The Night of the Long Knives

triumph where al

the spoils that h

lain on his own

lies

saken

rles S

as up again and there was a blue nimbus on another button. For Los Alamos, I supposed. I was tempted to push it and get away solo, but t

I saw a little patch of silver off to one side and remembered the gu

l them," Alic

Hindus use them to take care of de

" Alice a

meant. Give you a nice clean

heard the flies buzzing loudly. I felt terrible. I wanted to b

ut her before, because you were both in a mood to try to rub out anybody remotely connected with the Pilot. In fact, I did my best to lead you astray, letting you think I'd been the o

ot at us or something?" Not that I'd have minded on m

n't think she's in a position to do any shooting. You'll

edge just inside the open-walled first story of the cracking plant. H

tom of the shaft," he said. "Come on, let's se

s about twenty feet deep. There were foot- and hand-holds. It got stuf

rough it. When we could straighten up we were in a large and luxurious bomb-

l structure of the cracking plant. And there were signs of occupancy, a young woman's occupancy-clothes scattered around in a frivolous way, and some small objects of art, and a slightly more than life-size head in clay that I gues

antly struck me as having a living personality, partly the Pilot's and partly someone else's-

t look-over, because my attention was rivetted almost at once on a

a goddess. Her hair was blonde and her skin tanne

ed towards us, was hollow-cheeked and flushed. Her eyes, closed, were sunken and dark-circ

the heat in the place was coming fro

round temple, the bed Death's altar, and the woman Death's sacrifice. (Had I unconsciously come

iles of my libido, but there was anoth

uxury, then I'

l I had no props left, until I wanted to die t

taken the steel cube out of my pocket and holding it snuggled between my first and second fingers I'

kind of instructions even half in fun, unless you're prepar

So you had to die after all, Ray," he said softly.

a very faint milky cloud a few inches

son gas, I jerked away a l

demanded of no

microscopic you wouldn't see it unless you looked for it hard. Ray, I don't think you're going to get your baby A-blast, and what's more I'

pull the brother of my

iskey in your satchel when we got the salve. W

hile her eyes were looking her pliers and h

sick woman's nearest buttock and jammed the

ypodermic, fo

there was the welt to su

lague is tough. Now I guess there's nothing f

n beyond all

get that idea for a steel hospital?" Don't think I was feelin

hat bout with Los Alamos fever I told you. They've had a lot of trouble with it, I believe-some say its spores come from outside the world with the cosmic dust-a

b harder. Very recently they'd found a promising treatment (cure, we hoped) and prepared it for rush shipment to Atla-Hi, where the plague was raging too and they were sieged in by Savannah as well. Grayl was picked to fly the serum, or drug o

she's his girl

an's stuff he was carrying, frilly things like a man would brin

st have been using jets to hurry

ng to figure out what goes on inside a "country" like Atla-Alamos and why are sort of like foxes trying to understand worl

when he spotted this woman's observatory and decided to hang around anonymously and watch over her for a

son, watching them without their knowing, would be the surest way to stir up in me the idea o

your own strength and stage of growth. Me, it helps to give myself these little j

rimage and the Boy Scouts all over

red him. Then when the plane landed she'd come up again, acting out of her head, but when she'd seen the Pilot and us going for him she'd given that scream and collapsed at the top of the shaft. He'd figured the only thing he could do for her was keep us occupied. Beside

the woman so closely. Now Alice called our attention to her. Her

e was doing that the woman came to in a groggy sort of way and Pop fed her

But she has been so close to death that I would feel I was robbing another murde

tle, I suppo

Certainly not out loud. I knew that they had changed

kness. It would serve us right, of course, but plague is plague. But Pop reassured us. "Actua

id he would, but his playing wasn't too bad. "Tenting Tonight

re clustered around the bed, smiling a little I suppose and looking inquiring. Being ev

Alice. Recognition came into her eyes. She drew away from us wit

went up and sewed him into it. I noticed a big needle and some thread in her satchel." He looked me in

. I gave Alice the hig

me sewed up in a blanket a big guy who'd been de

we'd finished

Alamos. She's not fit to travel, of course, but she's giving herself injections. It's none of our business. Incidentally, she

held her head high. She was wearing a dull silver tunic and sandals and cloak. As she passed me and Alice I could see the look of loathing come b

body and followed her. It was almost to

low the door. I thought, the Pilot must have had it keyed to her some w

ody above our heads, our arms straight, and we walked it

he plane took off into the orange haze,

t of way. I know I do. But take it from me, it won't last. A day or two and

n't shake Old Urge Number O

you. Guys I want you to meet. And there's t

y. (Not since the Pilot, in fact, but it doesn't do to boast.) We're making a stab (my language!) at doing the sort of work Pop does in the Deathl

medals, but they haven't sent a hangman's squad after us either-which is more than fair, you'll admit. But Savannah, turned back from Atla-Hi, is still goi

ngly well, a rumor that there's a new America growing in the Deathlands-an Ameri

E

riber'

research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication w