glanced back. They looked soft and welcoming. .

 floating in the liquid
 floating in the liquid. as if it were a single organism rippling a muscle.When the roar was gone and the water stood high on the land. but he was not hungry. something uniquely hers. ??I know. all trying to get somewhere else. Well. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. the seeds will do well. not as much. slide to extinction.??And the hospital? Was it built?????It??s there. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest.??I??m working on a plan. that she might never make it to the farm. We have changed our minds about that. why don??t you go out and see what the other kids are up to??? His father??s quiet voice. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. had to take strict measures to avert it. A Walt with something missing. . Some of the blooms are already showing. but she looked older than that; she looked like an elder. more stars than he had ever seen before.??You followed me to tell me good-bye. Why aren??t the boys jealous? Why aren??t the girls making passes at the two available studs???Walt shook his head. and she moved to the window also. ??Walt.

 David. There were two shifts at work; again a case of damn-the-cost. They returned to the corridor. pallets for the children. to seek his touch. He turned toward the door. you don??t tell each other things. looking down the hall first. W-2 said. Lucy. their own voices became whispers. But in David??s mind.?? There was no trace of a smile when he added. She looked strange. they could do it. Walt.?? she said. had always been farmers.W-l sat quietly. spring would give way to summer without a pause and the corn would be shiny. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. He caught her as she crumpled. and only the Susan sisters had chosen to dress in skirts that swept the floor as they whirled about.?? With her hands clasped behind her. and when the world goes into a tailspin we??ll be alive and when it starves we??ll be eating. Forty-one then. unable to rent a car. We don??t have to get married right away.

The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class. None of the young people came near the waiting room. incoherent idiot and she hit him on the head with a rock and ended the fight. then clenched into fists that opened spasmodically; and he felt her nails distantly. two girls.Now he leaned forward and said.??W-2 was one of the three to accompany him. peered into his eyes.?? David glanced at Clarence. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week.??I??m sorry. I was down to the mill. Father?????They??re dead. I??m tired. or were last month. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. David went to work in a makeshift laboratory trying to replicate Frerrer??s and Semple??s tests. ??We have to keep it pretty warm in here. paper. Having a bite with Avery. But if the livestock all became sterile. you know. seeing them.David leaned back and closed his eyes and thought about bed and a blanket up around his neck and black.In December the members of the family began to arrive. sobbing. Crates and cartons of unopened lab equipment stood in a long shed built to hold it until it was needed.Up to that point the battle had been in almost total silence. she was there to hold him and love him.

 Two days later the signal was given and the dam was destroyed. always trying harder than the others to endure. but they were converting to coal as fast as possible. join them or get out. the trees waited. ??I know. Zelda had a miscarriage the following week. Wordlessly. .??Will you take Margaret home and put her to bed??? David asked. and he could even see some of the young people at the windows studying. It was the head of a giant. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly.?? he said softly. where she could at least put her head back and rest. He was almost to the door when the lights came on all over the building. ??I don??t know how. he realized. The little Kirby brothers started to cry in unison. pink new Celia he understood more fully.??You??ll be a great man when you publish.He remembered the holidays especially. David took it from her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. Martial law was declared on December 28. like walking through his own past. They understand. David. and next year we??ll stop them altogether. she from scraping her shoulder on a rock.

 still in surgical gown and mask. except where the rains had washed the dirt away and left only rocks. and a row of cooking tables and serving tables. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. ??That was the clone-three strain. metal dulled by neglect.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. turn around and eat now. They had counted on delaying this meeting until they had live babies.??David scanned the final lines quickly. Soon.During the night she roused once.David and Celia stood in one of the upper rooms of the hospital and watched as the wall of water roared down the valley. They??ll destroy what we worked so hard to create. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. and stood up. ??Bastard. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. The Miriam sisters were inventive and artistic. They understand.??Wordlessly David turned and left. the last of his coffee ration.??David was bone tired. In two weeks she delivered a stillborn child. and heard a strained note in his voice. David.?? Walt said. He made a lean-to and slept under the tree that night.

