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the bath, but he had not anticipated the Soporite. It was luck, purely, that they had not
searched the toes of his boots. He would have to be more careful henceforward. He put the
mask into a boot pocket and clipped it shut. He picked up the boots; they had been polished
while he slept, which was good of someone, and showed the almost instinctive respect
which the farm-boy had for boots, anyone�s boots. His clothes had been put through the
Refresher Spray as well. The shining plastic fibers of which they were composed had a
brand-new smell about them. The pockets were all empty, of course, but underneath the
chair all the contents were in a careless heap. He sorted them out. Nothing seemed to be
missing. Even the handkerchief and coins from his boot pockets were there. He put on
underclothes and socks, the one-piece overall, and then the boots. He was buckling his belt
when a brown-bearded farmboy stepped in. David looked up. He said coldly, �What do you
want, Zukis?� The farmboy said, �Where do you think you�re going, Earthie?� His little
eyes were glaring viciously, and to David the other�s expression was much the same as it
had been the first day he had laid eyes on him. David could recall Hennes�s sand-car
outside the Farm Employment Office, himself just settling into the seat, and the bearded
angry face glowering at him, while a weapon fired before he could move to defend himself.
�Nowhere,� said David, �that I need ask your permission.� �That so? You�re wrong,
mister, because you�re staying right here. Hennes�s orders.� Zukis blocked the door with
his body. Two blasters were conspicuously displayed at either side of his drooping belt.
Zukis waited. Then, his greasy beard splitting in two as he smiled yellowly, he said, �Think
maybe you�ve changed your mind, Earthie?� �Maybe,� said David. He added,
�Someone got in to see me just now. How come? Weren�t you watching?� �Shut up,�
snarled Zukis. �Or were you paid off to look the other way for a while? Hennes might not like
that.� Zukis spat, missing David�s boots by half an inch. David said, �You want to toss out
your blasters and try that again?� Zukis said, �Just watch out if you want any feeding,
Earthie.� He closed and locked the door behind him as he left. A few minutes passed and
there was the sound of clattering metal against it as it opened again. Zukis carried a tray.
There was the yellow of squash on it and the green of something leafy. �Vegetable salad,�
said Zukis. �Good enough for you.� A blackened thumb showed over one end of the tray.
The other end balanced upon the back of his wrist so that the farmboy�s hand was not
visible. David straightened, leaping to one side, bending his legs under him and bringing
them down upon the mattress of the bed. Zukis, caught by surprise, turned in alarm, but
David, using the springs of the mattress as extra leverage, launched into the air. He collided
heavily with the farmboy, brought down one hand flatly on the tray, ripping it out of the
other�s grasp and hurling it to the ground while twining his other hand in the farmboy�s
beard. Zukis dropped, yelling hoarsely. David�s booted foot came down on the farmboy�s
hand, the one that had been hidden under the tray. The other�s yell became an agonized
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scream as the smashed fingers flew open, releasing the cocked blaster they had been
holding. David�s hand whipped away from the beard and caught the other�s unharmed
wrist as it groped for the second blaster. He brought it up roughly, across the prone chest,
under the head and out again. He pulled. �Quiet,� he said, �or I�ll tear your arm loose
from its socket.� Zukis subsided, his eyes rolling, his breath puffing out wetly. He said,
�What are you after?� �Why were you hiding the blaster under the tray?� �I had to protect
myself, didn�t I? In case you jumped me while my hands were full of tray?� �Then why
didn�t you send someone else with the tray and cover him?� �I didn�t think of that,�
whined Zukis. David tightened pressure a bit and Zukis�s mouth twisted in agony.
�Suppose you tell the truth, Zukis.� �I�I was going to kill you.� �And what would you have
told Makian?� � �You were�trying to escape.� �Was that your own idea?� �No. It was
Hennes�s. Get Hennes. I�m just following orders.� David released him. He picked up one
blaster and flicked the other out of its holster. �Get up.� Zukis rolled over on one side. He
groaned as he tried to lift his weight on a mashed right hand and nearly torn left shoulder.
�What are you going to do? You wouldn�t shoot an unarmed man, would you?�
�Wouldn�t you?� asked David. A new voice broke in. �Drop those guns, Williams,� It
said crisply. David moved His head quickly. Hennes was in the doorway, blaster leveled.
Behind him was Makian, face gray and etched with lines. Hennes�s eyes showed his
intentions plainly enough and his blaster was ready. David dropped the blasters he had just
torn from Zukis. �Kick them over,� said Hermes. David did so. �Now. What happened?�
David said, �You know what happened. Zukis tried a little assassination at your orders and I
didn�t sit still and take it.� Zukis was gabbling. �No, sir, Mr. Hennes. No, sir. It was no such
thing. I was bringing in his lunch when he jumped me. My hands were full of tray; I had no
chance to defend myself.� �Shut up,� said Hennes contemptuously. �We�ll have a talk
about that later. Get out of here and be back with a couple of pinions in less than no time.�
Zukis scrambled out. Makian said mildly, �Why the pinions, Hennes?� �Because this man
is a dangerous impostor, Mr. Makian. You remember I brought him in because he seemed
to know something about the food poisoning.� �Yes. Yes, of course.� �He told us a story
about a younger sister being poisoned by Martian jam, remember? I checked on that. There
haven�t been too many deaths by poisoning that have reached the authorities the way this
man claimed his sister�s death had. Less than two hundred and fifty, in fact. It was easy to
check them all and I had that done. None on record involved a twelve-year-old girl, with a
brother of Williams� age, who died over a jar of jam.� Makian was startled. �How long
have you known this, Hennes?� �Almost since he came here. But I let it go. I wanted to see
what he was after. I set Griswold to watching him � �To trying to kill me, you mean,�
interrupted David. �Yes, you would say that, considering that you killed him because he was
fool enough to let you suspect him.� He turned back to Makian. �Then he managed to
wiggle himself in with that soft-headed sap, Benson, where he could keep close check on
our progress in investigating the poisoning. Then, as the last straw, he slipped out of the
dome three nights ago for a reason he won�t explain. You want to know why? He was
reporting to the men who hired him�the ones who are behind all this. It�s more than just a
coincidence that the ultimatum came while he was gone.� �And where were you?�
demanded David suddenly. �Did you stop keeping tabs on me after Griswold died? If you
knew I was gone on the kind of deal you suspected, why wasn�t a party sent out after me?�
Makian looked puzzled, and began, �Well � But David interrupted. �Let me finish, Mr.
Makian. I think that maybe Hennes wasn�t in the dome the night I left and even the day and
night after I left. Where were you, Hennes?� Hennes stepped forward, His mouth twisting. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]