forced the foremost of her bodies in an upright position.	218.8111322504338
Said she, "I'm strong, too.	106.87243795865649
I can talk.	10.528657588514767
Remember, man, remember.	24.9744142305901
People never live forever.	44.412063471801936
We can die, too, we can die like real people.	86.8492624497891
I do so believe in death"!	45.014060960339734
Mercer smiled at her through his happiness.	118.13046799022561
"Of course you can.	8.491619170423132
But isn't this nice h" With this he felt his lips thicken and his mind go slack.	366.3883023946834
He was wide awake, but he did not feel like doing anything.	133.62043274798845
In that beautiful place, among all those companionable and attractive people, he sat and smiled.	371.15522818680273
B'dikkat was sterilizing his knives.	150.2469036406315
Mercer wondered how long the super-condamine had lasted him.	262.66438589510756
He endured the ministrations of the dromozoa without screams or movement.	180.03174590204227
The agonies of nerves and itching of skin were phenomena which happened somewhere near him, but meant nothing.	743.6789574084916
He watched his own body with remote, casual interest.	116.11005918845008
The Lady Da and the hand-covered woman stayed near him.	161.66200125749975
After a long time the half-man dragged himself over to the group with his powerful arms.	995.3350139491445
Having arrived he blinked sleepily and friendlily at them, and lapsed back into the restful stupor from which he had emerged.	1043.9803395129254
Mercer saw the sun rise on occasion, closed his eyes briefly, and opened them to see stars shining.	407.2626645796939
Time had no meaning.	26.413416105253937
The dromozoa fed him in their mysterious way; the drug canceled out his needs for cycles of the body.	263.5662577490035
At last he noticed a return of the inwardness of pain.	234.60394920424935
The pains themselves had not changed; he had.	50.13552225761866
He knew all the events which could take place on Shayol.	5124.030006178874
He remembered them well from his happy period.	54.26320917540367
Formerly he had noticed them- now he felt them.	115.42493170326891
He tried to ask the Lady Da how long they had had the drug, and how much longer they would have to wait before they had it again.	1387.6035088677993
She smiled at him with benign, remote happiness; apparently her many torsos, stretched out along the ground, had a greater capacity for retaining the drug than did his body.	582.7431463839297
She meant him well, but was in no condition for articulate speech.	345.2342748119256
The half-man lay on the ground, arteries pulsating prettily behind the half-transparent film which protected his abdominal cavity.	366.2466741301724
Mercer squeezed the man's shoulder.	70.4631419613186
The half-man woke, recognized Mercer and gave him a healthily sleepy grin.	229.55395123556983
"'A good morrow to you, my boy'.	247.6831919614223
That's out of a play.	17.41471819834033
Did you ever see a play"?	26.00359686031043
"You mean a game with cards"?	70.81359170059473
"No", said the half-man, "a sort of eye-machine with real people doing the figures".	326.17850810877087
"I never saw that", said Mercer, "but I"- "But you want to ask me when B'dikkat is going to come back with the needle".	5445.531114225413
"Yes", said Mercer, a little ashamed of his obviousness.	111.4644820409929
"Soon", said the half-man.	30.873110999362616
That's why I think of plays.	31.135058446137442
We all know what is going to happen.	64.62018430101907
We all know when it is going to happen.	54.791286082824605
We all know what the dummies will do"- he gestured at the hummocks in which the decorticated men were cradled- "and we all know what the new people will ask.	1866.8178576288635
But we never know how long a scene is going to take".	67.35109223391365
"What's a 'scene'"?	97.53371064378656
asked Mercer.	16.00093463581729
"Is that the name for the needle"?	43.633053314066395
The half-man laughed with something close to real humor.	90.7633317791542
"No, no, no.	10.574406853654079
You've got the lovelies on the brain.	23.113699279309003
A scene is just a part of a play.	117.94248198659989
I mean we know the order in which things happen, but we have no clocks and nobody cares enough to count days or to make calendars and there's not much climate here, so none of us know how long anything takes.	745.6223487584641
The pain seems short and the pleasure seems long.	60.78374808527552
I'm inclined to think that they are about two Earth-weeks each".	233.92428906986572
Mercer did not know what an "Earth-week" was, since he had not been a well-read man before his conviction, but he got nothing more from the half-man at that time.	915.0521966313648
The half-man received a dromozootic implant, turned red in the face, shouted senselessly at Mercer, "Take it out, you fool!	1495.3456841724046
Take it out of me"!	34.409712200735065
When Mercer looked on helplessly, the half-man twisted over on his side, his pink dusty back turned to Mercer, and wept hoarsely and quietly to himself.	441.5320959610652
Mercer himself could not tell how long it was before B'dikkat came back.	294.94673641713655
It might have been several days.	70.56201833120691
It might have been several months.	88.58018182410402
Once again B'dikkat moved among them like a father; once again they clustered like children.	359.60439235885275
This time B'dikkat smiled pleasantly at the little head which had grown out of Mercer's thigh- a sleeping child's head, covered with light hair on top and with dainty eyebrows over the resting eyes.	933.5370146830995
Mercer got the blissful needle.	76.44784124860196
When B'dikkat cut the head from Mercer's thigh, he felt the knife grinding against the cartilage which held the head to his own body.	854.6953727789708
He saw the child-face grimace as the head was cut; he felt the far, cool flash of unimportant pain, as B'dikkat dabbed the wound with a corrosive antiseptic which stopped all bleeding immediately.	710.6218792943761
The next time it was two legs growing from his chest.	61.50757565082833
Then there had been another head beside his own.	30.638342869823493
Or was that after the torso and legs, waist to toe-tips, of the little girl which had grown from his side?	465.49794157375493
He forgot the order.	19.31135136274576
He did not count time.	12.789798024098154
Lady Da smiled at him often, but there was no love in this place.	663.8993374531228
She had lost the extra torsos.	52.17513871498499
In between teratologies, she was a pretty and shapely woman; but the nicest thing about their relationship was her whisper to him, repeated some thousands of time, repeated with smiles and hope, "People never live forever".	1272.0827461078625
She found this immensely comforting, even though Mercer did not make much sense out of it.	780.0303003584344
Thus events occurred, and victims changed in appearance, and new ones arrived.	688.0108438091944
Sometimes B'dikkat took the new ones, resting in the everlasting sleep of their burned-out brains, in a ground-truck to be added to other herds.	1429.2450229649692
The bodies in the truck threshed and bawled without human speech when the dromozoa struck them.	365.26821842699405
Finally, Mercer did manage to follow B'dikkat to the door of the cabin.	356.28457572466147
He had to fight the bliss of super-condamine to do it.	135.1133425228754
Only the memory of previous hurt, bewilderment and perplexity made him sure that if he did not ask B'dikkat when he, Mercer, was happy, the answer would no longer be available when he needed it.	834.1635071727379
Fighting pleasure itself, he begged B'dikkat to check the records and to tell him how long he had been there.	506.21329737476054
B'dikkat grudgingly agreed, but he did not come out of the doorway.	502.13790221146706
He spoke through the public address box built into the cabin, and his gigantic voice roared out over the empty plain, so that the pink herd of talking people stirred gently in their happiness and wondered what their friend B'dikkat might be wanting to tell them.	873.5637832153789
When he said it, they thought it exceedingly profound, though none of them understood it, since it was simply the amount of time that Mercer had been on Shayol "Standard years- eighty-four years, seven months, three days, two hours, eleven and one half minutes.	786.9968656347291
Good luck, fellow".	33.05053730835623
Mercer turned away.	28.10702713518595
The secret little corner of his mind, which stayed sane through happiness and pain, made him wonder about B'dikkat.	434.909326834272
What persuaded the cow-man to remain on Shayol?	174.49497295595606
What kept him happy without super-condamine?	233.258304332658
Was B'dikkat a crazy slave to his own duty or was he a man who had hopes of going back to his own planet some day, surrounded by a family of little cow-people resembling himself?	1430.547093960383
Mercer, despite his happiness, wept a little at the strange fate of B'dikkat.	327.4068437023697
His own fate he accepted.	31.50679183580866
He remembered the last time he had eaten- actual eggs from an actual pan.	185.02473995918243
The dromozoa kept him alive, but he did not know how they did it.	41.72187029373032
He staggered back to the group.	340.3994511246867
The Lady Da, naked in the dusty plain, waved a hospitable hand and showed that there was a place for him to sit beside her.	287.1774884248902
There were unclaimed square miles of seating space around them, but he appreciated the kindliness of her gesture none the less.	682.504150303465
/4, The years, if they were years, went by.	262.43130170237873
The land of Shayol did not change.	51.62992859246405
Sometimes the bubbling sound of geysers came faintly across the plain to the herd of men; those who could talk declared it to be the breathing of Captain Alvarez.	527.0687343713881
There was night and day, but no setting of crops, no change of season, no generations of men.	223.777011079144
Time stood still for these people, and their load of pleasure was so commingled with the shocks and pains of the dromozoa that the words of the Lady Da took on very remote meaning.	1137.847894612707
"People never live forever".	44.412063471801936
Her statement was a hope, not a truth in which they could believe.	146.54151829879004
They did not have the wit to follow the stars in their courses, to exchange names with each other, to harvest the experience of each for the wisdom of all.	582.8624659114947
There was no dream of escape for these people.	30.595932064857628
Though they saw the old-style chemical rockets lift up from the field beyond B'dikkat's cabin, they did not make plans to hide among the frozen crop of transmuted flesh.	1990.2224362811726
Far long ago, some other prisoner than one of these had tried to write a letter.	297.7574077939247
His handwriting was on a rock.	528.6323504824481
Mercer read it, and so had a few of the others, but they could not tell which man had done it.	671.906405524819
Nor did they care.	17.514139038568107
The letter, scraped on stone, had been a message home.	75.86267165005894
They could still read the opening "Once, I was like you, stepping out of my window at the end of day, and letting the winds blow me gently toward the place I lived in.	493.15892296946066
Once, like you, I had one head, two hands, ten fingers on my hands.	98.04444976098924
The front part of my head was called a face, and I could talk with it.	1495.7544924797694
Now I can only write, and that only when I get out of pain.	328.20110334895213
DAN MORGAN TOLD HIMSELF HE WOULD FORGET Ann Turner.	2346.6639471802337
He was well rid of her.	16.478096597004907
He certainly didn't want a wife who was fickle as Ann.	189.08760490904305
If he had married her, he'd have been asking for trouble.	99.78391063333862
But all of this was rationalization.	26.472828428566565
Sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night thinking of Ann, and then could not get back to sleep.	188.82082772028235
His plans and dreams had revolved around her so much and for so long that now he felt as if he had nothing.	710.8453859934943
The easiest thing would be to sell out to Al Budd and leave the country, but there was a stubborn streak in him that wouldn't allow it.	3921.340341008315
The best antidote for the bitterness and disappointment that poisoned him was hard work.	182.3812256734043
He found that if he was tired enough at night, he went to sleep simply because he was too exhausted to stay awake.	2749.6991082999775
Each day he found himself thinking less often of Ann; each day the hurt was a little duller, a little less poignant.	659.9567553140876
He had plenty of work to do.	20.746471198917636
Because the summer was unusually dry and hot, the spring produced a smaller stream than in ordinary years.	236.6646213480293
The grass in the meadows came fast, now that the warm weather was here.	716.7588488183377
He could not afford to lose a drop of the precious water, so he spent most of his waking hours along the ditches in his meadows.	305.1477051267039
He had no idea how much time Budd would give him.	397.75810725303137
In any case, he had no intention of being caught asleep, so he carried his revolver in its holster on his hip and he took his Winchester with him and leaned it against the fence.	337.9588318413937
He stopped every few minutes and leaned on his shovel as he studied the horizon, but nothing happened, each day dragging out with monotonous calm.	724.1566089191961
When, in late afternoon on the last day in June, he saw two people top the ridge to the south and walk toward the house, he quit work immediately and strode to his rifle.	390.7314297184332
It could be some kind of trick Budd had thought up.	90.09160142619879
No one walked in this country, least of all Ed Dow or Dutch Renfro or any of the rest of the Bar B crew.	364.2354801990921
Morgan watched the two figures for a time, puzzled.	77.12458515014667
When they were closer and he saw that one was a woman, he was more puzzled than ever.	223.425663903344
He cleaned his shovel, left it against the fence, picked up his Winchester, and started downstream.	606.2160581209961
His visitors had crawled through the south fence and were crossing the meadow, angling toward the house.	328.27059214589616
Now he saw that both the man and woman were moving slowly and irregularly, staggering, as if they found it a struggle to remain on their feet.	260.2368055617226
Reaching the house ahead of them, he waited with his Winchester in his hands.	769.6912220506958
They crawled through the north fence and came on toward him, and now he saw that both were young, not more than nineteen or twenty.	626.0780609890985
They were dirty, their clothes were torn, and the girl was so exhausted that she fell when she was still twenty feet from the front door.	1846.957205325703
She lay there, making no effort to get back on her feet.	657.2121247912288
The boy came on to the porch and sat down, his gaze on Morgan as if half expecting him to shoot and not really caring.	348.2759633788659
Morgan hesitated, thinking that if this was a trick, it was a good one.	65.73239690121338
He didn't think it was possible for this couple to be pretending.	235.44492684825917
The boy licked his dry lips.	70.69335208066953
He asked, "Could we have a drink"?	150.76011531855542
Morgan jerked his head toward the front door.	371.0033781205496
"In the kitchen", he said.	45.307408372676484
Leaning his Winchester against the front of the house, he walked to the girl.	933.109667611777
"Get up.	11.881825195362312
There's water in the house".	365.37995433455933
She didn't move or say anything.	38.79973519117299
Her eyes were glazed as if she didn't hear or even see him.	211.26981141907063
She had reached a point at which she didn't even care how she looked.	164.82032449581817
Her face was very thin, and burned by the sun until much of the skin was dead and peeling, the new skin under it red and angry.	401.64987595298345
Her blond hair was frowzy, her dress torn in several places, and her shoes were so completely worn out that they were practically no protection.	6187.3314251561715
It must have hurt her even to walk, for the sole was completely off her left foot and Morgan saw that it was bruised and bleeding.	277.20274362742475
He picked her up, sliding one hand under her shoulders, the other under her knees, and carried her into the house.	715.6109625212924
She was amazingly light, and so relaxed in his arms that he wasn't even sure she was conscious.	443.03481979521035
Any lingering suspicion that this was a trick Al Budd had thought up was dispelled.	338.4163761025834
No girl would go this far to fool a man so she could kill him.	175.04817199999087
Besides, she had a sweet face that attracted him.	77.0807761538765
He put her down on the couch, and going into the kitchen, saw that the boy had dropped into a chair beside the table.	2527.3145371230207
They looked a good deal alike, Morgan thought.	82.11225582152704
Both had blonde hair and blue eyes, and there was even a faint similarity of features.	3830.774164520622
Morgan filled the dipper from the water bucket on the shelf, went back into the front room, lifted the girl's head, and held the edge of the dipper to her mouth.	1024.3820634670292
She drank greedily, and murmured, "Thank you", as he lowered her head.	501.8107316079051
He stood looking down at her for a moment, wondering what could have reduced her to this condition.	255.23115682172576
He had seen a few nester wagons go through the country, the families almost starving to death, but he had never seen any of them on foot and as bad off as these two.	1010.7435047450614
The girl dropped off to sleep.	44.266771836994586
Morgan returned to the kitchen, built a fire, and carried in several buckets of water from the spring which he poured into the copper boiler that he had placed on the stove.	12619.086336486876
He brought his Winchester in from the front of the house, then faced the boy.	202.8561495727455
"Who are you and what happened to you"?	28.399340186118476
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
"I'm Billy Jones", the boy answered.	68.7763839088833
"That's my wife Sharon.	40.39733904012798
We ran out of money and we haven't eaten for two days".	113.44420593026224
"What are you doing here"?	30.820981928071387
"Are we in Wyoming"?	26.244036728395383
Morgan nodded.	18.400650667548696
"About five miles north of the line".	68.23795150132312
Jones sighed as if relieved.	80.32572168250343
"We've been looking for work, but all the ranchers have turned us down".	711.2616194973001
"You mean you dragged your wife all over hell's half-acre looking for work"?	476.16443709220283
Morgan demanded.	16.00962036954656
"The town of Buckhorn's only about six miles from here.	107.19990930534327
Why didn't you go there"?	28.02147898378761
"We didn't want town work", Jones said.	55.99641247690862
"This is a mighty empty country", Morgan said.	53.12933026526924
"There's only one more ranch three miles north of here.	113.23798859539798
You'd have starved to death if you'd missed both places".	234.75430784039506
"Then we're lucky we got here.	163.53076326824512
Could you give us a job, Mr h" "Morgan.	250.8695644368879
Dan Morgan".	25.111345804519505
He was silent a moment, thinking he could use a man this time of year, and if the girl could cook, it would give him more time in the meadows, but he knew nothing about the couple.	659.8679557870502
They might kill him in his sleep, thinking there was money in the house.	474.70031955004
He dismissed the possibility at once.	32.47154135793382
The girl's thin face haunted him.	96.84601810149455
It wasn't the face of a killer.	25.03896472197244
He wasn't so sure about the boy.	31.62164655526577
He hadn't shaved for several weeks, his sparse beard giving his face a pathetic, woebegone expression.	431.2054657004614
There was more to this than Jones had told him.	139.92530849491814
They were running from something.	17.237671713831375
He'd be an idiot to let them stay he thought, but he couldn't send them on, either.	688.4280427548847
"I could use some help", Morgan said finally, "but I can't afford to pay you anything.	183.79389701322583
I guess you'd better go on in the morning".	92.44035230981834
"We'll work for our keep", the boy said eagerly.	49.86266425247937
"I've been mucking in a mine in the San Juan, but I used to work on a ranch.	363.1233345357578
Sharon, she's cooked in a restaurant.	112.28424289275395
We'll work hard, Mr Morgan".	64.73957650860709
"I'll see", Morgan said.	56.611062212141455
"Right now you need a meal and a bath.	70.66438914812599
Your wife's in terrible shape".	64.98966470798632
"I know", Jones said dejectedly.	41.99066804040562
Morgan filled the fire box with wood again, then started supper and set the table.	219.87040042530145
When the meal was ready, he told Jones to wash up, and going into the front room, woke the girl.	187.60293515365254
He said, "I've got some supper ready".	64.06359817178058
She rubbed her eyes and stretched, then sat up, her hands going to her hair.	219.61188268215784
"I'm a mess", she said, and suddenly she was alarmed.	253.4667685259018
"Who are you?	10.883151202758988
How did we get here"?	28.326764319082717
"I'm Dan Morgan.	24.306358829715965
This is the Rafter M. You fell down in front of the house, and I carried you in.	251.92134029409797
I gave you a drink and then you went to sleep".	94.66679368223137
"Oh".	3.7445007932686747
She stared at him, her eyes wide as she thought about what he had said; then she murmured "You're very kind, Mr Morgan.	1275.441883829743
Do you take in all the strays who come by"?	73.7087188208158
"I don't have many strays coming to my front door", he said.	77.80277209680474
"Think you can walk to the table"?	220.37826613095652
"Of course".	4.019376810476282
She got to her feet, staggered, and almost fell.	74.37167179989295
He caught her by an arm and helped her into the kitchen.	152.49904973215163
She sat down at the table, shaking her head.	587.8575499211333
"I'm sorry, Mr Morgan.	13.986711087111146
I'm usually a very strong woman, but I'm awfully tired".	137.25079182952837
"And hungry", he said.	16.011348945287722
"Start in.	7.7956912057488985
It's not much of a meal, but it's what I eat".	5406.848903400322
"Not much of a meal"?	115.29466567188352
the girl cried.	31.230503209512538
"Mr Morgan, it's the best-looking food I ever saw".	131.37098282993114
He told himself he had never seen two people eat so much.	81.91022517445282
When they were finally satisfied, Jones said, "I think he's going to give us work".	121.48749285235616
The grateful way she looked at Morgan made him ashamed of himself.	151.86871133989504
When he saw the expression in her eyes, he knew he couldn't send them on.	2250.497467231607
She said, "I guess the Lord looks out for fools, drunkards, and innocents".	266.672539580187
Morgan laughed.	18.161404238109707
"Which are you"?	17.074053414271138
"We're not drunkards", she said.	71.85467408374807
"That's all I'm sure of".	30.88596925045235
She helped him with the dishes, then he brought more water in from the spring before it got dark.	269.0879685648008
He carried the tub from the back of the house where it hung from a nail in the wall.	1451.9455771285652
He said "You'll feel a lot better after you have a bath.	158.10944958405588
Your feet are in bad shape, Mrs Jones.	92.31235164365377
You'll have to go to town to see the doc".	122.10792118907621
"No, she'll be all right", Jones said quickly.	832.1703291631621
"I mean, we don't have any way to get there and we can't expect you to quit work just to take us to town".	179.97000486071587
"We'll see", Morgan said.	61.908318437626875
"Could you find me a needle and thread"?	106.6941152761618
the girl asked.	23.46833579850011
"My dress needs some work on it".	49.62732970447317
He nodded and, going into the bedroom, brought a needle, thread, and scissors.	179.85278821862698
He said "I'm going to bed".	39.89876932319013
He nodded at the door in front of him.	76.33520671262485
"That's my spare bedroom.	33.43886437202758
The bed isn't made, but you'll find plenty of blankets there".	136.5513061661228
"You're awfully kind", the girl said.	36.151891024876385
"We'll pay you back if you'll let us.	355.8754599478277
Some way".	8.072167717655118
"It's all right", he said.	36.801766737109475
"I get up early.	20.57244966472691
You'd better sleep".	74.89630166153715
Jones followed him into the front room, closing the door behind him.	85.55627090248862
He said "If it's all right with you, Mr Morgan, I'll sleep out here on the couch.	378.3452459530756
We haven't slept together since we started.	115.75784334983997
I just can't take any chances on getting her pregnant, and if we were sleeping together h" He stopped, embarrassed, and Morgan said, "I understand that, but I don't savvy why you'd go off and leave your jobs in the first place".	2451.9895402447746
"We got fired", Jones said.	23.664247317817168
"We had to do something".	38.62045675925309
They were a pair of lost, whipped kids, Morgan thought as he went to bed.	327.653283109653
Gavin paused wearily.	104.8601974070779
"You can't stay here with me.	29.08710422393774
It's late and you said they'd be here by dawn".	123.56005236098568
"You can't make me go".	15.27636504067869
Gavin sank down again into his chair and began to rock.	215.756880988043
He was thinking of Rittenhouse and how he had left him there, to rock to death on the porch of the Splendide.	1105.1211883347937
It was the only thing in his life for which he felt guilt.	257.88301465498057
Beneath his black shirt his frail shoulders shook and croaks of pain broke from his throat, the stored pain shattering free in slow gasps, terrible to see.	1845.4800484091288
Clayton tried to call back the face of the man he had known.	2894.805796305093
Against that other man he could rally his anger; against this bent man in the chair he was powerless.	335.9395332971075
Gavin's lips moved so that Clayton had to stoop to catch the words.	249.12826144582385
"Do you remember Big Charlie"?	70.84261946026405
he whispered.	22.60363446495084
"He stuck with me all these years.	50.21588019276553
Just a half-breed 'pache, never said much, never meant anythin to me, but he stuck with me.	483.63208592433534
He got into a fight with Tom English, your brother's son.	135.2368640953621
It was a fair fight, the boy provoked it- Big Charlie told me so.	153.84594654046714
I believed him.	14.357061688516506
They killed Big Charlie, dumped his body in my rose garden two nights ago.	899.186104053886
My men, they all left me.	40.745853656836516
Just cleared out.	21.912459948569804
I didn't understand why, Clay.	51.78573272525234
They just all cleared out.	35.00357203473702
I treated them fair h" He wiped his lips with a sleeve, then stared at Clayton in a childish kind of wonder.	432.00062148419806
"Do you mean"- he asked almost shyly- "you want me to go with you, wherever you're goin"?	276.45637544643023
"Yes".	3.418800859412557
"You don't hate me any more"?	57.14919599372876
Clayton choked, shook his head, murmuring, "No".	99.85637180030176
"Come here".	15.192069842801738
The old man beckoned with one finger and Clayton went forward to him.	105.1007537731073
Gavin slipped his arms around his chest and hugged him fiercely.	484.79029138925654
"All my life", he said, "I tried.	683.9018956391961
I tried.	5.756332895467226
I saw you driftin away- but I tried.	79.40357885174264
And you wanted no part of me when I had so much to give.	176.91642256342766
Now there's nothin left of me.	58.924378224225364
Laurel is gone, my men are gone, Ed is dead- and you come to me, to help me.	639.7530479819216
Oh!	12.9418181617539
God in Heaven, I can't refuse you now.	105.97080047949515
That would mock me too much!	56.505651243127076
Can't let you go way from me again h" He closed his eyes, ashamed of his tears.	206.28121546696926
"I'll go, Clay".	13.750911793496558
Clayton freed himself from the embrace and stepped back.	159.91234423452266
The eyes followed him fearfully.	55.14572058193011
"The horses.	5.518165822056684
There isn't much time.	19.086406878896366
I'll saddle the horses and bring them round.	60.11196636571914
You get ready".	17.66104139854223
He burst from the hot confinement of the room into the cold night air.	124.33583517263338
Gavin's stallion was in the barn and he tightened the cinches over the saddle blanket, working by touch in the darkness, comforting the animal with easy words.	787.9603562012292
When he had finished he led him and the mare to the porch.	146.0877875900608
The stallion had smelled the mare coming into heat and began to paw the turf, shaking his head.	387.3701785246479
Clayton looped the reins in a knot over the veranda post and patted the warm flesh of his neck.	532.1445161667382
The mare had backed away.	47.15515310256343
"You take it easy, boy", Clayton whispered.	97.49292104972122
"She doesn't want you now.	39.09108525151783
You take it easy, your time will come".	52.955391486775206
Gavin stood on the porch, a thin figure.	231.7981024281398
He had taken a carbine down from the wall and it trailed from his hand, the stock bumping on the wood floor.	1729.2504563881002
Clayton called to him and he came slowly down the steps.	2230.5380266635043
"Clay", he said, "where are we goin"?	89.80288248044617
"To a ranch in the valley.	32.29187222357682
There's someone there I have to see.	121.9352703893058
We may take her with us- to California.	45.07589827573672
I don't know yet, it's crazy; I have to think about it.	251.26802064885595
But California is where we're goin".	104.50358738424657
"California".	7.13993290747024
Gavin began to nod.	66.45738582728164
"That's a new land.	13.541811837383314
A man could make a mark there.	25.915463822792987
two men, together like us, we could do somethin fine out there, maybe find a place where no one's ever been.	638.8927687404997
Start out fresh, the two of us, like nothin had ever happened".	285.56874346621
"Yes, like a father and son".	121.07148139743236
"I made you what you are", Gavin whispered.	102.00000388057488
"I made you so you could stand up.	57.33197584227115
I made you a man".	15.780633768259293
"Yes, Gavin, you did".	30.01435011280533
He approached the horse and laid a hand on the stallion's quivering neck.	193.8934692962596
"Help me up, Clay.	56.069888920418
Help me up, I feel kind of stiff".	118.63187137766639
Clayton lifted him gently into the saddle, like a child.	150.42982680799327
"I hate to leave my garden", Gavin said.	67.89999538859335
"They'll trample it down.	19.345131809106583
I loved my garden".	34.15754637264646
"It will grow again- in California".	30.85514155153195
"I loved this valley", he whispered huskily.	347.24111767692443
"Lived alone here for three years, before any man came.	150.80847943209795
Lived alone by the river.	43.659723763870964
It was nice then, so peaceful and quiet.	32.873146102640796
There was no one but me.	176.01591129060813
I don't want to leave it".	52.3102624951682
Clayton swung into the saddle and whacked the stallion's rump.	390.5110958732612
The two horses broke from the yard, from the circle of light cast by the lamp still burning in the house, into the darkness.	1117.1911576521711
THIRTY-FIVE THEY RODE at a measured pace through the valley.	279.1280495082516
Dawn would come soon and the night was at its coldest.	435.89922875099643
The moon had sunk below the black crest of the mountains and the land, seen through eyes that had grown accustomed to the absence of light, looked primeval, as if no man had ever trespassed before.	722.5101794047346
It looked as Gavin had first seen it years ago, on those nights when he slept alone by his campfire and waked suddenly to the hoot of an owl or the rustle of a blade of grass in the moon's wind- a savage land, untenanted and brooding, too strong to be broken by the will of men.	814.0195892406491
Gavin sighed bitterly.	91.28610392007452
In that inert landscape the caravan of his desires passed before his mind.	176.42583786400596
He saw them ambushed, strewn in the postures of the broken and the dying.	126.04528019166112
In vain his mind groped to reassemble the bones of the relationships he had sought so desperately, but they would not come to life.	434.44495466951184
The silence oppressed him, made him bend low over the horse's neck as if to hide from a wind that had begun to blow far away and was twisting slowly through the darkness in its slow search.	699.7905829672716
They passed ranches that were framed dark gray against the black hills.	241.87860570607722
Then at last the darkness began to dissolve.	83.28939534171198
A bold line of violet broke loose from the high ridge of the mountains, followed by feathers of red that swept the last stars from the sky.	1085.5854392722442
The wan light spread over the ground and the valley revealed in the first glimmer the contours of trees and fences and palely shadowed gullies.	3235.1830106211573
THEY HAD been seen as soon as they left the ranch, picked out of the darkness by the weary though watchful eyes of two men posted a few hundred yards away in the windless shelter of the trees.	791.9182351854564
The two men whipped their horses into town and flung themselves up the steps of the saloon, crying their intelligence.	271.19515704380694
The men in Pettigrew's were tired from a night's drinking, their faces red and baggy.	276.58384446865205
But the liquor had flushed their courage.	68.5723919222789
They greeted the news angrily, as though they had been cheated of purpose.	82.2184411209354
Lester heard their muttering, saw their eyes reveal their desire.	262.474897253805
He worked his tongue round and round in the hollow of his cheek and his voice came out of his throat, dry and cracked.	516.7310570078051
"He's leavin.	27.76621351433249
That's what you wanted, isn't it?	34.41776213333009
Clayton is with him, takin him out of the valley.	514.4145437055472
You can't"- "Keep out of this", Purvis snarled.	335.5308345631323
"He's not your brother, he's Gavin's son.	133.77699239281327
You see, he lied to us when he said he was leavin alone".	655.5352189874493
Joe Purvis was thinking back many years.	106.73631360237484
First he thought of the time he had ridden to Gavin and told him how his cattle were being rustled at the far end of the valley.	655.4065347738041
He remembered Gavin's smirk, his own cringing feeling, his impotence.	261.4147192572872
Then he thought of a time when Clayton's horse had fallen lame in the Gap.	375.9539016464095
His wife had said to him "Nellie is in love with Clayton Roy.	165.41980528034682
He wouldn't even dance with her at Gavin's party.	126.9275450403949
He treats her like she was dirt.	46.51519349886885
And you stand by like a fool and let him do it h" He remembered Clayton's mocking smile in the saloon when he had asked him what he would do if they brought their cattle to water.	2368.931256804224
It was the night Clayton had tricked them in the poker game.	85.28869386715901
"You're Gavin's son", Joe Purvis had said.	88.80675566166455
He turned to Lester.	12.34814118699486
"You brought him back to this valley thinkin he would help you find your boy.	211.5169593045785
He meant to help Gavin all the time.	44.54539834429531
He made a fool of you, Lester".	36.234947270577905
He swung round to the other men- "We can catch him easy!	389.2417692840242
There are plenty of fresh horses halfway at my place.	247.0307523991694
If we let them go, they won't stay away, they'll find men to ride with them and they'll be back.	716.9385226142167
There's only one way they can get out now and that's through the Gap- if we ride hard we can take them".	323.17101046726003
Lester's hand fluttered to Cabot's shoulder.	234.6085025974909
The boy jerked away.	30.981343945445154
"He killed Tom- do you understand that"?	67.62840553039631
Cabot turned back to the men and he was drunk with the thing they would do, wild to break from the cloying warmth of the saloon into the cold of the ebbing night.	1190.5119268102217
He fled through the door and down the steps, running, and the men grunted and followed, pushing Lester to one side where he backed against the wall with the sleeve of his jacket raised before his eyes to shut out the light.	1099.1232380274307
Purvis and Silas Pettigrew were the last to leave.	527.7469833019568
They mounted up and rode slowly behind the others at a safe distance.	171.78524420345946
THIRTY-SIX IN THE cold dawn the mist swirled low to the ground, then rose with a gust of sudden wind to leave the valley clear.	598.2857280557216
The clouds parted and hard gashes of sunlight swooped down to stain the earth with streaks of white and gold light so that the shadows of the running horses flowed like dark streams over the dazzling snow.	1008.5525325099937
When they turned in the saddle they could see the men behind them, strung out on the prairie in a flat black line.	653.3331256649586
The wind of their running was cold and wild, the horses were lathered and their manes streamed like stiff black pennants in the wind.	425.83172145678725
The mare began to tire and Clayton felt the spray of snow from the hoofs of Gavin's stallion.	466.68499628851856
He looked over his shoulder at the thin dotting of pursuers.	493.6302971871681
They neither gained nor fell back.	81.258118158894
He rode low on the mare's neck.	65.15033732456945
Ahead of him Gavin turned slightly off the trail and pointed for the Gap, no more than a mile away.	282.3312810753695
Gavin's face was bloodless with excitement.	120.60237477951638
He did not look back; he could feel more than hear the staccato beat of hoofs that fanned out across the prairie to the north.	274.98546372860955
He knew who was riding after him- the men he had known all his life, the men who had worked for him, sworn their loyalty to him.	860.0539006897654
Now they were riding to kill him.	192.15574797060583
And he was fleeing, running- fleeing his death and his life at the same time.	80.8883480561182
The land over which he sped was the land he had created and lived in his valley.	151.21459577053895
With every leaping stride of the horse beneath him he crossed one more patch of earth that had been his, that he would never see again.	735.7628581903664
The Gap looming before him- the place where had confronted Jack English on that day so many years ago- was his exit from all that had meaning to him.	637.0094587905697
California is too far, he thought.	34.054689120166316
He would never reach California.	30.872806636043546
He was too old- when he passed up and through the corridor of pines that lined the trail he could see ahead, he was passing from life.	277.46292772712906
The sentry was not dead.	29.930916155696227
He was, in fact, showing signs of reviving.	29.47482219301175
He had been carrying an Enfield rifle and a holstered navy cap-and-ball pistol.	317.9014744612286
A bayonet hung in a belt scabbard.	113.32242967681239
He was partially uniformed in a cavalry tunic and hat.	158.61934396132693
Mike stripped these from him and donned them.	127.57177243638243
He and Dean tied and gagged the man, using his belt and shirt for the purpose.	141.01069945796414
They dragged him inside the building.	44.58528295214711
Fiske joined them, unsteady on his feet.	118.90523316825173
Julia, seeing the bandage, rushed to him.	87.20419953572498
"You are hurt"!	26.951807661768544
she breathed.	26.596950223249674
"I never felt better in my life", Fiske blustered.	129.6030663929562
He turned to Susan and kissed her on the cheek.	81.18359785287589
"Thank you, My dear", he said.	46.38759302005299
"You are very brave".	20.374091980313334
Mike silenced them.	40.314345228272906
"We'll talk later.	14.603520566471111
First, we've got to get out of here".	69.76743838505185
"We'll grab horses", Dean said.	48.89029012521846
"The main bunch is outside, but there are some over there inside the wall".	203.93501339460045
Mike debated it, trying to decide whether Fiske was strong enough to ride.	382.55510490773327
But it at least offered him a chance for living.	56.20855379237693
He had none here.	15.042038392446875
And, for the sake of Julia and Susan, it had to be tried.	119.45001156800345
The guerrilla bivouac remained silent.	83.811258567316
Light showed in the orderly room across the parade ground.	414.8934700187847
Someone evidently was on duty there.	60.99437330279017
No doubt there would be men guarding the horses.	47.57428028090269
About a dozen animals were held inside the stockade, as best Mike could make out in the moonlight.	444.12896237263595
Evidently this was a precaution so that mounts would be available in an emergency.	1202.4344392182604
He handed the guard's rifle to Fiske.	97.02635927689926
"Dean and myself will try to cut out horses to ride", he said.	134.77909262925354
"We'll stampede the rest.	18.129926845103764
You stay with the ladies.	18.17426008895687
All of you be ready to ride hell for leather".	92.78549268681172
He added, "If this doesn't work out, the three of you barricade yourself in the house and talk terms with them".	1076.4533392562453
He handed the bayonet to Dean and kept the pistol.	99.63444616134036
Susan halted Dean and kissed him.	132.74030251099003
She clung to him, talking to him, and dabbing at her eyes.	268.2598830707038
Mike turned away.	33.65592578280603
He was thinking that the way she had responded to his own kiss hadn't meant what he had believed it had.	194.35246776426592
He felt unutterably weary.	44.58560583377736
Dean turned from Susan and took Julia Fortune in his arms.	300.83986426495403
He kissed her also, and with deep tenderness.	283.62933076865045
She too began to weep.	22.704155680072457
He released her and joined Mike.	58.99304692812386
"All right", he said.	5.958811416541385
Mike only said, "Later".	52.546022485567505
"Be careful, McLish"!	36.53459796292528
Susan said fiercely.	54.089999528982375
"The way you were careful"?	36.137596636629446
he snorted.	27.58287463355499
"Running around in the moonlight almost naked and slugging a man with a rock"?	806.7275155205225
He kept going.	11.243716527947692
He wanted no more sentimental scenes with her.	53.3884823059104
He might say or do something foolish.	64.83637315592009
Something all of them would regret.	184.46064294821838
He might tell her how sorry a spectacle she was making of herself, pretending to be blind to the way Julia Fortune had taken Dean's affections from her.	941.3203858244383
And using him, Mike McLish, as a sop to her pride.	177.33600722891447
He handed the bayonet to Dean and kept the pistol.	99.63444616134036
"Stay well back of me", he said.	103.57733379583287
"I'm going to walk up to the horses, bold as brass, pretending I'm one of the guerrillas.	159.21088053431313
There's bound to be someone on guard, but the hat might fool them long enough for me to get close".	249.35293466006394
Holding the pistol concealed, he walked to the rear wall of the stockade.	326.6445747000273
It was pierced by a wagon gate built of two wings.	123.16159344475479
One wing stood open.	38.751502841261
Mike passed through it and moved toward the dark mass of horses.	332.1684671632231
They were tethered, army style, on stable lines.	90.60480297523256
A voice spoke near-at-hand.	25.234253587515507
"Who's thet"?	69.543462449236
Just me", Mike said.	34.15369948416884
"Is that you, Bill"?	124.04900842093481
He located his man.	18.616457616615715
The guard stood in the shadow of the stockade wall just out of reach of the moonlight.	257.36001680310363
Mike kept walking and got within arm's reach before the man became suspicious and straightened from his lax slouch.	920.3676692311269
Mike struck with the muzzle of the pistol.	98.07272531399155
But the luck that had been running their way left him.	81.25409991209345
The guard instinctively parried the blow with his rifle.	161.4938404987749
He tried to veer the rifle around to fire into Mike's body.	151.13926270150984
Mike, off balance, managed to bat the muzzle away a moment before it exploded.	318.64399185634915
The bullet went wide.	29.490705810402144
Mike swung the pistol in a savage backlash.	205.03879854529904
This time it connected solidly on the man's temple, felling him.	149.58628257587245
The explosion of the rifle had crashed against the walls of the stockade and the deep echoes were still rolling in the hills.	236.70574195129396
The startled horses began rearing on their tethers.	218.79606740872734
Dean came rushing up.	51.373156138052764
"Are you hit"?	11.91893107074478
he demanded.	3.0748737928926495
"No, but the fat's in the fire"!	49.05668202860203
Mike said.	15.532397183693526
"There's no chance now of all of us getting away.	184.18560714941904
You'll have to try it alone".	13.440261104304959
The sentry's saddled horse stood picketed nearby, having been kept handy in case of need.	465.9315852898594
Mike took the bayonet from Dean's hand and slashed the picket line.	336.59776214999033
"Up you go"!	37.898215903697796
he said.	39.76416012412371
"Ride"!	24.239987362086836
Dean resisted Mike's attempt to push him toward the horse.	230.58647685113482
"Why not you"?	9.571908431160336
he protested.	22.21977941995889
"Dammit"!	28.826365438569706
Mike said frantically.	52.60743793773902
"You're lighter than me.	23.853898514799
It's our only chance now.	20.823456852879808
Try to find these Feds.	50.105622267677745
The rest of us can fort up in the house and hang on until you get back.	2054.0833295405346
You're the one that's taking the big chance".	149.3641690647045
Dean still hesitated, but Mike lifted him almost bodily into the saddle and thrust the reins in his hand.	413.28993712256215
"No telling how good this horse is", Mike panted.	188.8584201974046
"Favor him and save something in case you hit trouble.	176.57339669385124
Watch out for Apaches when it comes daylight.	162.49616096486986
Take the pistol.	19.589584793311708
You might need it.	11.375855311012852
We'll still have the rifle, and I might be able to round up some more.	116.7640666015374
I'll stampede the rest of these horses so they can't chase you".	131.69006850718083
Dean leaned from the saddle and gave him a mighty whack on the back.	439.7641692930802
"McLish", he said as he kicked the horse into motion, "I'd be a mighty sad man if we never met again".	459.39452505588883
Then he was on his way at a gallop.	64.46725903932096
Mike ran down the line, slashing picket ropes with the bayonet.	2576.453643072087
He lifted a screeching war whoop.	124.50626833437633
That touched off a total stampede.	76.97500451557393
He darted inside the stockade and freed the horses there.	150.56392684611214
These poured through the gate and joined the flight.	84.66171948798868
The animals thundered away into the moonlight, heading for the ridges.	200.91359891609576
The guerrillas were swarming from their bivouac at the west end of the enclosure.	225.8996428803794
"'Paches"!	46.14137387014849
Mike yelled.	36.882333357706706
"They're stealin' the stock"!	47.315883248869035
He scuttled in shadow along the east wall of the stockade and then followed the south wall until he was at the rear of the two frame buildings.	841.7159204906532
He crouched there.	16.324799784358905
His shout had been taken up and repeated.	46.007181993425
The guerrillas were running across the parade ground and through the rear gate in the wake of the departing horses.	358.16201329237566
All were carrying guns they had seized up, but they were half-clad or hardly clad at all.	484.71331896380735
Durkin and Calhoun came running from the post.	108.75628732200666
They had pistols in their hands.	136.855819256073
They bawled questions that were not answered in the uproar.	414.8232873141777
They followed the others toward the east gate.	70.34396546259637
Beyond the stockade rifles began to explode as some of the guerrillas fired at shadows that they imagined were Apaches.	468.1678387906877
Mike made a dash to the rear of the frame buildings.	680.7588606977388
He crawled beneath the two supply wagons which stood between the buildings and peered around a corner.	261.59566781294075
The area was deserted.	23.80027831244527
A man was standing in the open door of the lighted orderly room a few yards to Mike's left, but he, too, suddenly made up his mind and went racing to join the confused activity at the east end of the stockade.	1027.6597495663998
Mike crawled to the door and peered in.	77.2627829153724
The orderly room seemed to be deserted.	79.93521442169128
A lantern hung from a peg, giving light.	128.83573032790915
Ducking inside, he found that three rifles were stacked in a corner.	3335.764898982435
A brace of pistols, holstered on belts, hung from a peg, along with ammunition pouches.	457.7886140009127
An ammunition case stood open, containing canisters which contained powder cartridges.	452.6147028813662
Mike seized a blanket from a pallet in a corner, spread it on the floor and used it to form a bag in which he placed his booty.	946.9701764793019
Shouldering the load he peered from the door.	375.7068885394596
His looting of the orderly room had taken only a minute or two and the vicinity was still clear of guerrillas.	290.8810346085947
He looked at the looming hoods of the supply wagons, struck by a new inspiration.	295.54403903642503
He set his bundle down.	28.401666905467383
Snatching the lantern from its peg, he shattered its globe with a blow against a post.	372.3385983811628
He picked up the powder canister and ran out.	111.20878926840949
Bursting paper cartridges, he scattered powder beneath the nearest wagon and dumped the contents of the canister upon it.	546.3863326590364
He shouldered the blanket again, backed off, and tossed the lantern with its open wick beneath the wagon.	356.7282728897546
He turned and raced across the parade ground toward the rock house.	138.48444878145503
Powder flame gushed beneath the wagon.	179.32560675854202
The stockade was brilliantly lighted and the guerrillas sighted him.	177.17149833807227
They realized the truth.	16.09769343362889
Bullets began to snap past him.	79.59121081604097
One struck the muzzle of one of the rifles that projected from the shoulder pack.	140.27917390224292
Its force spun him around, but he recovered and got into stride again.	240.32868447066457
A bullet tore the earth from beneath his foot when he was a stride or two from safety.	207.36661957589564
Another struck him heavily in the thigh and he went down.	574.4999397780913
Guerrillas were racing toward him.	65.73632953145054
Susan and Julia came from the door and dragged him with them.	808.2142559124177
The three of them floundered through the door into the interior and fell in a heap.	139.2783905493735
Susan bounced to her feet and slammed the door.	382.52644104026774
She crouched aside as bullets beat at the portal, chewing into the planks.	333.1770745011018
Some tore entirely through the whipsawed post oak.	229.37590638665583
The iron hinges held, but the planks were in danger of being torn from the crossbars.	206.77703770446988
mike rolled to Susan, grasped her around the knees, dragging her off her feet.	392.14008308291176
He hovered over her to shield her, for spent bullets were thudding against the rear walls.	364.16565767748557
He peered from a loophole.	33.509868094655644
Guerrillas were only a dozen yards away, charging the house.	156.53780980063596
Mike snatched a pistol from the heap of scattered booty and fired.	292.75100141425116
He dropped a man with the first bullet.	443.9993895719405
At the same moment Wheeler Fiske fired the rifle Mike had given him and another guerrilla was hit.	329.2270314234375
That halted the rush.	40.05275874166164
The guerrillas scattered for cover.	38.68529581445377
The wagons were burning fiercely.	81.27272474200677
The mudwagon had caught fire also.	66.72264917456934
The blaze was spreading to the frame buildings.	70.84988024983508
The guerrillas realized they faced a new problem.	59.488786760517
"Gawdamighty"!	28.826365438569706
one screeched.	33.56743318006395
"There goes our grub an' ammunition"!	168.9810218536909
"Get a bucket line going"!	110.88497537428395
Calhoun shouted.	29.799202872000855
"Hurry!	28.826365438569706
Hurry"!	28.826365438569706
The guerrillas began a frantic search for pails in which to bring water from the spring.	932.3654379196444
But what few containers they found were inadequate.	76.86541759117901
Many of them, in increasing panic, came running with water in their hats in a ludicrous effort.	290.6699290560335
Both buildings were in flames.	41.41599195865884
The heat drove the guerrillas back.	45.77287291218687
The roof of the command post began to buckle.	101.81777236348573
"Drag the wagons to the spring"!	89.46775610363385
Lew Durkin yelled.	113.71792401019417
"Run 'em right into the spring!	394.3282350691312
Hustle"!	28.826365438569706
One of the wagons erupted a massive pillar of flame.	222.6955478551407
A sizable supply of powder had been touched off.	122.01023311750689
The wagons and the coach were beyond saving and so were the buildings.	109.45056156326419
The glow of the fire reached through the openings in the windows, giving light enough to examine Mike's wound.	589.37856722949
The bullet had torn through the flesh just above the knee, inflicting an ugly gash that was forming a pool of blood on the floor.	637.6114702495178
But it had missed the bone and had passed on through.	57.58149769946712
Susan and Julia ripped strips from their clothing and bound the injury.	313.99780277422536
Mike tested the leg and found that he was able to hobble around on it.	1420.0206035869508
"So it wasn't the earthquake that made him return to his village"!	152.69836589426066
"No.	3.389188185682365
Now dammit, I don't want to go into any more explanations.	577.7948727893817
Here comes Jason.	38.79747449524219
Keep this to yourself".	23.003138873941907
Reverend Jason, looking worried, hurried toward us.	191.86341022308034
"Anything wrong, cap'n?	141.63653976399644
The men seem to think so".	25.464939368893212
"Dirion found a large war party south of us.	119.50179621914322
They'll probably attack at dawn", Montero said.	187.65576285188212
He brushed past the clergyman and walked into the center of the camp.	115.3986460701558
Using his hands as a trumpet he shouted, "Fort up!	547.5212282824776
Fort up!	22.588507231222856
There's a large war party on their way"!	47.71244045662584
For a second, engages, cooks, voyageurs appeared struck dumb.	1251.5777315632379
Then Little Billy began shouting orders to round up the ponies and fill the water buckets and for the cooks to hurry up with the meal.	483.32945847643725
They all flew into action.	26.351882826995055
"That was a terrible thing to do", I said to Oso.	597.0095806692968
The Aricaras treated us like friends.	73.99549516737356
And here all the time you knew the Sioux would be using our rifles on them!	183.78272968058982
God, what a world you people live in".	54.65064110457212
Oso gave me an unruffled look.	147.91439188704487
"Old Knife's got the largest war party ever seen on the river", he said calmly.	1642.3127283541523
"What would you have done in Montero's moccasins?	152.66768996312467
Let Old Knife come up and kill you and your people, or would you steer him on someone else"?	670.736137054137
He shook his head.	2.741085897734794
"Mr Manuel did that in the war.	77.27863864546538
That's why the British never got the tribes to fight for the King.	68.78137644571657
Mr Manuel whispered in the ears of the Sioux that the Cheyennes were comin' to raid 'em for their horses.	420.23676807553784
Then he went on to the Cheyennes and told them that the Sioux was goin' to move up.	269.8923822763101
He did that with all the Nations.	20.974383151862
Hell, they were fightin' each other so hard they had no time for anyone else.	1117.5878202189513
The War Department wrote Mr Manuel a letter and said he was a hero.	341.22746809222843
I saw that letter.	10.860264378198934
He carried it in a little wallet made of fish skin".	234.71968559590758
"But that was war", I said.	47.529031690982684
"There's no war on now".	23.104433519279986
"You're wrong, Matt.	13.897714770476266
In this country there's a war on every time the grass turns green.	74.63159717538886
First it was the Nations against themselves, then it was them against the whites.	108.56050815223966
And it's goin' to go on like this year after year until the white people take over this land".	207.33293859607468
I remember being told it would happen so fast people would think it took place overnight.	242.66432135842956
"That's why this company's important.	31.87066614243063
Once we get over the mountains others will come along.	77.1813855647252
That's why the Trust don't want us to make it.	188.457833242216
That bastard Chambers!- Old Knife's not the only chief he'll get to do his dirty work!	779.3000945640746
Before we get through he'll have the Blackfeet hankerin' for our hair and our goods.	521.9736491319891
Well, talkin' ain't goin' to help- let's fort up"!	386.3992339737355
As I dug in behind one of the bales we were using as protection, I grudgingly found myself agreeing with Oso's logic, especially when I imagined what would have happened to Missy if Old Knife's large party of screeching warriors had overrun our company.	1356.210866810146
For, unlike the Sioux and the Crows, the Aricaras are not great horsemen, nor are they aggressive like the savage Blackfeet.	369.70986240126234
More of an agricultural nation, they have relied on their warriors only for defense and for survival in the endless wars of the plains.	342.17478480711156
Still, I was disgusted with myself for agreeing with Montero's methods.	412.9729451818077
Surprisingly, he had told the others what he had done.	318.55270975807207
In the brief moment I had to talk to them before I took my post on the ring of defenses, I indicated I was sickened by the methods men employed to live and trade on the river.	669.3329896065422
"I think Montero did right", Amy said firmly.	123.39149896555448
"Let the savages kill each other What do we care"?	174.85146174891742
Reverend Jason was understandably bitter.	142.19750434246927
"It was a terrible thing to do.	17.01180447672329
Those little children h".	27.47727185168266
But Oso replied calmly, "Trouble ain't easy to dodge out in this country, rev'rend".	1396.615669890018
28.	7.828983884927543
ATTACK GRAY EYES ATTACKED OUR camp just as the first pink threads stitched together the hills and the sky.	4450.766604033465
Our camp was in the center of a wide valley.	242.3148093490263
Montero had set up a strong position, using every bale and box we had in addition to barricades of logs and brush.	465.16559603962077
He had ordered the ponies brought inside the fortified circle and had assigned Pierre and a band of picked engages the job of trying to keep them steady under fire.	1218.9065426264876
The pony herd was the one flaw in our defense; the Rees undoubtedly would try to cut down as many of the animals as possible.	808.0908819349436
Wildly bucking horses would make the position difficult to defend against charging warriors.	641.1002382689599
The cooks had prepared one of the best meals we'd had in a long time, and on Montero's orders had baked enough bread to last the day.	1015.3870496308169
Buckets were filled, the herd fed and watered.	167.6670637225339
The worst part had been the waiting; although we didn't expect the attack before dawn, the long cloudy night, filled with the sounds of the industrious insects, seemed endless.	754.8135777866255
Coyotes and hunting wolves sounded like signaling Indian scouts, the whinny of a restless pony made one's skin crawl.	1629.7989676562565
Oso slept unconcernedly, his rifle cradled in his arms; I didn't catch a wink.	742.9271179849396
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Gray Eyes rushing at me with a knife.	4522.695149380312
It was a relief when they finally came.	35.851387659631015
They poured through the opening in the valley, then spread out in a long line to come at us, brandishing their lances and filling the morning with their spine-chilling scalp cry.	3044.822870187575
"Oso", Montero called "I'll get Gray Eyes".	319.99531054971044
"That'll be a pleasure to see", the big black murmured as he stared down the barrel of his rifle.	1087.3514867787808
"Hold your fire", Montero was shouting.	43.03880000274123
"Wait until my shot.	42.32991217470715
I'll shoot the first man who doesn't".	40.31127220508697
I could see them in my sights.	131.3154085999105
They were about a mile off; under me the ground quivered slightly.	133.59630965012434
At first they were only feathers and dark indistinguishable faces and bodies, hunched over their horses' heads.	393.93934051174136
Gradually they emerged as men.	44.77029877649666
Gray Eyes was in the lead.	104.90147188093214
His face was split by a vermilion streak, his eyes were pools of white; jagged red and black medicine symbols covered his chest.	783.9483808576367
He was naked except for a clout.	59.82944856037989
Next to him was a young boy I was sure had sat near me at one of the trading sessions.	182.32219537535795
His mouth was open, his neck corded with the strain of his screams.	220.52552965694892
I found his chest in my sights.	50.08986259820139
It had a red circle.	18.64946659762916
The circle came nearer and nearer.	74.44309242190872
My God, how long is he going to wait, I thought h. Montero's rifle cracked.	240.0762222883621
At first I thought he had missed.	109.77692424803371
Gray Eyes remained erect.	154.87531289579616
The feathered lance was still above his head.	84.20869790154609
As he started to slump over, another warrior swung him onto his horse.	231.75128282607736
I squeezed the trigger.	27.77081989956802
At the last second I dropped my sights from the bare chest and bright red circle to the chest of his pony.	326.65340800831035
I saw the pony fall like a stone and the young warrior flew over its head, bouncing like a rubber ball.	775.9837601483741
He started to run but Oso's shot caught him on the wing.	326.1658333186084
He jerked once in the grass and lay still.	162.4918847664973
"If you're goin' to kill 'em- kill 'em"!	172.99484053156152
Oso growled.	55.56803692523301
What else he said was lost in the rattle of gunfire on all sides.	84.58469269961658
The Aricaras broke under the devastating fire, wheeled and retreated.	239.39095697857903
"Lead up!	30.55299453734601
Lead up!	30.55299453734601
They'll be back"!	81.10797711101036
Montero was shouting.	46.83908261947379
Far up the valley I could see the Rees circling and reorganizing.	265.57396111732055
Out in front of our walls the grass was covered with dead and dying men, war shields, lances, blankets and wounded and dead horses.	498.0646664657471
The morning air was filled with the sweetish odor of new-spilled blood, the acrid stench of frightened horses, and the bitterness of burned powder.	1117.7224258961019
A horse screamed as it twisted from side to side in a frenzy.	255.00012051787897
A rifle cracked; the square head fell over.	112.43409317050883
One of the warriors suddenly leaped to his feet and began running across the valley to the trees that lined the small creek.	322.3916201875261
His legs pumped furiously, his long black hair streamed out behind him.	252.3342441883418
There was a ragged volley.	24.69849900510745
He was dead before he hit the ground.	60.078556134374836
"For Christ's sake, don't waste your powder on one of 'em"!	130.32317238838579
Montero shouted furiously.	102.54622316026172
"Wait for the charge!	38.78660785709118
The charge, I tell you"!	32.29439119449854
The sharp cries at the end of the valley were faint.	110.6576565009583
They grew louder as the Indians charged again.	105.37628706145695
I could see their faces glistening with sweat and bear grease, their mouths open, shouting their spine-chilling cries.	1284.4932148072385
"Gray Eyes is back", Montero said.	133.9529342585796
The war captain had been badly wounded and was fighting to hold his seat.	171.09082203333557
I could see the blood running down his chest.	143.27423555327252
He was riding between two warriors, who held him erect when he started to slump.	237.53230193987943
I forgot to aim.	27.943080040587734
In my sights I watched him looming bigger and bigger.	172.64946997633547
Montero's shot had caught him high in the chest; there was no doubt he was dying.	371.82373715710037
Again we waited for Montero.	76.13815013237016
This time he delayed so long that some of the engages shouted frantically, but they held their fire.	176.01664116599102
The horses were only several lengths away when he fired.	78.44233486014981
The bullet flung Gray Eyes from his horse.	189.43940934212
Our rolling volley swept most of the other riders from their mounts.	206.07891347481862
But a few reached our wall.	26.301322223823217
I heard the whir of an ax and a Canadian's face burst apart in a bloody spray.	292.859168876795
I saw Little Billy rise and fire almost point blank and an Indian's face became shattered flesh and bone.	595.2430152993524
A second leaped from his horse to the top of the bale, firing four arrows in such rapid succession it didn't seem possible they were in flight.	326.5020023167649
Men screamed.	18.533150879645238
Oso reached up, jerked the buck from the bale and snapped his neck.	361.5530673936141
Other Indians were running at the ponies, shrilling and waving blankets.	301.1084216222667
Reverend Jason got one, the Canadians the others.	92.35772353971608
I saw the clergyman kneel for a moment by the twitching body of the man he had shot, then run back to his position.	9144.34935251025
The ponies were almost uncontrollable.	71.58384889483466
The pall of dust they raised made it difficult to see when the Aricaras charged again.	403.3648493210797
This time more of them hurdled the barrier.	65.19308086818269
A small Indian dived at Montero, who caught him with a swift upward stroke of his rifle butt.	538.1503415770551
It sounded like a man kicking a melon.	131.40393969320587
Above me a dark rider was whipping his pony with a quirt in an attempt to hurdle the bales.	452.2862177737133
Although my shot killed his horse, he rolled off the bale on top of me.	211.3337851925571
I could smell woodsmoke, grease, and oil.	82.60668807039096
His eyes were dark, fluid, fearful, and he gave a sigh as my knife went in.	172.04734627135227
Coming over the wall he had seemed like a hideous devil.	171.0965952115391
Now under me I could see him for what he really was, a boy dressed up in streaks of paint h. The Aricaras made one last desperate charge.	670.4614501942551
It was pitiful to see the thin ranks of warriors, old and young, wheeling and twisting their ponies frantically from side to side only to be tumbled bleeding from their saddles by the relentless slam, slam of the cruelly efficient Hawkinses.	891.8889559675376
Others, badly wounded, gripped hands in manes, knees in bellies, held on as long as possible and then, weak from ghastly wounds, slipped sideways, slowly, almost thoughtfully, to be broken under the slashing hoofs.	953.1368169766511
Some gracefully soared from the backs of their wounded, screaming mounts to make one last defiant charge before the lead split their hearts or tore their guts h. None of them reached our walls again.	1086.54790082012
The few survivors grudgingly turned away.	90.03108753541149
In the distance we could hear the drums and the wail of the death song.	112.30090947379806
She was carrying a quirt, and she started to raise it, then let it fall again and dangle from her wrist.	302.881317801163
"I saw your fire", she said, speaking slowly, making an effort to control her anger.	533.1123064518318
"You could burn down this whole mountainside with a fire that size.	146.18245381792502
It wouldn't matter to a fool like you.	56.33476780356402
It would to me".	7.509053416789052
"All right", Wilson said quickly.	37.490378839907166
"The fire's too big.	26.48326646609779
And I appreciate the advice".	20.560114358806764
He was losing patience again.	32.44098351027278
An hour before, with the children asleep and nothing but the strange darkness, he would have appreciated company.	320.40692867468323
She had helped him change his mind.	172.84048879093507
"I'm not advising you", she said.	61.45788413612177
"I'm telling you.	13.078333387238683
That fire's too big.	35.731888723367135
Let it burn down.	26.26245593807744
And make sure it's out when you leave in the morning".	81.50013240662388
He was taken aback.	18.666187687426472
It took him a long time to compose himself.	49.678825389435794
"There's some mistake", he said finally.	69.34851794297326
"You're right about the fire.	17.139237375649643
It's bigger than it has to be, though I don't see where it's doing any harm.	521.7776929743086
But you're wrong about the rest of it.	81.2513135420228
I'm not leaving in the morning.	13.34266911556705
Why should I?	5.746940131332006
I own the place".	13.458022653709238
She showed her surprise by tightening the reins and moving the gelding around so that she could get a better look at his face.	673.9986501777371
It didn't seem to tell her anything.	46.62096246568864
She glanced around the clearing, taking in the wagon and the load of supplies and trappings scattered over the ground, the two kids, the whiteface bull that was chewing its cud just within the far reaches of the firelight.	1137.807035264667
She studied it for a long time.	52.76846815626201
Then she turned back to Wilson and smiled, and he wasn't quite sure what she meant by it.	393.24477514316436
"You own this place"?	23.91838002250711
she said, and her tone had softened until it was almost friendly.	4153.594214398693
"You bought it"?	17.841604397160392
"From a man in St Louis", Wilson said.	55.72612044354222
"Jake Carwood.	46.468828166614486
Maybe you know him".	16.292890539818508
The girl laughed.	16.792936908986054
"I know him.	7.686604468595226
I ought to.	11.371801482671533
My father ran him off here six years ago".	299.2409038307736
Wilson didn't say anything.	41.69135013328532
He stood watching the girl, wondering what was coming next.	102.23771260270078
She had picked up the quirt and was twirling it around her wrist and smiling at him.	550.4065456180575
"Carwood didn't tell you that", she said.	67.3192238915383
"No", Wilson said.	17.037172719824067
"But it's understandable.	15.313992084910403
It's not the kind of thing that a man would be proud of.	138.91834830224545
And it doesn't make any difference.	37.90985878290479
He sold me a clear title.	48.27189764807048
I have it with me, right here.	103.33256455317972
If you want to see"- "Never mind", she said sternly.	915.4741303108465
"It wouldn't matter to my father, and not to me.	440.9477721735285
I meant what I said about that fire.	39.09606248277954
Be sure it's out when you leave.	44.22306983200996
That's all.	8.681196759235307
I'll let you go back to doing the dishes now".	144.367907414616
It was meant to insult him, and didn't quite succeed.	87.97967780309851
He took the reins just below the bit and held them firmly, and it was his turn to smile now.	146.16000131311952
"I don't mind washing dishes now and then", he said pleasantly.	120.35664762616727
"It doesn't hurt.	16.712517467148118
It might hurt you, though.	24.842371567631805
Somebody might mistake you for a woman".	60.483919575198556
He meant to say more, but he never got the chance.	172.32162261539085
She was quick.	9.92732653606237
She brought the quirt down, slashing it across his cheek, and he tried to step back.	168.16992765311804
She swung the quirt again, and this time he caught her wrist and pulled her out of the saddle.	1201.020713486962
She came down against him, and he tried to break her fall.	43.93830422558608
He grabbed her by the shoulders and went down on one knee, taking her weight so that some of the wind was driven out of him.	340.80294492369563
It made him a little sick, and he let go of her.	607.3093832932527
He got up slowly, and she was already on her feet, and he stood facing her.	1079.6684688723617
He wiped the blood from his cheek.	71.27840097798807
"I ought to"- he said.	21.02729828132067
He was shaking with anger, his breath coming in long, painful gasps.	196.75032596492883
"That quirt- I ought to use it on you, where it would do the most good.	238.15855734146444
If you were a man"- "She isn't, mister".	1845.242231244829
The voice came from behind him, and Wilson turned.	261.73433773169603
The fire had gone down, and the man was only a shadow against the trees.	91.29028340101745
But a moment later he brought his horse forward into the light, and Wilson had a good look at him.	168.34002460841035
He was tall and dark-skinned, a half-breed, Wilson thought.	135.69916920578723
And he was handsome, despite the long thin scar that slanted across his cheek.	282.19502469641
"She's not a man, mister", he said.	33.45818158515753
"I am.	21.610887750911708
If you've got any ideas".	11.88264544096331
He raised the Winchester and pointed it at Wilson's chest.	131.78623808622928
"Put the rifle down, Joseph", the girl said.	58.37169133767283
She seemed irritated.	16.9911302472951
"I thought I told you to stay home".	35.24627567589907
The half-breed eased the Winchester down and rested it across his lap.	164.02238937999965
The scar looked pure white in the half-darkness; his eyes were black and deep-set, and expressionless.	907.4920419852442
"You shouldn't be riding up here after dark, Judith", he said quietly.	242.73852939400714
"I can take care of this.	19.749867685305837
It's no job for you".	18.082832126217923
The girl tapped the quirt impatiently against her knee and glared at him.	279.96673788608996
He took it without flinching.	40.585160866160244
"I said go home, Joseph.	32.333069350907394
You've got no business up here".	18.703580730304058
The half-breed didn't answer this time.	42.140207146038385
But the scar seemed to pull hard at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were hurt and angry.	406.7360373961141
It made Wilson wonder.	24.21607745611597
He watched the half-breed as he turned silently.	107.17820209356529
They could hear the pony's feet on the dry leaves for a while, then the sound faded out.	188.71531775509703
Wilson brushed the dust from his coat.	83.15254057997008
"Who was that"?	12.386286026959906
he asked.	3.0139882038473726
"Your personal guard?	45.821441442820145
You're pretty hard on him".	22.883800776611263
"He works for my father", the girl said, and then seemed to change her mind.	826.3771011053428
"He's a friend.	13.306435099285792
His name's Joseph Sanchez.	104.91190314290841
Is there anything else you want to know"?	141.9923035435046
"Not now", Wilson said.	28.198029862263088
"I guess I'll find out soon enough.	619.4045246535782
You've got blood on your cheek.	35.00593874201219
Not yours.	14.101406003545788
Mine.	9.610812679755654
It must have got there when you fell against me".	66.42562447394786
She wiped it off with the sleeve of her coat.	103.9671333804759
"I'll bet that's as close as you've been to a man since you were a baby", Wilson said.	405.7321245195241
He saw her hand start to work down the leather thong toward the handle of the quirt, and he grabbed her wrist.	339.70760341965354
"Oh, no", he said, and he was without humor now.	217.3746255331526
"I've had enough of that.	9.016838571551629
I've had enough of you.	10.257018621548479
I don't know what goes on around here, and I don't care.	245.85491059776086
I don't know what makes you think you can get away with this kind of business, and I don't care about that, either.	482.03873592649325
You took me by surprise.	46.783131731672974
But I'll know how to handle you next time".	621.6319370919224
She brought up her free hand to hit him, but this time he was quicker.	556.4801735837918
He side-stepped her blow and she fell, stumbling against the gelding.	237.36890084271695
She finally regained her balance and got up in the saddle.	226.9324406559268
Her hat had come off and fallen behind her shoulders, held by the string, and he could see her face more clearly than he had at any time before.	271.7530341072528
He had forgotten that she was so pretty.	44.83790586779394
But her prettiness was what he had noticed first, and all the other things had come afterward cruelty, meanness, self-will.	2935.0095420992084
He had known women like that, one woman in particular.	141.9749236643174
And one had been too many.	58.69836347318077
He watched the girl until she had gone into the trees, and waited until he couldn't hear the sound of her horse any longer, then went up to where the children were sleeping.	779.8024001150372
They weren't sleeping, of course, but they thought they were doing him a favor by pretending.	1521.3461020678787
He hadn't shown up too well in their eyes, letting himself be browbeaten by a woman.	179.80230070092568
They expected greater things from him, regardless of how trying the circumstances, and they were disappointed.	576.4432191667914
And determined not to show it.	28.173881650769513
They lay a little too stiffly, with their eyes straining to stay closed.	176.58542201933915
"Go to sleep", he said.	19.54454018218243
"Both of you.	6.730407217221231
There's better things to do than listen to something like that.	902.8530891402769
I'll be down at the creek finishing the dishes, if you want me".	81.64593859703619
He found the pan where he had dropped it and carried it back down to the stream.	442.9012632159019
The coyote was calling again, and he hoped that this time there would be no other sounds to interrupt it.	351.98335865901043
Not tonight, at any rate.	22.176882840227325
He had a feeling that the girl meant trouble.	161.2214971253849
If she did, he could stand it better in the light.	289.58800592994334
He scrubbed absent-mindedly at the pans and reflected on how things had turned out.	318.9663627608709
That afternoon when they had pulled up in front of the broken-down ranch house, his hopes had been high.	302.6526181108605
Already some of the pain had gone from Amelia's death.	221.39639099208895
Not all of it.	222.67987993311345
There would still be plenty of moments of regret and sadness and guilty relief.	188.26526889668747
But they were starting a new life.	24.45034390580919
And they had almost everything they needed land, a house, two whiteface bulls, three horses.	244.36694091738786
The land wasn't all Wilson had expected of it.	56.435072894014134
Six hundred and forty acres, the old man back in St Louis had said; good grass, good water.	221.32850429621425
Well, the grass was there, though in some places the ground was too steep for a cow to get to it.	220.33360316398662
The water was there, so much of it that it spread all through the dead orchard.	1180.2257828305646
And there was a house; livable perhaps, but badly in need of repairs.	581.8214995232978
In the last analysis, though, Wilson had little cause to complain.	55.91153513250703
The place had been cheap- just the little he had left after Amelia's burial- and it would serve its purpose.	608.5754045225133
There was only one place where Jake Carwood's description had gone badly awry the peace and quiet.	1065.5379473260418
It hadn't started out that way.	36.229787979980934
And he had a feeling- thanks to the girl- that things would get worse before they got better.	176.18663185867328
2 They had the house cleaned up by noon, and Wilson sent the boy out to the meadow to bring in the horses.	475.28449202913066
He stood on the porch and watched him struggling with the heavy harness, and finally went over to help him.	322.0929574221642
Kathy was already in the wagon.	36.17384260304128
They were going to town, and they were both excited.	647.7786723892907
Wilson backed the team into the traces, and wished they weren't going to town at all.	214.26071925517937
He had an uneasy feeling about it.	28.64592301005153
That girl last night, what was her name?	88.19672320831468
Judith Pierce.	43.024312909091755
It was the only thing about her that was the least bit hard to remember.	221.2183485173375
He finished with the team and filled his pipe and stood looking about him.	115.05561711630968
He had spent two hours riding around the ranch that morning, and in broad daylight it was even less inviting than Judith Pierce had made it seem.	1357.5454739928168
There was brush, and stands of pine that no grass could grow under, and places so steep that cattle wouldn't stop to graze.	418.86387163943664
But there was water.	8.017843186793298
There was an artificial lake just out of sight in the first stand of trees, fed by a half dozen springs that popped out of the ground above the hillside orchard.	410.6596893924177
Yes, there was plenty of water, too much, and that was probably the trouble.	511.8298161314787
There were tracks of cattle all over his six hundred and forty acres.	143.85196565687872
The first part of the road was steep, but it leveled off after the second bend and curled gradually into the valley.	243.89522540281675
It was hotter once they reached the flat, and drier, but the grass was better.	120.55019253722467
A warm breeze played across it, moving it like waves.	166.03785997938868
A red-tailed hawk flew in behind them and stayed there, watching for any snakes or rabbits that they might stir up from the side of the road.	346.9268238846852
It took them an hour before they came to the first houses of Kelseyville.	767.9060477909629
The town was about what Wilson expected one main street with its rows of false-fronted buildings, a water tower, a few warehouses, a single hotel; all dusty and sunbaked.	664.6378678557624
The place was quiet.	16.7765458618867
Such was my state of mind that I did not question the possibility of this; under the circumstances I was only too willing to confess all.	353.5031898012307
I was nearly thirty at the time.	23.773329945503423
I went to the hall in the afternoons only, on these preliminary matters.	71.16919055402894
It was dark and, I sensed, very large; only the counter at one end was lighted by a long fluorescent tube suspended directly above it.	517.0558539473626
Sometimes I was aware of people moving about in the darkness.	197.78715038051035
I would turn away from my writing in the hope of getting a good look at them but I never quite succeeded.	653.8645107587585
A glimpse of three of four vague figures, at the most.	74.33566178399442
Drifting here and there.	16.702396136648122
Squatting, as if waiting.	34.42520361578935
The pulsing glow of a cigarette.	46.20037122811422
Since they could see me but I not them, their presence in the hall disturbed me.	266.3444907982428
The clerk paid them no attention.	50.68039565693707
This impressed me, until I realized how limited was his sphere of influence.	151.97910454228074
His job simply consisted in registering new men.	117.35599428910173
When the phone rang he answered it.	61.16106576647574
His authority extended to the far edge of the counter, no further.	232.26075117701075
None of the men hanging around the hall bothered to speak to him.	150.88538274786214
Baldness was attacking his pate.	134.60357828211335
He spoke to me in a gruff voice, an affectation which quite belied his personality.	559.7871938175783
He wore his white shirt open at the neck, revealing a bit of scrawny pale chest underneath.	1719.1995100211677
It was obvious that he wished himself different from the sort of person he thought he was.	1069.2258423342175
But it was not easy for him and he often slipped.	21710.853198731267
When one of the men in the hall behind us spat on the floor and scraped his boot over the gob of spittle I noticed how the clerk winced.	615.8952173652041
I felt certain he was really a spineless little man.	81.55380258856532
His hat the cause of his baldness?	60.37734965881537
hung on a hook on the wall, and underneath it I could see his tie, knotted, ready to be slipped over his head, a black badge of frayed respectability that ought never to have left his neck.	2175.5590090505143
The morning's tabloids were on the counter, and a stack of dog-eared men's magazines.	336.9001639579037
On a shelf in the office behind the counter was a small radio dialed permanently on a station which broadcast only vulgar commercials and cheap popular music.	1025.549970940152
Everything about the clerk was trivial.	56.30998001752327
Once, pressing him, I learned that his job was only part-time, in the afternoons when nothing went on in the hall.	3127.3684541636608
Noticing my disappointment he attempted to salvage what scraps and shreds of authority he felt might still be clinging to his person.	604.4124684580293
With distaste I saw him assume a pompous air.	173.17092916721927
When he saw me coming he turned his radio off.	92.14958276808649
He made a show of rearranging my forms on the shelf.	98.0035784896641
He would pick up the ringing phone with studied negligence, then bark into it with gruff importance.	388.77333494226343
What limited knowledge he possessed he forced upon me.	110.35468774038253
In the mornings, I was informed, fluorescent tubes, similar to the one above the counter, illuminated the entire hall.	169.08483006738263
They, and the two large fans which I could dimly see as daylight filtered through their vents, down at the far end of the hall, could be turned on by a master switch situated inside the office.	582.9632579381313
He pointed out the switch to me and for a moment I foolishly believed that he would let deed follow words.	1352.2197822834462
I was shown, instead, a batch of white tickets of the sort handed out, he told me, every morning.	223.9853744291972
Now, here was something of obvious importance to me, yet when I reached for the tickets he snatched them away from my hand.	253.67204455515343
He couldn't afford to have anyone mess around with them, he said.	146.9118982497771
Each of those tickets was of great value to its rightful recipient.	164.8172005286385
I withdrew my hand.	25.406817171572882
Later I would remember what this pompous little man had told me about the worth of a ticket.	233.5479053214071
Having nothing else to do except wait for my forms to be processed, I gave myself over to speculations concerning the hall itself.	367.21145980008885
When suitably lighted, what would it look like?	122.87917107530092
The presence of the two exhaust fans seemed to indicate that the hall could become crowded for air.	1452.6992766859742
One afternoon, upon receiving permission and the necessary instructions from the clerk, I had visited the toilet adjoining the hall.	243.74854237031812
By counting the number of stalls and urinals I attempted to form a loose estimate of how many men the hall would hold at one time.	592.2178721143223
For although I had crossed a corner of the hall on my way to the toilet I still could not tell for sure how far to the rear the darkness extended.	1393.4682055217945
I could observe the two fans down at the end, but their size in themselves meant nothing to me as long as I had no measure of comparison.	1377.7626032998244
I had for some time been hoping, in vain, for one of the dim figures to pass between the fan vents and myself.	374.24103583558247
I knew that three or four of them were almost always present in the hall, but what they were doing, and exactly where, I could not tell.	210.14432665380994
It was, I felt, possible that they were men who, having received no tickets for that day, had remained in the hall, to sleep perhaps, in the corners farthest removed from the counter with its overhead light.	699.5175108074608
This light did not penetrate very far back into the hall, and my eyes were hindered rather than aided by the dim daylight entering through the fan vents when I tried to pick out whatever might be lying, or squatting, on the floor below.	1971.2512494629843
Also the clerk appeared to disapprove of my frequent curious glances back over my shoulder.	413.75358982034487
No sooner would I turn my head away from the counter before he would address me, at times quite sharply, in order to bring back my attention.	644.5476566896804
And I had hardly finished my business in the toilet on the aforementioned occasion when the lights in that place, like the hall lights controlled from the switch in the office, flicked off and on impatiently.	1695.0183769672915
This sort of petty vigilance annoyed me.	88.64915965735398
I felt certain it was self-appointed.	26.169432919615797
It sprang from a type of mentality I'd encountered often enough but certainly had not expected to find here.	339.40112250763974
I decided to see no more of the clerk until the processing of my papers was completed.	273.22269393605
I felt strongly attached to the hall, however, and hardly a day passed when I did not go to look at it from a distance.	160.43660682874815
I lived in a state of suspense because of it.	357.4903503670849
I could not cling to my past nor did I wish to.	93.22860758380101
I had signed it off on the forms.	34.05130323709269
My future lay solely with the hall, yet what did I know about the hall at this point?	227.76464952764252
Although I had been inside it I had not yet seen it functioning.	250.40711579366067
I wished to prepare myself but did not even know what sort of clothes I ought to be wearing.	2191.7715319524527
I did not despair, however; far from it!	52.16661837982722
I was constantly searching for clues around the neighborhood of the hall.	93.2746267326491
Though only a relatively short walk separated it from my own part of town, its character was wholly foreign to me.	274.9314584697289
Large warehouses flanked the street on which the hall fronted.	253.8667527880572
The river was only a few blocks away but an unbroken line of piers prevented me from seeing it.	592.6245290131359
Sometimes I noticed the tops of ships' masts and funnels reaching above the pier roofs.	458.15112254421626
The sounds issuing from beyond- winches whirring, men shouting- indicated great activity and excited me.	497.5473517654289
The hall, on the other hand, appeared lifeless and deserted on these long waterfront afternoons.	100.04897206372424
It resembled nothing I'd ever seen before.	126.33103929939531
Its front was windowless, but irregularities in the masonry might be an indication that windows, now blinded, had once looked out upon the street.	385.92447580993627
I kept circling the block hoping to see, from the street behind it, the rear of the hall.	328.80051670409813
But it was not a tall structure and other buildings concealed it.	196.95255870089963
For weeks I wandered about this neighborhood of warehouses and garages, truck terminals and taxi repair shops, gasoline pumps and longshoremen's lunch counters, yet never did I cease to feel myself a stranger there.	1261.250578488473
I returned to the hall, despite my dislike for the clerk.	323.58057320426656
As I had expected, he insisted that my visits to the hall would do nothing to further the process of my application.	366.6696691768948
Meanwhile spring had passed well into summer.	84.62317928495834
At last, when I put it to him directly, the clerk was forced to admit that the delay in my case was unusual.	916.3485254073855
When I asked him what, if anything, I could do about it, he surprised me by referring me to the director of the hall.	2807.244533047205
I could consult this personage on any weekday morning, though not before ten o'clock.	219.28948512354856
The clerk impressed this upon me that I should not arrive in the hall before ten o'clock.	705.8447195869797
When I went for my interview with the director I saw why.	100.19565889919875
Although it was dark as usual I could see that the hall had only recently contained a great many people.	227.82660490307842
Cigarette butts littered the floor.	105.30566843370289
The big fans were going, drawing from the large room the remnants of stale smoke which drifted about in pale strata underneath the ceiling.	567.0345333901719
I had felt the draft they were making while mounting the stairs.	112.37944665863235
The staircase itself seemed still to be echoing the heavy footfalls of many men.	206.34554574904212
I stopped by the counter.	24.71911789359333
No one was behind it, but in the rear wall of the office I noticed, for the first time, a door which had been left partially open.	369.51848415248315
Past it I could see part of a desk, a flag in a corner, a rug on the floor.	179.74329368610742
The director's office.	22.149661953359008
I rapped my knuckles on the counter.	105.0419600323386
The director came to the door.	40.86102049737089
I was at once disappointed, although just what I had expected him to look like I could not have explained.	572.3053128805998
He was a man in his late forties, with graying hair, of medium height; he looked dapper in a lightweight summer suit, brown silk tie and green-tinted soft collar.	1730.4719900848859
He wore perforated, white-topped shoes; they somehow made me expect to see him launch into a vaudeville tapdance routine any moment.	1275.9184039700888
But he came toward me sedately enough, showed me around the counter, offered me a seat inside his office, then walked to a file cabinet and got out my application.	503.0532650420601
I had the impression that he had read my forms, perhaps several times.	487.7009112935596
He did not look at them now.	16.898603153021426
As he lowered himself on the chair behind his desk I wondered what this dapper, slightly ridiculous man could possibly have to do with the workings of the hall.	501.72685313426587
He spoke, in a voice as immaculate as his appearance.	57.52247656058844
Why had I registered?	33.07135500154639
Begging my pardon, he must express his astonishment over seeing a person of my background applying at the hall.	843.3965880600406
He had looked over my forms and was impressed by what he had seen there; indeed, my scholastic qualifications were such that he, a college graduate himself, must envy me them.	1234.358547335156
Was I sure, he asked, that I knew what I was applying for?	847.3704367854333
What sort of men I would come into contact with, at the hall?	82.19813597233268
These questions did not surprise me; I felt certain that the director, like the afternoon clerk, seldom moved beyond the counter, that the hall, to them, was a jungle, a dark and unwelcome place.	528.1981855152794
Though I doubted that he would understand me, I told the director my motives for applying.	488.40661173016105
I had always, I said, hankered after working hard with my hands.	85.15995452976202
This desire, I went on, growing voluble as my conviction was aroused, had mounted at such a rate recently that I now found its realization necessary not only to my physical but also to my spiritual wellbeing.	1461.9391135757976
To this effect I had already severed all connections which bound me to my former existence.	270.67257591343775
The flat, hard cap was small, but he thrust it to the back of his head.	265.0707437976992
"Tie him up".	22.76893967331025
"Hell with it".	14.804274106805249
Before they could guess his intention Rankin stepped forward and swung the guard's own gun against the uncovered head, hard.	633.7960978186328
The man went over without sound, falling to the bare floor.	107.79191071820819
Barton said harshly, "Why did you do that"?	188.74415832716176
Rankin sneered at him.	51.347482131793214
"What did you want me to do, kiss him?	219.70723372244834
He dumped me in solitary twice".	47.478350154470945
Barton caught the lighter man's shoulder and swung him around.	285.02162730907344
"Let's get one thing straight, you and me.	221.16162720370409
The only reason we brought you was to get Miller out.	79.52284773585467
If you ever try anything without my orders I'll kill you".	321.389881241314
Fred Rankin looked at him.	284.00519855741925
It seemed to Barton that the green eyes mocked him, the thin-lipped smile held insolence, but he had no time to waste now.	605.784666493026
"Come on.	11.417937593798904
Let's move".	14.709775106492627
They filed out through the guard-room door, into the paved square.	165.068338945107
There were three other men within this prison whom Barton would have liked to liberate, but they were in other cell blocks.	437.1470722954408
There was no chance.	8.244413112368722
They moved slowly, toward the main gate, following the wall.	60.34708054490347
There was no moon.	8.669312074534865
They had chosen this night purposely.	54.62264854117296
They reached the guard house without alerting the men on the walls above, and Powers slipped through the door.	773.4269398382213
Two men were on duty inside, playing pinochle, relaxed.	137.38494453761956
They looked up in surprise as Powers came in.	68.73575752791623
"What are you doing out of the block"?	109.7024250980973
"It's Curtiss", he said, naming the man Rankin had hit.	145.8841709848563
"I've got to have help".	9.264924221440468
They stared at him.	17.694147987872977
The sergeant in charge climbed to his feet.	52.74613963775931
"What's wrong with him"?	34.434400391440086
"He's having some kind of a fit".	46.77071203752772
The sergeant turned to the door.	67.36306516801281
As he passed through it Barton shoved his gun against the man's side.	219.44260754859866
"One sound and you're dead".	31.186006980896337
The sergeant froze.	39.63621900301183
Powers had not followed.	41.186175942576696
Powers was covering the remaining guard.	102.53580641326973
The man half-reached for the cord of the alarm bell.	99.89547663870705
Powers knocked his arm aside.	112.72861804617222
Deliberately, with none of Rankin's viciousness, he laid the barrel of his gun alongside the guard's head.	435.91468879941186
They were free.	8.073179742861424
Even Barton could not quite believe it.	81.20179424436857
It had gone without a hitch.	48.52819160551115
They slid through the wicket in the big gate, ghosted across the dark ground.	257.4120819195959
Five minutes later they reached the horses.	78.22877246332831
Barton was relieved to see that Carl Dill and Emmett Foster had brought extra mounts.	714.3863671753855
He had been worried that with Miller and Rankin added to the escape party they would be short.	154.76147760868625
No one hurried.	15.639920392768758
They walked the horses, heading along the river, Barton and Emmett Foster in the lead, seven men riding quietly through the night.	769.7509099072386
The only thing which would have attracted attention was that two wore the uniform of prison guards, three the striped suits of convicts.	378.0878363294316
Five miles.	12.912446619873794
In a small grove against the river they halted, turning deep into the protection of the trees.	2936.4103240048407
Foster had brought extra clothing also.	115.92127433750575
A good man, Emmett.	29.352846101321337
He had been one of the original Night Riders, one who had escaped the trial.	104.34709626670315
It was to him that Barton had sent Carl Dill on Dill's release from the prison.	652.8236482649737
Clyde Miller was crying softly to himself, shedding his striped suit and fumbling into the nondescript butternut pants, the worn brown shirt.	1490.076056595599
Kid Boyd was unusually silent, Rankin watchful, a few paces apart.	542.4042845653817
Barton finished his dressing and extended his hand to Powers.	277.79393778001605
"I won't even try to thank you".	182.7510917832288
The ex-prison guard was embarrassed.	103.34944909758704
He said in a studied voice, "I didn't do it for you.	94.13315983261538
I did it for the valley.	119.67163027405806
You're the only man the Night Riders will follow.	180.43607867519708
We've been starving and I don't like to starve".	68.50576403822433
Barton turned away, his eyes falling upon Rankin beside his horse.	396.30195141094197
"Good luck".	16.403468667025535
The murderer lifted his head.	212.35305907495152
"Meaning you want me to ride out"?	126.02123394720083
"You aren't one of us.	18.938117949477395
There's nothing for you here".	20.70050308872027
"I got no place to go".	23.42569176038322
Barton hesitated.	46.468828166614486
He did not trust Rankin, his violent temper, his killer instinct.	142.46207891086186
But ten years in prison had taught him realities.	129.5190283097329
They were in a fight, outweighed in both numbers and money.	175.88765266389265
It was all right to put a bunch of ranchers onto horses, to call them Night Riders, to set out to attack the largest mining combination the country had ever seen if all they wanted was adventure.	749.9818876628326
But if they really hoped to succeed they needed professionals, men who knew how to use a gun against men, who would match the killers on the other side.	1634.5127245932895
"Your choice", he said briefly, and turned to Kid Boyd.	87.33292014853129
"Bury those uniforms so they won't be found".	128.7956219852404
Then Barton touched Carl Dill's arm and moved off, up the river bank.	796.7508522551409
He wanted a careful, uninterrupted report from Dill on the conditions in the valley.	210.15193679488897
They squatted on their heels in the deep mud and Dill found a cigar in his breast pocket, passing it over silently.	204.80515441022098
He too knew the agony of going for weeks, sometimes months without the solace of tobacco.	207.94065309731764
Mitchell Barton drew in the fragrance deeply, letting the smoke lie warm and soothing in his throat for a moment before he exhaled.	675.8206585898669
Through the gloom he could not see the man beside him clearly but he knew him thoroughly.	907.3297265718942
For his first five years in prison, they had shared a cell.	161.49380006656767
Carl Dill was neither a rancher nor a valley man.	210.75669149513033
He had been the auditor for the mining syndicate, and he had stolen fifty thousand dollars of the syndicate's money.	417.5946542369948
He had done time for the theft.	34.997157557483185
The one thing they had in common was their hatred.	66.52092175136275
Both hated Donald Kruger.	109.40577040788783
It had drawn them together, and since his release from prison Dill had worked tirelessly to effect this night's escape.	737.9875786865592
He said now, "I've got the perfect headquarters set up.	38.41317582943771
The old Haskell mine".	32.97731882607795
Mitch Barton knew the place.	88.48586764006102
Twenty years before a group of Easterners had bought out the Haskell claims in the rocky hills south of Grass Valley.	438.0858484309777
They had spent a million dollars, carving in a road, putting up buildings, drilling their haulage tunnel.	845.8186264598459
Then the vein had petered out and the whole project had been abandoned.	314.32733353954853
"The road's washed badly", said Dill, "but there's a trail you can get over with a horse.	247.03455148943374
A company of cavalry couldn't come in there if two men were guarding that trail".	221.3859136981441
Barton nodded.	33.86652907181474
"How do the valley people feel"?	44.35461881673975
"As mad as ever.	20.024477408299962
But Kruger's men keep them off balance, and they don't trust me.	295.3752864528496
I'm an outsider.	17.826143600482148
When they learn you're in the hills though, they'll rally, don't worry about that".	159.20511006944002
Barton waited for a long moment, then asked the question which lay always uppermost in his mind.	256.45944818053255
"My boy.	10.867552736995899
Did you find him"?	19.8041041062322
Dill was silent as if he hated to answer, and Barton had a cold, sick feeling of apprehension.	358.23190114614897
"He's in Morgan's Ferry".	46.21054340034555
Barton half-straightened in surprise.	129.5989976292011
"What's he doing there"?	35.448483019797095
Again Dill hesitated.	64.85918344076755
"Dealing faro".	55.56803692523301
"Dealing faro?	79.78044722426809
How come"?	8.26873253958553
"Your sister-in-law has the faro bank in Cap Ayres' saloon".	240.77887553183643
Barton cursed under his breath.	116.54220937183186
After another long pause he asked, "How many people know who they are"?	312.791676002122
"Everyone.	7.76631933776396
Your cousin Finley saw to that.	65.35122168318618
He's quite a rat, you know.	56.24637538579128
He sold out to Kruger's men.	54.82135567855145
He's informed them of everything you've ever written him.	114.76867620056909
He wants your ranch".	21.400848549984108
Barton stood up.	38.3718674623809
He said tensely, "All right.	28.683293845428054
Let's go get the boy".	17.65970877053131
Dill had come up also.	54.95439287626336
"I was afraid of this.	190.6012811226723
I almost didn't tell you".	37.969553402736324
"If you hadn't I'd have killed you".	59.851979967733556
Dill's voice tightened.	96.11497911763098
"But you can't ride into the Ferry.	60.78425299811168
That's what they'll expect you to do.	509.2761729080013
They'll be there waiting for you.	301.53495739122263
I understand how you feel about the child h".	62.35450181181556
"The hell you do".	15.484934997486878
Barton's voice was rougher than Dill had ever heard it.	282.67630352176235
"I never saw him.	26.1444120743323
My wife died in childbirth after I was sent away.	112.74696642905782
"I can't leave him there.	23.462939209955064
Donald Kruger would like nothing better than to hold him as hostage, and I wouldn't entrust a snake to his tender care.	993.9646811007581
I've got to get the boy.	25.911658182143995
Let's ride".	23.01623221327531
CHAPTER TWO BARTON'S MEN CUT the telegraph wires in half a dozen places, carrying away whole sections to make repairs more difficult.	1014.1726310535034
It was over an hour before their escape was discovered, but still the news that Barton was free flashed across the central portion of the state.	542.5213628639422
It reached Donald Kruger in his massive home in Burlingame.	213.9066256838125
It reached the mines at North San Juan and Bloomfield.	178.7579461137819
It brought men out of bed and sent them into hurried conferences.	297.44404219816505
For everyone involved knew that the whole valley was a powder keg, and Mitchell Barton the fuse which could send it into explosive violence.	968.6733947663591
Creighton Hague sat in his office above the Ione pit.	242.88281734935708
The office was of logs, four rooms, each heated by an iron stove.	193.93197638809139
The building was dwarfed by the scene outside.	66.73449273151238
There a dozen giant monitors played their seventy-five-foot jets of water against the huge seam of tertiary gravel which was the mountainside.	2417.1622678040053
The gravel was the bed of an ancient river, buckled in some prehistoric upheaval of earth.	256.0849755403939
It was partially cemented by ages and pressure, yet it crumpled before the onslaught of the powerful streams, the force of a thousand fire hoses, and with the gold it held washed down through the long sluices.	601.3655442049115
A million dollars' of gold a month.	53.00769658020887
A million tons of rock and soil and brush.	89.1242552026465
The monitors ran twenty-four hours each day.	81.8137935457062
Their roar, like the swelling volume of a hundred tornadoes could be heard for miles.	468.48045798244027
Hague, like all who worked near the pits, was partly deafened from the constant assault against his eardrums.	553.2141751132792
He was a big man, wearing a neat flannel shirt against the cold foothill air.	149.68204213365897
Fat showed in loose rolls beneath the shirt.	212.96682938127896
Ten years older than Mitch Barton, he had clawed his way up from mucker in the pits to manager of the operation.	623.654017563847
He was proud of his accomplishments, proud of his job, proud that Donald Kruger and his associates trusted him.	294.67092915425525
He lived and breathed for the mining company.	56.84857094691506
No man could have reached his spot nor held it without being ruthless, and Hague had made a virtue of ruthlessness all of his life.	601.9342186008456
There came a ghost of noise at the office door and Hague swung to see Kodyke in the entrance from the outer room.	373.2635609514516
Hague had never accustomed himself to Kodyke.	197.00504582423358
The man was tall, thin, with a narrow face and a too-large nose.	100.87450874793672
The eyes always held Hague, eyes of a dead man, lidless as a lizard's, with the fixed intensity of a cobra.	546.5712728727561
Even Hague was repelled by the machinelike deadliness that was Kodyke.	351.0555889951823
He knew nothing about the man's history.	30.71475491606029
Kodyke had appeared at the mine one day bearing a letter from Kruger.	311.7336117106875
Kodyke was to head the dread company police.	115.13873479396732
He ran the change rooms.	22.796580369393972
He threw out the hi-graders.	50.262372595423116
He supervised the cleanups and handled the shipments of raw gold which each week went out to San Francisco.	757.4598499241231
Hague squeezed down his uneasy dislike.	184.08226878074916
He pulled open the top drawer of his desk and drew out a tintype.	194.338379030386
"This is Mitchell Barton.	32.06822962338656
He broke out of Folsom last night.	49.751616554369406
Apparently he bribed one of the guards.	43.77105821993415
We want him back there or we want him dead".	75.83802356520182
Kodyke took the picture in a lean hand, studying it thoughtfully.	227.0060879066775
"Dangerous"?	20.324827059120516
"Dangerous, yes.	23.816033952442453
You know how the ranchers in the valley are.	50.53160475830213
They blame us for all their troubles.	60.9225227880391
Ten years ago they blew up some of our ditches.	606.3564607018714
It cost us a hundred thousand dollars and thirty days lost time to fix them.	150.63609574048974
We don't want Barton's Night Riders loose again".	231.27002530911437
The gunman nodded, slipping the picture into his breast pocket, saying nothing.	282.7551218350017
Normally Hague wasted no words, but now he found himself unable to stop their flow although he knew Kodyke was aware of all he said.	2871.2754205124884
If she sensed any unusual preoccupation on the part of her mother, she did not comment upon it.	1047.77897200165
After they had finished eating, Melissa took Sprite the kitten under her arm- "so that Auntie Grace can teach it about the whistle"- and climbed into the station wagon beside her mother.	826.7057663967558
She had offered to walk, but Pamela knew she would not feel comfortable about her child until she had personally confided her to the care of the little pink woman who chose to be called "Auntie".	876.1550539586632
When they reached their neighbor's house, Pamela said a few polite words to Grace and kissed Melissa lightly on the forehead, the impulse prompted by a stray thought- of the type to which she was frequently subject these days- that they might never see one another again.	750.562943412974
Then she turned the station wagon around and headed it back down the hill, with the village as her ostensible destination.	1098.590920096345
As she drove, she thought about her plan.	68.75094850719933
It was really quite simple.	22.422034883220363
So simple, in fact, that it might even work- although Pamela, now, in her new frame of mind, was careful not to pretend too much assurance.	2056.0930489329326
That mistake, she thought, had cost her dearly these past few days, and she wanted to avoid falling into any more of the traps that the mountain might set for her.	489.45114338805666
She must be cautious so as not to alert the scheming forest.	161.5741212211489
When the station wagon drew abreast of the dusty dirt road that led up to the porch of the Culver house, Pamela turned the wheel, guiding the car to its familiar parking spot close to the house, and stopped.	757.1496027347285
All of her movements were careful and methodical, partaking of the stealth of a criminal who has plotted his felony for months in advance and knows exactly which step to take next in the course of the final execution of his crime.	623.9719898752902
She locked the ignition, removed the keys, stepped out of the car and went into the house.	554.3060162231934
Here, she dropped the keys on a small table beside the door and went upstairs to her bedroom.	242.27295401596308
On her bureau lay a small, brass ornament of simple design and faded engraving- an object which, Pamela believed now, had been the property of her great-grandfather, Major Hiram Munroe Culver.	1470.722672795666
He had belonged to this land and, perhaps, had desecrated it- and this was the only material symbol that remained of him.	192.11850036806973
If she, Pamela, were being held responsible for his crimes, then hers must be the final act of expiation.	1598.0570615282404
She would return this symbol to the mountain, as one pours seed back into the soil every Spring h or as ancient fertility cults demand annual human sacrifice.	650.6928307360458
Slowly and thoughtfully, she slipped the ornament into the pocket of her slacks, moved down the stairs and out of the house.	288.9745376340883
There was only one place where the mountain might receive her- that unnamed, unnameable pool harbored in its secret bosom.	708.5822662426314
Atonement, if atonement were possible, could only be made at that sacred, sacrificial basin.	292.11065389093045
It was there that she would have to enact her renunciation, beg forgiveness.	107.56230711581712
Perhaps it was insane, Pamela thought.	46.535703855371445
Perhaps it was all a vividly conceived dream.	183.66726055980692
But she was caught in it, and she faced the terrible possibility that, if it were a dream, it was one from which she might never awaken.	383.05635582693503
Facing the forest now, she who had not dared to enter it before, walked between two trees at random and headed in what she believed was the direction of the pool.	925.0542146036726
She remembered little of her previous journey there with Grace, and she could but hope that her dedication to her mission would enable her to accomplish it.	412.7624363767176
The forest was open and freely welcoming, extending an enchanted hand.	200.51461237745565
The ground was covered with soft pine needles and the slope was gentle.	223.21565744636305
Birds chirped and chattered in the trees and the sun, all dewy-eyed and soft, caressed her shoulders warmly from time to time.	731.5419352979926
It was not, thought Pamela, such an evil place after all.	174.03571505663018
No wonder Melissa responded so completely to its beckoning.	180.5730979223765