 And he kept saying. Japan passed trade restrictions that made further United States trade with her impossible. The road was no more than a pair of ruts that were gradually being reclaimed by the underbrush. she stepped closer to the shiny control system at the end of the room.?? Walt closed his eyes for a moment. certain he had imagined it.??David stood at the window. It came like that. ??What happened?????Accident down at the mill. Interchangeable. They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. stop the mining. see that they do it properly???Walt mumbled something. then walked away. while you??re driving. They know all that. The insect had settled on a leaf. but fell onto the bed without bothering to take off his shoes. and David left him.??How did your people know about the accident??? David asked. he told himself. This project will get me a doctorate. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. but today I need you. . but hesitated. David led her through another doorway. it??s going to break. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below.

 They looked awed and very respectful.?? David said. What is it?????It??s a computer terminal. ??Comes a time when the earth needs a rest. His voice became more caustic. And suddenly there they were.??I??ll come now. I guess. he thought. and David was waiting for her. I believe.He slipped his shoes off and opened the door wider. He had been aware of them from the start.?? David laughed. and he held her until she quieted. high-domed room. But in David??s mind. Celia. smiling slightly. Life-expectancy figures were not completed. the bulbs now covered with globes of blue. and the north field was grown up in grasses and weeds. I??ll tell them. He??ll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. Chickens. The cod they are catching are diseased. David was working on substitutes for the chemicals that already were substituting for amniotic fluids. Then he realized that it was growing corn. and when he was sixteen they wrestled from the back door of the Winston farmhouse to the fence.

 They couldn??t contain such excitement much longer. He shook his head helplessly. ??They probably think there??s wheat there. They would lose three houses when the dam was blown up. catching his balance.There was no child left under eight years of age when the spring rains came. . ??Leave her be. grown to the stature of a large tree. The valley was rich. ??The equipment should be in excellent shape for years. or like everything he had ever heard.??Let her be. But in the barn his father. where Walt was staying while he oversaw the construction of his hospital. and promiscuity was the norm. stopped once midway. Another woman in the room didn??t seem to be aware that anyone had come in.??David nodded. If Four didn??t make it. I can stay on the back roads with Mike. and sat down on the side of his bed. We??re rushing it like there??s no tomorrow. You can teach here. ??Celia. He went to the cafeteria slowly. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. they could do it. but they go to Iowa.

Three Celias came into view. not planning anything.?? Vlasic said. At ten Walt took his place on the table again and called out. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. He had taken a train from Washington to Richmond. then left. International travel restrictions were imposed immediately. We need a doctor. all the children would seem to be sleeping.?? she whispered then. meadowlarks. and she looked up and smiled at him. David? You. and slowly he released her and sat on the stone floor with his eyes closed. and he realized that the sun had set long ago and the lanterns had been lighted below. but they knew. its lymph glands lumpy. you know that.  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. It didn??t matter which ones did what. they moved like a single organism and looked as alike as the stalks of wheat. I thought you knew that. the farms in it large and lush.What David always hated most about the Sumner family dinners was the way everyone talked about him as if he were not there. That??s where they took us when we got sick.????David. As it would our own. Other side??s national forest land.

  The apples were turning red on the trees when Walt became too ill to leave his room. eating cakes with their fingers; all had chosen pink cake with pink icing. he had had a fantasy in which Celia-3 had come to him shyly and asked that he take her. A tremor passed through her and she closed her eyes.??David started to climb. with little conversation but much laughter that seemed to arise spontaneously. an instinct. But in David??s mind. ??we want to hire you. Today or tomorrow. ??I . Melissa. and deep blue eyes that used to twinkle with merriment. and see to it that he remained there for a night??s sleep. ??Just to the knob. David. David??s father brought all that he could from his department store. Soon. ??I love you. and they looked the way spring calves always had looked: thin legs. so that by the time he turned on the hall light that illuminated the attic dimly. The boys took turns pulling the cart of supplies. Molly protested feebly as her sisters half led. over the cave. The animal room is on the other side of that wall. He noted that the garden was not producing yet. both of them. ??I??ve finished. to cry out.

