Ten minutes later, he stood in what was now a connecting double room,
watching Mother Corey nail up the hall door to the room that was to be
hers. There were no windows here, and his own room had an excellent lock
on it already--one he'd put on himself. Izzy came back as Mother Corey
finished the door and began knocking a small panel out of the connecting
door. The old man was surprisingly adept with his hands as he fitted
hinges and a catch to the panel, and re-installed it so that Sheila
could swing it open.
"They're married," Izzy said. "It's in the mail to the register, along
with the twenty credits. Gov'nor, we're about due to report in."
Gordon nodded. "Be with you in a minute," he said as he paid Mother
Corey for the materials and work. He jerked his head and the two men
went out, leaving him alone with Sheila.
"I'll bring you some food tonight. And you may not have a private bath,
but it beats the Chicken Coop. Here." He handed her the key to the
connecting door. "It's the only key there is."
Chapter XI
THE SKY'S THE LIMIT
All that day, the three rocket ships sat out on the field. Nobody went
up to them, and nobody came from them; surprisingly, Wayne had found the
courage to ignore them. But rumors were circulating wildly. Bruce Gordon
felt his nerves creeping out of his skin and beginning to stand on end
to test each breeze for danger.
With the credit they'd accumulated in the fund, nearly all their
collection was theirs. Gordon went out to do some shopping. He stopped
when his money was down to a hundred credits, hardly realizing what he
was doing. When he went out, the street was going crazy.
Izzy had been waiting, and filled him in. At exactly sundown, the rocket
ships had thrown down ramps, and a stream of jeeps had ridden down them
and toward the south entrance to the dome. They had presented some sort
of paper and forced the guard to let them through. There were about two
hundred men, some of them armed. They had driven straight to the huge,
barnlike Employment Bureau, had chased out the few people remaining
there, and had simply taken over. Now there was a sign in front which
simply said MARSPORT LEGAL POLICE FORCE HEADQUARTERS. Then the
jeeps had driven back to the rockets, gone on board, and the ships had
taken off.
Gordon glanced at his watch, finding it hard to believe it could have
been done so quickly. But it was two hours after sundown.
Now a car with a loudspeaker on top rolled into view--a completely
armored car. It stopped, and the speaker began operating.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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