Perhaps she had no reason to fear these trees that whispered their secrets above her head as she passed.	434.7577198517558
Was it not possible, after all, that the forest was in league with her and her child h that its sympathy lay with the Culvers h that she had erred in failing to understand this?	1363.5099778772
Pamela felt calm and peaceful as she walked along.	200.92949212131882
The slight flutter that had disturbed the motion of her heart when she entered the forest was gone now, and even the dim groves of trees through which she occasionally passed did not reawaken her fear.	963.3846916731491
She regarded them as signs that she was nearing the glen she sought, and she was glad to at last be doing something positive in her unenunciated, undefined struggle with the mountain and its darkling inhabitants.	659.6866010118251
Having persisted too long in deliberate ignorance and denial of the forces that threatened her, Pamela was relieved now to admit their potency and to be taking definite steps toward grappling with them.	2881.856306544217
A few days ago, she would have thought such an expedition as this utterly ridiculous; today, on the contrary, it seemed utterly reasonable.	170.56673804382137
She did not pause to consider what she would do if her plan should fail; she directed all of her mental and physical energy toward achieving this one goal.	428.6457280108137
If, as she walked, her steps fumbled from time to time, she chose to ignore that omen.	331.55305296347973
If the slope grew steeper and the groves more dim, she tried not to heed.	286.21020041665815
Success depended upon maintaining her equanimity; she must be poised and proud and unafraid in order to prove to the mountain that she was in earnest.	866.1094738883193
The forest took on an impersonal aspect.	74.12719081349357
It did not care what sort of person prowled its woods, plucked at its bark or stripped the berries from its bushes.	1369.8041495693585
Unconcerned, indifferent, unmotivated, the forest was simply there- fighting man's depredations with more abundant growth and man's follies with its own musical evening laughter.	808.4408607300843
Red man or white man, pacifist or killer, the forest would accept them all- knowing that it could thrive equally well on slaughter and beneficence; knowing that its ageless mass would always dwarf the short span of time allotted to any man.	1034.273242895598
Pamela shook her head.	53.64228427517543
She must not think about time.	30.648342408728215
That was another one of those traps.	44.2923313688283
In her grim pursuit of tranquillity, Pamela focused her thoughts on her husband.	328.76797419064036
If, when this was all over, she found the words to tell him about it, she wondered if he would ever understand.	1122.3804316624323
How could he comprehend her need when he himself was innocent?	167.64461139980864
Indian ghosts would not impinge upon his nights, nor would his days be haunted by the dimly-outlined, ill-conceived figure of her benighted ancestor.	1243.7496726011998
His bright, daylight mind would whistle away such images; they would not dare to face his scoffing.	486.5681614367398
Pamela was glad Jim was nowhere near.	203.2501629036038
His presence would have interfered with her duty.	93.23784787498474
The mountainside grew steeper and she slipped once or twice on the smooth pine needles.	482.4480833739965
The trees huddled more closely together, their limbs and leaves intertwined in a coarse curtain against the sun.	383.97946150007556
Bushes and vines abetted the rocks in forming thorny detours for the struggling stranger, and without the direct light of the sun to act as compass, Pamela could no longer be positive of her direction.	2174.136032040048
Nevertheless, she continued to move upward.	35.60782858330515
She was sure she would reach the pool by climbing, and she clung to that belief despite the increasing number of obstacles.	383.2639448613741
The forest had become an alien world where she strove, alone, unprotected, unguided, to deal with whatever hindrances were offered.	422.23673283161884
It was a bold, dark castle of pine boughs that stood like a medieval fortress, eclipsing the sun and human time.	363.29843103029134
At one and the same time, she was within it but still searching for the drawbridge that would give her entry.	107.88106181040689
Silence came into the forest- a solid being that clapped its hand over the murmuring mouths of the birds and the whispered comfort of the trees.	460.6200496492692
Silence walked at Pamela's side, its presence numbingly close, yet too far for her to hear.	409.0317721756833
Silence stood in front of her, waiting, and in back of her, blocking her retreat.	361.6172108954055
She stumbled over the root of a tree that protruded maliciously above the earth.	218.37645933938225
In spite of her attempt to preserve her balance, she fell, bruising her arm on a naked stone.	239.72732695071602
For a moment, she could not catch her breath and then, her breath returning in short, frightened spasms, she lifted herself to her feet laboriously.	731.1537389154208
She started to brush the dirt and bits of leaves off her clothes.	183.83304922094558
Her arm bled slightly, and the offended skin cried out in pain.	285.4260014722324
She looked around.	8.756927304055827
She was bewildered.	17.031293132905283
She seemed to have come such a long distance- too far for her destination which had wilfully been swallowed up in the greedy gloom of the trees.	904.8794447961662
She stood quite still, trying to focus upon a direction in which to turn, a path to follow, a clue to guide her.	444.7687317663099
She was standing in a thick grove.	40.6815567356553
The trees were crowded so closely together that their branches overlapped, virtually shutting out the sun completely.	415.53489521841584
The earth smelled moist and pungent as it might in a cave deprived of the cleansing effect of the sun's rays.	719.9715526986641
She had the feeling that, under the mouldering leaves, there would be the bodies of dead animals, quietly decaying and giving their soil back to the mountain.	1071.1114672020078
The thought made Pamela shudder.	79.52566047401787
A terrible chill swept through the grove.	149.87811453818068
Not a breeze exactly, but a pocket of icy air that settled with a loathsome familiarity upon the deep confines of the grove, catching Pamela in a leering embrace.	744.4260609353166
There was a peculiar density about it, a thick substance that could be sensed but never identified, never actually perceived.	489.1227825796947
Where before had she felt or dreamt or imagined such a scene?	280.38569284387165
She already knew this unwholesome, chilling atmosphere that was somehow grotesquely alive.	363.85067801771095
It enclosed her clammy hands and twined around her ankles.	231.11566074131397
It crept into the open neck of her blouse and slid down her body, seeping into her flesh through all the quivering pores of her skin.	689.7096503398215
It crawled across her breasts, suffocating the life in her nipples.	244.04307091249063
It circled her thighs, exploring with its icy tentacles.	306.82917825684865
It entered her body with the ghastly intimacy of an incubus, and its particles, spreading, creeping, crawling, joined themselves into steel bands that constricted her knees so tightly that they ached; stifled her lungs so that her breath came in harsh gasps; clutched her throat and sucked up the moisture in her mouth so that her tongue was dry and hard and stuck to the roof of her mouth and her teeth were clenched together in the rigid fixture of her jaws.	2181.0623563839113
She had to get away from here before this demoniac possession swallowed up the liquid of her eyes and sank into the fibers of her brain, depriving her of reason and sight.	898.9629456982359
But she did not know which way to go.	90.48099287694218
The shadows of the trees engulfed her, foreclosing every possible exit from the grove.	289.3960983583973
She had been snared here by a vile sensuality that writhed around her throat in ever-tightening circles.	451.2040190698045
She could not scream, for even if a sound could take shape within her parched mouth, who would hear, who would listen?	364.80667037373036
Does the mountain listen?	48.42536455315793
Pamela groped blindly.	119.1903022390142
She had to escape.	9.069666687834395
She had to move in some direction- any direction that would take her away from this evil place.	158.07408980808518
She thrust forward through the shadows and the trees that resisted her and tried to fling her back.	277.2080106952878
Her own body protested, aching painfully where the blood in her veins had congealed, where cold demon wisps still clung and caressed.	1148.9726085313714
Every movement she made seemed unnecessarily noisy.	195.86238742634927
Twigs cracked loudly under her feet; bushes swished and scratched at her slacks; tree branches snapped as she pushed them ruthlessly away from her.	3563.0209444793863
Miraculously, she found exactly the right statement.	95.88454665838566
She began it deliberately, so that none of her words would be lost on him.	124.67893912014742
"I want to tell you something Thomas DeMontez Lord.	97.22994639297298
I'm well aware that you've got a pedigree as long as my leg, and that I don't amount to anything.	110.9779114621481
But"- "But it don't matter a-tall", Lord supplied fondly.	175.4425803056457
"To me you'll always be the girl o' my dreams, an' the sweetest flower that grows".	297.60322216919803
Beaming idiotically, he pooched out his lips and attempted to kiss her.	375.50264304968636
She yanked away from him furiously.	101.96328641251708
"You shut up!	30.34995925796725
shu-tt up-pp!	202.1739987086843
I've got something to say to you, and by God you're going to listen.	191.40833730999987
Do you hear me?	19.589562709672826
You're going to listen"!	76.05398218280702
Lord nodded agreeably.	82.09781297389908
He said he wanted very much to listen.	75.66468179423627
He knew that anything a brainy little lady like her had to say would be plumb important, as well as pleasin' to the ear, and he didn't want to miss a word of it.	391.3937156270086
So would she mind speaking a little louder?	131.05717888138574
"I think you stink, Tom Lord!	68.45901812231632
I think you're mean and hateful and stupid, and- louder"?	688.6698057313057
said Joyce.	22.15360458165657
"Uh-huh.	38.228413660078274
So I can hear you while I'm checkin' the car.	137.95858431846023
Looks like we might be in for a speck of trouble".	848.5655104027586
He opened the door and got out.	128.8826648209228
He waited at the car side for a moment, looking down at her expectantly.	140.85538709328523
"Well?	7.483069253650329
Wasn't you goin' to say somethin'"?	199.3245217972983
Then, helpfully, as she merely stared at him in weary silence, "Maybe you could write it down for me, huh?	382.50925913144124
Print it in real big letters, an' I can cipher it out later".	232.7417483097721
"Aah, go on", she said.	34.74870889784973
"Just go the hell on".	28.050675219291826
He grinned, nodded, and walked around to the front of the car.	610.1928911070552
Lips pursed mournfully, he stared down at its crazily sagging left side.	684.8509040995542
Then he hunkered down on the heels of his handmade boots, peered into the orderly chaos of axle, shock absorber, and spring.	479.0547092787281
He went prone on his stomach, the better to pursue his examination.	95.0708305233067
After a time, he straightened again, brushing the red Permian dust from his hands, slapping it from his six-dollar levis and his tailored, twenty-five-dollar shirt.	780.7099006716034
He wore no gun- a strange ommission for a peace officer in this country.	137.03724651191627
Never, he'd once told Joyce, had he encountered any man or situation that called for a gun.	587.544464872902
And he really feels that way, she thought.	55.818269003676086
That's really all he's got, all he is.	59.26143042139355
Just a big pile of self-confidence in an almost teensy package.	353.1000697280356
If I could make myself feel the same way h She studied him hopefully, yearningly; against the limitless background of sky and wasteland it was easy to confirm her analysis.	853.523708395441
Here in the God-forsaken place, the westerly end of nowhere, Tom Lord looked almost insignificant, almost contemptible.	395.4838985483008
He was handsome, with his coal-black hair and eyes, his fine-chiseled features.	187.70475204535074
But she'd known plenty of handsomer guys, and, conceding his good looks, what was there left?	1375.903060649822
He wasn't a big man; rather on the medium side.	67.9472008562287
Neither was he very powerful of build.	41.97460278189136
He could move very quickly, she knew although he seldom found occasion to do so, but he was more wiry than truly strong.	927.7172889577138
And his relatively small hands and feet gave him an almost delicate appearance.	190.67678523160995
Just nothing, she told herself.	171.06558568188095
Just so darned sure of himself that he puts the Indian sign on everyone.	220.762115216702
But, by gosh, I want him and I'm going to have him!	206.65989516826525
He caught her eye, came back around the car with the boot-wearer's teetering, half-mincing walk.	359.5678144670545
Why did these yokels still wear boots, anyway, when most had scarcely sat a horse in years?	413.1368237418895
He slid in at her side, tucked a cigar into his mouth, and politely proffered one to her.	265.3651224479697
"Oh, cut it out, Tom"!	908.2645007105466
she snapped.	26.596950223249674
"Can't you stop that stupid clowning for even a minute"?	301.3817671552097
"This ain't your brand, maybe", Lord suggested.	134.49124262540508
"Or maybe you just don't feel like a cigar"?	939.5071435778975
"I feel like getting back to town, that's what I feel like!	367.7316120278664
Now, are you going to take me or am I supposed to walk"?	434.8695387078978
"Might get there faster walkin'", Lord drawled, "seein' as how I got a busted front spring.	843.6008957661791
On the other hand, howsomever, maybe you wouldn't either.	43.2114193632586
I figger it's probl'y a sixty-five-mile walk, and I c'n maybe get this spring patched up in a couple of hours".	1656.1840848139539
"How- with what?	16.68885257707651
There's nothing out here but rattlesnakes".	58.58529779747351
"Now, ain't it the truth"?	42.601643820065085
Lord laughed with secret amusement.	121.43100326804084
"Not a danged thing but rattlesnakes, so I reckon I'll get the boss rattler to help me".	345.5826789894076
"Tom!	15.043616905915242
For God's sake"!	38.02882814341534
"Looky".	16.05296361890169
He pointed, cutting her off.	29.09046855521147
"See that wildcat"?	31.18374302705395
She saw it then, the distant derrick of the wildcat- a test well in unexplored country.	349.2024647035178
And even with her limited knowledge of such things, she knew that the car could be repaired there; sufficiently, at least, to get them back into town.	361.6092374945712
A wildcatter had to be prepared for almost any emergency.	688.9329966693377
He had to depend on himself, since he was invariably miles and hours away from others.	101.93447418814053
"Well, let's get going", she said impatiently.	211.09622403904118
"I"- She broke off, frowning.	62.30168912310807
"What did you mean by that rattlesnake gag?	91.56620331013268
Getting the boss rattlesnake to help you"?	118.58470083232108
"Why, I meant what I said", Lord declared.	209.73343137709946
"What else would I mean, anyways"?	77.20344108904564
She looked at him, lips compressed.	41.569721750638045
Then, with a shrug of pretended indifference, she took a compact from her purse and went through the motions of fixing her make-up.	2580.044454428994
In his mood, it was the best way to handle him; that is, to show no curiosity whatsoever.	925.492709163394
Otherwise, she would be baited into a tantrum- teased and provoked until she lost control of herself, and thus lost still another battle in the maddening struggle of Tom Lord Vs Joyce Lakewood.	1466.159179222754
The car lurched along at a snail's crawl, the left-front mudguard banging and scraping against the tire, occasionally scraping against the road itself.	764.4778715984922
Lord whistled tunelessly as he fought the steering wheel.	273.67221867904124
He seemed very pleased with himself, as though some intricate scheme was working out exactly as he had planned.	205.55327460234508
Along with this self-satisfaction, however, Joyce sensed a growing tension.	150.21169478445265
It poured out of him like an electric current, a feeling that the muscles and nerves of his fine-drawn body were coiling for action, and that that action would be all that he anticipated.	1500.8888047616438
Joyce had seen him like this once before- more than once, actually, but on one particularly memorable occasion.	515.2694878189225
That was the day that he had practically mopped up the main street of Big Sands with Aaron McBride, field boss for the Highlands Oil Gas Company.	543.1832093491155
Tom had been laying for Aaron McBride for a long time, just waiting to catch him out of line.	592.4725881716157
McBride gave him his opportunity when he showed up in town with a pistol on his hip.	569.4890385880254
He had a legitimate reason for wearing it.	41.43623508670149
It was payday for Highlands, and he was packing a lot of money back into the oil fields.	128.42983784539598
Moreover, as long as the weapon was carried openly, the sheriff's office had made no previous issue of it.	230.34766735619698
"So what's this all about"?	42.78753338944181
he demanded, when Lord confronted him.	44.654587226771405
I'm not the only man in town with a gun, or the only one without a permit".	84.70189506153349
It was the wrong thing to say.	106.7668236980076
By failing to do as he was told instantly- to take out a permit or return the gun to his car- he had played into Lord's hands.	811.1322675792617
The trouble was that he had virtually had to protest.	107.9773191031343
The deputy had forced him to by his manner of accosting him.	124.69502232116804
So, "How about it"?	18.116464915364638
he said.	39.76416012412371
"Why single me out on this permit deal"?	124.31917951951053
"Well, I'll tell you about that", Lord told him.	203.8923813281894
"We aim t' be see-lective, y'know?	296.5589955538552
Don't like to bother no one unless we have to, which I figger we do, in your case.	393.61598175290226
Figger we got to be plumb careful with any of you Highlands big shots".	412.83592964123534
McBride reddened.	55.56803692523301
He himself had heard that there was gangster money in the company, but that had nothing to do with him.	660.1016839416224
He was an honest man doing a hard job, and the implication that he was anything else was unbearable.	189.24446905393663
"Look, Lord", he said hoarsely.	66.93069838871777
"I know you've got a grudge against me, and maybe I can't blame you.	117.34267752504586
You think that Highlands swindled you and I helped 'em do it.	203.19260931119226
But you're all wrong, man!	145.29614165562137
I'm no lawyer.	10.173829025764487
I just do what I'm told, and"- "Uh-huh.	608.4148133683937
An' that could mean trouble with a fella that's workin' for crooks.	366.95011383910787
So you get rid of that pistol right now, Mis-ter McBride.	336.9765756799539
You do that or take you out a permit right now".	67.52254484578965
McBride couldn't do either, of course.	63.60466952334069
Not immediately, as the deputy demanded.	53.513417839349074
Not without a face-saving respite of at least a few minutes.	121.24121420105055
To do so would make his job well-nigh impossible.	229.60686039242438
Oil-field workers were a rough-tough lot.	163.3393774415246
How could he exert authority over them- make them toe the line, as he had to- if he knuckled under to this small-town clown?	1076.8061384292362
"I'll get around to it a little later", he mumbled desperately.	2025.0333261631129
"Just as soon as I go to the bank, and"- "Huh-uh.	303.18748194835706
Now, Mis-ter McBride", said Lord, and he laid a firmly restraining hand on the field boss's arm.	482.84295237067585
It was strictly the deputy's game, but McBride had gone too far to throw in.	197.68111263851665
Now, he could only play the last card in what was probably the world's coldest deck.	382.9699831304295
He flung off Lord's hand and attempted to push past him, inadvertently shoving him into a storefront.	557.1342819956261
It was practically the last move that McBride made of his own volition.	147.1184234420482
Lord slugged him in the stomach, so hard that the organ almost pressed against his spine.	206.35586054870691
Then, as he doubled, gasping, vomiting the breakfast he had so lately eaten, Lord straightened him with an uppercut.	473.88637158629876
A rabbit punch redoubled him.	84.34065314012331
And then there was a numbing blow to the heart, and another gut-flattening blow to the stomach h But he couldn't keep up with them.	1886.2538018491882
No more could he defend himself against them.	55.58884929775043
He seemed to be fighting not one man but a dozen.	36.1138390846608
And he could no longer think of face-saving, of honor, but only of escape.	61.77648404297158
Why, he's going to kill me, he thought wildly.	174.20825686586056
I meant him no harm.	41.573214909539395
I've given willful hurt to no man.	62.50443400055787
I was just doing my job, just following orders, and for that he's going to kill me.	154.34731371533388
Beat me to death in front of a hundred people.	531.0213537061366
Somehow more terrible than the certainty that he was about to die was the knowledge that Lord would probably not suffer for it the murder would go unpunished.	386.40870027955106
He, McBride, would be cited as in the wrong, and he, Lord, would go scot-free, an officer who had only done his duty, though perhaps too energetically.	1054.9129802374493
McBride staggered into the street, flopped sprawling in the stinging dust.	391.18208217399973
Fear-maddened, fleeing the lengthening shadow of death, he scrambled to his feet again.	311.1500348179141
He couldn't see; he was long past the point of coherent thinking.	101.39133581071293
Dimly, he heard laughter, hoots of derision, but he could not read the racket properly.	432.6906770863368
He could not grasp that Lord had withdrawn from the fight minutes ago, and that his leaden arms were flailing at nothing but the air.	963.5610070792725
He hated them too much to understand- the people of this isolated law-unto-itself world that was Lord's world.	466.29973273921127
This, he was sure, was the way they would act; laughing at a dying man, laughing as a man was beaten to death.	2601.5980884388937
And nothing would be done about it.	13.171709605099194
Nothing unless h Donna!	111.58930117606076
Donna, his young wife, the girl who was both daughter and wife to him.	134.36998963071366
Donna was like he was.	30.814177530747138
She lived by the rules, never compromising, never blinded or diverted by circumstance.	277.59568110199586
And Donna would- When he regained consciousness he was in Lord's house, in the office of Doctor Lord, the deputy's deceased father.	560.4842559604716
The Brannon outfit- known as the Slash-B because of its brand- reached Hondo Creek before sundown.	655.3027776542561
The herd was watered and then thrown onto a broad grass flat which was to be the first night's bedground.	305.15476974788623
Two of the new hands, a Mexican named Jose Amado and a kid known only as Laredo, were picked for the first trick of riding night herd.	735.8542937149889
The rest of the crew offsaddled their mounts and turned them into the remuda.	247.26990265749635
They got tin cups of coffee from the big pot on the coosie's fire, rolled and lighted brown-paper cigarettes, lounged about.	606.217688878145
There was some idle talk, a listless discussion of this or that small happening during the day's drive.	219.70042147477096
But they deliberately avoided the one subject that had them all curious the failure of the boss's wife and son to join the outfit.	281.2955468121002
It especially bothered the older hands.	53.20708183346866
The cook, Mateo Garcia, had arrived there long before the herd.	146.9068588492289
He'd started a fire and put coffee on, and now was busy at the work board of his chuck wagon.	299.0079852590633
He was readying a batch of sourdough biscuits for the Dutch oven.	248.60892266065687
Supper would be ready within the hour.	62.79760206915593
The Maguire family was setting up a separate camp nearby.	165.77432693402582
Billie had unhitched the mules from both Tom Brannon's and his father's wagon.	431.9385930600761
Hank had gathered wood for a cookfire, and his wife was busy at it now.	150.09541673152296
Conchita kept an eye on the twins and little Elena, trying to keep them from falling into the creek by which they persisted in playing.	1727.0445785191384
Conchita nagged at the younger children, attempting without success to keep her thoughts off Tom Brannon.	742.5191725310151
Tom Brannon had caught up with the outfit shortly after the Maguires joined it, which had been at midday.	1382.7918504978206
He'd come alone, without his wife and child.	91.34722606198392
He'd been in an angry mood Conchita had thought his face almost ugly with the anger in him.	668.7446736686794
She wondered what had taken place in town, between him and his wife.	187.04658671630773
She wished that she could talk to her mother about it.	89.33195342067447
Not that her mother knew what had happened, but they could speculate upon it.	117.71567061940306
But her mother would rebuke her if she mentioned it, and say that it was none of her concern.	2359.4724606632453
"Pat, get out of that creek!	390.0829341734729
You too, Sean!	47.43215307922802
Elena, you'll get mud all over your dress"!	139.48344846320356
Even as she called to the children, Conchita let her gaze seek Tom Brannon.	371.868762814638
Tomas, she called him- as the Mexican hands did.	119.11532429690884
He was in earnest conversation with her father and the old vaquero, Luis Hernandez.	600.0383342325739
Whatever they are talking about?	43.007069087288755
Conchita wondered.	41.445510658756376
It bothered her that she probably would never know.	75.79042458273038
Certainly, she wouldn't dare ask her father afterward.	162.86763883817596
He would tell her not to pry into grownups' affairs- as though she were a little kid like Elena!	2193.283985541055
At the moment, the three men were not saying much of anything.	750.7322105872084
They were sitting on their heels, rider-fashion, over by the still empty calf wagon.	234.34369532734027
Brannon was hunkered down with his broad back to the left rear wheel, with the other two facing him.	581.804672974412
He held a cigarette in his right hand.	50.01491287332367
It was burning away, forgotten.	29.341971835514116
His face was clouded with unhappiness.	41.518255296049325
He'd told Hank Maguire and Luis Hernandez about his wife's refusal to come with him and about what he now intended to do.	717.6524120550976
They were considering it gravely, neither seeming to like what he planned.	143.96435666161935
Finally Hernandez said, "I could offer you advice, Tomas, but you wouldn't heed it".	621.069371283943
"Let's hear it, anyway".	35.29127009784026
"Wait a little while.	25.73027981543019
Let Senora Brannon live in her father's house for a time.	1370.5376190531072
Give her time to miss you.	41.94362198103334
Maybe she will then come to you.	179.97120361717367
After all, you want the senora as much as you want the boy.	315.9043816169172
You need her even more than you need him".	103.18660626637326
"She won't change her mind", Brannon said.	440.8739583601202
"John Clayton will see to that".	32.896725736371
"But after a time away from you h".	32.756233047063986
"A year, Luis?	23.998053192405767
Five?	8.86414893256739
Ten?	9.921006761869785
How long should I wait"?	37.59547899826979
"Maybe in a year, Tomas h".	228.0388952089913
"In a year she'll like living in Clayton's house too much to come back to me", Brannon said flatly.	333.58482019878403
"And the boy will be too much under his influence by then.	180.43613054345005
I've got to take Danny away from Clayton before I lose him altogether.	115.6061657245106
Hell, in a year or five or ten, the boy will have forgotten me- his own father"!	1191.0296276000836
"But to take him and leave his mother behind is not good".	83.71507129334393
"In my place, you'd follow such advice as you give me"?	119.12819531417456
Hernandez looked suddenly uncertain.	93.16987703273607
"That I can't answer, for I can't imagine something like this happening to me.	164.3340770541371
Maybe I should withdraw my advice- no"?	149.16010030904735
Brannon looked at Hank Maguire.	194.26184700002068
"And you?	5.934315408805449
What would you do in my place"?	42.52062939268058
Hank shook his head.	27.79038456294849
"I don't know, Tom.	11.803069751632462
Like Luis, I can't see something like this happening to me.	333.05864262777607
With Maria and me, there's never any problem.	90.24113688305846
Where I go, she goes- and the kids with us.	71.73235856826483
You're going to need your woman.	45.18290660448415
And the boy will need his mother.	32.510680672351604
If you take the one, you'd better take both".	32.809458519437165
Brannon shook his head.	37.89333852976538
"I won't force Beth to come against her will.	84.75878707377971
But I'm going to have my son".	26.7848907344581
They were silent for a little while, each looking glum.	283.69603514620894
Finally Luis Hernandez said, "What must be, must be.	302.6775063637957
I am with you, of course, Tomas".	33.0018127257709
And Hank Maguire added, "So am I, Tom".	182.3113727329089
"All right", Brannon said, rising.	57.15222210350409
"We'll ride out as soon as we've had chuck".	235.3131906152221
Brannon timed it so that they rode in an hour after nightfall.	1625.8843636676318
They had for cover both darkness and a summer storm.	83.68575454491516
During much of the fifteen-mile ride they had watched a lurid display of lightning in the sky to the east.	639.8911110489229
Later, they'd heard the rumble of thunder and then, just outside Rockfork, they ran into rain.	141.2565607255361
Those who had slickers donned them.	62.21437338289084
The others put on old coats or ducking jackets, whichever they carried behind their saddle cantles.	708.7235853397844
There were seven of them, enough for a show of strength- to run a bluff.	245.017535551616
It was to be nothing more than that.	56.413267065370206
There was to be no gunplay.	94.87919492971109
If the bluff failed and they ran into trouble, Brannon had told the others, they would withdraw- and he would come after his son another time.	790.8036081830353
He didn't want to put himself outside the law.	115.4410378089456
With him were Hank Maguire, Luis Hernandez, and Luis's son Pedro.	563.1547851844507
The Ramirez brothers were also along.	64.84834289674998
The seventh man was Red Hogan, a wiry little puncher with a wild streak and a liking for hell-raising.	476.1487651387675
They were all good men.	16.960556252847777
It was dark early, because of the storm.	24.7539165039498
Also because of the storm, the streets of Rockfork were deserted.	115.81129593912726
Lighted windows glowed jewel-bright through the downpour.	443.5503901233689
They reined in before the town marshal's office, a box-sized building on Main Street.	771.0896453632137
A lamp burned inside, but Brannon, peering through the window, saw that the office was empty.	4770.396563034013
He'd hoped to catch Jesse Macklin there.	115.27967443994497
"Probably just stepped out", he said.	123.7138278505475
"Maybe to have supper.	24.08425535361478
Red, come along.	20.36196169127738
The rest of you wait here".	22.505029269019065
With Red Hogan, he rode to the Welcome Cafe.	180.09419826974263
Hogan got down from the saddle and had a look inside.	255.05714584043855
"Not there", he said, getting back onto his horse.	198.96965673221516
"Maybe he's at the hotel".	167.4397439738059
They rode to the Rockfork House, a little farther along the opposite side of the street.	259.98721567022284
They reined in there, Brannon remaining in the saddle while Hogan went to look for Jesse Macklin in the hotel dining room.	894.3715550901956
Brannon had no slicker.	81.18347335547723
He'd put on his old brown corduroy coat and it was already soaked.	200.07367342126602
But he felt no physical discomfort.	148.4179259881061
He was only vaguely aware of the sluicing rain.	74.70723532249596
He hardly noticed the blue-green flashes of lightning and the hard claps of thunder.	303.61527119586816
Hogan reappeared, stopped on the hotel porch, lifted a hand in signal.	258.9314818115292
Brannon dismounted and climbed the steps.	104.6527372037864
"He's finished eating", Hogan said.	85.5036170568184
"Sitting with a cup of coffee now.	156.10472085422361
It shouldn't be long".	22.050017533681682
It seemed long, at least to Tom Brannon.	75.89903913678805
He and Hogan waited by the door, one to either side.	96.44810840039997
Macklin was the third man to come out, and he came unhurriedly.	1977.8208384509032
He was puffing on a cigar, and he was turning up his coat collar against the rain.	158.08013994242967
It was not until he moved across the porch that he became aware of them, and then it was too late.	162.19047499246878
They closed in fast, kept him from reaching inside his coat for his gun.	202.5413226458337
"Just come along", Brannon told him.	69.41354938225342
"Don't start anything you can't finish".	88.84457844958392
"Now, listen"- Macklin began.	53.78128544606491
"We'll talk over at your office".	35.46595251799782
"Brannon, I warn you"!	79.00856949653922
"Let's go, Marsh al", Brannon said, and took him by the arm.	196.069793281461
Hogan gripped the lawman's other arm.	146.927711609915
They escorted him down from the porch and through the rain to his office.	291.3187859266258
The other five Slash-B men followed them inside, crowding the small room.	220.4410624692617
His face was stiff with anger when they let go of his arms.	104.40434433700742
He looked at each of them in turn, Brannon last of all.	103.00703042512872
"I'll remember you", he said.	11.616717298064064
"Every last one of you.	18.42808979694591
As for you, Brannon"- "Put your gun on the desk, Marshal".	171.23722189403415
"Now, hold on, damn it; I won't"- Red Hogan's patience ran out.	253.32271419269202
He lifted the skirt of Macklin's coat, took his gun from its holster, tossed it onto the desk.	408.56385193234695
"Too much fooling around", he said.	111.22296234634362
"Don't press your luck, badge-toter".	185.48403272456878
Brannon said, "Now the key to the lockup, Marshal".	129.89040566396977
"Key"?	16.150054832191145
Macklin said.	20.060862379477502
"What for"?	6.740474763003205
"Can't you guess"?	48.77549708784847
Brannon said.	20.060862379477502
"We're putting you where you won't come to harm.	84.86000439921366
Come on- the key.	27.15079985088638
Get it out"!	32.30843892729888
"Damned if I will.	14.027324584791705
Brannon, you've assaulted a law officer and"- They moved in on him, crowded him from all sides.	199.22131174725743
No man laid a hand on him, but the threat of violence was there.	130.2532984398662
His face took on a sudden pallor, became beaded with sweat, and he seemed to have trouble with his breathing.	263.7442677733671
He held out a moment longer, then his nerve gave under the pressure.	115.78970527426068
He swore, and said, "All right.	267.35799694582903
It's here in my pocket".	38.13880441318146
"Get it out", Brannon ordered.	67.6889266716275
Then, as Macklin obeyed "Now let's go out back".	182.77316628604575
Resignedly, Macklin turned to the back door.	79.8380624632707
They followed him into the rain and across to the squat stone building fifty feet to the rear.	189.35184691259565
The door of the lockup was of oak planks and banded with strap iron.	253.3473913336055
It was secured by an oversized padlock.	98.61389285705519
Macklin balked again, not wanting to unlock and open the door.	379.8975149826432
They crowded him in that threatening way once more, forced him to give in.	246.0467210604915
Once the door was open, they crowded him inside the dark building.	125.47070618241277
He was uttering threats in a low but savage voice when they closed and padlocked the door.	193.53866555370055
They returned to the street, mounted their horses, rode through the rain to the big house on Houston Street.	232.97991845139077
Its windows glowed with lamplight.	116.26383016984853
Deputy Marshal Luke Harper still stood guard on the veranda, a forlorn, scarecrowish figure in the murky dark.	1347.9444118654637
He came to the edge of the veranda, peered down at them with his hand on his gun.	506.3684182758545
"Don't try it", Brannon told him, dismounting and starting up the steps with his men following.	163.51911415524975
"Don't get yourself killed for something that doesn't concern you".	162.09892565702987
He strode past the now frightened man, entered the house.	714.8203041740411
Miguel and Arturo Ramirez remained on the veranda to keep Harper from interfering.	656.7107563325953
The others followed Brannon inside.	56.94369285443227
They trailed him across the wide hallway to the parlor, four roughly garbed and tough-looking men who probably had never before ventured into such a house.	598.7399208180312
They brought to it all the odors that clung to men like themselves, that of their own sweat, of campfire smoke, of horses and cattle.	1667.5484310205063
They tracked mud on the oaken floor, on the carpet.	180.20017692252458
Their presence fouled the elegance of that room.	62.606731210663625
And their arrival caught John Clayton and Charles Ansley off guard.	316.0015132066343
The author of the anonymous notes seemed to be all-knowing.	1964.4349215404861
For men who had left cattle alone after getting their first notices had received no second.	289.5515561603948
But the day of the deadline came and passed, and the men who had scoffed at the warnings laughed with satisfaction.	125.43184530312162