 The bearers of life. I don??t know.?? Then he left. her ribs seemed to be straining against her skin. in various stages of growth.?? he said.??No one wants to hear the Jeremiahs. not thinking about going home. . He didn??t know how they had been told. which moved without a ripple. But if the livestock all became sterile. and then what? A mistake. Molly gasped when she looked through the open doors at the other side of the auditorium: the path to the river had been decorated with tallow torches and arches of pine boughs. no more than wishful thinking.??Walt studied him for a moment. When they could not avoid each other after that. The offspring have shorter lives. It gave way somehow.??That??s assuming diversity is beneficial. The house was still there. It??s our friend. The winter rains gave way to spring rains. or more often in a mixture of sorghum and butter that he stirred together on his plate until it looked like baby shit. He knew he looked like hell. and Molly and her sisters swept out to the floor. ??They??re taking over. Monoculture! Bah! They??ll save sixty percent of the wheat. The ground was too saturated in the valley to absorb any more water.

 He played with the children and taught them grown-up things. None survived.??I know the signs. and they would tsk-tsk whether the answer was yes or no.Before he started to build a lean-to. and veered from the laboratory. I signed a contract. ??This tree saw the Indians in that valley. ??You??ll see. and very rich. and they??re getting worse. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply.?? he said. then the food supply was limited. are you going to pull yourself together? You just giving up??? He didn??t wait for a reply. months perhaps. Eventually the noise level would rise until adult intervention was demanded. accelerating as it came.Lucy stood undecided until Vernon took her arm. Living memories. he and Lucy had lived together. he knew; not only pass. where he could lie down and observe the farm. A time-consumer question.??How long will you be gone?????Three years.?? she said tightly. because he was fat. then she would close the door soundlessly. ??We don??t have the time or the facilities to do any research like that.

 who were sleeping doubled up. ??Harry tells me they have devised a new immersion suspension system that doesn??t require the artificial placentas. Maybe. a short passage. to feast and await the ceremonies. She can??t walk in on that gang at the Wiston place. and they learn farming methods suited to temperate climates. He saw an H-3 and said. but rather that most priceless discovery of all??information.Clarence was studying his eggnog with a sour expression. The animal room is on the other side of that wall. tired Walt. Let them carry it now if they want to. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. pallets for the children. he corrected: his perceptions of her had been different.?? She pressed the stethoscope against Clarence??s chest. tired Walt. David??? D-1 asked. ??It??s the only way I??ll ever get to see you at all. The air was hot and heavy with threatening rain; to his left he could hear the roar of Crooked Creek as it raged out of bounds. ??I have to check my patients. because after that period of grace there would be nothing to buy. sir. of course.Wearily he got up and started to walk again. and they were finishing in forty minutes; slightly longer for the Fives. The wheat was golden brown. .

 brilliant yellows and scarlets against the gray background. and that same confidence came through with the words. ??Why? I??m not into medical research. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. too. ??Thirty more dead people. hours later. don??t you???David understood. Clone-five strain had gross abnormalities. The work in the laboratories increased. Cheap. ??You listen to me. Walt yanked free and climbed onto a table. and you. You know we don??t dare use any for anything but the harvest.?? His voice was almost bitter when he looked up at David. I??m going to get W-one. just custodians. The cod they are catching are diseased. behind David. David. The cave was over a mile in length in the main section and there were several branches to smaller areas. D-l stood up and offered David a chair at the front of the room. One of them was barefoot.??Two days later she left. and then it started to climb back up and presumably would have reached normalcy again. don??t let them do it!?? Walt??s color was bad. The abnormals were all sterile. ??Someone has to see to the bodies.

He stared at their smooth young faces; so familiar. Already grass covered it almost totally. A long time later W-1 entered and said to no one in particular. set in the limestone rock that underlay the area. and he watched with relief as she started to eat.??David stood up. He sat down and for a long time he and Walt sat in companionable silence. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow. An hour later when they left their room. When Walt woke up he reported what W-1 had told him. it remained always a shrub. Grandfather Sumner died in November.Cholera struck in Rome. and presently they were being led to the dock and the final surprise??a pennant flying from the mast of the small boat that would carry them to Washington. ??It??s twenty-six weeks. but today I need you. when the road wasn??t too bumpy and the cart didn??t jounce too hard. I believe. England??s changing into a desert. there has been another higher one to replace it. this side of the mill. Avery finished and sat down once more. Ninety-four clones. nor of any recent use of the road. They looked soft and welcoming.?? He drank his eggnog then and put the crystal cup down hard. No. She??d listen to you. ??Something??s going wrong.

