Argosy: The Short Story Magazine — page 130: what you’re looking at

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

St ee 130 JOHN WYNDHAM where they can find you. Why should we care what happens to you unless you help us? ”’ Petra caught the implication of that, and panicked. ‘‘ Almost a hundred men,”’ she told him. He looked at her, considering for a moment. ‘So there is one of you with them.” He nodded thoughtfully again. ‘‘A hundred is a great many men to send after just you three. Too many ... I see.’ He turned back to me. ‘‘ There have been rumours of trouble working up in the Fringes? ” “Yes,” I admitted. He grinned. “ So for the first time they decide to take the initi- ative and invade us—and pick you up, too, of course. They'll be following your trail. How far have they got? ”’ I consulted Michael. I learnt that they had passed the place where our bolting greathorses had taken to the forest, but I couldn’t find any way of conveying to the man their exact situation. “Ts your father with them? ”’ he asked. It was a question I had been careful not to put to Michael before, and I didn’t put it now. I simply paused, and then told him no. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Petra about to speak, and Rosalind checking her. ‘A pity,” said the man. “ I’ve been wanting to meet your father on equal terms for a long time now. Maybe he’s not such a champion of the true image as I’ve heard, after all.”’ He went on looking at me with a steady, penetrating gaze. I could feel Rosa- lind’s sympathy like a clasp of the hand. Presently the man unfolded himself, and went out with a queer, gangling walk, and we were left in his tent, with a man on guard. Rosalind got out a loaf and what was left of the cheese, and found 2 pot of water. It was a considerable time since we had eaten, but, for all that, I did not feel very hungry. Petra again began to converse with her Zealand friends, and seemed to be promoting confusion there. Rosalind broke in to straighten that out and explain what had happened. For the first time they sounded dismayed when they answered. It was with awe that they told us, ‘“‘ This is dreadful country. None of us has ever seen anything as bad as this. ‘There are miles and miles where it looks as if all the ground has been fused into black glass. Then stretches of Badlands, then more rough black glass. It goes on and on. If we did not know that you were on the other side of it we should have turned back.”’ Petra caught the thought of turning back, and began to blot out everything with distress. Rosalind put an arm round her and soothed her. When we had quietened Petra so that the Zealand woman could get through again, Rosalind asked, ‘‘ When will you come? What are we to do?” There was a pause, as if for consultation, then the Zealand woman told her, ‘“‘ We’ll come as fast as we can, but you mustn’t reckon on anything less than three hours—perhaps a little more.” “* Michael,” asked Rosalind, “‘ are you in the front of the party? ” comclookks.comn