For, with a single exception, nothing had happened to them.	158.2514153952711
The exception was an Iron Mountain settler named William Lewis.	269.433195720489
After walking out to his corral that morning, he'd been amazed to see the dust puff up in front of his feet.	330.78656474025786
A split second later, the distant crack of a rifle had sounded.	300.42425329506244
He'd mounted up immediately and raced with a revolver ready toward the spot from which he'd estimated the shot had come.	270.76785870805395
But he had found all of the thickets and points of cover deserted.	199.12428161513424
There had been no sign of a rifleman and no track or trace to show that anyone had been near.	340.4143586407399
Lewis was a man who had made a full-time job of cow stealing.	117.74247938681961
He hadn't even pretended to be farming his spread.	63.660557732630615
His land had never been plowed.	77.03931412177992
He had done his rustling openly and boasted about it.	92.61362236026967
He had received both first and second anonymous notices, and each time he had accused his neighbors of writing them.	405.2435650622484
He had cursed at them and threatened them.	51.12413852541831
He was a man, those neighbors testified later, who didn't have a friend in the world.	343.68989587660724
William Lewis made the rounds of all who lived near him again, that August morning after a bullet landed at his feet, and once more he accused and threatened everyone.	2926.3454714674067
"I'll be ready next time"!	16.993341799320277
he raged.	23.64525330940566
"I'll be shootin' right back".	29.72981780969029
He had his chance the very next morning, for exactly the same thing happened again.	239.2726322347962
This time Lewis had his own rifle in his hands, and he threw some answering fire back at the mysterious far-off shot, then spent most of the day searching out the area.	1914.8420687988448
He found nothing, but he still refused to give up and move out.	184.87717500092987
"Just let me meet up with that damned bushwhackin' coward face-to-face"!	158.47295878511207
he exploded.	23.066207348885257
"That's all I ask"!	47.55904792162427
He never got that chance.	23.82135921831105
For the unseen, ghostlike rifleman aimed a little higher the third time.	156.91915278914064
A .30-30 bullet smashed directly into the center of William Lewis' chest.	474.0997098634473
He slumped against a log fence rail, then tried to lift himself.	266.6197242823412
Two more shots followed in quick succession, dropping him limp and huddled on the ground.	284.0689047482844
An inquest was held, and after a good deal of testimony about the anonymous notes, the county coroner estimated that the shooting had been done from a distance of 300 yards.	1392.4067977009975
Rumors of the offer Tom Horn had made at the Stockgrowers' Association meeting had leaked out by then, and as a grand jury investigation of the murder got underway, the prosecuting attorney, a Colonel Baird, ordered that the tall stock detective be summoned for questioning.	1472.1702375799002
It took some time to locate Horn.	53.68941539631902
He was finally found in the Bates Hole region of Natrona County, two counties away.	260.74073867912165
Prosecutor Baird immediately assumed he was hiding out there after the shooting and began preparing an indictment.	505.6039444271413
But that indictment was never made.	34.59437139300601
For Tom Horn, it turned out, had a number of rancher and cowboy witnesses ready and willing to swear with straight faces that he had been in Bates Hole the day of the killing.	492.01937851686904
The former scout's alibi couldn't be shaken.	140.04628939830272
The authorities had to release him.	34.33091136863991
He immediately rode on to Cheyenne, threw a ten-day drinking spree and dropped some very strong hints among friends.	564.8282598652668
"Dead center at three hundred yards, that coroner said"!	246.7746595237901
he'd grin.	55.40307345863275
"Three shots in that fella 'fore he hit the ground!	255.43686126030195
You reckon there's two men in this state can shoot like that"?	182.43216444106744
Publicly, he denied everything.	56.2671498435842
Privately, he created and magnified an image of himself as a hired assassin.	157.41485761836358
For a blood-chilling ring of terror to the very sound of his name was the tool he needed for the job he'd promised to do.	583.7875621886463
Tom Horn was soon back at work, giving his secret employers their money's worth.	393.68053498527604
A good many beef-hungry settlers were accepting the death of William Lewis as proof that the warning notes were not idle threats.	449.70484579987817
The company herds were being raided less often, and cabins and soddies all over the range were standing deserted.	737.6859454105079
But there were other homesteaders who passed the Lewis murder off as a personal grudge killing, the work of one of his neighbors.	329.2029399298023
The rustling problem was by no means solved.	50.9896009317869
Even in the very area where the shooting had been done, cattle were still disappearing.	275.6370379061273
For less than a dozen miles from the unplowed land of the dead man lived another settler who had ignored the warnings that his existence might be foreclosed on- a blatant and defiant rustler named Fred Powell.	1322.3291866015618
"Fred was mighty crude about the way he took in cattle" his own hired man, Andy Ross, mentioned later.	446.7960522310795
"Everyone knew it, but he sort of acted like he didn't care who knew it- even after them notes came, even after he'd heard about Lewis, even after he'd been shot at a couple o' times hisself"!	1020.9954059156709
On the morning of September 10, 1895, Powell and Ross rose at dawn and began their day's work.	172.65964084248859
Haying time was close at hand, and they needed some strong branches to repair a hay rack.	686.7290922817472
Harnessing a team to a buckboard, they drove out to a willow-lined creek about a half-mile off, then climbed down and began chopping.	893.2630480370485
Andy Ross had just started swinging an ax at his second willow when the distant blast of a rifle sounded.	763.4049803750709
He looked around in surprise, then noticed that Fred Powell was clutching his chest.	232.35870661348633
The hired man ran over to help his boss.	97.72312056972973
"My God, I'm shot"!	41.15319144866289
Powell gasped.	40.304202461710474
And he collapsed and died instantly.	154.29499177177473
Ross had no intention of searching for the assassin.	119.02912603416802
He heaved the dead man onto the buckboard, yelled and lashed at the team and got out of there fast.	609.9918210617286
But he brought back the sheriff and several deputies, and to the lawmen the entire affair seemed a repetition of the Lewis killing.	456.5496347685712
A detailed scouring of the entire area revealed nothing beyond a ledge of rocks that might have been the rifleman's hiding place.	1261.99863156023
There were no tracks of either hoofs or boots.	95.32870090439764
Not even an empty cartridge case could be found.	80.13488020828741
Once again, Tom Horn was the first and most likely suspect, and he was brought in for questioning immediately.	270.6196157576673
Once again, he shook his head, kept his face expressionless and his voice very calm, and had a strongly supported alibi ready.	772.4410106480892
Later, riding in for some lusty enjoyment of the liquor and professional ladies of Cheyenne, he laid claim to the killing with the vague insinuations he made.	401.35010694896323
"Exterminatin' cow thieves is just a business proposition with me", he'd blandly announce.	1582.1243024002176
"And I sort o' got a corner on the market".	71.43971461732765
"Tom", a friend asked him once, "how come you bushwhacked them rustlers?	353.6173786830384
They wouldn't o' stood no chance with you in a plain, straight-out shoot-down".	382.13352129854474
He had lots of friends, then as always.	48.416974845722194
Even as he became widely known as a professional killer, nearly every cowboy and rancher in Wyoming seemed proud to call him a friend.	754.2362606402468
No man's name brought more cheers when it was announced in a rodeo.	1193.1867006020318
"Well", he explained, "s'posin' you was a nester swingin' the long rope?	379.8742058979236
Which would you be most scairt of- a dry-gulchin' or a shoot-down"?	273.7624908740966
"Yeah, I can see that", the friend was forced to agree.	428.5181076945566
"But h well, it just don't seem sportin' somehow"!	221.01678424376624
"Sportin'"!	31.787970016160834
The tall sunburnt rustler-hunter stared in amazement.	832.9767097081981
"Sportin'"!	31.787970016160834
he echoed again in soft wonder.	95.41472919521227
"I seen a lot o' things in my time.	90.89928870825999
I found a trooper once the Apache had spread-eagled on an ant hill, and another time we ran across some teamsters they'd caught, tied upside down on their own wagon wheels over little fires until their brains was exploded right out o' their skulls.	2192.6311043742066
I heard o' Texas cattlemen wrappin' a cow thief up in green hides and lettin' the sun shrink 'em and squeeze him to death.	1241.4995696222852
But there's one thing I never seen or heard of, one thing I just don't think there is, and that's a sportin' way o' killin' a man"!	565.5314504549187
After the first two murders, the warning notes were rarely ignored.	82.622171762901
The lesson had been learned.	35.415592909572716
The examples were plain.	23.04843116808959
When Fred Powell's brother-in-law, Charlie Keane, moved into the dead man's home, the anonymous letter writer took no chances on Charlie taking up where Fred had left off and wasted no time on a first notice IF YOU DON'T LEAVE THIS COUNTRY WITHIN 3 DAYS, YOUR LIFE WILL BE TAKEN THE SAME AS POWELL'S WAS.	2733.1222057741825
This was the message found tacked to the cabin door.	76.04137063947104
Keane left, within three days.	60.29007766966444
All through Albany and Laramie counties, other men were doing the same.	82.67758669429458
Houses of settlers who'd treated the company herds as a natural resource, free for the taking, were sitting empty, with weeds growing high in their yards.	519.5035294860394
The small half-heartedly tended fields of men who'd spent more time rustling cattle than farming were lying fallow.	799.9348869039435
No cow thief could count on a jury of his sympathetic peers to free him any longer.	243.89320299000434
Jury, judge and executioner were riding the range in the form of a single unknown figure that could materialize anywhere, at any time, to dispense an ancient brand of justice the men of the new West had believed long outdated.	1071.9259624863796
For three straight years, Tom Horn patrolled the southern Wyoming pastures, and how many men he killed after Lewis and Powell if he killed Lewis and Powell will never be known.	1163.1602854449025
It is possible, although highly doubtful, that he killed none at all but merely let his reputation work for him by privately claiming every unsolved murder in the state.	1415.1933060234433
It is also possible, but equally doubtful, that he actually shot down the hundreds of men with which his legend credits him.	456.0540636977217
For that legend was growing explosively, Rumor was insisting he received a price of $600 a man.	273.1729540970892
The best evidence is that he received a monthly wage of about $125, very good money in an era when top hands worked for $30 and found.	325.03932527196343
Rumor had it he slipped two small rocks under each victim's head as a sort of trademark.	211.45215291553063
A detailed search of old coroner's reports fails to substantiate this in the slightest.	270.67700733220784
One thing was certain- his method was effective, so effective that after a time even the warning notices were often unnecessary.	426.3726159091025
The mere fact that the tall figure with the rifle and field glasses had been seen riding that way was enough to frighten three rustling homesteaders out of the Upper Laramie country in a single week.	1080.1761614265342
"My reputation's my stock in trade", Tom mentioned more than once.	159.0115014574444
He evidently couldn't foresee that it might be his downfall in the end.	198.7807450415252
He had made himself the personification of the Devil to the homesteaders.	474.2490698895062
But to the cattlemen who had been facing bankruptcy from rustling losses and to the cowboys who had been faced with lay-offs a few years earlier, he was becoming a vastly different type of legendary figure.	627.5014696301487
Such ranchers as Coble and Clay and the Bosler brothers carried him on their books as a cowhand even while he was receiving a much larger salary from parties unknown.	1081.3744047875784
He made their spreads his headquarters, and he helped out in their roundups.	148.63713962990687
In the cow camps, Tom Horn was regarded as a hero, as the same kind of champion he was when he entered and invariably won the local rodeos.	1068.363275832635
The hands and their bosses saw him as a lone knight of the range, waging a dedicated crusade against a lawless new society that was threatening a beloved way of life.	481.0319161636375
The wailing, guitar-strumming minstrels of the cattle kingdom made up songs about him.	281.80620008094587
By 1898, rustling losses had been driven down to the lowest level ever seen in Wyoming.	605.9596923232496
When several minutes had passed and Curt hadn't emerged from the livery stable, Brenner reentered the hotel and faced Summers across the counter.	1027.8255547243411
"I have a little job for you, Charlie.	116.47736553058535
I'm sure you won't mind doing me a small favor".	129.65851211662573
Brenner's voice was oily, but Summers wasn't fooled.	408.32014191006454
He moistened his lips uneasily.	99.72687806635177
"What is it you want me to do, Mr Brenner"?	299.1596036796134
Brenner shrugged carelessly.	94.96786371111841
"It's very simple.	14.387209174795192
I just want you to take a message to Diane Molinari.	304.36658666560544
Tell her to come here to the hotel".	491.1620996004472
Vastly relieved, Summers nodded and started toward the door.	188.52627332879507
"One thing, Summers", Brenner said.	50.118208674862515
"You're not to mention my name.	24.33641811238581
Tell her Curt Adams wants to see her".	512.8186399420422
Summers pulled up short, and turned around.	111.66705118187697
"I don't know, Mr Brenner", he said haltingly, beginning to get an inkling of Brenner's plans.	430.45008566424474
"It doesn't seem quite right, telling her a thing like that.	91.57768424158512
Couldn't I just"- His voice trailed off into silence.	227.47365715142834
Brenner continued to smile, but his eyes were cold.	140.5279124074359
He turned and looked around at the lobby as though seeing things he hadn't before noticed.	258.8471974445121
"You know, Summers", he said thoughtfully.	54.43481547436612
"Eagle's Nest ought to have a fire company.	603.1408970951015
If someone were to drop a match in here, this place would go up like a haystack".	219.08310011673734
He started toward the stairway, then turned to add, "Tell her to come to Adams's room, that Adams is in trouble.	473.3297184099173
Tell her to hurry".	44.35872321604806
"Yes sir".	6.215043069815721
His face pale, Summers headed for the street.	75.58292531861264
Curt's visit to the livery stable had been merely a precaution in case anyone should be watching.	976.1421852106905
He paused only long enough to ascertain that Jess's buckskin was still missing and that his own gray was all right, then climbed through a back window and dropped to the ground outside.	760.4063982158568
The fact that Jess's horse had not been returned to its stall could indicate that Diane's information had been wrong, but Curt didn't interpret it this way.	434.54303986964726
A man like Jess would want to have a ready means of escape in case it was needed.	812.4298516131571
Probably his horse would be close to where he was hiding.	129.32414869783233
From the back of the barn it was a simple matter to reach Black's house without using the street.	495.16444069232926
Curt approached the place cautiously, and watched it several minutes from the protection of a grove of trees.	580.034458212057
There was a light in Black's front room, but drawn curtains prevented any view of the interior.	683.5610863811918
Curt circled the house and located a barn out back.	185.65360697781395
He could hear horses moving around inside, and nothing else.	264.16373418906085
There was no lock on the door, only an iron hook which he unfastened.	157.00161321619427
He opened the door and went in, pulling it shut behind him.	284.87941406346147
Again he stood in the darkness listening, but there was only the scrape of a shod hoof on a plank floor.	252.96058784598483
He moved ahead carefully, his left hand in front of him, and came to a wooden partition.	371.8288062008905
Horse smell was very strong, and he could hear the crunch of grain being ground between strong jaws.	513.7202659850307
He found a match in his pocket and lit it.	245.88537620782455
There were two horses in the barn, a sway-backed dun and Jess Crouch's buckskin.	352.22362716880446
Curt snuffed out the match.	113.2464731746676
It was certain now that Jess was in the house, but also, presumably, was Stacey Black.	491.10143889638766
Curt wanted to get Jess alone, without interference from anyone, even as spineless a person as the store owner.	485.72124272317603
He studied the problem for a few seconds and thought of a means by which it might be solved.	437.87684675613764
Reaching across the side of the stall, he slapped the buckskin on the rump.	241.66344688100546
The startled animal let out a terrified squeal and thrashed around in the stall.	379.5666725527029
As Curt had hoped, the house door banged open.	168.97549366444574
He slapped the buckskin again and it kicked wildly, its hoofs rattling the side of the stall.	361.9547389302343
Curt moved over beside the door and waited.	168.51752452110165
Presently he heard footsteps crossing the yard, and Jess's smothered curses.	472.8632943124957
The door swung open, and Jess said sourly, "What the hell's the matter with you? "	240.912515839044
The horse continued to snort.	42.416819469495934
Curt doubted that any animal belonging to Jess would find much reassurance in its owner's voice.	742.2866934028006
Jess cursed again, and entered the barn.	368.714665221416
A match flared, and he reached above his head to light a lantern which hung from a wire loop.	288.5680671478038
As he crossed to the side of the stall, Curt drew his gun and clicked back the hammer.	220.20361138965774
"Before you try anything", he said.	26.50174812761403
"Remember what happened to Gruller".	47.93767476789869
Jess caught his breath in surprise.	141.4604783378953
He started to reach for his gun, but apparently thought better of it.	83.04774303071828
"That's the stuff", Curt said.	48.337992397205575
"Just hold it that way".	123.86071509076348
He reached out to pull the door shut and fasten it with a sliding bolt.	433.86819531246243
"You and I have a little talking to do, Jess.	1209.906507406996
You won't be needing this".	45.91170649164384
He moved up and lifted Jess's pistol out of its holster.	209.16068211951307
"Damn you, Adams"- Jess was beginning to recover from his initial shock.	271.77881827922306
"We ain't got nothing to talk about.	75.38565032131982
If I don't come back in the house, Breed's going to"- "Your trigger-happy brother isn't in the house.	2756.312684003866
About now he's probably having supper.	98.28105911818126
That long ride the four of you took must've given him a good appetite.	457.17385473526866
Now turn around so I can see your face".	63.0304181371336
Jess turned.	32.41086437276112
There was raw fury in his eyes, and the veins of his neck were swollen.	121.10512382614125
"You're about as dumb as they come, Adams.	55.63560402380625
I don't know what you're up to, but when Brenner"- "You can forget about Brenner, too", Curt said.	547.3734940502595
"It's Ben Arbuckle we're going to talk about".	161.14996985103923
"Arbuckle"?	20.324827059120516
Jess stiffened.	49.182611116393105
"I don't know nothin' about him".	26.71695009680961
"No?	4.469093835843528
I suppose you don't know anything about a piece of two-by-four, either; one with blood all over it, Arbuckle's blood".	389.49442172546355
Curt's fingers put a little more pressure on the trigger of his gun.	498.0334408807074
"So help me, Crouch, I'd like to kill you where you stand, but, before I do, I'm going to hear you admit killing him.	226.62586472520726
Now start talking.	22.04031043232868
Who told you to do it?	190.39532222576585
Was it Dutch Brenner"?	67.11215904671396
Curt was holding Jess's gun in his left hand.	677.4304705304161
He drew back his arm to slash the gunbarrel across Jess's face, but didn't finish the motion.	436.0891903591754
Pistol-whipping an unarmed man might come easy to someone like Jess, but Curt couldn't bring himself to do it.	620.003895056269
Apparently sensing this, and realizing that it gave him an advantage, Jess became bold.	307.2400133410343
"Having all the guns makes you a big man, don't it, Adams?	148.9128677514641
If we was both armed, you wouldn't talk so tough".	107.88691875006229
"No"?	4.469093835843528
Curt reached out and dropped Jess's pistol back into the holster.	447.77330131833895
He retreated a step and holstered his own.	72.91233990090345
"All right, Crouch; we're on even terms.	256.9037295301695
Now draw"!	25.50768574418229
Sweat bubbled out on Jess's swarthy face.	335.9662697236698
The fingers of his right hand twisted into a claw, but he didn't reach for the gun.	332.554260920111
Curt, angry enough to be a little reckless, raised his hands shoulder high.	526.1904474999864
"Does this make it any easier, coward"?	92.80109289490368
"I ain't drawin' against you", Jess said thickly.	304.8900828160575
"I heard how you outdrew Chico.	95.73342623564542
I ain't a gunslinger".	50.06152161990135
"No.	3.389188185682365
You're the kind of bastard who sneaks up on a man from behind and hits him with a club.	227.400239433516
I just wanted to hear you say so".	192.17100826603684
Jess stared at him without answering and let his hands fall to his sides.	292.02535106347267
He had found Curt's weakness, or what to Jess was a weakness, and was smart enough to take advantage of it.	263.17176094642815
Somewhere in the distance, a woman screamed.	87.81634754540615
Curt was too involved in his own problems to pay much attention.	168.2225806901224
He had to make Jess talk, and he had to do it before Stacey Black got curious and came to investigate.	1058.033692706122
Once more he lifted Jess's gun from its holster, only this time he tossed it into the stall with the frightened buckskin.	453.8500915315241
He dropped his own beside it.	18.890346051913088
"We'll do it another way, then", he said harshly.	108.83096768199711
Jess's coarse features twisted in a surprised grin which was smashed out of shape by Curt's fist.	858.5142501776282
With a roar of pain and fury Jess made his attack.	159.0782873861172
Curt managed to duck beneath the man's flailing fist, and drove home a solid left to Jess's mid-section.	804.1661033853012
It was like hitting a sack of salt.	50.60279843697365
Pain shout up Curt's arm clear to the shoulder, but Jess seemed hardly aware that he had been hit.	1126.0757801979728
He slammed into the wall, bounced back, and caught Curt with a roundhouse right which sent him spinning.	379.45537049504003
An inch lower and it would have knocked him out.	211.58593777284113
As it was, his vision blurred and for a moment he was unable to move.	186.58033015719792
When his eyes began to focus, he saw Jess charging at him with a pitchfork.	252.7368346597634
Curt twisted to one side, and the tines of the fork bit into the floor.	394.17028710544446
Jess wasted a few seconds trying to yank them loose.	334.79703117138945
It gave Curt time to stagger to his feet.	72.96741926657798
The tines broke off under Jess's twisting, and he swung the handle in an attempt to knock Curt's brains out.	540.8830909689516
His aim was hurried; so the pitchfork whistled over Curt's head.	345.5108513453918
By now Curt was seeing clearly again.	86.56158122925103
He stepped inside Jess's guard and landed two blows to the big man's belly, putting everything he had behind them.	1104.0766110034576
They made Jess double over.	47.28646637532621
When his head came down, Curt grabbed him by the hair and catapulted him head first into the wall.	285.18542258391375
The building shook, setting the lantern to swaying, and the buckskin to pitching again.	194.48269557116274
Even Black's old crowbait began to snort, and from the house Black yelled, "Jess!	992.2160757238099
What's going on out there"?	44.68423856035992
Jess didn't seem too sure himself.	125.33367781457794
He lurched drunkenly to his feet, lowered his head, and took one step away from the wall.	1155.5461128308964
Curt caught him flush on the nose with a blow which started at the floor.	1207.586811877672
Jess had had enough.	26.29677974314531
Blood gushed from his nose, and he backed off as rapidly as he could, stumbling over his own feet in his frantic haste to get away from Curt's fists.	1628.7697287156832
Curt was in almost as bad shape, but he wouldn't quit.	219.77639467719385
He backed Jess into a corner, grabbed a handful of the man's shirtfront, and drew back his right fist.	451.5227529326583
"Tell me about Arbuckle!	113.60031267495519
You killed him, didn't you"?	48.716361559017216
"It was Brenner's idea", Jess mumbled, dabbing at his nose.	205.2169110873755
"He found out about you and Arbuckle talking.	70.19635942604876
He wanted to show the town what happened to anyone who tried to start trouble".	368.22283873923124
"You mean anyone who stood up for his rights", Curt said.	170.22739411413153
He let go of the shirt, and Jess slumped to the floor.	94.64497475237441
Turning his back, Curt crossed to the stall, reached over to untie the buckskin's halter rope, and waved his hand in the animal's face.	1177.9435147818267
The buckskin bolted out of the stall.	85.75369434167433
Curt moved in and picked up his gun.	374.8106437075707
He shook loose straw out of the action, and placed the gun in his holster.	1142.5173127640828
Leaving Jess's where it lay, he left the stall.	149.76767416006356
"Get up, Crouch.	44.8847570747137
We're going someplace".	68.92085762964282
Jess painfully got to his feet as someone rattled the door.	143.92285502069274
"Who's in there"?	24.92390366157577
Black called fearfully.	55.96087680837009
Curt opened the door, grabbed Black by the shoulder, and pulled him into the barn.	673.054474330382
"You're staying right here for a while.	84.39699325316597
This dirty coward just admitted killing Arbuckle.	314.3386227398854
I'm going to let him tell it to somebody else".	155.71969711960094
He shoved Black toward the stall, and pointed his pistol at Jess.	283.9839410333378
"Get out of here.	17.48899335668999
You're coming along peacefully, or I'll put a bullet in your leg".	136.84852914876112
Jess stumbled through the door.	50.15005387802702
Curt followed, reaching behind him to shut the door and hook it.	136.22917955292505
Black would have little trouble getting out, but it might delay him a few minutes.	816.4479015013308
"Where're you takin' me"?	111.8242049096375
Jess asked worriedly.	87.94806575325129
"We're going to Marshal Woods's house.	120.28437847205895
Maybe if the marshal hears this himself, it'll make a difference.	128.05065581265043
Somebody in this town must still have some backbone".	127.2411411696236
Over his shoulder he could see Max's loose grin and the Burnsides' glowering faces.	121.82360193590308
"Honey", he whispered.	46.463236867318905
"Soon as we send them on their way and make camp, let's you and me go for a walk down by the Snake- all by ourselves".	313.9569202413411
"Sally", admonished her mother, "you've got all evening to visit with Dan.	200.96092352927587
His wounds need dressing now".	64.78197009636166
Mrs Jackson's words recalled Dan to his lack of fitness for courting.	368.31289188374797
What a spectacle he was, caked with dirt and sweat and blood, filthy as a pig and naked as an Indian, kissing the finest, the sweetest, the bravest, and absolutely the prettiest girl in this whole wonderful world.	589.126257920336
He released her reluctantly for her enthusiastic reunion with Old Hap.	355.8477190521772
"Got a lot to tend to, but I'll get back quick as I can", he assured her.	314.78801506230326
Dan could hear Clayton Burnside and Eben Jackson summing up their final reckoning for rental on the oxen.	1056.7276560238547
Jackson was doing most of the talking.	73.80434103942943
So long as Sally's pa was coming out best on the haggle, Dan didn't feel the need of putting in his two-bits' worth.	534.4163576065159
Soon as the Burnsides moved on, he'd lead Rex down by the river; there he could shave and scrub himself up for the evening.	982.7794816988579
Damn it, he thought bitterly, picking up his shirt and staring at the fresh bullet hole in the sleeve.	351.6461379007839
If I hadn't got Nate stopped when I did, my duds'd all be shot plumb to hell!	1435.2786495357739
He stooped, picked up his ruined hat, and pursed his lips thoughtfully.	907.3713770361024
From the way the wound in his head was itching, Dan knew that it would heal.	466.4216525233464
But his only hat was something else again.	67.97053956969053
"Nate!	28.826365438569706
Nate"!	28.826365438569706
he shouted.	7.570178814277265
The Burnsides, now ready to roll, were purposefully deaf to his cry.	213.83206049028664
"Nate"!	28.826365438569706
he bellowed to the retreating back directly in front of him.	64.5702689182652
"I ain't going to fight you no more".	65.6032356432102
Nate turned his head, attempting to speak in a soothing voice.	190.4909335537138
"I know you ain't"!	27.46348631275605
Dan affirmed, feeling ten feet tall.	169.92965724269547
He moved in close, jerked the handsome, broad-brimmed beaver hat from Nate's head and clamped it on his own.	962.1767662394574
"Here's a present for you", he said, shoving his bullet-riddled hat down over Nate's purpling forehead.	868.8462597416025
"Me and you's trading hats so's you'll have something permanent to remember me by"!	659.528094274829
Sally left her choring to stand beside Dan.	317.9705694300898
Slipping her hand in his, they silently watched the Burnsides make the bend in the road and disappear from sight.	701.8766617571245
Much as they had to look forward to, they didn't begrudge a moment of the time they spent seeing them go.	6381.73210285956
40.	7.037877352362184
AT FIRST Matilda could not believe her own eyes.	229.68332297602413
She had spent too many hours looking ahead, hoping and longing to catch even a glimpse of Dan and finding nothing but emptiness.	548.1527209613273
And now she could see him, looking uncommon handsome, standing there beside Sally Jackson and her folks in front of their trail-worn wagon.	568.7221045758841
Seeing them waiting there at the foot of Emigrant Rock was so overwhelming that, for a good minute after they rounded the bend and started down the grade leading toward them, Matilda could not speak at all.	4514.356527386707
Then, with a glory that almost wiped out the deep, downward sags in her careworn face, Matilda leaned over the wheel and shouted to Hez, who was stumbling along in the heat and the dust on the opposite side of the wagon "Pa!	1080.3614120222192
Pa!	21.129646542924682
I can see Dan.	17.216787141113034
And he's with the Jacksons"!	65.76465423878038
"What about Burnsides"?	39.553473205856605
Hez asked, who still believed they'd have them to lick.	207.21916292333162
"They ain't even in sight"!	73.52049965096863
she replied.	16.35081578621184
By then Hez could see for himself, and so could the others.	522.383297997906
Soon they were all shouting greetings, exchanging smiles, and rejoicing to think that they were all back together again.	873.48079430227
But even a reunion as joyous as this one did not make a break in the routines of the day.	941.0099475927747
Nor could they stop and find out about all that had happened until they made circle, tended the cattle, tethered the horses, gathered fuel, carried water, and started their cooking fires.	575.479162313894
Then, and only then, with the Jacksons and Dan as their true guests of honor, did the Harrows take time to catch up on the news.	639.2839681170246
No sooner did they hear of Dan's injury than both Gran and Matilda went into immediate action.	472.2496910029863
The wound in his scalp was examined, pronounced healing, and well doctored with simples, before they dished up the victuals.	540.6426428826004
From then on, in keeping with the traditions they had followed since childhood, the whole group settled down to relish their food.	574.0553807690469
Even Sally, in spite of her gaiety and obvious welcome, followed the old taboo of "quitting the gab when wearing the nosebag".	495.92792502724626
After their supper, the evening turned into a regular "Hoe-Down".	210.78317595903843
Only, they carefully substituted old country folk dances for the Virginia Reels and square dances that were so popular among more worldly trains in the great westward migration.	832.4054825700664
But with Bill O'Connor on the fiddle, and Gran Harrow exuberantly shouting "Glory Be" and "Hallelujah" above their united chant of the lilting old ballads, they played their quaint folk games with all the fervor and abandon of a real celebration.	1703.7910720259185
"Golly", Rod exclaimed to Harmony as he dutifully stood by her side among the ringed spectators, "don't that fiddle make you wish the Bible didn't say us Baptists can't dance"?	1798.8332585469648
"Nor Methodists, neither", she replied.	78.26837366021597
"Not that it matters to me, being this far along".	53.838004303182096
Rod gave her a warm pat on the shoulder before he replied.	238.0205126934202
"Come spring, you'll be kicking up your heels and feeling coltish again too, gal".	604.1676274580709
At these words of sympathy and understanding, Harmony said generously, "I don't mind setting here along with Gran while you go out and join in the games".	472.8062837113071
Rod shifted his eager eyes from the milling group out in the circle long enough to reply, "I ain't much of a hand for Dare-Base and Farmer-in-the-Dell, but I'd sure like to get in on the handhold and wrestles".	629.1254350061463
He looked down at his big hands and slowly flexed his long fingers.	447.1806853288715
"Don't reckon there's nobody out there, 'cept maybe Dan, who can outgrip me, Harmony".	724.6333055860894
With Rod on his way and Matilda visiting with Mrs Jackson while they searched out familiar names on the face of the cliff, Harmony settled on the edge of the grub box, to ease the pressure of her swollen body on her bone-weary legs, and worried about all that might have happened to Sally.	1674.308359180165
And she was deeply thankful that she could see her now, out there in the midst of a gay, youthful circle, skipping and singing, "Farmer in the dell, Farmer in the dell, Heigh-ho the dairy-oh, the farmer in the dell".	780.9435999456747
At the sight of Sally's happy face and carefree expression, Harmony's dark, brooding eyes quickly brightened with unshed tears.	867.1805463773716
She was glad, completely and unselfishly glad, to see that things were working out the right way for both Sally and Dan.	614.0850456689469
h And she really tried to go a step further and say she hoped they'd be just as right as they now were for her and for Rod.	164.67408388931767
But she couldn't, not yet.	22.684102365239102
Not with the memory of her folks and the lost Conestoga still holding her close h. Out in the center of the circle the farmer, who was Dan, wasted no time when they came to the line, "The farmer choose his wife".	1402.7282628129153
With a swift swoop of his big arms, he grabbed Sally out of the circle surrounding him, and then kissed her soundly before setting her down so she could stand by his side while they jointly chose the rest of their "outfit".	1016.2066563679599
Soon the child, the dog, the cat h and even the cheese, all joined them out there in the circle.	457.7367303428725
By now Harmony could see that most of the adults in the train were winded and resting, or else siphoned off from the games by the challenging lure of the great cliff towering above them.	645.6451447920826
No matter how many registry rocks they came to on this journey, each one exerted its own appeal.	174.00652400359763
Even strange names seemed to make them feel closer to some kind of civilization when stumbled across out here in this wilderness.	444.49654539535146
Already a few hardy folk from their own train were zealously chipping away at the register rocks, leaving their own records along with those made by the earlier trains.	1330.9723351997013
Soon she saw Rod and Hez moving over to join them.	258.7146324404703
No sooner were they through and the guards posted, than the whole camp turned in for a night of sound sleep.	330.27244083400615
For Matilda, it was the first she had known in many a night.	163.0060485379048
Even the knowledge that she was losing another boy, as a mother always does when a marriage is made, did not prevent her from having the first carefree, dreamless sleep that she had known since they dropped down the canyon and into Bear Valley, way, way back there when they were crossing those other mountains.	800.1576063092658
Next morning, they moved on again.	33.33828006344669
"My souls' a-gracious"!	85.94995984013758
Gran Harrow exclaimed, watching their rippling muscles as Rod and Dan swung her up into the load.	858.8315174975205
"A body would swear I floated right up here on a cloud"!	240.88766560390567
Rod and Dan released their holds on the arms of her hickory rocker and exchanged embarrassed grins.	889.2459606884152
"Shucks, Gran", they said almost in unison.	174.6366653356026
"That wasn't nothing at all"!	154.66792320551457
Leaning forward in her chair, Gran nearsightedly scrutinized Dan's face.	605.7273948141097
"How's Sally like rubbin' agin that thar little ticklebrush ye're a-raising"?	1133.4914986785052
"Quit ragging him, Gran", Rod protested.	387.50284301647457
"I ain't ragging him"!	78.31632370633767
Gran peered again at the week-old blond mustache shadowing Dan's upper lip.	2380.943595071674
"But honest-to-Betsy, I've seed more hair than that on a piece o' bacon".	249.52815584411226
The two tall brothers waited silently while their mother handed Gran her cold snack and water jug, placed the chamber pot beside her feet, and returned to her place at the front of the wagon with Alice.	5939.145939623447
"Rheumatics worse, Pa"?	101.6541110069109
Dan asked Hez, who had limped back from his team to hold the notched-stick chair braces in place while his boys swung up the tailgate and tied it tight at the ends.	879.9999190182439
"My right leg's stiff as a board this morning", he replied.	98.56072542503314
"But the sun'll fry it out'n me onct we git to rolling".	465.1766487954726
The three men stepped out to the side to wait for Captain Clemens' signal.	365.87138861807483
Hez looked up at the high face of Emigrant Rock, official signboard for the Raft River turnoff, and gloated, "Seems funny that them Burnsides never took time to leave their John-Henry up thar".	1424.7238919032206
"Wonder what made them hurry so", Rod drawled, giving Dan a sly wink.	743.4825953755782
Dan grinned, and changed the subject.	51.406917221763365
"From now on, Sally and me and her folks aim to give you our turn when it comes up and fall in behind you and Rod's outfit".	466.2942191444483
"Ain't no sense you eating our dust", Rod protested.	324.9297721156398
"Sally and her ma want to trade off on account of Harmony being so far along", Dan explained.	464.7466293018982
"Jackson recruited his critters, and him and me fixed up his wagon while we was waiting for you to catch up.	1406.2921374442226
He's got the tightest running gear in the train now.	95.06035140599757
Besides, 'tain't no more'n right for me to follow with my black oxen, so's I can unhook and pull up fast if either of you get in a pinch".	1038.2375980090624
Captain Clemens' signal shot sent the men hurrying to their waiting teams.	381.2258638782691
"Reckon ye're right, Dan", Hez called back over his shoulder.	217.92683372878537
"I'll shore be needing ye both on the pull out o' the canyon".	226.09610902907602
Rod looked apprehensively ahead at the narrowing, precipice-walled gorge.	668.5950212158679
"We'll double teams zigzagging up the mountain, Harmony", he spoke reassuringly, concerned by the pinched look around her mouth.	401.2192089225953
"Like enough we'll all be up on top by sundown".	104.12168059842215
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his father's wheels beginning to turn.	113.93692251928668
Before Harmony had a chance to reply, Rod cracked his long whip over his thin oxen's backs h. While no larger than Dutch Springs, this mining supply town had the appearance of being far busier and more prosperous.	1580.8902663907718
Men crowded the streets and freight rigs and teams were moving about.	233.6181935357131
Although they were forced to maintain a sharper watch, this activity enabled them to ride in and rack their broncs without any particular attention being paid them.	569.000591454082
"Gyp'll be holdin' forth in some bar if he's here at all", Cobb declared, glancing along the street as they stretched their legs.	797.0261928634759
There were no less than six or seven saloons in Ganado, not counting the lower class dives, all vying for the trade of celebrating miners and teamsters.	806.9853663775377
Pat only nodded.	39.93624810449135
"Take one side of the street, and I'll take the other", he proposed.	239.54829667981008
"If you spot Carmer give a yell before you move in".	145.18016994199508
Cobb's assent was tight.	88.37014271575275
"You do the same.	8.2898458012506
It's all I ask, Stevens".	37.907038377300964
Separating, they took different sides of the main drag and systematically combed the bars.	502.93940525503183
Russ visited two places without result and his blood pressure was down to zero.	251.40251574464534
Suddenly it seemed to him insane that they might hope to locate Gyp Carmer so casually, even were he to prove the thief.	454.84118407061806
He tramped out of the Miners Rest with his hopes plummeting, and headed doggedly for the Palace Saloon, the last place of any consequence on this side of the street.	714.4070208144749
The Palace was an elaborate establishment, built practically on stilts in front, with long flights of wooden steps running up to the porch.	434.00816103356027
Behind its ornate facade the notorious dive clung like a bird's nest to the rocky ribs of the canyonside.	1002.2950488284399
Russ ran up the steps quickly to the plank porch.	209.53663498851316
The front windows of the place were long and narrow, reaching nearly to the floor and affording an unusually good view of the interior.	607.5387902160705
Heading for the batwings, Cobb glanced perfunctorily through the nearest window, and suddenly dodged aside.	1309.5887178457053
Nerves tight as a bowstring, he paused to gather his wits.	232.55963380591737
Against all expectation, Carmer was inside, clearly enjoying himself to the hilt and already so tipsy that it seemed unlikely he was bothering to note anything or anyone about him.	889.665513878077
Fierce anger surged through Russ.	247.70689818150223
He fought down the impulse to rush in and collar the vicious puncher on the spot.	156.00863523068307
Reaching the porch rail beyond view of the bar windows, he feverishly scanned the busy street below.	922.06177800179
Stevens was nowhere in sight.	46.226062284395944
Muffling an exclamation, Russ sprang to the nearest steps and ran down.	341.57358546063233
As luck had it, he had not gone twenty feet in the street before Pat appeared.	1169.5932963618204
"What luck, Cobb"?	54.78985889465963
he said swiftly.	20.34824495556845
Russ pointed upward.	55.433877253297034
"He's there", he got out tersely, curbing his rising excitement.	204.43553316108182
Hitching his cartridge belt around, Pat glanced upward briefly at the Palace and started that way with Cobb at his side.	715.0533810789248
Climbing the steps steadily, they reached the top and headed for the door.	384.04611899535496
Pat pushed through first.	51.16064297488366
Forced behind him momentarily, Russ followed at once and halted two steps inside.	514.729286566348
His eyes widened.	20.813834840163377
While five minutes ago the place had presented a scene of easy revelry, with Gyp Carmer a prominent figure, it was now as somnolent and dull as the day before payday.	632.4763351834307
Carmer himself was nowhere to be seen.	68.61807809721192
A man knocked the roulette ball about idly in its track, and another dozed at one of the card tables.	279.9554396019456
Two men murmured with their heads together at the end of the bar, while the sleek-headed bartender absently polished a glass.	463.38599470586377
Looking the setup over, Stevens started coolly for the rear of the place.	148.00392453470675
"Where yuh goin'"?	94.70684806115835
It was the barkeep.	14.486195392626854
Halting, Pat turned to survey him deliberately.	166.8178642929394
He did not reply, going on toward the back.	31.36189386825714
Less assured than the tall, wide-shouldered man in the lead, Cobb followed alertly, a hand on his gun butt.	1346.782388671315
The bartender measured this situation with heavy eyes and decided he wanted no part of it.	314.59105207579114
He said no more.	6.521220924072057
A hall opened in back of the bar, running toward an ell.	241.99795924010246
Pat moved into it.	30.336347473066855
Small rooms, probably for cards, opened off on either side.	160.69591037791784
All the doors were open at this hour except one, and it was toward this that Stevens made his way with Russ close at his shoulder.	779.4854814392816
The door was locked.	12.453666078560742
A single kick made it spring open, shuddering.	116.25985279970178
Pat saw Gyp Carmer staggering forward, a half-filled bottle upraised as if to strike.	696.537435557704
Russ sprang through to bat it nimbly aside.	261.2005465997934
With a bellow Carmer lunged at him.	435.2992846283976
But he was more than half-drunk, and his faculties were dulled.	498.34391360159384
Cobb unleashed a single powerful jab that sent Gyp reeling wildly and crashing down with a whining groan.	1750.2787125552993
He started to struggle up, heaving desperately.	85.5140925859772
Russ gave him a brutal thrust that tumbled him over flat on his stomach.	408.56799918298424
Kneeling, Cobb planted a sturdy knee in the small of his back, holding him pinned.	745.0503964760234
"Okay, Stevens.	16.73350461635848
I've drawn his fangs", he snapped.	64.04778773988248
"Go through his pockets, will you?	66.75940822550938
If we have to we'll take him apart and see what he's made of"!	1308.3588665945424
Complying methodically, Pat pulled pocket after pocket inside out without finding a thing.	665.9461262293624
Cobb watched this with hunted eyes, his desperate hope waning by the moment.	319.8903137189645
Stevens was grunting over the last empty pocket when Russ abruptly rose and lunged toward Carmer's hat, which had tumbled half-a-dozen feet away when he first fell.	1192.384434494939
Cobb got it.	22.336889689806643
Straightening up, his eyes ablaze, he held out the battered Stetson.	216.25846590054766
"Look at this"!	15.757513586114156
Inside the crown, stuffed behind the stained sweatband, could be seen thin, crumpled wads of currency.	892.0591031813125
Carmer's ingenious cache for his loot had been found.	282.5999145669021
14 "By golly, Stevens!	162.01307955143753
You were right", Russ exclaimed, tearing the loose bills out of Carmer's hat.	384.76197717126064
"That is, if we can be sure this is Colcord's money"- Pat grunted.	160.31132299160052
"Where else would he get it?	49.60238422715472
Count what you've got there, Cobb.	114.30805356594527
We can soon tell".	18.305329156505824
Russ ran through the bills and named an amount it was highly unlikely any cowpuncher would come by honestly.	574.0692195672302
Pat nodded.	28.320919851015883
"It's within a hundred of what Crip had", he declared.	80.95150793904254
"We know Penny spent some- and Carmer must have dropped a few dollars getting that load on".	299.63985815318733
Handing the money over, Russ wiped his hands on his pants-legs as if ridding himself of something unclean.	682.3634698141783
His glance at Gyp Carmer was disdainful.	251.53382659736897
"Shall we get out of here"?	31.538746179085567
Leaving the card room, they moved back through the Palace the way they had come.	397.91859038878425
Glowering looks met them in the bar, but there was no attempt to halt them.	142.22616382593415
Pausing in the outside door to glance behind him, Pat looked his unspoken warning and stepped out.	445.27520712338486
He and Cobb clattered down the high steps to the street.	105.45333124657633
Neither spoke till they reached their horses.	121.5117585381347
Pat paused there, looking across at the young fellow.	159.3818793422867
It'll be a pleasure for you to return this money to Colcord and tell him about it, Russ".	138.25753954484705
He started to return it.	17.46368766813823
To his faint surprise Russ held up his hand.	145.35640058615198
"Not me", he ruled decidedly.	51.61027088377286
I've had enough.	6.370009502620569
It was you that tracked it down anyway, Stevens", he pursued strictly.	186.7351077032229
"I'll shove along home".	30.989918803358552
"Whatever you say".	13.540601503018753
Pat swung into the saddle, yet still he delayed, his brows puckered.	405.11356582891773
"You owe it to Penny to give her a chance to explain that she was defending you, really", he observed mildly.	616.389584884673
"Old Crip wasn't", retorted Cobb tartly.	450.8527461616984
"He'll know when you tell him.	32.65547814816141
But I want this to sink in awhile.	68.24531677292138
Then maybe next time he won't be so quick on the trigger".	161.74079831821962
"Pat had never pretended to give advice in such affairs.	192.5727072575805
"You're the doctor", he returned with a smile.	778.0337224261568
"But I still think Penny's an awful nice girl, Russ"- "You don't have to tell me", flashed Cobb.	671.5430070746584
Giving the other a dark look, he hauled his bronc around and trotted down off the street.	269.4481648856169
Pat let him go, following more leisurely.	126.80129919751371
At the first restaurant he sensibly pulled up to go in for his dinner, and as a consequence did not see Cobb strike the open range at the mouth of the canyon and head straight across the swells for Antler.	886.244511480293
The truth was, the puncher was both bewildered and dismayed by his own mixed luck.	226.6627872945705
"Penny's always glad to see me over there", he mused bleakly.	661.9476358417967
Yet had he not visited the girl at Saw Buck he would never have been involved in this latest tangle.	540.074460982415
Over and above that, however, was his growing suspicion of Chuck Stober's part in recent events.	201.6897383934882
"Gyp Carmer couldn't have known about Colcord's money unless he was told- and who else would have told him"?	666.2627668109202
he asked himself.	9.962148604315932
"It's the second time War Ax hands made a play for that money.	155.44431401675322
How much of an accident could that be"?	39.50789976418578
Nearing home, he jerked to attention at the distant crack of a gun.	187.02325127420147
In town no one paid much attention to an occasional shot; but on the range gunfire had a meaning.	397.47537302216324
Hauling up, Russ listened carefully.	146.81178430808103
Two minutes later it came again- a double explosion, followed by a third, sounding more distant.	256.7143097979471
As near as Cobb could determine the shots came from the direction of the Antler ranch house.	390.9697512316445
He tightened up in a twinkling.	68.72953359707316
So far as he knew, only his father could be there.	119.75187138157285
What did it mean?	13.523394061144689
Clapping spurs to the bronc he set off at a sharp canter, with growing alarm.	367.73435259522864
His first glimpse of the ranch house across the brushy swells told him nothing.	256.1071747193071
Still a quarter-mile away, the fresh clap of guns only served to increase his speed.	1079.9934296374483
Setting a course straight for the house, he was covering ground fast when an angry bee buzzed past close to his face.	472.89766008616317
When it was followed by a second, whining even closer, Cobb swerved sharply aside into a depression.	285.22388655721886
He knew now what he was up against.	66.47440768121521
Whoever was out there hiding in the brushy cover was besieging the Antler house and, having spotted his approach, was determined to drive him off before he could get into the fight.	1976.6763226850849
Cursing himself for having ridden out the last few days without a rifle in his saddle boot, Russ drew his Colt and examined it briefly.	738.5442529323933
If he wondered whether the attackers would allow him to pull away unmolested, he had his answer a moment later.	298.86071236754765
"Over this way!	23.28718835854323
He ain't gone far"!	41.99643142297315
a harsh cry floated to him across the brush.	153.02124529993435
A carbine cracked more loudly, and a slug clipped fragments from the brush off at one side.	812.8320423034855
The would-be assassin had his position figured pretty close.	86.41888983216715
Dismounting, Russ looked about hastily.	166.0995881253553
Toward the west this depression led toward a draw.	129.4306378139982
Leading his pony, he hurried that way, not remounting till he was well below the level of the surrounding range.	843.8632590919218
Swinging up then, and bending forward over the horn, he urged his mount down the meandering draw.	466.5039873311318
He had not covered a hundred yards before a gun crashed from somewhere behind.	167.81120387929778
He had been sighted, and his attacker pumping shot after shot.	113.26095337569326
A shot or two went wild before Cobb felt something tug at his foot.	343.4069299576441
A slug had torn half of his stirrup-guard away.	189.32996868395387
A second twitched his shirtsleeve, and he felt a brief burn on his upper arm.	175.26227215735906
Another snarled close overhead.	56.59481847739287
"Jumping Jerusalem!	75.32023087907793
Let's get out of here"!	47.48041901093267
At the first shot Russ had hurled his mount to the left toward the side of the winding draw.	242.7193597396031
The long minute before he reached effective cover seemed endless.	158.4883792532257
Sweeping a look around, he saw that he was safe for the moment.	473.94502287508107
He heard cries from behind him, but he could make out no words.	219.49122108730595
He dashed madly for the next elbow turn in the draw, and made it.	761.0837091183873
Recklessly hurling the bronc sidewise into an intersecting draw, he plunged forward with undiminished speed.	954.7787041560524
Gradually the wash climbed upward, forcing him toward open range.	244.50836117044895
Yet he must chance it.	23.194274570375704
He clambered out of the dwindling wash, the loose dirt flying behind him, and flashed a look about.	603.045663584522
Early in November the clouds lifted enough to carry out the assigned missions.	154.80523060673409
And Sweeney Squadron put its first marks on the combat record.	249.36254255042005
Every plane that could fly was sent into the air.	724.9307406962563
Cricket took eight ships and went south across the Straits and along the north coast of Mindanao to Cagayan.	693.7452919311078
Anything the enemy flew or floated was his target.	128.19217038136577
Fleischman with eight was to patrol the Leyte Gulf area, with his main task to get any kamikaze before they got to the ships.	877.6714097974543
Greg himself took two flights, with Todman leading the second, to patrol and look for targets of opportunities around Ormoc on the east coast of Leyte.	1724.9642992684219
Each plane carried two five-hundred pound bombs.	154.0050953039033
A weapons carrier took Greg, Todman, Belton, Banjo Ferguson, and Walters and the others the two miles from the bivouac area to the strip.	1042.4042039756732
It was a rough long ride through the mud and pot holes.	109.58600535253515
No one had much to say.	16.603885569059948
The sky glowered down at them.	36.39830237860388
There was a feeling that this mission would be canceled like all the others and that this muddy wet dark world of combat would go on forever.	471.1412467963812
The truck dropped them off at the various revetments spread through the jungle.	454.94291352551795
Donovan snatched Greg's chute from him with a belligerent motion and almost ran to the plane with it.	1631.4585659292973
His face was dark as the sky above it as he stood on the wing and waited for his pilot.	228.41641869147804
Greg climbed into the cockpit feeling as if he had never been in one before.	259.8347069510451
But his hands and those of Donovan moved automatically adjusting and arranging in the check-out procedure.	247.66283918281005
"I've got her as neat as I can", Donovan said, as he dropped the straps of the Seton harness over Greg's shoulders.	995.1475479233964
"But this goddamn climate.	28.518731137634663
It's for carabao not airplanes".	71.98651632163708
"We'll make out.	39.12556846745585
Don't you worry, chief", Greg replied, wondering if he himself believed it.	379.26772585594364
"Yeah.	7.786428610600051
See you", Donovan said as he jumped off the wing.	155.98711581056793
The expression was his trade-mark, his open sesame to good luck, and his prayer that pilot and plane would always return.	280.3698189780388
At the prearranged time, Greg started the engine and taxied out.	170.5164828739508
From the time the chocks were pulled until the plane was out of sight, he knew Donovan would keep his back to the strip.	195.1758950079673
He wondered where the superstition had originated that it was bad luck for a crew chief to watch his plane take off on a combat mission.	342.983406362834
Yet long before the scheduled time for return, Donovan would be watching for every speck in the sky.	213.49255810744165
Greg rumbled down the rough metal taxi strip, and one by one the seven members of his flight fell in behind him.	605.3602154684021
The dark brown bombs hanging under each wing looked large and powerful.	286.4523281295157
The pilots' heads looked ridiculously small.	124.09308753335132
The control tower gave him immediate take-off permission, and the clean roar of the engine that took him off the rough strip spoke well of the skill of Donovan.	1221.1930253860103
Greg's mission was the last to leave, and as he circled the ships off Tacloban he saw the clouds were dropping down again.	2746.3104109456117
To the west, the dark green hills of Leyte were lost in the clouds about halfway up their slopes.	805.0481542294386
Underneath him the sea was a dark and muddied gray.	129.42078931104032
Water splashed against his windshield as he led the flight in and out of showers.	231.87094442006304
The metal strip they had taken off from was coal black against the green jungle around it.	266.291945791388
He possessed the fighter pilot's horror of bad weather and instrument flying, and he wondered, if the ceiling did drop, whether he and the other flights would be able to find their way back in this unfamiliar territory.	715.3736954737295
He shivered in the warm cockpit.	53.522095130866106
The overcast was solid above him.	42.269253301732476
As far as he could see there was no hole to climb through it.	874.9404235868506
They would have to go west through the narrow river valley that separated Leyte from Samar and hope that it didn't close in before they returned.	716.4811228186693
Greg pushed the radio button on his throttle.	241.28163417468798
"Todman, let's try to go under this stuff.	162.93042122946778
Stay in close and we'll go up the valley".	184.77442057398275
"Roger, Sweeney", Todman called back, and pulled his four in and slightly above Greg.	356.1278519360847
Greg took the formation wide around three A-26 attack bombers that were headed north over the Gulf.	468.455645729998
He dropped down to five hundred feet, swinging a little north of the city of Tacloban, and punched into the opening that showed against the mountain.	800.3485337015327
The valley was only a few hundred yards wide with just about room enough for a properly performed hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.	681.3130329971468
It was only a fifteen-minute flight, but before it was through Greg felt himself developing a case of claustrophobia.	396.51176770272065
The ceiling stayed solid above them at about eight hundred feet, and at times the sheer cliffs seemed about to close in.	1145.038259307867
If the other pilots were worried, they did not show it.	136.06741680077474
The formation remained perfect.	32.096889483932074
When the sea was visible ahead of them, the relief was as great as if the sun had come out.	298.5997854716471
He spread the flight out and led them across a point of land and then down the coast.	158.83678369258814
Although they drew light ground fire they saw no signs of activity.	170.1697358478891
Once Todman thought he had spotted a tank and went down to investigate while Greg covered him.	1977.4295925744032
"Somebody beat us to it"!	54.05454998588809
Todman said over the radio as he came back up in formation.	152.32635484463174
Visibility continued to be limited, and Greg was never able to get above a thousand feet.	271.8532573273061
It was frustrating.	14.11667284125005
His earphones were constantly full of the sounds of enemy contacts made by other flights.	713.1679878830323
He thought once that he identified the somewhat hysterical voice of Fleischman claiming a kill.	244.53889434841034
But Greg's area remained as placid as a Florida dawn.	266.6065259720876
Finally, as time began to run out, he headed into Ormoc and glide-bombed a group of houses that Intelligence had thought might contain Japanese supplies.	535.0788108168315
The low clouds made bombing difficult.	67.9619469159339
There was not enough room to make the usual vertical bomb run.	350.4846016062307
The accuracy was deplorable.	28.02658587128902
One of Greg's bombs hung up, and he was miles from the target before he could get rid of it.	565.6011835762164
Only one of the flight scored a direct hit and the rest blew up jungle.	196.6461036845871
With their load of bombs gone, the planes moved swiftly and easily.	140.89825737874236
Greg went up tight against the ceiling and led them back to their pass to home.	277.67488664242074
Mercifully, it was still open.	36.778416176947204
Like a man making a deep dive, Greg took full breath and plunged back into the valley.	606.6936419161239
He was about to make a gas check on his flight when Todman's voice broke in "Sweeneys!	287.37421447042453
Three bogies.	26.601504805619946
Twelve o'clock level".	74.90383618592662
Greg's eyes flicked up from his instrument panel.	203.89340160955462
He saw them, specks against the gray, but closing fast.	110.18631137427298
They were headed straight for each other on a collision course.	91.22683805789346
Friend or enemy?	39.59124204486542
The same old question.	14.926958940414934
And only a few seconds to answer it.	103.97853154526214
"Zeros"!	28.826365438569706
Todman said excitedly, and hopefully.	124.24725765287383
And then he thought Todman might be right.	67.40800099436827
His mind flicked through the mental pictures he had from the hours of Aircraft Identification.	273.390349943941
He narrowed the shape down to two either a Zero or a U S Navy type aircraft.	306.9582552637679
If it were the enemy, tactically his position was correct.	199.87710871100867
Japanese aircraft were strong on maneuverability, American on speed and firepower.	282.3598771498584
His present maximum altitude, up against the overcast, gave him the opportunity to exploit his advantages.	362.689002926268
But it also made him conspicuous to the enemy, if it was the enemy, and he hadn't been spotted already.	430.32465283152703
But the closing aircraft showed no sign of deviating from their original course.	195.84641544986567
In seconds, Greg made his decision.	61.401956662214104
He pushed the radio button.	29.836114726578007
"Sweeney Blue, hit the deck.	86.25932085239637
Lots of throttle.	26.781881594591155
Todman, you take the one on the left.	159.02084977521775
I'll take the middle.	28.90465753203846
Belton, the one on the right.	375.04953772754004
If h if they're Japs.	43.93747263649385
Let's make sure first".	33.637330904562276
Greg had the stick forward and the throttle up before he heard the two "Rogers".	286.8790457834249
The planes, light with most of the gas burned out, responded beautifully.	196.90706441971489
Greg's airspeed indicator was over 350 when he leveled off just above the trees.	518.4441594785477
The opposing aircraft continued to come on.	54.67325035707199
They appeared to be the enemy.	92.8413903862455
Greg wished the Air Corps had continued to camouflage planes.	292.25775043243897
There was, of course, no way for the other planes to get by them.	257.42231146169496
It was a box.	8.037378788096563
But they could turn and escape to the east.	150.47462157344202
Greg pushed the radio button again.	128.0591564857325
"Todman, drop your second element back.	121.34352760084116
If any of us miss, they can pick up the pieces.	257.3448055251716
Now let's make sure they're Japs".	185.6516786882769
Even as he said it, Greg knew they had found the enemy.	253.4476882395478
The shapes were unmistakable and the Rising Suns were showing up, slightly brighter pinpoints in the gray gloom.	493.52656979643467
Greg slapped his hand across the switches that turned on the guns and gun camera and gun sight.	676.3189930007862
The circle with the dot in the center showed up yellow on the reflector glass in front of him.	129.59569826373723
His hands shook.	19.369055564758806
"Arm your guns, Sweeneys".	106.69941134007964
"They're Japs.	15.846999048761878
They're Japs", came a high-pitched voice.	85.80738853727098
"Greg to Sweeney Blue.	101.22857261155417
One pass only.	15.221007321840757
No turns.	14.647836719309364
You'll bust your ass in this canyon.	91.6511919419456
That's an order".	15.300539604204173
He moved the flights over against one wall.	58.038912597662346
It gave them all a chance to make a high-speed climbing turn attack and a break-away that would not take them into the overcast or force a tight-turn recovery.	1442.5087897829897
If the turn was too tight, a barrel roll would bring them out.	125.21640381574879
A hell of an altitude for a barrel roll, but it could be done.	429.9783666718319
Greg slammed his throttle to the fire wall and rammed up the RPM, and the engine responded as if it had been waiting.	970.9516879519588
The clearly identifiable enemy continued on as if no one else were around.	174.60982736047455
"They haven't seen us", Greg yelled to himself over the engine noise.	263.0690943901858
"They haven't seen us".	32.353920931576134
He hit the radio button.	29.834663182838103
"Now, Sweeneys, now.	19.05817279798816
Let's take 'em home".	33.15421351510684
He hauled back on the stick and felt his cheeks sag.	203.52188404140293
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched his wingman move out a bit and shoot up with him.	375.6612322216125
Perfect, he thought.	10.939144356954037
With the rapid rate of closure, the approach from below, the side, and ahead, there would be only a moment when damage could be done.	385.80285377212897
Just like shooting at a duck while performing a half-gainer from a diving board.	362.76715271977736
He tightened his turn.	24.940131142047825
His nose up.	17.17490987734192
It was going to be dangerous.	8.340548025065841
Eight aircraft in this small box.	58.19689890130405
Please, dear God, make my pilots good, he prayed.	170.8468251235272
He took a lead on the enemy, using a distance of five of the radii in his circular sight and then added another.	364.43647657896923
The enemy did not veer.	50.97941373056473
It did not seem possible that they hadn't been spotted.	210.74007050985955
Blind fools.	55.56803692523301
Now!	3.4447944653038474
Greg's fingers closed on the stick trigger.	168.14060198791424
The plane rumbled and slowed.	42.55216981258572
Six red lines etched their way into the gray and vanished.	202.7463660736164
As if drawn by a wire the enemy flew into them.	101.81958645005783
Greg tightened his turn until the plane shuddered.	279.92746861470175
Luck was with him.	17.052469935152782
His burst held for a second on the engine section of the plane.	311.68424369433126
The Jap's propeller flew off in pieces.	127.76016993006643
A large piece of engine cowling vanished.	117.5481786294632
It was all Greg had time to see.	381.54023194711107
His maneuvering for the shot had placed him near the overcast, almost inverted and heading up into the clouds.	295.1331137854076
His speed was dropping rapidly.	54.6354540666209
If he spun out now, he would join his opponent on the ground.	376.04496810515
Wingman, stay clear, he prayed.	104.85459955445569
He pushed stick and rudder and entered the overcast on his back.	140.46211685554488
He fought the panic of vertigo.	48.70488625292087
He had no idea which was up and which was down.	24.372436630854377
He held the controls where they had been.	88.63877979013002
Sweat popped out over him and he felt the slick between his palm and the stick grip.	4039.1999791329863
His air speed dropped until he thought he would spin out.	178.51424820071995
Over the rattling of fenders, humming of tires and chattering of gears there was a charming melody of whispers and tiny giggles.	728.4842889876902
Cool air moving slowly through the open or smashed-out side windows hinted of blooming roadside vegetation, and occasionally a faint fragrance of perfume swirled from the back seat.	3003.595545750972
"Moriarty", my driver suddenly exclaimed with something so definite, so final in his tone I once more repeated the absurdity, mustering all my latent powers of hypocrisy to sound convinced.	869.4352622844457
We were coming to an intersection, turning right, chuffing to a stop.	106.01989034297799
Forced to realize that this was the end of a very short line I scanned a road marker and discovered what the end of a slightly longer line would be for the old Mexican Moriarty, New Mexico.	2007.1629335375494
"Gracias.	16.05296361890169
Adios", I said, exhausting my Spanish vocabulary on my host and exchanging one of a scarcely-tapped store of smiles with my host's daughters.	761.5657483273803
I waved with discretion and moderation to the vague golden faces fading through rising dust and the distortions of the back window glass.	569.0050419383322
Then I saw the father's head slightly turn; gauche rainbow shapes replaced the poignant ovals of gold.	671.6770592062177
Autos whizzed past.	64.51399743838516
White-shirted and conservatively-cravated drivers stared conspicuously toward the eastern horizon and past my supplicating and accusing gaze.	1348.0554217792221
Suddenly a treble auto horn tootley-toot-tootled, and, thumbing hopefully, I saw emergent in windshield flash red lips, streaming silk of blonde hair and- ah, trembling confusion of hope, apprehension, despair- the leering face of old Herry.	2032.3109107622524
"Mor-ee-air-teeeee", he shrieked, his white teeth grossly counterpointing those of the glittering blonde.	857.1354951587095
Over the rapidly-diminishing outline of a jump seat piled high with luggage Herry's black brushcut was just discernible, near, or enviably near that spot where- hidden- more delicately-textured, most beautifully tinted hair must still be streaming back in cool, oh cool wind sweetly perfumed with sagebrush and yucca flowers and engine fumes.	2882.5270167507447
Damn his luck.	28.00724555491832
I would have foregone my romantic chances rather than leave a friend sweltering and dusty and- Well, at least I wouldn't have shouted back a taunt.	966.4382153351391
Still nursing anger I listlessly thumbed a car that was slowly approaching, its pre-war chrome nearly blinding me.	894.3967785240276
It was stopping.	7.339245973586828
Just as I straightened up with my duffel bag, I heard "Sahjunt Yoorick, meet Mrs Major J A Roebuck".	721.6568930039882
The voice was that of Johnson, tail gunner off another crew.	150.35073480666085
Squeezing a look between Johnson's fat jowls and the car frame a handsome and still darkhaired lady inquired "Y'all drahve"?	1547.64226725409
I nodded.	11.263566549760451
"Onleh one thiihng", Mrs Roebuck continued.	202.84593134683095
"Ahm goin nawth t'jawn mah husbun in Sante Fe, an y'all maht prefuh the suhthuhn rewt.	4233.802294087273
But Corporal Johnson has alreadeh said it didn make no diffrunce t'hi-im".	945.3639282359492
I said that it didn't make any difference to me either, as far as I knew.	649.7552593664695
How far I knew will shortly become apparent.	81.2050343876816
Let me pass over the trip to Sante Fe with something of the same speed which made Mrs Roebuck "wonduh if the wahtahm speed limit" 35 mph "is still in ee-faket".	976.8250197709233
I let up on the accelerator, only to gradually reach again the 60 mph which would, I hoped, overhaul Herry and the blonde, and as there were cars whose drivers apparently had something more important to catch than had I, Mrs Major Roebuck settled down to practicing on Corporal Johnson the kittenish wiles she would need when making her duty call on Colonel and Mrs Somebody in Sante Fe.	1492.4871609626139
When Johnson ejaculated "Howsabout my buying us all a nice cold Co-cola, Ma'am"?	1111.2575726595821
Mrs Roebuck smilingly declined and began suddenly to go on about her son, who was "onleh a little younguh than you bawhs".	2642.678701566294
Johnson never would have believed she had a son that age.	129.78422497818366
Mrs Roebuck thought Johnson was a "sweet bawh t'lah lahk thet", but her Herman was getting to be a man, there was no getting around it.	4291.490199232483
"Just befoh he left foh his academeh we wuh hevin dack-rihs on the vuhranduh, Major Roebuck an Ah, an Huhmun says 'May Ah hev one too'?	3093.4440524969427
just as p'lite an- an cohnfidunt, an Ah says 'Uh coahse you cain't', but he says 'Whah nawt, you ah hevin one'?	2278.8275941774714
an Ah coudn ansuh him an so Ah said 'Aw right, Ah gay-ess, an his fathuh didn uttuh one wohd an aftuh Huhmun was gone, the majuh laughed an tole me thet he an the bawh had been hevin an occasional drink t'gethuh f'ovuh a yeah, onleh an occasional one, but just the same it was behahn mah back, an Ah doan think thet's nahce at all, d'you"?	4774.839165699585
"No, I don't", Johnson said.	80.32092407162072
"I'm a good Baptist, and drinking h" Mrs Roebuck very kindly let me drive through Sante Fe to a road which would, she said, lead us to Taos and then Raton and "eventshahleh" out of New Mexico.	624.3787717857685
How lightly her "eventshah-leh" passed into the crannies where I was storing dialect material for some vaguely dreamed opus, and how the word would echo.	1005.6149673814359
And re-echo.	26.479611912455084
Hardly had Mrs Roebuck driven off when a rusty pick-up truck, father or grandfather of Senor "Moriarty's" Ford sedan, came screeching to a dust-swirling stop, and a brown face appeared, its nose threatened by shards of what had once been the side window.	1374.7589449378215
"Get in, buddies.	32.98798797266442
Get in".	8.807795282380017
The straight, black hair flopped in a vigorous nod, the slender nose plunged toward glass teeth and drew safely back.	639.8077187635504
Johnson unwired the right hand door, whose window was, like the left one, merely loosely-taped fragments of glass, and Johnson wadded himself into a narrow seat made still more narrow by three cases of beer.	881.0966157266564
"In back, buddy", the driver said to me.	43.57224072445698