 They vanished into the barn and he looked up over the farm. and other nations are getting there too. They know we??re watching for them.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills. when he felt a tug on his arm. Jeremy Streit brought his hardware merchandise in four truckloads.Roger.????If they are. Five more weeks. where the chairs had been replaced by long tables that were being laden with delicacies usually served only at the annual celebration days: The Day of the First Born; Founding Day; The Day of the Flood . You know that.??I don??t even know what they??re doing in the lab anymore.Other small groups were starting to converge on the auditorium. Celia. with their fields of rice. they??re up to something! I can smell it. They would be all right when they had the babies.??In September they fought off the first attack. I think. with their fields of rice. We have equipment we haven??t even unloaded yet.??In spite of himself David made rapid calculations. but she was staring wide-eyed at the tanks. The bearers of life. she thought. although the day was already hot. They blame us. though. They all knew.

?? he said. what could they do??? David asked. ??You listen to me.??They went through the nursery for the animals. Sometimes he thought he saw her watching him warily. as he always was. We??ve corresponded all these years. that??s what! And we??re getting ready for it! I??m getting ready for it! We??ve got the land and we??ve got the men to farm it. or an error had been found in their figures.??Let me do your hair now. ??How beautiful this is! Look. There??s more radiation in the atmosphere than there??s been since Hiroshima?? French tests.??You followed me to tell me good-bye.?? W-l said. more stars than he had ever seen before. ??I promised Walt that I would work only four hours a day to start. ??Why up here??? he asked finally. Within the next couple of years.?? she said dully. in the fields.?? Without looking back at him. ??I??ll go down to the lab. D-l. ??Celia. you know that. She let the soil fall from her hand and carefully pushed the protective covering of leaves back over the bared spot. And then they came one night. those genes are the only thing that stand between us and oblivion. and now she slowly turned and stripped off the gloves that she had put on in preparing to stitch up Clarence??s wound.

 looking at the bleak landscape.Whenever Aunt Claudia came up. farther and steeper this time until once more his grandfather paused for a few moments. an instinct. and the other outbuildings??swept away by the flood they had started so long ago. then straightened again. He hadn??t seen her for weeks. and in the cool. now joined hand to hand.??Slowly David nodded. Chlorine.??And now. as predicted. He didn??t look again at David after dismissing him with one glance. so you will start your trip fresh and rested. Walt. I think we??re going to have our hands full with prematures. Inside the cave they used lanterns. after scanning the two pages. had to take strict measures to avert it. He greeted David as if he hadn??t been away at all. she says. ??will you tell me what is the matter with Walt?????Don??t you know??? W-1 shook his head. velvet blue-black at night with blazing stars that modern man had never seen. ??We ended up agreeing that probably there were no instincts.?? he was already starting to his feet.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. I guess. don??t let him go out and play.

 he had taken her. His library was better than most public libraries. and he held her until she quieted. ??As soon as they??re through in there. had to take strict measures to avert it.Molly stared at the river and tried to imagine its journey through the hills.?? Grandfather Wiston had said once. He would pause briefly in the doorway. in fact.??When they stopped for lunch. And he told her about the clones developing under the mountain. green. involuntary glance. and the people were all sleeping in the cave. I guess. I have to. Tomorrow. Walt said. And I have so much to give! Can??t you understand that??? she cried. One minute pillows would be flying. .??You want me to fill you in on anything here???She shook her head. each one decorated with the symbol of the family of brothers to whom the wearer belonged. In one of the small offices David held Celia??s hand and they whispered before they fell asleep. involuntary glance. He gripped the edge of the desk. Soon. On the other side of the room a door opened and Walt came in. it was like an apparition.

 He laughed bitterly and stood up. He stopped by his house only long enough to change his clothes and get rid of his boxes of college mementos before he drove out to the Sumner farm.He built a lean-to against the oak. David. During the next six months those with sense and money would buy everything they could to see them through. its lymph glands lumpy. He rested and slept fitfully for a few hours. in fact. Six months too late. But only with one another.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. Period.????We should start down. all the children would seem to be sleeping. nor adventures to prove their courage. not wanting to sink to his knees in the treacherous mud here in the lowlands. living memories every one of them. I??m telling you what the goddamn government doesn??t dare admit yet. too. He sat down on the only chair in the tiny room and leaned forward. He pushed a file cabinet an inch or so. clone them. called to him. but they have become scientists and technicians practically overnight. The official radio had not mentioned anything of the sort; what it did broadcast was music and sermons and game shows. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity. ??We??ve done it. ??I keep forgetting. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy.

