"Those. Haven't you heard? The Incinerators. Oh, of course, they hadn't
anything of that sort in your time. Had some bad luck with them. An
explosion in Salem and one here, all in a forty-eight hour period. You
looked as if you were going to speak; what is it?"
"I was thinking," said Lantry. "How fortunate I got out of my coffin
when I did. I might well have been thrown into one of your Incinerators
and burned up."
"That would have been terrible, wouldn't it have?"
"Quite."
Lantry toyed with the dials on the beetle dash. He wouldn't go to Mars.
His plans were changed. If this fool simply refused to recognize an act
of violence when he stumbled upon it, then let him be a fool. If they
didn't connect the two explosions with a man from the tomb, all well
and good. Let them go on deluding themselves. If they couldn't imagine
someone being mean and nasty and murderous, heaven help them. He rubbed
his hands with satisfaction. No, no Martian trip for you, as yet,
Lantry lad. First we'll see what can be done boring from the inside.
Plenty of time. The Incinerators can wait an extra week or so. One has
to be subtle, you know. Any more immediate explosions might cause quite
a ripple of thought.
McClure was gabbling wildly on.
"Of course, you don't have to be examined immediately. You'll want a
rest. I'll put you up at my place."
"Thanks. I don't feel up to being probed and pulled. Plenty of time in
a week or so."
They drew up before a house and climbed out.
"You'll want to sleep, naturally."
"I've been asleep for centuries. Be glad to stay awake. I'm not a bit
tired."
"Good." McClure let them into the house. He headed for the drink bar.
"A drink will fix us up."
"You have one," said Lantry. "Later for me. I just want to sit down."
"By all means sit." McClure mixed himself a drink. He looked around the
room, looked at Lantry, paused for a moment with the drink in his hand,
tilted his head to one side, and put his tongue in his cheek. Then he
shrugged and stirred the drink. He walked slowly to a chair and sat,
sipping the drink quietly. He seemed to be listening for something.
"There are cigarettes on the table," he said.
"Thanks." Lantry took one and lit it and smoked it. He did not speak
for some time.
Lantry thought, I'm taking this all too easily. Maybe I should kill
and run. He's the only one that has found me, yet. Perhaps this is all
a trap. Perhaps we're simply sitting here waiting for the police. Or
whatever in hell they use for police these days. He looked at McClure.
No. They weren't waiting for police. They were waiting for something
else.
McClure didn't speak. He looked at Lantry's face and he looked at
Lantry's hands. He looked at Lantry's chest a long time, with easy
quietness. He sipped his drink. He looked at Lantry's feet.
Finally he said, "Where'd you get the clothing?"
"I asked someone for clothes and they gave these things to me. Darned
nice of them."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account