Quickly but carefully lowering my duffel bag over the low side-rack, I stepped on the running board; it flopped down, sprang back up and gouged my shin.	1338.3758101871572
The truck was hurtling forward.	41.04205026232643
I seized the rack and made a western-style flying-mount just in time, one of my knees mercifully landing on my duffel bag- and merely wrecking my camera, I was to discover later- my other knee landing on the slivery truck floor boards and- but this is no medical report.	4120.411196862732
I was again in motion and at a speed which belied the truck's similarity to Senor X's Ford turtle.	998.4923858989292
Maybe I would beat old Herry to Siberia after all.	164.88802520946626
Whatever satisfaction that might offer.	49.134626458336584
Something pulled my leg.	49.8276843429574
I drew back, drawing back my foot for a kick.	151.79295924872895
But it was only Johnson reaching around the wire chicken fencing, which half covered the truck cab's glassless rear window.	1115.9108205451057
The way his red rubber lips were stretched across his pearly little teeth I though he was only having a little joke, but, no, he wanted me to bend down from the roar of wind so he could roar something into my ear.	780.9022785534966
"Wanna beer"?	54.86150496632633
"Hell, yes", I roared back between dusty lips.	620.9379977255393
Did I want a beer?	42.09950052914091
Did an anteater want ants?	169.22938756547134
"Bueno, amigo.	51.41832996850104
Gracias", I hollered, my first long swallow filling me with confidence and immediately doubling the size of my Spanish vocabulary.	1063.4324851901347
At once my ears were drowned by a flow of what I took to be Spanish, but- the driver's white teeth flashing at me, the road wildly veering beyond his glistening hair, beyond his gesticulating bottle- it could have been the purest Oxford English I was half hearing; I wouldn't have known the difference.	1989.1919565257713
Johnson was trying to grab the wheel, though the swerve of the truck was throwing him away from it.	208.57523374015918
White teeth suddenly vanishing, the driver slammed the side of his bottle against Johnson's ear.	437.31254878165885
We were off the road, gleaming barbed wire pulling taut.	828.4655067434473
I ducked just as the first strand broke somewhere down the line and came whipping over the sideboards.	1703.973236223434
We were in a field, in a tight, screeching turn.	392.0239215832817
Prairie dogs were popping up and popping down.	190.94570033621224
When I fell on my back, I saw a vulture hovering.	311.4293473723252
Just as I got to my knees, there was again the sound of the fence stretching, and I had time only to start taking my kneeling posture seriously.	353.47821485540965
This time no wire came whipping into the truck.	96.61096960966965
We were back on the road.	43.020267446952964
I regained my squatting position behind the truck cab's rear window.	458.26688159136677
Johnson's left hand was pressed against the side of his head, red cheeks whitening beneath his fingers.	244.46418693320695
"Tee-wah", the driver cackled, his black eyes glittering behind dull silver chicken fencing.	1033.3455731155398
"That was Tee-wah I was talking.	86.91829372110263
You thought I was a Mexican, didn't you, buddy"?	99.14813361339586
I nodded.	11.263566549760451
"Hell, that's all right, buddy", the Indian I now guessed said.	206.87446558918526
"Drink your beer".	59.105846601432894
Miraculously, the bottle was still in my hand, foam still geysering over my luckily waterproof watch.	563.0468051455387
No sooner had I started drinking than the driver started zigzagging the truck.	154.13888638961305
The beer foamed furiously.	61.042633832214996
I drank furiously.	42.49584914897681
A long time.	7.317962079177374
Emptied the bottle.	38.50094723980269
Teeth again flashing back at me, the driver released a deluge of Spanish in which "amigo" appeared every so often like an island in the stormy waves of surrounding sound.	2118.8574229149126
I bobbed my head each time it appeared.	101.1297459203838
Suddenly the Spanish became an English in which only one word emerged with clarity and precision, "son of a bitch", sometimes hyphenated by vicious jabs of a beer bottle into Johnson's quivering ribs.	1728.961287093615
A big car was approaching, its chrome teeth grinning.	165.3955791479929
Beyond it the gray road stretched a long, long way.	67.9537861924535
The car was just about to us, its driver's fat, solemn face intent on the road ahead, on business, on a family in Sante Fe- on anything but an old pick-up truck in which two human beings desperately needed rescue.	1331.3287503034041
I tossed the bottle.	31.6022740165484
High, so it would only bounce harmlessly but loudly off the car's steel roof.	690.9625553058091
Too high.	10.842765713983287
On unoccupied roadway the bottle shattered into a small amber flash.	476.881192186537
"Aye-yah-ah-ah"!	378.43875552290876
The Indian was again raising his bottle, but to my astonished relief- probably only a fraction of Johnson's- the bottle this time went to the Indian's lips.	466.3136358388883
Another car was coming, a tiny, dark shape on a far hill.	413.83685284697606
I started looking on the splintery truck bed for a piece of board, a dirt clod- anything I could throw and with better aim than I had thrown the beer bottle.	841.3740131047624
We were slowing.	16.88951913715299
In the ditch sand was white and soft-looking, only an occasional pebble discernible, faintly gleaming.	498.02716808818656
But Johnson couldn't quickly unwire the truck door, and if I escaped, he might suffer.	607.031473435995
The car was approaching fast.	23.510980414080713
On the truck bed there was nothing smaller than a piece of rusty machinery; with more time I could have loosened a small burr or cotter pin- Suddenly and not a second too soon I thought of the coins in my pocket.	975.2542455959341
There was no time to pick out a penny; I got a coin between my thumb and forefinger, leaned my elbows in a very natural and casual manner on top of the truck cab and flipped my little missile.	932.3914186696754
There was a blur just under my focus of vision, a crash; the car's far windshield panel turned into a silver web with a dark hole in the center.	686.1606778345683
I heard the screech of brakes behind me, an insane burst of laughter beneath me.	287.1435474312722
Looking back I saw a gray-haired man getting out of his halted car and trying to read our license number.	174.61372505535186
"S-s-sahjunt".	72.87647502831193
Johnson's fat hand, another bottle were protruding from the truck cab, and that self-proclaimed Baptist teetotaler, had a bottle at his own lips.	682.2661616019573
Two cars came over a crest, their chrome and glass flashing.	248.10826245813016
The Indian's arm whipped sidewise- there was a flash of amber and froth, the crash of the bottle shattering against the side of the first car.	1045.1835638551295
Brakes shrieked behind us.	93.9821911083236
I saw Johnson's bottle snatched from his hand, saw it go in a swirl of foam just behind the second car.	356.25428154570886
This time there was no sound of brakes but the shrieking of women.	104.1678938539297
I looked back at pale ovals framed in the elongated oval of the car's rear window.	412.8432767937248
"Drink, you son of a bitch"!	130.78950979593068
I quickly turned around and began to drink.	64.40889243327098
But the Indian was jabbing another bottle toward Johnson.	146.5013772121557
I guided her to the divan, turned off the TV, faced her.	114.34106444841555
She sat quietly, staring at me from the wide eyes.	132.26613618666866
And what eyes they were.	17.066707907569757
Big and dark, a melting, golden brown.	77.26245454287871
Eyes like hot honey, eyes that sizzled.	187.66219834632017
Plus flawless skin, smooth brow and cheeks, lips that looked as if you could get a shock from them.	508.08282108273363
It was a disturbingly familiar face, too, but I couldn't remember where we had met.	301.86023506150093
I said, "Do we know each other, Miss"?	653.3284500174296
"No, I remembered reading about you in the papers and that you lived here, and when it happened all I could think of was"- This time she stopped the rush of words herself.	696.6065923623914
"I'm sorry.	2.8913635792072867
Shall I go on"?	25.306198614586034
She smiled.	12.026802336432754
It was her first smile.	17.73640300624428
But worth waiting for.	18.91055275174692
"Sure".	9.610798453901891
I said.	42.92455568231413
"But one word at a time, OK"?	43.6409409682994
She was still hugging the stained coat around her, so I said, "Relax, let me take your things.	869.0276273729739
Would you like a drink, or coffee"?	40.59825544988239
"No, thanks".	47.99029431598805
She stood up, pulled the coat from her shoulders and started to slide it off, then let out a high-pitched scream and I let out a low-pitched, wobbling sound like a muffler blowing out.	1516.4536747292805
She was wearing nothing beneath the coat.	58.85537588628781
She jerked the coat back on and squeezed it around her again, but not soon enough.	458.677135774541
There had been a good second or two during which my muffler had been blowing out, and now I was certain I'd seen her somewhere before.	370.89237173355343
"I forgot"!	25.05052794902069
she yelped.	31.804983478493366
"Oh, do forgive me.	28.593677704873144
I'm sorry"!	8.375742116980293
"I forgive"- "That's what started all the trouble in the first place.	156.7291077550634
Oh, dear, I'm all unstrung".	54.002157287626154
"You and me both, dear.	41.6240281731303
Haven't we h haven't I seen you h. I mean, surely we've"- "You may have seen me on TV", she said.	651.6582539703419
"I've done several filmed commercials for"- Then it hit me.	132.85244083172037
"ZING"!	28.826365438569706
I cried.	10.767384799432806
"Why, yes.	9.573262088063691
And you recognized me"?	24.08796613188462
"Yes, indeed.	8.105373692720036
In fact, I was watching you on that little seventeen-inch screen when you rang my bell.	435.59522526380977
Man, you rang- it was in color, too, Miss, and h Miss?	518.7936468907861
What's your name, anyway?	40.31390582847448
Ah, you were splendid".	33.99239930285241
I sat by her on the divan.	43.47177495386921
"Splendid.	10.480665544470849
In a waterfall h and all that".	501.0698126713027
"That's the last one we did.	22.23494914786875
That was a fun one".	78.1449202826702
"I'll bet.	4.823240829110834
It was fun for me, all right.	22.938349433423006
I don't mean to pry, but do they hide the swimsuit with the bubbles?	159.796260432615
I mean Is advertising honest?	71.65122280806348
"It depends on who does it.	56.27095134430467
I never wear anything at all.	148.18826272931605
It wouldn't- wouldn't seem fair, somehow".	91.82192500077932
"I couldn't agree with you more".	32.19648961790633
"I really do have something important to tell you, Mr Scott.	103.96500825017563
About the murder".	13.135834616013002
"Murder?	18.408676839516836
Oh, yeah", I said.	19.118379080842843
"Tell me about the murder".	40.91038560613701
She told me.	11.276706598623568
ZING was the creation of two men, Louis Thor and Bill Blake, partners in ZING!, Inc.	435.7278067829517
They'd peddled the soap virtually alone, and without much success, until about a year ago, when- with the addition of "SX-21" to their secret formula and the inauguration of a high-powered advertising campaign- sales had soared practically into orbit.	2349.745602155835
Their product had been endorsed by Good Housekeeping, the AMA, and the Veterinary Journal, among other repositories of higher wisdom, and before much longer if you didn't have a cake of their soap in the john, even your best friends would think you didn't bathe.	1510.7796345638415
My lovely caller- Joyce Holland was her name- had previously done three filmed commercials for ZING, and this evening, the fourth, a super production, had been filmed at the home of Louis Thor.	1265.6472187661652
The water in Thor's big swimming pool had been covered with a blanket of thick, foamy soapsuds- fashioned, of course, from ZING- Joyce had dived from the board into the pool, then swirled and cavorted in her luxurious "bath" while cameras rolled.	1112.1044063562822
The finished- and drastically cut- product would begin with a hazy longshot of Joyce entering the suds, then bursting above the pool's surface clad in layers of lavender lather, and I had a hunch this item was going to sell tons and tons of soap; even to clean men and boys.	1372.2959841794332
Joyce went on, "When we'd finished, Lou- Mr Thor- asked me to stay a little longer.	795.8196412278833
He wanted a few stills for magazine ads, he said.	83.91685235213048
Everybody left and I stayed in the pool, then Lou came back alone and leaped into the pool too.	1007.0352415002872
And he didn't have any clothes on".	26.27739094128673
"He didn't"!	11.376774667951548
"Yes, he didn't.	42.96899661178465
Did, I mean".	101.10284005364477
She paused.	16.916446592826244
"Did leap into the pool, and didn't have anything on.	296.45946037812485
Anyway, it was evident what he had in mind".	294.43681273204135
"You got away, didn't you"?	49.58862554900396
"Yes.	3.418800859412557
He caught up with me once and grabbed me, but I was all covered with ZING- it's very slippery, you know".	241.0076936364113
"I didn't know.	53.15528680376947
I wouldn't have the stuff in the house.	103.48127713027118
But I'm pleased to hear"- "So I just scooted out of his clutches.	144.43060259357583
I swam like mad, got out of the pool, grabbed my robe, and ran to the car.	1304.1964104498707
The keys were still in it, and I was miles away before I remembered that my clothes and purse and everything were still in the little cabana where I'd changed".	1272.5664458294216
She'd driven around for a while, Joyce said, then, thinking Louis Thor would have calmed down by that time, she'd gone back to his home on Bryn Mawr Drive, parked in front, and walked toward the pool.	3626.0790484256863
While several yards from it, still concealed by the shrubbery, she'd seen two men on her left at the pool's edge.	378.7184185401144
She went on "A man was holding onto Lou, holding him up.	481.0591597146773
Maybe Lou was only unconscious, but right then I thought he must be dead.	194.23948743353728
The man shoved him into the water, then ran past the cabana.	655.7808524299737
There's a walk there that goes out to Quebec Drive.	128.85187758886013
I was so scared h well, I just ran to my car and came here".	150.90357818429084
"You know who the other man was"?	25.71858987031386
"No, I never did see his face.	282.72337509666073
I didn't get a good look at him at all, his back was to me, and I was so scared h It was just somebody in a man's suit.	525.9599372035723
But I'm sure the other one was Lou".	25.344435553444043
What Joyce wanted me to do was go to Thor's house and "do whatever detectives do", and get her clothes- and handbag containing her identification.	2550.760771075244
She realized I'd have to notify the police, but fervently hoped I could avoid mentioning her name.	299.77742574423036
Her impact in the ZING commercials had led to her being considered for an excellent part in an upcoming TV series, Underwater Western Eye, a documentary-type show to be sponsored by Oatnut Grits.	995.5862962509754
But if Joyce got involved in murder or salacious scandal, the role would probably go to the sponsor's wife, Mrs Oatnut Grits.	683.5375665187872
Or at least not to Joyce.	87.07761170620253
"And I so want the part", she said.	28.834003649310734
"The commercials have just been for money, there hasn't been any real incentive for me to do them, but in Underwater Western Eye I'd have a chance to act.	1399.4540549605824
I could show what I can do".	453.7468442599409
As far as I was concerned, she had already and had dandily shown what she could do.	372.86694473489956
But I promised Joyce I would mention her name, if at all, only as a last resort.	304.71785893559905
Seeming much relieved, she smiled one of those worth-waiting-for smiles, and I smiled all the way into the bedroom.	313.7191478682083
There I got my Colt Special and shoulder harness, slipped my coat on, and went back into the front room.	509.60895252937263
Joyce squirmed a little on the divan.	99.95523503474394
"I'm starting to itch", she said.	27.199028024470085
"Itch"?	20.324827059120516
"Yes, I'm still all covered with that soap.	97.44034516741671
I was loaded with suds when I ran away, and I haven't had a chance to wash it off.	334.5904074612325
Mmmm, it sure itches".	89.78970224258585
"You might as well wait here while I'm gone, so you can use my shower if you'd like".	274.6634558499629
"Oh, I'd love to".	10.151676589853839
I showed her the shower and tub, and she said, smiling, "If you really don't mind, I think I'll get clean in the shower, then soak for a few minutes in your tub.	428.18298636292184
That always relaxes me.	39.543825136492366
Doesn't it you"?	11.916225867692754
"Only when I do it".	79.83671558355437
I shook my head.	30.528716450933064
One of my virtues or vices is a sort of three-dimensional imagination complete with sound effects and glorious living color.	461.9796664408608
"Soak h as long as you want, Joyce.	86.18462632589464
It'll probably be at least an hour or two before I can check back with you.	767.4295634213026
So you'll have everything all to yourself, doggone h" I looked at my watch.	306.758885566154
Ten after nine.	24.68375117925784
Time to go, I supposed.	30.012473222640512
"Well, goodbye", I said.	18.40021763268856
"Goodbye.	14.720632543950337
You'd better hurry".	101.35210158437422
"Oh, you can count on that".	85.91946040356906
She smiled slightly.	25.445206303344737
Softly.	16.05296361890169
Warmly.	16.05296361890169
"Don't hurry too much.	30.31080695124097
I'll be soaking for h at least half an hour".	157.89032169842343
That was all she said.	9.905297496713189
But suddenly those hot-honey eyes seemed to have everything but swarms of bees in them.	263.69054846896626
However, when there's a job to be done, I'm a monstrosity of grim determination, I like to think.	546.634040213258
I spun about and clattered through the front room to the door.	195.31508031716402
As I went out, I could hear water pouring in the shower.	267.83457057646945
Hot water.	14.354827630782157
She wouldn't be taking a cold shower.	101.74753129958918
Hell, she couldn't.	36.697568428254144
Bryn Mawr Drive is only two or three miles from the Spartan, and it took me less than five minutes to get there.	251.0999491083585
But the scene was not the quiet, calm scene I'd expected.	120.41036140639558
Four cars were parked at the curb, and two of them were police radio cars.	2085.7417463112474
Lights blazed in the big house and surrounding grounds.	186.73984856766728
I followed a shrubbery-lined gravel path alongside the house to the pool.	3117.243990001503
Two uniformed officers, a couple of plain-clothesmen I knew, and two other men stood on a gray cement area next to the pool on my left.	2092.5033722625158
At the pool's far end was the little cabana Joyce had mentioned, and on the water's surface floated scattered lavender patches of limp-looking lather.	1150.6519565852925
A few yards beyond the group of men, a man's nude body lay face down on a patch of thick green dichondra.	966.9271837497781
Lieutenant Rawlins, one of the plain-clothesmen, spotted me and said, "Hi, Shell", and walked toward me.	323.86751972747453
"How'd you hear about this one"?	87.01316259440947
I grinned, but ignored the question.	41.11020836304903
He didn't push it; Rawlins worked out of Central Homicide and we'd been friends for years.	993.2075724543255
He filled me in.	16.55047178987539
A call to the police had been placed from here a couple of minutes after nine pm, and the first police car had arrived two or three minutes after that- 10 minutes ago now.	372.3844857169458
Present at the scene- in addition to the dead man, who was indeed Louis Thor- had been Thor's partner Bill Blake, and Antony Rose, an advertising agency executive who handled the ZING account.	882.008421619659
Neither of them, I understood, had been present at the filming session earlier.	318.24357704637396
"What were they doing here"?	20.443183469420177
I asked Rawlins.	20.683870175062726
"They were supposed to meet Thor at nine pm for a conference concerning the ad campaign for their soap, a new angle based on this SX-21 stuff".	594.2820683055938
"Yeah, I've heard more about SX-21 than space exploration lately.	203.60122385716747
What is the gunk"?	19.71795522383053
"How would I know?	24.368352868504452
It's a secret.	8.732015181093624
That was the new advertising angle- something about a Lloyd's of London policy to insure the secrecy of the secret ingredient.	278.4774707673717
Actually, only two men know what the formula is, Blake and"- He stopped and looked at Thor's body.	402.3696914851181
I said, "OK, so now only Blake knows.	90.22745872882602
How's it strike you, foul or fair"?	162.46485155489154
"Can't say yet.	25.919144770289478
Deputy coroner says it looks like he sucked in a big pile of those thick suds and strangled on 'em.	651.0822921700175
The PM might show he drowned instead, but that's what the once-over-lightly gives us.	284.83498164784874
Accident, murder, suicide- take your pick".	165.20340338830044
"I'll pick murder.	18.92327013962175
Anything else"?	22.359023658480012
"According to Rose, he arrived here a couple minutes before nine and spotted Thor in the water, got a hooked pole from the pool-equipment locker and started hauling him out.	948.5326684102761
Too many people think that the primary purpose of a higher education is to help you make a living; this is not so, for education offers all kinds of dividends, including how to pull the wool over a husband's eyes while you are having an affair with his wife.	1170.2698425371368
If it were not for an old professor who made me read the classics I would have been stymied on what to do, and now I understand why they are classics; those who wrote them knew people and what made people tick.	699.8587910205504
I worked for my Uncle an Uncle by marriage so you will not think this has a mild undercurrent of incest who ran one of those antique shops in New Orleans' Vieux Carre, the old French Quarter.	834.077451419683
The arrangement I had with him was to work four hours a day.	120.38553777493354
The rest of the time I devoted to painting or to those other activities a young and healthy man just out of college finds interesting.	484.1782605980077
I had a one-room studio which overlooked an ancient courtyard filled with flowers and plants, blooming everlastingly in the southern sun.	1350.8905847775648
I had come to New Orleans two years earlier after graduating college, partly because I loved the city and partly because there was quite a noted art colony there.	625.4518701905846
When my Uncle offered me a part-time job which would take care of my normal expenses and give me time to paint I accepted.	433.3920944691176
The arrangement turned out to be excellent.	32.36135890359102
I loved the city and I particularly loved the gaiety and spirit of Mardi Gras.	284.78447104005727
I had seen two of them and we would soon be in another city-wide, joyous celebration with romance in the air; and, when you took a walk you never knew what adventure or pair of sparkling eyes were waiting around the next corner.	1385.6199068533176
The very faces of the people bore this expectation of fun and pleasure.	275.94592448058074
It was as if they could hardly wait to get into their costumes, cover their faces with masks and go adventuring.	1683.659951139961
My Uncle and I were not too close socially because of the difference in our ages.	686.1208591117471
Sometimes I wondered vaguely what he did about women for my Aunt, by blood, had died some years ago, but neither of us said anything.	325.94894507854053
One Monday morning I saw him approach the store with a woman and introduce me to her as my new Aunt.	296.87035632737604
They were married over the week-end, though he was easily sixty and she could not have been even thirty.	381.84657980189667
She looked more like twenty-five or six.	488.5619624324424
It was really a May and December combination.	44.9254044178232
My new Aunt was perhaps three or four years older than I and it had been a long time since I had seen as gorgeous a woman who oozed sex.	374.41485959003717
There was something about the contour of her face, her smile that was like New Orleans sunshine, the way she held her head, the way she walked- there was scarcely anything she did which did not fascinate me.	1257.3097495636987
Her legs were the full, sexy kind, full bodied like a rare wine and just as tantalizing to the appetite; the calf was magnificent, the ankle perfect.	546.563445233113
You must forgive me if I seem to dwell too much on her physical aspects but I am an artist, accustomed to studying the physical body.	718.966709280838
The true artist is like one of those scientists who, from a single bone can reconstruct an animal's entire body.	486.8965680844372
The artist looks at an ankle, a calf, a bosom and, in his mind's eye, the clothes drop away and he sees her as she really is.	425.26306829527954
And that is the way I first saw her when my Uncle brought her into his antique store.	1684.8492391459783
That she impressed me instantly was obvious; I was aware that when our eyes met we both quickly averted them.	942.8838239896334
I thought I saw a faint surge of color rise to her neck and quickly suffuse her cheeks.	356.5956122755655
True, she was my Aunt, married to an Uncle related to me only by marriage, but why she had married a man twice her age, and more, perhaps, I did not know or much care.	1242.9001280052598
She was standing with her back to the glass door.	41.27624020930661
Her form was silhouetted and with the strong light I could see the outlines of her body, a body that an artist or anyone else would have admired.	353.07867778022063
As it is in so many affairs of the heart, a man and a woman meet and something clicks.	1247.99448578624
Something clicked in this instance, but I treated her circumspectly and I felt that she knew it, for we both kept our distance.	993.7680722987576
When she appeared at the store to help out for a few hours even my looking at her was surreptitious lest my Uncle notice it.	523.3546600135295
And then I became aware that she, too, glanced at me surreptitiously.	113.46682870800093
I felt that her eyes were undressing me as if she were a painter and I a nude model.	701.2146658652704
I dismissed these feelings as wishful thinking but I could not get it out of my head that we had a strong physical attraction for one another and we both feared to dwell on it because of our relationship.	11423.366713995954
When our eyes met the air was filled with an unuttered message of "Me, too".	169.55427320048662
You have probably experienced this.	26.6471862166795
It is nothing you can put your fingers on but the air suddenly fills with a high charge of electricity.	449.9824573709489
Why she married him I do not know.	31.219879371527583
I myself was fond of him but what a young woman half his age saw in him was a mystery to me.	155.7431480300648
He already had that slow pace that comes over the elderly, while she herself had all the signs of one who appreciates the joys of living.	320.222323181641
Perhaps, with my Uncle, she found a measure of economic security that she needed; or maybe she liked men old enough to be her father; some women with father fixations do.	819.6042873009492
For several weeks we eyed one another almost like sparring partners, and then one day Uncle was slightly indisposed and stayed home; his bride opened the store.	630.1477987490673
I was waiting in front of it when she showed up and told me of my Uncle's indisposition.	232.52285098168102
Even as she was telling me about it I became aware of a give-away flush that suffused her neck and moved upwards to her cheeks, and subconsciously I realized that when she entered the store she did not switch on the lights.	731.8965889316712
The cavernous depth, cluttered with antiques, echoed to her hard heels as she walked directly to the office in the rear and took the seat at his desk.	977.070832517494
She placed her palms, fingers outspread, on the desk in an odd gesture as if to say, "Now, what next"?	321.6985100842709
I was aware of a humid look in her eyes that told me the time was opportune.	2997.402189776058
There was little likelihood of any customers walking in at that hour.	83.57858094215776
I was standing beside her, watching the outspread palms and wondering about the old horsehair sofa against the wall on which he sometimes napped.	1185.0482522867737
I bent and kissed the still pink neck and suddenly she jumped up, and her two arms encircled me in a bear-like crush.	1670.362167942264
Her mouth, which had been so much in my thoughts, was warm and moist and tender.	565.0814976168356
I heard her murmur, "We'd better lock the door".	293.02236566819994
It did not take me long to slip the bolt securely and return to the rear and its couch.	1331.590539322143
When we opened the door again for business and switched on the lights she said "He will not always be indisposed".	896.6410162400708
"I know.	4.505871426233801
I was thinking about that.	17.915382790485147
How will we work it out"?	38.21546985302015
"I don't know", she said.	7.6760718699071235
"You're the man.	35.23955105791628
You figure it out.	15.827209028412797
I've noticed the way you've been looking at me ever since we met".	179.7358486023754
"I guess we both felt it".	26.444989260779337
I said.	42.92455568231413
"I guess so", she said.	16.12203700396963
"But now what"?	52.55706708604693
Even as I said it I realized that an education can be invaluable.	123.25989882110602
"I know what we can do", I said.	362.55018695765546
"Tell him I made a pass at you".	67.43880527887528
She raised a protesting hand with a startled air.	118.54613692554148
"What are you trying to do?	144.96885249517356
Get thrown out?	34.124047255129355
If I even hint at it do you think it will matter that you are his nephew- and not even a blood nephew"?	1225.096614584408
"I don't want to be thrown out and I don't think I will.	766.7683050010124
I think I have a way so we can carry on without his suspecting us".	166.92114921543939
"By telling him you are making passes at me"?	130.66603324957583
she said incredulously.	27.105506655792098
"When I was in college", I grinned, "I remember a poem I had to read in my lit class.	345.44979914025413
I don't even remember who wrote it but it was one of those 15th or 16th century poets.	405.18046999001956
In those days poems often told a story in verse and those boys had some corkers to tell; and now I think we can use the knowledge they passed on to us.	272.37030577792854
Tomorrow Mardi Gras opens officially.	424.1414524367971
A lot of people will roam the streets in costumes and masks, and having a ball.	246.91966102074974
There will be romance and flirtation.	34.39190450971601
If you tell him I made a pass at you he might think you misunderstood something I said or did, so instead of just telling him I made a pass, say I tried to date you and that you agreed so you could prove to him what a louse I really am.	546.935982978631
We made a rendezvous tomorrow evening at nine on some street near Lake Ponchartrain.	416.53061722646567
And to prove what you tell him about me you suggest that he keep the date instead.	203.46182362714313
You are both the same size.	24.72588032133322
He could use your clothes for a costume and a heavy veil for a mask.	191.1516615067875
When I show up he will know you are a good wife to have told him about it".	465.98053236633893
"But you"- she began.	19.62087269994762
"Don't worry about me.	7.404164018342175
It will turn out all right".	22.823265250165818
"I don't understand", she insisted.	22.31488652266426
"Are you trying to cut your throat"?	78.11291804443275
"No", I chuckled, "I'm just beginning to collect dividends on my investment in education".	123.28678079074882
As we expected, on the following day my Uncle was completely recovered and opened the store as usual at 10 in the morning.	258.57578000661897
I felt that he looked at me coldly and appraisingly and seemed to be uncertain what his attitude towards me should be, but he did not say one word which might indicate that he had been told of advances to his wife.	1543.0009012049497
I quit work at my usual hour as if this day was no different from other days.	171.29787397704018
I heard subsequently that my Uncle and Aunt had dinner in a nearby restaurant in the French Quarter after which he went home to get into his costume to keep the date.	472.48860422714955
Shortly before nine I drove my jalopy to the street facing the Lake and parked the car in shadows far enough away from the rendezvous corner but near enough to keep the corner in clear view.	869.502104651542
A few minutes later I saw my Uncle's car drive up and a woman's figure emerge and walk to the corner.	197.72321864785528
I must say the figure was well made up.	33.21869441490552
If it were not that I knew who it was I could have mistaken it for my Aunt so well did her clothes fit him.	208.9452461929509
In one hand he gripped firmly a parasol though there had been no indication of rain.	210.53015489162595
I suspected why he brought it along.	67.93277143380762
In the half darkness I approached cautiously, making sure he did not see me.	170.1890945281868
He was looking out on the dark waters of the Lake when I came upon him and without wasting words I smacked him hard across the face.	568.0414001577409
"You cheap bitch"!	76.46061665945258
I exclaimed.	11.629418815028375
"You cheap, no good, two-timing bitch!	170.4522565355686
You get a good, loyal husband- smack!- and you fall for a pass by his own nephew!	1447.6354495535682
You should- smack!- be ashamed of yourself.	83.99988868941726
He had better write a postcard to Walter.	66.86965170372935
He opened the myth book again and there along the margin next to Robert Graves' imaginative interpretation of the creation of the Dactyls from Rhea's fingertips were the names of four Munich bars and Meredith Wilder's address.	965.8802097927859
The bars were marked as Walter had marked them in a small black book kept in a nearly secret drawer.	632.5260597521512
The code, which had probably something to do with sex or some other interest, Nicolas was determined to find out and put to use.	203.95865394854917
A card to Walter would get him an introduction to this Meredith, and that might be good for something.	373.64013141474675
Nicolas called on his muse, a line came back "Squaresville, man, and all the palazzos are crummy Palasts".	1825.9654637903402
That ought to draw a laugh, Nicolas reasoned, as he stored the line away on the wax tape that was his mind.	339.24207864755635
And indeed, his postcard did draw from Walter a letter recommending his friend, the poet Nicolas Manas, to his friend Meredith Wilder.	1722.316941848964
Five days later, on receiving it, Meredith sat drumming his dactyls on his writing table.	873.6645570829514
Dammit!	28.826365438569706
he inwardly cried.	45.83665219380549
His hand was large and square and heavily tanned.	114.73984023057875
The voice crying in him was the voice of guilt.	55.87942207826691
His four weeks in Italy had turned into nearer three months.	181.6680623925243
He had returned to the pension a week ago.	42.23103922562557
Now, he was just in the late poems of Holderlin and therefore had most of the nineteenth century before him- plus next semester's class preparation.	465.3488142820078
He was determined to spend an industrious summer.	69.54173957707695
Well, maybe Manas wouldn't call.	89.27877652482319
Meredith's fingers slowed and stopped over a line before him Sie lacheln, die Schwarzen Hexen.	1155.6417271732885
The menace of Manas gradually faded as Meredith asked himself should he translate it, 'How the dark fates laughed'?	747.1691217609299
or, more rhythmically, 'The swarthy witches are laughing'?	302.28524678951294
And he missed the point that the swarthy witches might be laughing at him for hoping to escape Nicolas Manas.	491.32482497341607
But Nicolas, too, was being interrupted, that morning.	79.68317862397735
Not by the 1100 sun which had spread a warmth around his spot of grass in the English Gardens and sent him off to sleep; but by a blond girl in a sweater and skirt who stood a few yards off and tenderly regarded him.	770.4323686215554
Should she wake him?	29.685693725508234
She didn't have the heart.	13.490535429810627
Her heart, her maternal feeling, in fact her h her being was too busy expressing itself, as quietly thrilled by this sight of her Nicolas curled asleep under a blanket, in a park like a scene from Poussin.	1110.3644695175208
She was just not able to break the spell.	40.504220181319305
Would she have been able to had she known that the blanket belonged to a young ballet dancer Nicolas had found his first night in one of Walter's marked bars?	631.6266628649861
Nicolas "Look, Nicolas doesn't go to bed with boys- no sex, see?	461.08748413409415
So if all these beers was to get me in bed, man, you just spent a lot of money".	209.78135088187983
Ballet dancer Protests, tears, and "take what you want, Nicolas, I am a dancer, you are a poet, it is all beautiful".	2290.9376559256525
To this meek conjugation Nicolas had replied, "OK I can use this blanket.	401.47334261026106
And when you get off this job tonight, well, you can gimme something to eat".	178.30893990622727
And, as a matter of fact, Nicolas had slept in the park only part of one night, when he discovered that Munich's early mornings even in summer are laden with dew.	1210.2796313143695
He had always known how to find a bed, and on his own terms.	328.89799593474555
He used the blanket for late morning naps when hosts of the night had gone off to jobs and proved reluctant to leave him in their small rooms with their few possessions.	534.4193103468112
Mary Jane Lerner knew none of this.	480.48854951792214