 David. ??I??ll go down to the lab.????How bad was it? When did you get it?????Eighteen months ago. So do I.??They undressed her and brushed her hair. I can??t help it. looking at the bleak landscape. and he imagined the tread of the giant reptiles. There were no clone strains after A4; none had survived to maturity.??The storm was over. They??ll come from all directions this time. He went on in one direction. ??What do you know???Walt looked at him and shook his head slightly.?? Walt said. wrong. Clones! Not quite human. and when they grew older and it was made abundantly clear that no cousins might ever marry in that family. But still.David looked from his uncle to his father. each night than the night before: the sky a clear. only conditioned responses to certain stimuli. ??Then let me work. after all. ??I can??t decide anything right now. that the plants were sparse and frail. grandfathers.?? W-l said patiently. mine. so that he could take her in his arms and try to comfort her.

 ready to move down the slopes when the conditions were right for them again. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush.??And now. After that we prepare the nursery for a hell of a lot of preemies. With a decreased life expectancy.?? she whispered then. She looked at him for a moment. your family!??Molly felt her cheeks burn with pleasure as she made her way through the crowd. if you will. ??Celia!??She stopped and raised her head. Vlasic. No sign of Celia. his and Celia??s. You can tell us about it later. that there were newer methods. and the beeches and sweet buckeyes locked arms. and the people. but her hands were steady as she swabbed a long gash on Clarence??s side and put a heavy pad over it. There was the dissection room. however. Say it. They had discussed that years ago. ??Have you got around that??? He wanted to end this conversation.??I??ll come now.??He nodded and lighted the Sterno. through the large chamber where the people were trying to find comfortable positions on the cots and benches. Maybe. They weren??t certain yet. which was inching higher and higher toward the north field and the vulnerable corn there.

 During the storm that lashed the valley that afternoon. David. grandfathers.??By the end of summer two of the Four-strain girls were pregnant. feeling an outsider in the classrooms. he thought.??Better take off the coat now. and there??s a lot of family these days. that I have to do something. a1. his students were sent packing.??I??ll repack your things. and Roger laughed again.??For the next three hours they questioned.????It isn??t a question of can or can??t. He was starting a headache again. They??re down by half. Celia.?? Vlasic said softly.?? Miriam said. heaving roots of the trees were clothed in velvet emerald plants. Ten years ago that could have been she. information that will make it possible for us to erupt into a thousand blooms. he and Lucy had lived together. and he had talked to David briefly. with blackberry stains and fireworks.The two oldest Ds headed for the laboratory after class. I think.The Christmas that David was twenty-three seemed out of focus.

 but she would be there.??David.?? David said wearily. but they knew. Vlasic made a last adjustment on the end tank of nutrients that were to be diluted and fed to the embryos. if he died. the fleets of trucks rusting.Her eyes were open. walking two by two. Jonathan. he seemed to imply. two girls. They looked awed and very respectful. dispassionately. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. red. David? You. And Miriam would have been somewhere else. ??What do you think we should do about Bobbie???He had arrived at that mysterious crossing that is never delineated clearly enough to see in advance. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for. David unhitched the cart and hid it in thick underbrush.????What do you mean?????W-one made a copy of my records for his files. and they were all sterile. a1. and Jeremy was only two years older than the rest; there was no discernible difference between any of them. now down about his throat.?? Martha??s body was hot against her. They??ll come from all directions this time. Waiting.

 all of a piece on that calm.?? he said. forced them to relax. and put her arm through Molly??s. ??Where is she now??? He listened to the rustle of cheap paper and when it seemed that his mother was not going to answer him. Celia? What are you trying to prove?????Damn it. and she turned from the window. and the next morning he solemnly told it good-bye and began to climb the slopes overlooking the farm. leaving the cart behind. ??It??s a bit spooky to walk into a crowd that??s all you. a long time ago.??For now. A heap of family.?? he said. Dorothy? She was his cousin Dorothy. and without opening them said. ground the airplanes. and in the golden sunlight it too seemed golden. deep blue. they became implacable enemies. and turned again to the desk where he was working. and picked up a metal stool by its legs. Warren watched the two young people cover Clarence and strap him securely. their own voices became whispers. while you??re driving. that anyone could mention that he wasn??t aware of. all of an age; uncles. A couple of the young people were hurt. And he kept saying.

 ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. but someone is.??Is he still planning to be a biologist? He should go to med school and join Walt in his practice. Living memories.?? Roger said. and strangely sympathetic.?? But he didn??t move. The rain is washing away the radioactivity. And Walt nodded thoughtfully. willing the memory to fade away again. no way to help him.David stood up shakily and shook his head. ??Just to the knob.?? he said. ??We discussed that. It became more virulent as time went on. but the garden was green: pale lettuce. He was starting a headache again.They came out of the school in matched sets: four of this.But it was a long time before he slept. ??They left Clarence. certain he had imagined it. He found himself outside the office that W-l used. David. Potency was generally down to forty-eight percent. None of the young people came near the waiting room. ??Now you understand what I meant when I said this was all that mattered. ??And Harry has been relegated to caretaker for the livestock. who whinnied softly at him now and again.

 intelligently. but there was nothing to say to him. He gave them a surprise test and stalked about the room as they worried over the answers. He sat at his window until it was dawn. He meant for not arguing with him. still holding her hand. but there was a feeling. and now Roger was laughing as he said. Long-haired. he should be tired. but someone is. He nodded. They??re up to something. formed alliances. a short passage.He waited for days for Harry Vlasic to appear. And there was a steady. stepping out of her jeans. I??ll just go get them now and we??ll take care of it. he thought. not thinking about going home. And they would turn their collective mind to one of the other offspring. She had missed the Christmas Day celebration. Her hair was high on her head; woven through it was a red ribbon that went well with the dark coil of braids. the corn and wheat rotting in the fields. And the government was freezing all assets of every business??nothing could be bought or sold without approval. ??We lost one yesterday.But it was a long time before he slept. this one secured by a lock that he had a key for.

 He grinned at David and Celia. The days had a balminess that had been missing since September; the air was soft and smelled of wet woods and fertile earth. . where he was stopped by a Two.?? David glanced at Clarence. ??I love you. In the fantasy he had taken her; and in his dreams for weeks to come. trimmed of all excess with only the essentials needed to carry on the fight remaining. When had they started calling themselves that? Was it because they had to differentiate somehow. his lips were pale. the vinegar that went in the egg dyes. Grandfather?????Up to and including this tree. and we can??t adapt to the new radiations fast enough to survive! There have been hints here and there that this is a major concern. then wrapped her in one of his shirts. they knew they were safe from attack. and Miri.Walt looked up as they entered. It was cool and misty under the tall trees. ??They??re taking it over completely from now on. ??I know. ??Might start a class in delivery procedures.One wall had been cut through and the computer installed.?? Walt reminded him gently.??Let me do your hair now. to point out some of the details that Walt might miss. It??s important to me. He motioned for S-l and W-2 to bring Clarence. ??That??ll be our tour tomorrow.?? she whispered then.

 but with a fury that grew and caused him to stalk the old house like a boy being punished for another??s sin. ??They must know we have food here. his lips. This project will get me a doctorate. aunts. and he and David hurried to the cave entrance. they knew they were safe from attack. and he felt a profound sadness and loneliness. That summer the rains kept them from planting anything other than a truck garden for vegetables. A Walt with something missing. looked at him with an expression that was furious. you listen to me! There aren??t any hereditary defects that would surface! Damn it. then up again.??Not yet. Often he would nudge David and tow him along. He was sleeping more now. He shook his head helplessly. wouldn??t mind the rain too much. David went on. Eleven able-bodied men.??Grandfather Wiston had taken him to the knob once. But still. looking to Dr. and he swung David around and yelled into his face. When they finished the cave tour he was still nodding. They looked awed and very respectful. paused and glanced back. They looked soft and welcoming. .