Argosy: The Short Story Magazine — page 107: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE CHRYSALIDS 107 “Rosalind? Where is she?” Petra asked, looking round. “'That doesn’t matter with think-pictures. Now just look at the dark, and think of nothing.” ‘‘ And you others,” I added for the benefit of the rest, “ lay off, will you? Keep it all clear for Rosalind, and don’t interrupt.” We sat silent and receptive ... Rosalind made a pond, with reeds round it. She filled it with ducks, friendly, humorous-looking ducks of all colours. One chunky, earnestly trying duck was always a little late and a little wrong. Petra loved it, she chuckled delightedly. ‘Then suddenly: she projected her delight, wiped out the whole thing, and dazed us all again. It was wearing, but there was progress. In the fourth lesson she learnt the trick of clearing her mind without closing her eyes. By the end of the week we were really: getting on. Her thought-shapes were crude and unstzble, but would improve with practice; her reception of simple forms was good, though as yet she could catch little of our projections to one another. “Too difficult and too quick,” she said. ‘I can tell if it is you, or Rosalind, or one of the others doing it, but it goes so fast it alk gets muddled. The other ones are much more muddled, though.”’ ** What other ones—Sally, or Michael? ”’ I asked. *“No. The other other ones. The long-way-away ones,’’ she said impatiently. I decided to take it calmly. ‘‘ I don’t think I know them. Who, are they? ”’ I asked her. *“T don’t know,” she said. ‘‘ They’re over there somewhere.’* She pointed to the south-west. I thought that over for a moment. ‘‘ Suppose you try to show me what they show you,” I suggested. She tried. ‘There was something there; something which I had never received before, and which certainly did not come from any of us. It was quite blurry, perhaps because Petra was trying: to relay something she did not understand herself. I could make nothing of it, and called Rosalind in. She found it no clearer than, I had so we let it rest for a time. At supper, some ten days after the loss of Petra’s pony, Uncle. Axel asked me to come and give him a hand with truing up 4 wheel while there was still light. Superficially the request was. casual enough, but there was something in his eye that made me agree without hesitation. I joined him and we went over behind the rick where we should neither be seen nor overheard. He put a straw between his teeth, and looked at me seriously. ** You been careless, Davie boy?” he asked. **T don’t think so,” I told him. ** One of the rest of you, maybe? ” he suggested. Again, I didn’t think so. ‘**H’m,” he said. ‘‘ Then why, would you say, has Joe Darley been asking questions about you? ” ‘* Just me—or the others as well?” [| asked. comiclbooks.conn