Her Nicolas lay curled in the sun like a fawn, black hair falling over his eyes.	1682.8304079905538
She was telling herself that this might just be her reward at the end of a long meaningful search for truth.	329.07725485785147
This was surely a reunion in art, it was all that poetry promised.	205.14968352027194
That long night with Nicolas and marijuana in Venice had opened her eyes.	221.36858859602125
His advice, his voice saying his poems, the fact that he had not so much as touched her- on the contrary, he had put his head back and she had stroked his hair- this was all new.	2087.385589818973
Her eyes had opened, she had caught a glimpse of a new faith.	260.4601320489965
The next day he was gone.	43.324146742395236
Mary Jane might not be the most intelligent woman, but she was one of the most determined.	623.8403010401562
Even so, it took her several days to force Walter to tell her Nicolas's whereabouts.	373.18540654286994
Packing a small suitcase, informing her husband whom she found in Harry's Bar that she was taking a train to Germany to get away for a while, patting his arm, refusing a drink, getting on the train- all this had only taken her two hours.	759.4079177637807
She had arrived this morning and come straight to the English Gardens.	222.94632581941153
"Dear girl", Walter had finally said, "he writes me that he is sleeping in the English Gardens".	1786.5649984615652
"How like him"!	22.01439904357887
Mary Jane had smilingly said.	86.92662990545261
"His address", Walter added, "is that great foundling home, the American Express.	417.9634877927855
And I will greatly appreciate it if you will not tell your husband h".	162.47378479192938
For the last half hour Mary Jane had criss-crossed half the length of the Gardens and, at last, come upon her knight.	327.0137675618653
His presence there, asleep in the grass, confirmed all that Mary Jane believed it was in his power to teach her freedom from the tedium of needs such as hotels, the meaning of nature, how to live, simply, with the angels.	869.1091162329208
She set down her suitcase.	62.28977392541849
Should she wake him?	29.685693725508234
No.	3.389188185682365
Smiling, she sat down on the suitcase and waited and watched.	1345.188456799921
The sun grew hotter as it approached the midday.	137.63309930044053
Nicolas was dreaming he had his head pressed against the dashboard of a speeding car.	673.4400767658454
He began sweating.	21.482134969882647
In his dream he cried, "Slow down, for Chrissake"!	192.86315640839146
He half woke and rolled over with his face in the cooler grass.	344.5628048172192
His nose was tickled.	50.13318316903521
He sneezed.	17.18457329373195
He blew his nose expertly between his fingers.	140.74204946794333
He spit.	10.21683851272444
He half sat up and scratched at the hair on his forehead and then, more vigorously, between his legs.	217.86087741659338
He belched, he stretched.	37.488352406908476
Mary Jane got up, quietly, and walked away.	124.35392234395464
Twenty minutes later she was at the desk of the Grafin's pension, her tears dried, signing a hotel form and asking for a bath.	712.6401988732092
Mary Jane belonged to a world acquainted with small attractive hotels and pensions in all the major and minor cities.	693.0068172071914
She had retreated to this world.	23.794261564216505
The Grafin, who was charmed by her, told her, "Your sister who was here two years ago has quite dark hair.	366.9259056865233
Families are very interesting.	32.1862559710289
Nevertheless, there is no bath.	81.20590246557234
But a young American has a bath next to his room and I shall ask him if you might use it this once.	229.1370543060135
And then we shall see h".	105.26296890658665
The Grafin was partial to the word 'shall'.	135.04240801760312
Meredith was irritated when the Grafin knocked at his door and told him, "She is a great beauty!	1732.0192374909414
Shall we allow her not to have a bath?	279.9358844032912
Actually, she is a sad beauty, I believe.	390.8738412657353
You shall see her at dinner".	47.462163152055716
Rather erotically he listened to the bath water running; when it stopped he began busily typing, sitting up in a virtuous way.	590.3629839309187
Before dinner, he shaved for the second time that day.	60.39228100529375
A thing he did not like doing, generally.	52.462868900855156
Singing into the mirror and his interested eyes, he was pleased to note, when he stripped for his own bath, that he still had the best part of his Italian sun tan.	2069.076233758383
He flexed his muscles for several minutes, got into the tub, and then grew self-conscious of splashing as he washed.	389.99014871088644
In the small gallery used as the guests' dining room, Meredith sat down at his place and, as always, began teasing the young waitress.	849.8395755204765
He was asking had it been she who left the love note in his sheets she also served as maid when he saw the Grafin followed by a stately blond girl approaching his table.	1018.2242216958122
It would be literary license calculated to glamorize life to say that he, oh, dropped his napkin, so startled was he by Mary Jane's beauty.	793.5710099732195
Yet he did drop his badinage with the ordinary country girl as much in deference to the Grafin as acknowledgement that here, indeed, was something special.	409.3073454396508
Mary Jane had made very little effort.	96.85437485108355
Above a dark green skirt she wore a pale green cashmere sweater with, as he soon perceived, no brassiere beneath.	877.4435592840256
Her white blond hair was clean and brushed long straight down to her shoulders.	340.12417012708164
Perhaps her eyes were larger and more of a summer blue for all they had seen and wept that day.	625.895456539066
She had touched her face, truly a noble and pure face, only with a lip salve which made her lips glisten but no redder than usual.	556.5179563434073
The result was grace and modesty.	29.97809622794928
As she was rather tired this evening, her simple "Thank you for the use of your bath"- when she sat down opposite him- spoken in a low voice, came across with coolnesses of intelligence and control.	825.712214542691
Meredith began falling in love.	67.3268627876852
Soup "Only this morning"; veal cutlets "Oh, I couldn't possibly eat all this"!	768.7672779609459
; wine "Then you were typing poems this afternoon"?	237.70900824305207
; fruit compote "If you think I would understand it"; a smile.	506.2412030129061
"What a beautiful room.	19.908116399697832
Like h as if it were built of books".	47.93967518675999
Having opened the windows onto the terrace, lit the fire, translated the motto, Meredith grinned and took down a little triplet of books bound together in old calfskin.	837.8106444921804
Opening these he brought out a schnapps bottle and small gold thimble-sized glasses hidden inside it.	833.0588826262997
"I think the maids tipple in the afternoon".	38.243578115731154
"Those sweet girls?	40.59541804972405
Oh h you're joking.	100.49649488670782
It tastes a little like poppyseed.	78.33784818843668
What's its name?	24.956017037185514
Steinhager h" She whispered Steinhager to herself, several times, memorizing it.	1101.7973383054084
"Would you first read the poem aloud to me and then let me read it to myself"?	224.80838160290583
Meredith's voice was always deep, with rough bass notes in it; in reading, on platforms, even in the large auditorium of the YMHA, Poetry Center nights, his voice was intimate, thoughtful, and a trifle shy.	1241.438279812646
His new poem, a love poem, told of a young husband leading his wife upstairs to the bedroom when the lights in the house have failed.	268.61729375889627
The husband points the steps out with his flashlight "Its white stare filling her pale eyes To the blind brim with appetite, Bleaching her hands that grazed my thighs And sent us from the table in surprise To let the dishes soak all night," Mary Jane asked herself if Meredith was blushing at this line, or was it the fire?	1653.8226891644777
But he read on.	11.895582519323662
In the bedroom before the husband and wife find their way to the bed, the lights go on "In dull domestic radiance I watch her staring face, still blind, Start wincing in obedience To dirty waters, counters, pots and pans, Waiting below stairs, in her mind".	1967.8934604638966
Mary Jane took the page from him and began reading it, moving her lips with the words.	1640.1386150291228
"Oh, it's that myth, about Orpheus and h What is her name?	164.21609057612545
I can never pronounce it".	100.28732699741605
She repeated "Eurydice".	42.55844248051945
The third time rather urgently.	27.08263010236232
But with her hand poem again.	42.021619603403366
She raised her face and nodded, "It's sweet, and very sad".	158.50862384150395
They discussed the way people never tell each other the things on their minds.	120.35926739061988
They finished the small bottle of Steinhager.	86.34597315824468
She confessed she was unhappy, he asked was it her husband?	174.39755445251177
She began to explain, "There was this poet, in Italy h" He interrupted, "Please don't judge all poets".	336.99236977294237
They smiled.	11.013477772306464
At her door, two or three hours later, Mary Jane whispered, "Everyone is asleep".	321.86883446453203
Kissing her he whispered, several times, "Eurydice".	747.1175403886305
The third time rather urgently.	27.08263010236232
But with her hand softly on his cheek for a last moment, she closed the door and he went back down the hall and into his bed excited, expectant, and finally faintly grinning with the feel of her hand against his mouth.	1596.3685688585088
They were west of the Sabine, but only God knew where.	83.45063499947864
For three days, their stolid oxen had plodded up a blazing valley as flat and featureless as a dead sea.	2020.2337716894672
Molten glare singed their eyelids an angry crimson; suffocating air sapped their strength and strained their nerves to snapping; dust choked their throats and lay like acid in their lungs.	2803.6298676068272
And the valley stretched endlessly out ahead, scorched and baked and writhing in its heat, until it vanished into the throbbing wall of fiery orange brown haze.	952.6721067307427
Ben Prime extended his high-stepped stride until he could lay his goad across the noses of the oxen.	654.7990687215603
"Hoa-whup"!	95.85598248656227
he commanded from his raw throat, and felt the pain of movement in his cracked, black burned lips.	761.2819221691467
He removed his hat to let the trapped sweat cut rivulets through the dust film upon his gaunt face.	559.7813432172094
He spat.	17.18457329373195
The dust-thick saliva came from his mouth like balled cotton.	296.45228181234836
He moved back to the wheel and stood there blowing, grasping the top of a spoke to still the trembling of his played-out limbs.	377.4760757291171
The burning air dried his sweat-soaked clothes in salt-edged patches.	413.78408482532507
He cleared his throat and wet his lips.	89.27735692186292
As cheerfully as possible, he said, "Well, I guess we could all do with a little drink".	928.9274462511735
He unlashed the dipper and drew water from a barrel.	121.91711943882898
They could no longer afford the luxury of the canvas sweat bag that cooled it by evaporation.	293.4795909850363
The water was warm and stale and had a brackish taste.	96.06625008434304
But it was water.	8.488723840593286
Thank the Lord, they still had water!	108.20055886725252
He cleansed his mouth with a small quantity.	212.51060918827596
He took a long but carefully controlled draught.	86.3963174817582
He replenished the dipper and handed it to his young wife riding the hurricane deck.	257.6645845733457
She took it grudgingly, her dark eyes baleful as they met his.	183.20984617365187
She drank and pushed back her gingham bonnet to wet a kerchief and wipe her face.	491.1129692673706
She set the dipper on the edge of the deck, leaving it for him to stretch after it while she looked on scornfully.	254.51098523298631
"What happens when there's no more water"?	116.90446545964777
she asked smolderingly.	27.18909095364847
She was like charcoal, he thought- dark, opaque, explosive.	125.00435756752861
Her thick hair was the color and texture of charcoal.	121.48248970552886
Her temper sparked like charcoal when it first lights up.	244.99942517603938
And all the time, she had the heat of hatred in her, like charcoal that is burning on its under side, but not visibly.	202.01215862846578
A ripple ran through the muscles of his jaws, but he kept control upon his voice.	238.2252041627812
"There must be some water under there".	81.5268052281255
He tilted his homely face toward the dry bed of the river.	271.75174377823936
"We can get it if we dig", he said patiently.	105.95041735770496
"And add fever to our troubles"?	92.78155482515609
she scoffed.	29.447429927452077
"Or do you want to see if I can stand fever, too"?	2646.7518407312405
"We can boil it", he said.	13.99636320396597
Her chin sharpened.	48.40694327599025
"We're lost and burning up already", she bit out tensely.	130.27535174832215
"The tires are rattling on the wheels now.	81.28705924992288
They'll roll off in another day.	35.32530162871522
There was no valley like this on your map.	50.27815404251398
You don't even know where we're headed".	93.97762837633563
"Hettie", he said as gently as he could, "we're still headed west.	367.8804503654353
Somewhere, we'll hit a trail".	42.473110230358664
"Somewhere!"	15.390497682780238
she repeated.	16.209787926001738
"Maybe in time to make a cross and dig our graves".	280.4798420936765
His wide mouth compressed.	46.05488698298545
In a way, he couldn't blame her.	250.3424654705923
He had picked out this pathless trail, instead of the common one, in a moment of romantic fancy, to give them privacy on their honeymoon.	2590.7139321347354
It had been a mistake, but anything would have been a mistake, as it turned out.	117.61173602540867
It wasn't the roughness and crudity and discomfort of the trip that had frightened her.	157.8000217646054
She had hated the whole idea before they started.	73.18345953085766
Actually, she had hated him before she ever saw him.	315.1612410168311
It had been five days too late before he learned that she'd gone through the wedding ceremony in a semitrance of laudanum, administered by her mother.	307.60186521666424
The bitterness of their wedding night still ripped within him like an open wound.	271.1089967638691
She had jumped away from his shy touch like a cat confronted by a sidewinder.	311.83347845732453
He had left her inviolate, thinking familiarity would gentle her in time.	110.9315902372793
But each mile westward, she had hated him the deeper.	128.35124757591723
He stared at the dipper, turning it over and over in his wide, calloused hands.	112.10478990265312
"I suppose", he muttered, "I can sell the outfit for enough to send you home to your folks, once we find a settlement".	502.0046330467226
"Don't try to be noble"!	441.30140069387807
Her laugh was hard.	33.66335604976679
"They wouldn't have sold me in the first place if there'd been food enough to go around".	356.88461900175906
He winced.	15.910761854113929
"Hettie, they didn't sell you", he said miserably.	130.52250077581866
"They knew I was a good sharecrop farmer back in Carolina, but out West was a chance to build a real farm of our own.	729.1494243907
They thought it would be a chance for you to make a life out where nobody will be thought any better than the next except for just what's inside of them.	1056.7691136660058
Without money or property, what would you have had at Baton Rouge"?	262.80884249257906
"I might have starved, but at least I wouldn't be fried to a crisp and soaked with dirt"!	1167.8186327754097
He darkened under his heavy burn.	78.30469315331746
His blue eyes sought the shimmering sea of haze ahead.	224.13766836594525
To his puzzlement, there suddenly was no haze.	109.6743699667896
The valley lay clear, and open to the eye, right up to the sharp-limbed line of gaunt, scoured hills that formed the horizon twenty miles ahead.	1056.1978882047435
Then he noticed the clouds racing upon them- heavy, ominous, leaden clouds that formed even as they sliced over the crests of the surrounding hills.	566.8510874051126
He had never seen clouds like them before, but he had the primitive feel of danger that gripped a man before a hurricane in Carolina.	1944.4541090201167
He hollered hoarsely, "Hang on"!	135.86015090858595
and goaded the oxen as he yelled.	137.38404265182322
He wanted to turn them, putting the wagon against the storm.	144.47527333854197
Too late, he realized that in turning, he had wheeled them onto a patch of sandy ground, instead of atop a grade or ridge.	471.5605155256273
He swung up over the wheel.	33.896179262424425
"You had better get inside", he warned her.	73.34610846509923
But she sat on in stubborn silence.	61.978860094510175
The clouds bulged downward and burst suddenly into a great black funnel.	386.9504439293625
Frozen, they stared at it whirling down the valley, gouging and spitting out boulders and chunks of earth like a starving hound dog cracking marrowbones.	1372.4126516301055
The six-ton Conestoga began to whip and shake.	178.43803429977092
Their world turned black.	24.382372211985764
It was filled with dust and wind and sound and violence.	73.83688481685512
The heavens opened, pelting them with hail the size of walnuts.	183.80512327003783
And then came the water- not rain, but solid sheets that sluiced down like water slopping from a bucket.	373.88343154836696
Walls of water rushed down the slopes and filled the hollows like the crests of flash floods.	544.2799797930891
Through the splash of the rising waters, they could hear the roar of the river as it raged through its canyon, gnashing big chunks out of the banks.	462.71293495071
The jetting, frothing surface of the river reached the level of the runoff.	266.5308012590401
The dangerous current upon the prairie ceased, but the water stood and kept on rising.	222.85077969225202
They cringed under sodden covers, listening to the waves slop against the bottom.	341.1819661071338
The cloudburst cut off abruptly.	78.09438207079978
They were engulfed by the weird silence, broken only by the low, angry murmur of the river.	290.5316961261198
Then the darkness thinned, and there was light again, and then bright sunlight.	269.6444981494703
Beaten with fear and sound and wet and chill, they crawled to the hurricane deck and looked out haggardly at a world of water that reached clear to the surrounding hills.	1250.178816515797
The water level was higher than their hubs.	85.27129625618174
Only the heavy bones of the oxen kept them anchored.	151.04705255673318
There was no real sign of the river now, just a roiling, oily ribbon of liquid movement through muddy waters that reached everywhere.	885.8738239193771
Clumps of brush rode down the ribbon.	36.533366163638085
Now and then, the glistening side of a half-swamped object showed as it swept past.	150.14391766016362
The girl crawled out into the renewing warmth of the sunshine, hugging her shoulders and still trembling.	422.81309044391173
Her face was pale but set and her dark eyes smoldered with blame for Ben.	369.62810436574995
Out of compulsion to say something cheery, Ben Prime blurted, "Well, we were lucky to be on soft ground when the first floodheads hit.	1554.817142671227
At least, the wheels dug in.	137.20987084752232
The soaking will put life back in the wagon, too".	74.32935781113865
His wife didn't give a sign she'd heard.	113.1449959954007
She was watching a tree ride wildly down that roiling current.	213.86831870629737
Somebody was riding the tree.	31.079321054149666
It raced closer and they could see a woman with white hair, sitting astride an upright branch.	742.4727413816119
She did not call out.	14.40764294630159
But as the tree passed, she lifted an arm in gesture of better luck and farewell.	219.1450999887854
They watched the tree until it twisted sharply on a bend.	189.15187340437674
It speared up into the air, then sinking back, the up-jutting branch turned slowly.	275.5462589537749
The pale blob of the woman disappeared.	68.83232981865363
"There's the one who's lucky"!	87.76651471787457
the girl murmured harshly.	102.46549550860175
Ben's eyes strained with the bitter hurt, his homely face slashed with gray and crimson.	659.3494681858979
Then he took off his wet boots and dropped down into the water to talk with the beasts, needing their comfort more than they needed his.	1119.6153612049734
It was nearly sundown and he went to the back of the wagon, half-swimming his way, for he was not a tall man.	719.9606087285472
He let down the tailgate and was knocked over by the sluice of water.	126.7686336019448
He sputtered back to his feet and scrambled madly to pull his bags of seed grain forward.	718.2824905895869
They were already swollen to bursting.	54.253621826514696
Of all their worldly belongings, next to the oxen and his gun, the seed grain had been the most treasured.	256.2519256962173
It was spoiled now for seed, and it would sour and mold in three days if they failed to find a place and fuel to dry it.	325.2801801575524
The oxen might as well enjoy it.	50.228698110096225
He examined the water marks on the iron tires when the animals were finished.	166.83153995134435
The waters lay muddy but placid, without a ripple of movement against the wheels; there was not a match-width of damp mark to show they were receding.	1033.1486250625187
He doubted if a man could wade as far as the desolate, dry hills that rimmed the valley.	672.0865377057243
A terrible, numbing sense of futility swept over him.	143.2714383445162
He gripped the wheel hard to fight the despondency of defeat.	138.13160633513436
Then he noticed that the dry wood of the wheels had swollen.	109.34642493125106
The spokes were tight again, the iron tires gripped onto the wheels as if of one piece.	333.27252463315773
Hope surged within him.	41.765261481343856
He swung toward the front to give the news to Hettie, then stopped, barred from her by the vehemence of her blame and hate.	306.59939080003454
Still, he felt better.	62.4687027727593
A tight wagon meant so much.	78.84190606617776
He got a small fire started and put on bacon and coffee.	104.35412866732801
He poured the water off the sourdough and off the flour, salvaging the chunky, watery messes for biscuits of a sort.	453.8146280067548
Their jams and jellies had not suffered.	126.63588218312513
He found a jar of preserved tomatoes and one of eggs that they had meant to save.	178.87234246638639
Now he broke them open, hoping a good meal might lessen this depression crushing Hettie.	518.6855735582359
His long nose wiggled at the smells of frizzling bacon and heating java, but the fire was low, and he wanted to waste no time.	632.2169444278712
He furled the slashed sides of the canvas tarpaulins, leaving the ribs and wagon open.	519.6913158167878
He looked thoughtfully at his wife's trunk, holding her meager treasures.	315.0064528597539
He said hesitantly, "Hettie, I don't figure your things got wet too much.	225.65425938047954
That's a good trunk.	20.236744204077972
If you want to get them aired h" She said without turning her head, "After that rain beating in atop the dust, there isn't a thing that won't be streaked".	660.5632377965015
He drew a long breath and opened the trunk and hung out her clothes and spoilables upon the wagon ribs.	502.11858667028343
Sulphur, oil, and copra make the kind of tinder any firebug dreams of.	292.3896796547548
I suppose a Lascar sailor had sneaked a cigarette in the hold and touched off the blaze.	258.8539086332178
Now, roaring up in great oily clouds of smoke and flames, the fierce heat quickly drove us to the stern where we huddled like suffocating sheep, not knowing what to do h. The lifeboats were stuck fast.	738.287698370037
We couldn't budge them.	41.10870777987857
I heard a cry from a stoker as a pillar of flame leaped from a hatch and tongued the man's bare back.	454.5731737034898
He sprinted to the rail and leaped overboard into the shark-infested waters.	326.54018464426196
One especially bad detonation shook Lifeboat No 3 which trembled violently in the davits.	723.1304960521744
Brassnose yelled "Come on, Sommers, Max h step on it, we got a chance now.	776.8127954466651
Heave on those ropes; the boat's come unstuck".	342.78773144373173
We pulled and swore and yanked and wept, scraping our hands until they bled profusely.	582.1533948836793
The Bonaventure was quivering and lurching like an old spavined mare.	348.4784372180089
Her stern was down and a sharp list helped us to cut loose the lifeboat which dropped heavily into the water.	734.9379608128584
Brassnose, Max and I leaped into the sea and swam to the boat.	155.04633139055457
"Let's get away fast", said Brassnose, shaking water from his mop of bleached hair.	451.5475685798344
"That tub is going to explode all at once".	305.8106397726176
Then the Bonaventure seemed to disintegrate with a roar of live steam, geysers of sparks and flames, and a dense cloud of black-and-orange smoke.	532.8596303946958
Dimly, we heard the voices of men in mortal agony but we couldn't go back into that inferno.	477.6154947118896
Already our leaky lifeboat was filled with five inches of water.	208.28843791542116
"Sommers, you bale while we row", Brassnose commanded.	317.92337842897973
As best as I could determine, we were some 700 miles west of New Guinea, in the Bismark Archipelago.	369.45027843398873
Three days previously, we had steamed past barren Rennell Island in the distance.	545.596004330324
Now we peered anxiously for any speck of land in the Pacific, for this interminable bailing would have to stop soon.	820.3680519058123
There were gigantic blisters and rope burns on our hands; our muscles were hot wires of pain.	385.9651415222908
Brassnose was strangely silent.	79.61677776751017
The big man with the whitened hair murmured something his words sounded as if they were in the Manu tongue, which I recognized, having studied the dialect in my Anthropology /6, class at the University of Chicago.	870.0777542033793
He then said something which struck a chord in my memory.	110.7198269197677
"God help us if we're near the island of Eromonga.	225.77497943937522
We'd be in real trouble then.	23.204429843196547
I'd rather keep bailing- or sink".	170.10885186182847
I was puzzled by the remark, then I recalled the voice of mild Professor Howard Griggs three years ago in a university lecture on primitive societies.	879.2919168543323
He had been speaking of this archipelago "Even when the islands were under German mandate before World War /1,, Europeans gave Eromonga a wide berth.	372.98000358357325
The place is inhabited by several hundred warlike women who are anachronisms of the Twentieth Century- stone age amazons who live in an all-female, matriarchal society which is self-sufficient".	1555.5377363320401
I remembered, too, the jesting voice of a classmate, Bobby Pauson "But how do they reproduce, Dr Griggs?	578.324407181334
I'm sure that males have something to do with that process"!	52.668791118439664
There had been classroom guffaws which quickly subsided as Professor Griggs said dryly "I see your point, Pauson.	668.6116874242491
Of course, males play a role there, but believe me when I say you wouldn't enjoy yourself one bit on Eromonga.	364.6564532076139
Indeed, you wouldn't live long, for the females either drive the men they've seized from neighboring islands back to their boats after exploiting them for amatory purposes, or they destroy them by revolting but ingenious methods.	884.0188700323706
In fact, one important aspect of their very religion is the annihilation of men".	62.62701563217426
"I think I know what you mean, Brassnose", I said.	135.35647077164938
"I know something about Eromonga.	43.62814067957748
Let's hope we come to a safer place".	361.97309435869056
But we didn't.	10.123321202422986
Three hours later, while we were bailing desperately, a dot of land came into view.	484.77108188544025
Foster Lukuklu Frayne made a sign over his heart with his two linked thumbs I recognized it as an ancient Manu gesture intended to propitiate the Devil.	1417.7192059128038
A half-hour passed; we had drifted closer.	217.94387197667376
In a voice so frightened as to seem not his own, the big bo'sun's mate quavered "Tchalo!	595.4642698524808
It is Eromonga- look hard, you can see with your naked eye the wooden scaffolding on the cliff".	234.94199457732756
I squinted at the looming shoreline.	84.4274501038018
There was a wooden tower or derrick there, something like a ski jump; it was perhaps 80 feet high and had been artfully constructed of logs.	460.7559444034232
A fine example of engineering in a primitive society.	73.82138885997561
"What is the scaffolding for, Brassnose"?	52.04486458300531
He made a sound of despair deep in his throat.	113.75773837571344
It was embarrassing to see strapping, blonde Brassnose comport himself like a child who talks about bogeymen.	609.4643577024167
"Aaa-ee!	95.85598248656227
It is their tultul, the 'jumping platform' of death.	78.23640644843951
It is the last of the three tests of manhood which the women impose, to discover if a male in worthy of survival there.	1418.975678885327
Often, I heard my uncles and cousins speak of it when I was a small boy growing up in Rabaul.	925.3087442055917
They had never seen a tultul but they had heard about it from their fathers".	546.7773601127295
Our lifeboat was filling rapidly and despite what I had heard of the inhabitants of Eromonga, I was glad to see a long and graceful outrigger manned by three bronzed girls glide out of a lagoon into the open sea and toward our craft.	2840.2938085464593
I expected Brassnose- as a man with a strain of Melanesian in his blood- to speak to them.	858.1738926286486
But he had turned a sickly green and appeared tongue-tied or panicked.	326.56543108908784
So, I mustered my few words of the Manu dialect and said, "We greet you in peace.	417.8510915696654
In ngandlu.	16.950021347712063
My friends and I come from a ship which was destroyed by fire.	301.85685769760994
We are thirsty and hungry; our sore and burned hands and arms need attention".	244.89329749141737
The girl in the prow of the outrigger turned a smile like a beacon on me.	167.02690652422984
I noted that her full breasts were bare and that she wore a garland of red pandanus fruit in her blue-black hair.	600.5921514668679
She said, "My name is Songau and these girls are Ponkob and Piwen.	147.03421968835957
You are welcome to Eromonga.	42.16546614312477
My people await you on the shore.	231.590307813536
You shall have food, water and rest".	52.825976389405945
Thirty minutes later, the outrigger grated on sand and other girls, waiting on shore, rushed forward to pull it up on the beach and make it fast with vine ropes to a large boulder.	920.3852406395199
I saw a dozen or so other outriggers moored there.	55.55128413414633
I looked.	7.472278217004978
All my rosy visions of rest and even pleasure on this island vanished at the sight.	297.9788607665796
There was a mound of bleached human bones and skulls at the base of the big wooden derrick.	408.96269135006423
Some had been there for years; others still had whitened shreds of decayed flesh sticking to them.	346.6688809415099
There was one object which sickened yet fascinated me.	98.6054831895305
This was also a corpse- a male, judging from the coral arm bands, the tribal scars still discernible on the maggoty face, the painted bone of the warrior caste which still pierced the septum of the rotting nose.	1300.7163385033773
The body may have been two or three weeks' dead.	199.41725781155867
I looked with revulsion at the legs.	37.62024051095213
They were shattered.	11.098044909657172
Many small bones protruded crazily from the shreds of flesh.	249.09480566099404
The man must have leaped to his death from the topmost rung of the tultul.	423.1461723188893
As if divining my thoughts, the girl Songau smiled warmly and said in the casual tone an American woman might use in describing her rose garden "This is our tultul, a jumping platform, maku.	1023.05629626021
Later, you shall know it better.	32.35711857574705
Is it not well-made?	85.6901506414696
Our old one blew down in a storm at the time of the pokeneu festival fifteen moons ago.	514.0476279446904
It took thirty of our women almost six moons to build this one, which is higher and stronger than the old one.	802.1244088293248
We are very proud of it".	14.482841986212199
"You have every right to be", I replied gravely in the Manu dialect, but my attention was fixed on Brassnose, the biggest and strongest of us.	976.3043514898253
He looked as if he was going to keel over.	274.6211844159282
I felt a queasiness in my own stomach but it wouldn't do to show these girls that we were afraid.	275.73123037873467
Not so soon, anyway.	21.623729887348443
I clapped the big man with the bleached hair on his shoulder and said heartily, hoping it would make an impression on the women "This one is the maku Frayne.	560.2825404261166
He speaks your language too, for he is the grandson of a chieftain on Taui who made much magic and was strong and cunning.	357.3681587482851
The maku Frayne has inherited this strength from his grandfather".	218.7417042539937
This was the worst thing I could have said.	87.8196706598016
Brassnose turned a stricken face toward me and said brokenly, "Sommers, you meddling Yank, you're a fool!	658.2506109655665
They despise males who brag of their strength; they destroy such men with their damned tests.	404.6987881902124
You've ruined me, blast you"!	56.52218599855093
At first, I thought he was out of his head, talking wildly like this.	2028.0283849803327
But a glance at Songau and the other women confirmed what Brassnose had blurted out.	310.3660790871901
The women's faces had hardened after my statement.	95.90814606705754
At a nod from Songau, four lithe and muscular girls darted to Frayne's side and seized him by the arms.	355.87742840995753
The man was an ox and he put up a creditable struggle; but four Eromonga women are more than a match for the strongest male that ever lived.	645.9044345887634
Besides, terror had sapped some of Frayne's vitality and will.	155.56019665407635
My last impression as they led him off to a stockade was of his pale face In the Manu tongue, "eromonga" means manhood- a quality which the women derisively toasted in weekly feasts at which great quantities of a brew like kava were imbibed.	1877.2581244006274
In the hut to which I was assigned- Max had his own quarters- my food was brought to me by a wrinkled crone with bare drooping breasts who seemed to enjoy conversing with me in rudimentary phrases.	1395.9376455128559
Her name was L'Turu and she told me many things.	112.67509333224909
For an anthropologist, loquacious old L'Turu was a mine of information.	204.8173520583315
Though I had a great dread of the island and felt I would never leave it alive, I eagerly wrote down everything she told me about its women.	1203.5407319079952
Her account was later confirmed by the Scobee-Frazier Expedition from the University of Manitoba in 1951.	357.47069464862204
From L'Turu, I heard that until about 1850 the people of this island- which was about the size of Guam or smaller- had been of both sexes, and that the normal family life of Melanesian tribes was observed here with minor variations.	630.1452699209251
But in the middle of the last century an island woman named "Karipo" seized a spear in the heat of an inter-tribal battle and rallied the women after their men had fled.	736.9574712906227
Miraculously, Karipo and her women had succeeded in driving a hundred invaders from the isle of Pamasu back to their war canoes, after considerable loss of life on both sides.	1079.402625480828
Karipo was something of a politician as well as a militarist.	869.2012833841319
She quickly exploited the exalted position she now occupied, by harassing the disorganized males and even putting many of them to death.	2161.018698361157
Within a decade or less, few men were left and a feminist society had sprung up.	444.3068014968323
"Karipo was great goddess, told our mothers that men were not necessary except to father children", the crone told me.	435.85140395307656
"All men went away from here.	46.99577832692893
Those who stayed had to pass tests.	46.60770848811617
Few passed".	13.045841204988072
She cackled with mirth, showing the stumps of betel-stained teeth.	319.0369005580772
"Karipo's women then named this place 'Eromonga'- manhood- for just the strongest men could stay here.	545.7567942617967
Come, I show you".	30.834841538661248
The old woman arose stiffly and led me to a clearing where a small hut stood.	228.2584172221853
In the shade of a palm tree in front of the squalid dwelling I saw four figures in a semi-circle on the ground.	236.78609601612754
"I guess he spent the morning getting himself all organized, then headed for home.	145.95928247973842
Maybe to beat up on his squaw".	86.05621638190975
Benson looked up and saw Ramey's long head tilt forward to rub his chin on the stiff edge of the overall bib.	1039.7548894040003
Ramey reached out with the tire iron and dislodged a chunk of mud that was caked on the spare tire rack.	802.1034851627991
"I'd like to know just which it is that those guys don't understand, the liquor or automobiles".	650.4725054707916
Somehow the thought of a simple man bewildered by things no one had ever really helped him understand moved the driver.	248.17548620819176
For a moment his hatred toward drunken or careless drivers softened.	228.25794831959507
Maybe the Indian wasn't too much at fault, Ramey thought.	206.6057740194957
Maybe he was only doing the best he knew how, like any of us.	153.91480263903765
Anyway, he doesn't deserve to lie there in the sun and be stared at.	620.3674252936006
"Ever see yourself spread out on the pavement, Benny"?	255.63105213786204
he said to his partner.	906.5332483294316
293.50395706835184