Sylviana knew nothing of this tragedy, or of the menace to himself and
others that he had since become. She saw only the obvious way that he
looked at her, and the effect it had on Kalus. The man-child rose
instinctively, as if she were in danger, and would have strode down the
hill sword in hand to confront him. But Smith, who had seen the sudden
brush-fire of his eyes, seized hold of his arm protectively.
'Easy, Kalus. That's William. We'll go down together.'
There in the depression, stiff introductions were made. Kalus, with the
help of Smith beside him, managed to restrain his emotions, though
making no attempt to conceal them. For his own part, William sneered at
him indifferently, and continued to bathe Sylviana with mock interest
and open lust. His only reply to her question, 'Why haven't I
seen you before?' was a rude:
'Him Tarzan, you Jane. Me come back tomorrow.' And he had taken
some food, without asking or thanks, and made off the way he had come.
'How can you let him treat you that way?' demanded Kalus.
Since the question was directed at no one in particular, Ruth Welles
replied, neither apologizing nor defending their actions. She was a
tall, serious woman in her mid thirties, with pincers of brown hair
surrounding a pleasant face and striking eyes, which revealed to those
who knew how to look, a nature both stubborn and compassionate.
'That's just his way,' she said, 'And there are reasons for
it. We've all been hurt and bereft by the War, but his pain.....
Let's just say it's much harder for him to forgive and go one, and
that we're all worried about him, because we do care.'
'But he won't let anyone come close enough to help him,' added
Smith. 'He storms in and out for food, occasionally takes wine or
medicine along with it, and that's all we ever see of him. We helped
him set up a laboratory, before we knew what it was for. We considered
smashing it afterward, but what can you do for someone who makes his own
poison, and flaunts his own destruction?'
'Why?' asked Sylviana. 'What does he use the lab for?'
'To make LSD,' said Welles sadly. 'If there were poppies on
the island, no doubt he'd make heroin as well.'
Kalus found himself breathing heavily, unable to control it. He began
to pace a short distance from them, then suddenly turned and came back,
his manner tense and worried.
'Maybe I am wrong to say this. Maybe I have no right. But I
don't trust that one, and I don't want him near me or mine.' He
looked squarely at Sylviana. 'If you have any sense left you will
stay away from him, whatever you think of me. He means to hurt you, or
I know nothing at all.'
But her gaze was equally unyielding. 'I will see, or befriend,
whoever I DAMN well please, and you have nothing to say about it.'
And she returned to her work, as if he wasn't there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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